The UK Government faces scrutiny for reducing funding for school repairs, sparking an outcry from former officials and public figures. As students return to classrooms, or makeshift settings due to unsafe buildings, Downing Street and Rishi Sunak have questions to answer.

Senior MPs agreed to work for a fictitious South Korean firm for £10,000 a day. Despite their actions being within proper conduct, receiving payment from a foreign entity could result in significant ethical and legal concerns for them.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing questions from MPs about allegations of misleading Parliament. Misleading Parliament is an offence that could carry serious consequences.

The public does not trust British political parties at the moment, particularly not the Tories. This affects their ability to govern because much of governing is about persuading people to do or not to do things, and that becomes impossible if voters believe that they are being lied to all the time.

Boris Johnson is not the first world leader to prioritise his own ambitions over meaningful governance. But his fall is a good moment for reflection on how far a democracy is prepared to tolerate, and even reward Machiavellian tendencies.

The scandal that brought his downfall wasn’t Boris Johnson’s first. Witty and charming to some, but dishonest and untrustworthy to others, he leaves his country and party very divided, as well as the legacy of his scandals.

The way societies are governed seems to have influenced how they’ve fared in terms of excess deaths during the pandemic. For pandemic preparedness, the public must be able to trust authorities and institutions.