In their report 'Strong and Stable' the think tank Make Votes Matter, an organisation promoting a proportionally representative electoral system, note that in the parliamentary term following the 2019 general election the average period of time a newly appointed cabinet minister spent in office was just eight months.
Whilst that figure was undoubtedly impacted and made lower by mass resignations and two changes of Prime Minister it is nevertheless eye-catching. An average eight months tenure points to turmoil, it points to a government running out of both ideas and talent, it suggests an administration more intent on fighting internal battles than serving the public.
8 months also happens to be an historically low figure too. According to Make Votes Matter 'ministers appointed between the 1970s and 2005 generally remained in one office for between two and three years.' Indeed the United Kingdom was already at the lower end amongst comparable countries when it comes to ministerial tenure. Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany all average a length of term around three years in office, Switzerland over six.
At this year's general election one of the principle selling points of the Labour Party was that they would bring stability and, yes, decency back to a broken political system. Even if he never claimed it publicly Sir Keir Starmer made a virtue of his moral superiority.
In less than 100 days however, that fabled milestone for all viewers of The West Wing, we have seen a spate of entirely appropriate questions on the acceptance of gifts, we have witnessed first hand the Prime Minister's disdain at having his decisions scrutinised, and now, in the wake of his Chief of Staff, Sue Gray's enforced resignation, the final component of competence is rightly being reviewed.
Of course, Ms Gray, is not a minister. In many respects as Chief of Staff for the Prime Minister she was even more important. The nature and timing of her appointment, in most people's eyes, already looked a little shady.
But sacking her after 93 days? A fraction of the time most ministers are in office? That brings the Prime Minister's judgement into question more than anything than has gone before.