Boris Johnson: Save us the long goodbye, winter is coming - The Yorkshire Post says

The outgoing Prime Minister’s goodbye parade is designed to give Mr Johnson the chance to talk about his legacy: the achievements that he is most proud of during his time in office.

He will say he is proud of progress made on superfast broadband, stating that his government has given access to gigabit internet to 70 per cent of the country, should you be able to afford it.

He will also lay claim to enhancements in policing and in particular police recruitment. The irony will be lost on nobody that as he does so – on the very same day as his tour began – criminal barristers across the country walked out on an indefinite, all-out strike which will paralyse the criminal justice system, leaving victims waiting for months and even years to get the justice they deserve following their ordeals.

For, just like workers on the railways and the postal rounds, criminal barristers say that they can no longer earn a sustainable living doing what they do, and so have elected to protest.

But the discontentment is not limited to well organised groups of workers with the ability to withdraw their labour, the financial squeeze is real for millions of households and small businesses that are struggling to, and in many cases already unable to, make ends meet, as the cost of living runs away from their means.

And that worry is made worse by the acknowledgement that this has been a long, warm summer with almost no need whatsoever for anyone to even contemplate turning on the heating.

But winter is coming; there is no time for long goodbyes, Mr Johnson. Councils are fast planning so-called ‘warm banks’ – heated public spaces where those unable to heat their homes due to the crippling cost of living crisis can congregate to warm their bones. That, unquestionably, is a legacy no premier should be proud to put their name to.