Thread by @tony_nog

1) The Boss has lost it
So you're a Tory MP, probably a new one, and you've heard the boss is a rockstar and his right hand man is a political genius. You think you are well set for a long time in power.

You've heard about #Brexit and GE landslides being attributed to this pair

2) You see the boss's popularity get even higher and you think "these 2 are amazing, Labour can't touch us".

Then #Covid19 appears, but the boss says everything's going to be OK.

Then you see the UK move to the wrong ends of the "worst in the world/best in the world graphs"

3) Then you finally see the great performer in PMQs, you've been looking forward to this....

...but he's actually a bit rubbish. Blustering, falling over his words, light on detail. You start to worry

4) Then the Cummings Scandal hits and everyone's saying to you "don't worry, Dom's brain can get us out of anything Dom's ego gets us into"

You wait to see the master in action

But then you see Grant Schapps sent out, and he just embarrasses himself

5) Then you see a statement sent out saying "we're not going to lower ourselves to answer these ridiculous allegations" and you think "well, that's a bold move"

But it backfires and then the Boss himself appears to deal with the matter - but he's still a bit rubbish

6) That bumbling oafish billy bunter charm which worked so well on the Brexit trail and HIGNFY really doesn't come over well

Then Cummings has a press conf and it's a car crash. He just comes across as, well a bit weird and arrogant

7) you're starting to think that the great master of public opinion has now had 4 go's at this and he's blown every one, every throw of the dice has made things worse.

Finally you watch the boss in committee today. And it really is just embarrassing

8) He seems to know less than you do about some quite basic stuff, he makes gaffs like saying "I'm forbidden to announce targets". He looks deeply uncomfortable and clearly commands zero respect

And now you're really worried

9) because you know this isn't the worst of it. Yes Cummings might scrape through but you know there's track and trace, 2nd wave, economic crash, more deaths coming

It's going to be tough

And the people at the top clearly aren't up to it

10) The boss is useless when the pressure is on and leans completely on his Svengali - but the Svengali is a one trick pony who can ride a wave but can't create one

You're heading into a hard 6 months with a leadership that's both rubbish AND deeply unpopular

What do you do?

11) you really can't see the Government getting through this unscathed. You know you can't justify the Durham trip but you know it will come up again and again and again

You probably should have said something earlier but now it's too late

12) you need these guys gone. Maybe not today, but you need them to take the fall for when things really turn bad.

And you are really not comfortable with your inbox because people are really, really angry and you don't really know what to say to them

13) This is going through the heads of a lot of Tory MPs - they've now seen that Cummings can't protect them from the public and Johnson is a hollow man. His famous charm only works in the "good times" and there are bad times coming