In My View: Neil Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark

The country has the highest temperatures on record, soaring inflation and is still recovering from the covid pandemic.

The UK has lost 180,000 people to this horrific virus and the UK is the worst hit major economy.

Some of our travails were avoidable and the Conservative Party have now junked their lawbreaking Prime Minister with the queue of wannabe replacements all demanding Johnson goes, but leaving him squatting in Downing Street for weeks in the midst of multiple crises.

It is not long since the Tories won an 80-seat majority but they have squandered it, abandoning their election manifesto promises on an almost weekly basis.

The armed forces now face cuts despite commitments made in 2019, using international aid to prevent refugee crises disappeared when the Tories abolished the whole Government Department, and free TV licenses for some pensioners were jettisoned quicker than you can say Johnson is a Blankety Blank.

I am trying to ensure every eligible older person receives pension credit to help with the cost-of-living crisis.

The hot weather has costs attached, especially for people managing health conditions, or using electric fans.

Pension credit is extra funding available to people over the state retirement age and on a lower income.

Applying is straightforward and quick. All you need is your National Insurance number and information about any income, savings or investments you have (if any).

You can check quickly online or claim over the phone by calling: 0800 99 1234.

Even if you are unsure if you are entitled, please check as 70 per cent of new claimants are successful. With £1.7billion currently left unclaimed, too many people are missing out.

Pension credit could be a vital boost, but also acts as a ‘gateway entitlement’ as it provides access to several other advantages like free TV licenses for over 75s, council tax reductions, free dental and optical care, and a cash lump sum to help with energy bills.

I hope people will apply for this critical top-up help at such a tough time and ensure older family members do too.

It could help now, but will be an even bigger bonus as energy bills continue to rise even before winter hits.

The new Prime Minister will have to contend with those rocketing bills and the wider cost-of-living crisis from day one.

But instead of the Tories seeking to replace their disgraced outgoing leader by offering ideas and solutions for our country, they have been spouting nonsensical slogans like getting Brexit redone when we are still suffering its impact, with Northern Ireland trapped in its crosshairs.

Shockingly, with passports and other government basics delayed, and with the biggest NHS backlog in history, the Tory contenders are also all demanding cuts to overstretched public services.

This can only mean worse services for everyone after 12 years of cuts and harm and with soaring poverty and foodbank use.

The truth is the Tories are simply bereft of ideas and have collapsed in on themselves instead of focusing on what our country needs. It isn’t just Johnson that needs junking, it is his whole party.