The prime minister has been accused of leading a “zombie” government and failing to provide reassurance to families worried about soaring energy bills expected to reach almost £3,600 this October. Labor accused Johnson of treating his final weeks in office as “one big party” after he was filmed shopping for groceries at a supermarket in Greece. Greek news sites reported that Johnson and his wife Kari were in Nea Makri, a coastal town near Athens, and just a few hours away from where Stanley’s father has a villa. The prime minister returned from a holiday in Slovenia just last week, having enjoyed a break at a mountain resort that offered “healing energies”. A Labor spokesman said: “On the evidence of the past few months, it appears to make little difference whether the Prime Minister is in office or on holiday.” The Labor official added: “It’s all just one big party for Boris Johnson while the country struggles with the Tories’ cost of living crisis.” Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson said the prime minister and his “zombie government” had shown him “a complete failure of leadership” in recent weeks. “With the country plagued by drought, our health service collapsing and the cost of living turning into a cost-of-living disaster, Boris Johnson is out of office for the second time in two weeks.” Speaking on Thursday, Johnson said he could offer no new help with energy bills now – but the public can expect the next prime minister to provide extra financial support in September to tackle rising living costs. A large majority of Tory members still prefer the current prime minister to either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, according to the latest poll showing “Johnson nostalgia”. The latest Opinium survey shows Truss has a healthy lead over Sunak in the Tory leadership race, ahead 61% to 39% among Tory members. But the poll shows signs of regret for the prime minister’s political demise over the Partygate scandal and an apparent lack of enthusiasm for any of his potential successors. In a fight between Johnson and Truss, 63 per cent of Tory members would choose the caretaker prime minister, compared with 22 per cent support for the foreign secretary. The results were even more impressive in a Johnson vs. Sunak contest. Some 68 per cent of Tory members prefer the prime minister to the former chancellor. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has also been accused of “disappearing” during the cost of living crisis as he took a summer break. Starmer, who insisted this week that his party was “leading” on the cost of living, set out his party’s plans to freeze the energy price cap in October as part of a “comprehensive” cost of living plan on Monday. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey – who proposed freezing the price cap a week ago – tweeted: “I’m glad you liked my proposal to scrap the energy price rise. I also have some thoughts on electoral reform that you can adopt.”
