Oh how I yearn for times that are a lot less ‘interesting’ than those we are currently living through.

I want some boredom, I want the kind of stability that means I don’t have to learn the name of a new home secretary every week or so.

I want a government that doesn’t go off on some crazed ideological, free market, libertarian spending spree that crashes the pound, sends interest rates soaring, brings in a new age of austerity and forces a prime minister to resign after 45 days in office.

As I write this, the psychodrama that is the Conservative Party trying to find its fifth prime minister in just six years is still playing out.

Frankly, we can’t go on like this. My frayed nerves won’t stand it.

As the website npr.org eloquently puts it: “The UK used to be synonymous with stable, dependable, if sometimes dull, governance.

"But the resignation of prime minister Liz Truss – after six weeks in office – shows just how chaotic British politics has become in recent years.

"Truss is the fourth prime minister to resign since the Brexit vote of 2016. That's the fastest turnover in a century. No. 10 Downing Street has effectively become a revolving door.

"What's the matter with Britain? It is a story of polarisation, populism, a flawed political system and poor leadership that has at times put party and personal ambition above the good of the country."

I couldn’t agree more. Party first and always above the interests of the country.

You could hear it in the strained whining of Boris Johnson’s backers as a leadership contender.

Don’t forget, this is a man the Tories themselves booted out of office only a couple of months ago because they had lost confidence in him.

Some of his backers wanted him back not because they thought he would be a good leader of the country (we have plenty of evidence that’s not the case) but because he is ‘an election winner’.

So never mind he received a police fixed penalty notice over Partygate, never mind he presided over one of the worst Covid death tolls in Europe, never mind he promoted a sex pest to a government position, never mind he wanted to change the rules to protect one of his mates who had been found guilty of using his position for ‘paid advocacy’.

Never mind Johnson is still under investigation by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee over allegations he misled Parliament (deliberately or otherwise), never mind that in the end he couldn’t command a majority in the House of Commons when more than 60 ministers resigned from his government.

No, his supporters wanted him back because ‘he’s a winner’ who they think will help them cling on to their seats and salaries. That’s all they have to offer.

The Tories have crashed the economy but ‘bring back Boris’ and everything will be all right (all right for them but not for the rest of us).

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we need a general election now.

On another topic, I wrote last week about the unacceptable level of abuse some of our councillors have received. It’s bad and seems to be getting worse.

So I was delighted to see Cheshire East Councillors have voted to support a campaign calling for a national action plan to address the abuse and intimidation of councillors and candidates.

The Local Government Association (LGA) launched the Debate not Hate campaign following publication of the report ‘Debate Not Hate: The impact of abuse on local democracy’ in June.

It aims to 'raise public awareness of the role of councillors in their communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the responses and support for local politicians facing abuse and intimidation'.

In a joint statement, Cheshire East Council group leaders said: “The intimidation and abuse of councillors, in person or otherwise, undermines democracy.

"It can prevent elected members from representing the communities they serve, deter individuals from standing for election and undermine public trust in democratic processes.

“As local councillors we are passionate about local services and outcomes for residents. Healthy and lively political debate is an essential part of our work to make difficult decisions about complex local issues.

“And it is right that our decisions should be open to scrutiny and challenge. However, we should not tolerate abuse and intimidation in any form.”

I really hope this campaign has a positive effect. Councillors perform a vital function and it is essential they can carry out their duties without living in fear of intimidation.