MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The self-harming Tories need to appoint a new leader quickly
We now face a Conservative leadership contest that should not even be happening.
Tory MPs have taken a great national party through a completely needless convulsion. They have overthrown the most effective leader they have had in many years, ignoring his strong personal mandate and treating his achievements with scorn. The episode is a textbook example of collective hysteria, in which perfectly sensible people suddenly lose all sense of proportion and stampede like a herd of bison.
The British Tory party is often cited as one of the most enduring and effective political machines in the world. Yet on this occasion its officer class, with few exceptions, lost their heads and their nerve. They did so in the face of a noisy but ultimately empty onslaught by a rabble of Brexit-haters. These voices of the Remainer establishment, on Twitter, on the BBC and Sky and in the Civil Service, must be astonished at how little resistance they faced and how easy it was to get their way. Yet they did get their way. And while many Tories involved in Boris Johnson’s downfall will come to regret their behaviour in years to come, it has happened, and we must make the best of it.
Time is short. The next General Election probably has to take place less than two years from now. And while there is no such formal rule in our constitution, a new Premier will face pressure to go to the country sooner than that to obtain a mandate from the voters. The Tory party would be wise to wrap up its choice of a new leader as quickly as possible, so he or she can resume the urgent task of governing the country.
Tory MPs have taken a great national party through a completely needless convulsion
The episode is a textbook example of collective hysteria, in which perfectly sensible people suddenly lose all sense of proportion and stampede like a herd of bison
Who might do the job? Rishi Sunak was one of the first into the race. He has shown his ability to campaign with his slick video, and his appealing background of close family, hard work and aspiration will help him. He is a serious, plausible figure who did well in the first year of the Covid crisis, but some will mark him down for his blatant plotting against Boris, and by the fact that he and Sajid Javid – so obviously in cahoots although they pointlessly deny it – wielded the knife. Some critics also believe Mr Sunak is instinctively too well disposed towards the Silicon Valley web giants to be able to stand up to them.
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Liz Truss is another leading contender. She was not an original Brexiteer, but converts are often more zealous than veterans, so that should not rule her out. She is utterly right to be focusing on the economy and on tax cuts which are fundamentally Tory and will create growth. As Foreign Secretary she has been strong on Ukraine and the Northern Ireland protocol. She has given no visible sign of being disloyal to the Prime Minister. The campaign could be her chance to shine.
We must also hope that the contest will bring forward new talent, especially the enterprising and bold Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch. Their presence in the front ranks shows that the Tories are unquestionably the real party of diversity.
Many Tory members in the country will feel kindly disposed towards Nadine Dorries. She is a former nurse, brought up in a council house in Liverpool. She epitomises the new Tory challenge to Labour’s spurious claim to be the party of the North, of the NHS or of the working class.
Even if these aspiring figures do not win, they should form an important part of the new leader’s circle. The Mail on Sunday will be watching carefully, hoping that a figure will emerge from this contest who has a real chance of filling the gap left by Boris Johnson.
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