I have watched the unfolding story of our British politics over the last months and weeks with a mixture of horror and fascination. In our so-called democracy we have ended up with a Prime Minister who was elected to the position by a very small minority of the country, and who behaves like an overgrown and naughty spoilt schoolboy.

He is a known philanderer, deceitful, boastful, and a downright liar. He expects to be able to bluff and bluster his way through any situation and come up trumps. How can this be acceptable?

I know there is a precedent: Trump is an even worse example of similar behaviour gaining and keeping power.

And I believe that the majority of us are shocked by how they seem to be getting away with it. We need to hold on to and use that shock. We cannot allow this sort of behaviour to become the new normal, to be what represents us as people and as countries. These men are on the same path as those we have learnt to condemn as pernicious dictators: Kim Jong Un; Putin; Hitler. We have to stop them and refind decency, moderation, our values, and leaders who are grown-ups.

Our parliament has stood up to Johnson, and stopped him from just going headlong into crisis for the country – and MP’s have done that at cost to themselves, putting the greater good of the country before self-interest.

Now it is up to us.

There will be an election in the UK, as there will in the US. We have to make our voices heard, the decent majority, and elect politicians who genuinely represent us. If all of us vote, we can make a difference. If all of us persuade another few people to vote, we will make even more of a difference.

Whatever our ‘normal’ political leanings may be, whatever we think about Brexit, we need to look for candidates who represent our decent, humane society – the way most of us really are. This is not a time for blind party politics: our democracy is at stake. It’s time to stand up for decency.