Tory MPs must get firmly behind a unifying new leader: Rishi Sunak

No time for a novice as PM

BRITAIN above all now needs stability and unity. That goes for the Tory Party too.

Endless civil wars between rival factions have led to the chaos of four PMs in seven years, and shortly a fifth.

Tory MPs must remind themselves of their 2019 triumph and get firmly behind a unifying new leader: Rishi Sunak.

The former Chancellor is the stable candidate we need to drag us out of the economic mire.

He has the confidence of his MPs and the markets.

He will earn Sun readers’ trust too if he respects Boris Johnson’s 2019 ­manifesto which they voted for in huge numbers.

Yes, Covid and war then changed our circumstances, inflicting a huge national and global crisis.

But its principles and aims are a sound guide.

With respect to Penny ­Mordaunt, this crisis is no time for a novice in No10.

Boris has few greater fans than The Sun.

But we agree with the ex-PM’s conclusion that now is not the right time to try to reclaim the top job.

Our fear was for the economic and political mayhem his re-election was sure to unleash — and the impact that would have on our readers’ savings, mortgages, loans, bills and jobs.

Boris has huge charisma and talent.

He rightly trumpets his 2019 mandate and his achievements in office.

But he would have had huge problems forming a Government with so many MPs backing rival Rishi and so many ex-allies having resigned a mere three months ago over his Premiership.

Loss of confidence

As he admitted: “You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party.”

Plus, Boris still faces a Commons probe, its rules shabbily redesigned to skewer him for misleading the House over Partygate even accidentally.

That could lead to his suspension and ­ultimately even the loss of his seat.

A Prime Minister could not come to power with that hanging over him.

Imagine the markets’ reaction if Boris had won.

Their sudden loss of confidence after Liz Truss’s mini-Budget hammered those with mortgages and loans.

If Tory members re-elected Boris over a rival with far more MPs’ support the impact could have been even worse.

Let us not forget too that Rishi correctly predicted the meltdown over Ms Truss’s plans.

He instinctively also wants lower taxes but he understood her timing was wrong, with global inflation soaring and markets nervous.

Boris believes only he could see off Labour at election time.

He should not forget that in July almost 70 per cent of voters wanted him gone.

And Rishi may yet prove a big electoral asset.

He would do well to bring both Boris and his most talented supporters into the tent.

We will doubtless back Boris again. He is still only 58.

His hero Winston Churchill was 65 before he took power.

But a Boris 2.0 administration now could have blown up on the launch pad and caught Sun readers in the blast.