Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who won four general elections in the 1960s and 1970s, famously coined the phrase “a week is a long time in politics.” Almost six decades later, the continuing relevance of Wilson’s remark has again been shown, as the UK government has been rocked by a series of new revelations concerning Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the UK’s two top ministers. This has culminated, to date, with the disclosure on Tuesday that both have now paid fixed penalty notices issued by the police for violating — in Downing Street — coronavirus lockdown laws. The payment of the fines is an admission that they broke the laws their government made in office, and there are growing calls for them both to resign. Tuesday’s bombshell capped off a woeful week for the government, which also featured a continuous drip of tax-related revelations about Sunak’s family finances. Sunak, who had been widely seen as the favorite to succeed Johnson as prime minister, is undoubtedly on the political back foot. Not only was his wife, Indian billionaire heiress Akshata Murthy, pressured last week to start paying UK tax on her overseas earnings after renouncing her “non-domiciled” status, but Sunak also referred himself to the Downing Street ethics adviser over claims he had not been transparent about his own tax arrangements. While some have already declared that the possibility of Sunak becoming prime minister is now over, it is not yet clear what the medium to longer term implications of the revelations will be. However, in the shorter term, there is little question that the episode is bad news for the government. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the fortunes of the government, along with Johnson’s personal political prognosis, had appeared to stabilize after weeks of negative speculation over the PM’s future as a result of the “partygate” scandal revelations developing into a frenzy at the start of the year. So far, police have issued at least 50 fines for breaches of lockdown regulations at gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street, including to Johnson and Sunak. This has generally gone down very badly with the UK public, as shown in two snap polls on Tuesday. One from Savanta ComRes found that more than half of the population think Johnson should resign. Another YouGov poll on Tuesday found 75 percent think the prime minister lied about breaking lockdown rules and 57 percent think he should resign. The latest revelations are a big blow to the government as, since the Ukraine conflict began, media attention had inevitably shifted from these domestic scandals, at least until the last few days. This does not mean the partygate issues went away, but that public focus was at least temporarily elsewhere. The revelations have rocked the government just as it is facing a wider series of scandals. Indeed, ever since last May’s local election success for the Conservatives in much of England, the ruling party has faced political headwinds. Most recently, these problems have been economic in nature, with the UK facing a cost of living crisis amid rampant inflation and weaker economic growth. The main beneficiary of this is the Labour Party, which has opened up a significant lead in the polls. Some two and a half years after Johnson’s landslide general election victory, the government is now significantly weakened. What is increasingly clear is that, while the prime minister may be one of the best campaigners in UK politics thanks to his capacity to use simple slogans like “Get Brexit Done” to cut through to the electorate, his ability to govern is much weaker. While Johnson has long had critics within the ruling Conservative Party, there is growing disquiet about whether he can last in office until 2022, let alone the next general election. Indeed, were it not for the Ukraine crisis, there may well have been a leadership challenge by now. Ever since last May’s local election success in much of England, the ruling party has faced political headwinds. Andrew Hammond When he scored his huge election win in December 2019, it was widely forecast that he could remain in office for much of the 2020s, but the rollercoaster ride that is his premiership means his term could end far sooner. This is not just because of Johnson’s stumbling political performance during the pandemic. Barring further dramatic revelations, it is likely that Johnson and Sunak are safe politically until at least next month’s local elections. However, if the results are exceptionally poor, the political mood in the Conservative Party may shift. So, the storm facing Johnson may yet ensure an ignominious end to his prime ministership. Despite his hold on power seeming almost unassailable just last year, his premature departure from office remains a significant possibility, unless he can turn a political corner — and fast. Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.