Does Rishi Sunak’s government have the fight for what is ahead?

Talking to some Tory MPs in Westminster, there is a feeling of resigned despair, writes Kate Devlin

Picture the scene. It’s December in Britain and bad weather is causing a series of crises in an already under-pressure transport system. A government minister comes under fire for not cutting short a family holiday quickly enough to return to the UK to deal with the problems, prompting some observers to believe this is a government that knows it will be out of power soon.

You might think this is a prediction about this winter, but it was actually December 2009. And six months later, Gordon Brown’s government was indeed out of power.

Between crisis after crisis, amid strikes and transport chaos and struggles with the health system, politics watchers will be looking for signs of something else this year. Is this a government in which every member is fighting for its political life? Or have some of them decided that, with their poll numbers so horrific, there is no point and they’ve already lost the next general election.

If you talk to some Tory MPs in Westminster, that’s certainly what they believe. There is a feeling of resigned despair. One long-serving MP told me he’d seen this in his party before, in the mid-1990s. “You get stuck in a loop,” he said, “where nothing that government does is right and you get blamed for everything – even things that are beyond your control. And, at the same time, the opposition party can do no wrong.” It’s hard to get out of that loop, he said, and ultimately it leads to one thing only: opposition.

There are definite signs that this is a government that knows it needs to fight for its life. In order to focus on its key priorities it dumped the controversial schools bill this week. And there are reports that Dominic Raab’s Bill of Rights – which is attracting mounting criticism from senior lawyers – will also be ditched.

Liz Truss reportedly said in Downing Street that she had to go far and fast because she had just two years in office. Her short tenure has left her successor with slightly less time before the next general election and much bigger headaches. Many people in the country have yet to even receive one of the higher mortgage bills her administration will be remembered for long after anyone can name her home secretary.

Meanwhile, Tory MPs who believe they will lose their seats at the election are understood to be touting themselves for new jobs already. The rumour at Westminster is this even includes some ministers.

With the prize of remaining prime minister in his sights, Rishi Sunak will be giving it his all, pushing himself day and night in what could be a fruitless slog to retain the keys to Downing Street. Whether every minister in his government can say the same remains to be seen.