Boris Johnson appears to be a man who just wants to be liked - Christa Ackroyd

The health of his daughter Romy was, I am sure, or should have been, the most important thing on his mind, whether or not you lead the country or are fighting to remain in a position to do so. And for that I can only have sympathy.

And so I don’t want to rub salt into the wounds. I don’t want to stick the knife in, there are plenty of others doing that. Because that’s not kind, and it’s not the way I was brought up.

Thankfully his baby seems to be getting better. All I can say is ‘Oh Boris’, with the biggest sigh I can muster. You really have been, as Denis Healey would have said, ‘a silly billy’. For all your education, your way with words, your easy charm, your political ambition, sometimes when you are the boss you just have to act like one.

I would have made a terrible politician. I probably wasn’t even a good boss, though I like to think I was a fair one. I am not thick skinned. I care too much about what others may think. And I don’t take criticism well. It is a dangerous flaw in any walk of life, but in politics it can be fatal.

Under the tough exterior of a man who should have been in charge, but who appears to have looked the other way far too often, I have come to the conclusion this is Boris’s problem, too.

It also reminds me of my father’s sage advice: ‘Be careful what you wish for. It may not be all you had hoped it would be.’ Surely Boris, the man who set out to be Prime Minister, must be thinking the same this week?

Forgive the pocket book psychiatry, but under all that bluff and bluster Boris appears to be a man who just wants to be liked. Until now he has cultivated the image of being ‘a good egg’, a live and let live libertarian. That’s what got him into power. And that is what has brought him to where he is now. Only now the cracks are showing.

Sometimes you have to lead from the front. And that is what he has failed to do. Not for the first time this week I have heard the phrase ‘What would Margaret Thatcher have done?’ Well there would have been no parties under her watch that’s for sure.

Boris Johnson appears to be a man who can’t say no, or at best puts his fingers in his ears when someone tells him he should. That doesn’t excuse him, but it certainly explains the mess he has gotten himself into and one he will not escape from if leaks from the official report into all this about who knew what prove to be correct. In the meantime allegations of bullying, even blackmail, make grim reading. And judging by the expression behind the mask, when all around him plot and connive against him, Boris Johnson looks like a man already defeated.

Get out now, Boris, would be my advice while you still have some semblance of a political career left. But then who wants a career in politics? Not me for sure. I am tough. But not that tough.

We all want to be liked. It is human nature. As a schoolgirl I remember my mother being exasperated with my tales of teenage fallouts, which let’s face it events in Parliament this week have been so reminiscent of, especially crossing to the other side of the playground to join the other gang.

Her first question was always the same ‘What have you done?’ ‘Nothing’, was always my answer. But my mother’s usual retort was ‘Well you can’t have done nothing or you wouldn’t be where you are now’. She was often right. I have always been too forthright with my views. But then, as I learned, sometimes those you count as friends will just up sticks and leave because you just don’t fit their purpose any more. You don’t bring anything to their party. You are no longer of any use. And that’s life. You can probably count on one hand, those who remain your allies forever. The same can be said about politics. When you are winning everyone wants to be your friend. When the chips are down you are merely an acquaintance. Or an embarrassment.

Over the years I have accepted this. But no matter how many people came and went, human nature kicks in and you gravitate to those who like you and tell you what you want to hear. Or don’t tell you what you should hear because they know they will be given short shrift. That is what is known as an unpalatable truth. And no-one likes them, Prime Minister or not.

When I became a boss at the tender age of 24 I wanted everyone to be my friend. I spent my whole time tip-toeing around difficult decisions. I hated it. Then I received the best, but rather bleak, advice from an older and wiser manager. To be a boss it is not necessary to always be liked, he said. But it is absolutely vital to open your ears to everyone, especially your critics.

Boris has been far too liberal in his handling of those who work for him and the pandemic. We were too slow to lockdown and too quick to open up. Am I the only one who feels that abandoning the masks is a little premature? I, and many of my friends, have already decided we will continue to wear them in crowded places for a while longer.

Six weeks ago Boris would have been hailed a hero for lifting restrictions. Now, cynically, there are many who think he is just telling us what we want to hear. His fate lies in the hands of a woman whose name has been on everyone’s lips – Sue Gray. We will know next week what she has uncovered, but as the old adage goes, a week is rather a long time in politics.