The Conservative party has been taken over by liars, ideologues and charlatans.

It is a national tragedy that these are the people who are leading us through the worst crisis since the Second World War.

When the Dominic Cummings scandal emerged over the bank holiday weekend, I was quick in calling for his resignation.

It was a clear double standard, and it was vital that the PM dealt with it quickly and swiftly, so it did not undermine the health messages coming from the government.

That did not happen. Instead, this saga that we’ve been forced to watch has been a failure in governance of the worst kind.

The PM prioritised the job of an unelected bureaucrat over the health of the nation. The Health Secretary changed government advice based on the behaviour of an advisor. Ministers shamelessly lied to cover his tracks. Cummings sat in front of the press and told the world that he went driving to test his eye sight.

I used to be a secondary school teacher so I recognise a poor excuse for bad behaviour when I see one. So do the British people.

It is so frustrating, because I, like so many others, have spent years speaking out against these liars.

For the Liberal Democrats, this sorry saga adds to the argument that we need to work with the progressive centre left to defeat the Tories at the next election.

Politics is about values, and we Lib Dems need to be true to our values. After this week, it is so clear where those values lie on the political spectrum. This is why I’m standing for a New Direction for the party.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I said earlier this week that if you’re angry, get politically active.

With that in mind, please sign up below to volunteer on my campaign.

The people of the United Kingdom do not deserve a government whose basic argument in a crisis has been “if you loved your family, you would have broken the rules as well.”