‘Government needs to learn how to lead or God knows what’s coming next,’ writes Michael Booker

After being challenged on the economy and immigration by Labour voter Gillian Duffy during a General Election campaign visit he'd been picked up on microphone calling her a “bigoted woman”.

As you will probably recall the incident proved pivotal to the campaign and helped deliver a Tory/Lib Dem coalition Government.

For me, it was remarkable for two reasons that are relevant to the chaos we're living through now.

Firstly the initial reaction to dismiss her concerns as “bigoted” echoes loudly today.

Duffy was no thuggish rioter but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for some politicians these days to label her 'far-right'.

Secondly, and more importantly, the incident marked the start of a relentless cycle of events that no Government has been able to cope with since.

We've had people in Governement but, crucially, not in full control.

• 'Enshrining fair treatment of employees in law means fewer but not an end to strikes'
• 'Labour marking Illegal Immigration "irregular" is divisive. Re-branding is not the answer'
• 'What is the ECHR? The truth is astonishing and we have almost no say'

Constantly reactive rather than proactive and on a back foot throughout the austerity and Brexit years, none of them have got to grips with the meat-grinding cycle of chaos.

Things really went nuts after David Cameron flounced off in a huff after the Brexit vote when he failed to read what was on the minds of an unhappy majority of British people.

The Tory party then managed to cheapen respect for the office of Prime Minister by embarking on years of vicious infighting and leader toppling that by the time of this year's election some insiders were likening their situation to being in series 9 of Big Brother with no one tuning into watch.

No wonder Rishi Sunak decided to stand there in the rain that day in May and call a vote - he knew his Government was a useless shower and could see no other way out.

And so here we are - 14 years on from that “bigoted woman” and we have another Government that shows no signs of being able to handle life in the meatgrinder of events.

They are already looking and sounding rattled by the horrific events of the past few weeks.

And what happens when you are rattled?

You start making mistakes.

How else can you explain the fact that the Home Secretary was allowed to end up on GMB this week interviewed by her husband?

Not a great look.

Unfortunate timing when - as pointed out by our Political Editor Christopher Hope - the Government has struggled to get anyone ministerial from the Home Office to appear on GB News since an election where thousands of our viewers and listeners voted Labour.

GB News speaks fearlessly for an ever-increasing number of people who want politicians to stop fighting among themselves, listen and then get a grip on the problems facing Britain.

But I've got a feeling that this Government - like the last lot - is ill-equipped to stay ahead of the relentless 24/7 grind.

Looking tough and announcing emergency Cobra and Cabinet meetings as well as “standing armies” and “full force of the law” looks to be reactive bluffing while they hope for calm to somehow take hold.

Things will calm down - thankfully they always do, eventually.

But without sorting out the root causes means unfortunately the calm never lasts forever.

Add to that the fact they are being constantly destabilised by malevolent forces here and abroad, online and offline, they don't stand much of a chance.

And what does come next?

It hasn't hit fully yet but the world is on the verge of a technological revolution - I'm thinking in particular of AI - that will change the way we live and work forever.

Change for the better in many ways admittedly for some but for others...?

What happens when AI does leave more and more jobs redundant and there's been no societal provision for displaced workers to go?

We could shortly end up with a situation like The Grapes of Wrath-era of America in the 1930s when the tractors came to take the jobs of the tenant farmers - knocking down their homes in the process.

In John Steinbeck's book, the desperate workers sat “squatting in the dust”, “perplexed and figuring” before gathering up their suffering families and heading west to try and find a new promised land.

Unfortunately, if the new technological revolution does happen as predicted, many won't have the option of “heading west” for a new promised land.

Just more unhappy, distrustful people left to face an uncertain jobless future in their communities.

Our governing classes need to shape up and prove their worth soon or they'll get chewed up fast.

Leading Britain - and let's face it any country these days - looks to be an impossible job.

I'm sure most are well-meaning but the current political class - and I'm talking about EVERY party - doesn't appear up to the task.

Our leaders need to re-discover how to lead or God only knows what's coming next.