Is this Britain’s worst government ever? Not compared to this lot...

How quickly we forget Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, or even the Addled Parliament of 1614 (it sat for two months, passed no laws, and laid the way for civil war). But watch out, Rishi, warns John Rentoul – you’re not in the clear yet

It is unfair to blame Sunak for the failings of May, Truss and Johnson, but that is how the party system works (Getty)

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP with a book to sell, has started something. His book is, in fact, a sensible and witty manifesto for changes he would like to see as chair of the Commons committee on standards.

In the course of promoting it, though, he said he thought that this parliament had reached its sell-by date. This encouraged others to indulge in hyperbole. “This is the worst parliament in history,” said Peter Stefanovic, a Twitter loudmouth.

People on social media are given to exaggeration. Ella Toone is the greatest footballer ever, until someone else scores a goal for England. If there are no spaces at the Boris bike dock outside parliament, that makes my day the worst day ever. But even wild overstatement serves a purpose, because it invites us to ask: what was the worst parliament ever?