I thought Theresa May was the worst PM since 1782 – I was wrong

Despite my assertion – via my letter to these pages in January 2019 – that Theresa May was the worst prime minister since Lord North (who left office in 1782), I feel we are now at a point where I would welcome her return to Downing Street; and I would even make so bold as to suggest that most sane people would be in agreement.

To avoid any confusion, this in no way changes Ms May’s ranking on my up-to-date leadership league table; it just reflects the woeful depths this administration has now plumbed.

Robert Boston

Kingshill, Kent

One is left wondering what indeed would be serious enough for Boris Johnson and his equally unashamed chancellor to consider resignation the honourable option.

Breaking the law doesn’t seem to cut much ice with either of them, so the population is left baffled as to what issue would force their resignation. They are, in the eyes of many of their fellow citizens, utterly shameless.

Patricia White

Milton Keynes

It is customary in the House of Commons to refer to MPs as “the honourable member”.

How should Johnson and Sunak be addressed in future? All suggestions both printable and usable within the chamber please.

Katherine Adams

Witnesham

Someone please point out to Michael Fabricant that even if some “teachers and nurses” also broke Covid laws around the same time as the prime minister, that doesn’t in any way excuse the PM for his breach.

Firstly, just because someone else commits a criminal offence, even the same offence, it doesn’t excuse the defendant. Try that in a court of law.

Secondly, none of the teachers or nurses created the laws that they breached, unlike the PM. Still, I concede that hypocrisy is not a crime.

Thirdly, none of the teachers or nurses lied to parliament, potentially in breach of the ministerial code. Boring, I know, but important constitutionally, I’m led to believe.

Finally, none of the teachers or nurses is the most senior political figure in the union after the Queen, who should be setting the example by following his own laws.

Nor are any of the teachers and nurses the first PM in history to be caught committing a criminal offence while in office. And the committing of a crime, lying about it and now refusing to quit by a teacher or nurse doesn’t plunge the country into a constitutional crisis, nor bring the government into disrepute.

Also, seeking to transfer blame onto teachers and nurses I suspect only increases the anger ordinary folk feel. I know it’s made me more angry. Perhaps Mr Fabricant would like to reconsider his statement?

Ian Henderson

Norwich, Norfolk

The argument that we should not change the prime minister during the Ukraine crisis does not hold water.

We are not at war and even if we were, a student of history will point to two world wars when in each war we changed prime minister mid-war and went on to win the war.

John E Harrison

Chorley, Lancashire

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The UK is not at war with Russia, but is playing a strongly supportive role as part of the Nato alliance.

However, democratic principles are severely undermined when the prime minister, as well as Conservative MPs, do not uphold these principles in which they supposedly believe.

Does the discredited Boris Johnson have any credence as a defender of democracy? And who would believe him anyway?

James Bell

Address supplied

He lied to his party, he lied to parliament and he lied to us.

If the Tory party cared a jot about his lawbreaking and standards in public life, then they should vote to remove him.

I suspect that they won’t have the guts, so in every Tory held constituency where the incumbent has not voted for decency, a coalition of local parties should be formed with the express intention of ousting said member at the next election.

This might just concentrate Tory minds. Still, they will always have their second and third jobs to go back to.

Ian Sturman

Kettering

Fair Play for Women claim that changes to the way offender sex is recorded will “mean for the first time we will know how many male offenders appear in the female crime stats”. But it won’t and can’t – the only way to see that would be to record how many trans women are offending.

Even as a non-offending and gender recognition certificate-holding trans woman, I am beginning to feel seriously threatened by the growing reaction against trans women in particular. Gender-critical groups such as Fair Play for Women and Keep Prisons Single Sex seem to prefer to ignore the very existence of trans men.

If asked, they would have to say that in order to protect women, trans men should also be treated as male. And I don’t suppose members of those groups would appreciate being asked for their birth certificates when they interact with the police.

Rachael Padman

Newmarket