John Baron MP: 'There is enough time to turn things around, but no time to waste'

In my over 20 years in Parliament, I have never seen the likes of the chaotic scenes of last Wednesday evening. The Government only has itself to blame for falling so wholeheartedly for such an obvious Labour elephant trap and then mismanaging the whole affair on a grand scale.

Although I wish her well, it is absolutely right that after this and other mistakes Liz Truss has chosen to resign.

It almost seems superfluous to reiterate what the Prime Minister got wrong, yet it is probably a useful exercise as a primer of what not to do in future. In the first instance, she continued the meretricious habit of her predecessor of appointing a Cabinet and Ministers based upon their perceived loyalty rather than the usual qualifications of competence and representing the broad sweep of opinion across the Parliamentary party.

The downsides of this approach have been screamingly evident over the past few weeks – the Government's policies do not receive the rigorous analysis and stress-testing before they are made public, and when crises do consequently appear it is the 2nd (or 3rd) XI who attempt to cope with the fallout. It is unacceptable that some of the party's finest talent languishes frustrated and unused on the back benches.

Secondly, rushing out a long list of unfunded tax cuts without even attempting to prepare or reassure the markets was always going to spook them and end badly. Given the world is wallowing in debt, this approach was naïve. It was also a baffling move given the organising principle of Conservative policy since 2010 has been to ensure markets were kept on side to avoid precisely what followed.

The return to Government of Jeremy Hunt appears to have stabilised the situation and reassured the markets, at least for the time being. It is clear that to address the new market reality, the British Government will have to over-compensate to keep them on side. Britain is now looking like it will have to have higher taxes and lower spending than if the other candidate had won the summer's leadership contest, which is a painful combination.

My strong advice for the incoming leader is that compassion in decision-making must be put centre-stage, which is why I was pleased when the Prime Minister confirmed at PMQs that the 'Triple Lock' will be retained. However, I was disappointed that the Prime Minister would not confirm that she was maintaining the link between benefits and inflation – this needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

As for how such policies should be funded, in extremis mothballing or scrapping HS2 would still save towards £100 billion. There are a myriad of quangos which need consolidating which, together with the tackling of fraud, could save many billions more. Colleagues can suggest further spending cuts.

Rather than another contest the best outcome would be for the party to coalesce around one candidate. This will convey unity and stability, and will temper the powerful calls for an early General Election. As for Boris Johnson, it is good to remember that the investigation of the Committee on Privileges is still outstanding and that, if re-elected, he might have had to resign a second time for essentially the same reason he stood down last time. As it is, he made the right decision not to stand again.

'It is concerning so many Conservatives think electoral defeat is desirable'

In selecting the Prime Minister's replacement, the party urgently needs to put ideology and personal ambition to one side. We must choose someone who can steady the ship, bring compassion to the difficult spending decisions required and unite the party through competency and decency. After all, competent government has been the true hallmark of Conservative governments across the decades, and must be restored.

Last week I signed the nomination papers for Rishi Sunak. He has a positive agenda, has good experience in government and is very sound on the nation's finances. During the pandemic he took compassionate decisions to get the country through tough times, which will stand us in good stead in the coming months. I hope other colleagues will be able to unite around Rishi and ideally avoid a contest.

It is concerning that so many Conservatives and commentators alike seem to be of the opinion that defeat in the next election is both inevitable and desirable, as a form of therapy and detox after a tiring spell in government. This is nonsense. One of the central raisons d'être of the Conservative Party is to keep Labour out of Government because we know the damage they can do – every single Labour government since the War has ended in economic failure.

It is also a dangerous assumption that we would only be in opposition for one term, and ignores the far-reaching measures that Keir Starmer has already announced – including rolling back Thatcher-era anti-strike legislation and ushering in the type of electoral reform which could lock out Conservatives from government in perpetuity. Labour has a track record of constitutional vandalism. These dangers should animate Conservatives, not cow them.

As for defeat at the next General Election, an awful lot can happen in two years. It is only 18 months since the Hartlepool by-election, and until the Owen Paterson scandal appeared a year ago the Conservatives were riding high in the polls with Starmer's position being actively questioned. A commanding polling lead persuaded Theresa May to call an early General Election, but it did not produce the expected result.

There is still much to play for, and with a new captain and a united team, the Conservatives could still pull off a great surprise and an historic fifth term. There is enough time to turn things around, but no time to waste.