Who should be the next leader of the Conservative Party? Every MP will have their own take, of course. But for me it comes down to two key issues: the task and the person.
No one can be in any doubt about the magnitude of the task. Personally I doubt whether a government led by Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott would have performed better over the past five years than the government we have actually had.
But all this is now moot. Whatever the true merits of the case, whatever one thinks about the difficulties of dealing with the long-term impact of the global financial crisis of 2007-8, Brexit, the Covid pandemic, the global spike in energy prices or the war in Ukraine, the national mood on July 4 was “Anyone but the Tories”.
The Conservative Party needs to get the message, and show the country that it gets the message. There has been a lot of talk about the need to bring the party together, and that is important. But far more important is the need to undertake a thorough process of moral, intellectual and organisational reconstruction.
The root issue is not one of political presentation, it is one of values and legitimacy, of earning once again a measure of trust and belief that the Conservative Party is serious, competent and oriented towards the public good, among a vast swathe of the people of this country, including millions of young people who may never have considered voting Conservative.
That will take time, and it will involve hard choices, especially as regards fiscal matters. His Majesty’s loyal opposition cannot leave the field, but equally it cannot pretend that nothing has happened, seek to bounce back immediately and shirk the task of building a new Conservative Party on solid foundations, from the ground up.
The Labour government has a huge majority. But the financial facts of life did not change on July 5, and the new government is already struggling to square the opacity of its mandate with the expectations it has raised, the demands of the unions and the internal contradictions of a top-down yet somehow decentralising administration.
All this demands scrutiny and creates political opportunity. But this will be as nothing if the Conservative Party cannot earn itself a hearing.
In seeking to do so, the party needs to rediscover its commitment to public service. Ever since ancient times, it has been thought that human beings are unique among animals in having the power – however sparingly exercised these days – to govern themselves.
Politics is the messy, compromised and yet vital means by which they seek to do so. It is an activity, not a project, the necessary basis for the very possibility of human society. It can be done better or worse, and the fates of peoples and nations can hang on the difference. But, despite the fond imaginings of the Westminster village, politics has little or no intrinsic merit in itself.
What matters is public service. That is the goal. Putting public service front and centre means a lot less ego, and a lot more thought to the well-being of others, especially future generations. This has always been the spirit of conservatism at its best, and the Conservative Party needs to rediscover that spirit.
That is the task facing the next leader. What about the person? It goes without saying that, young or old, a Conservative leader should have a record of commitment to open markets, individual responsibility, financial prudence and limited state intervention, together with a deep interest in history and policy.
As leader of the opposition, the new party leader will need to be adaptable and resilient, able to bring others together both inside and from outside politics, to draw on the biggest talents and put them to work.
They will need to balance independence of mind with a willingness to take advice. And they will need to be a highly effective communicator, with a distinctive voice and a zest and cut-through that can energise people of all political parties and of none.
But I would go further. A really good leader does not simply articulate but embodies the change they are seeking to make. The media tends to focus on social divisions, but these conceal the deep strengths of our society. The United Kingdom is more vibrantly diverse in its culture and identity now than ever before. Recognising that strength in diversity, and acknowledging its limits, will be a formidable task.
The same is true of facing the twin challenges of Keir Starmer at the dispatch box, and Nigel Farage at the bully pulpit. And in my judgement the right person to take these challenges on, to draw the best from the past but galvanise fresh energies and set a new direction, is Kemi Badenoch.
Published in The Telegraph