For the Conservative Party, unity is the name of the game

Editorial: Can the party as a whole get behind Boris Johnson to run a functioning government, given the number of MPs who wanted him out just a few short months ago?

Boris Johnson, pictured with Dominic Raab, during his time in No 10 (PA)

MPs are lining up behind their chosen personality for the Conservative Party leadership election (whether the personalities in question have officially declared they are running or not), with Rishi Sunak out in front ahead of Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt.

Mr Johnson landed back in the UK on Saturday, with polling suggesting that, if the contest were to get as far as a vote by party members, he would be the favourite. The reasons for which his return to office would be a bad idea are clear, and a number of MPs – former health secretary Matt Hancock is among the latest – have implored Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson to strike some kind of deal.

However, the divides between the various factions in the party run deep, and the last government in which the two worked closely together blew itself up spectacularly.

All this makes the argument for a general election stronger, as The Independent has repeatedly asserted. We have been joined by more than 360,000 members of the public, who have signed our petition calling for the British public to be allowed to have its say. Mr Johnson would probably cite the mandate he won in 2019 as a premise for his return to leadership. But much water has passed under the bridge since that point, in respect of Brexit, the response to the pandemic, and an economic situation that renders any promises on public spending impossible to fulfil.

Unity is the requirement for the Conservatives, as a bare minimum. But while Mr Johnson has the support of some loyal colleagues, as well as a significant proportion of the party membership, can the party as a whole get behind him to run a functioning government, given the number of MPs who wanted him out just a few short months ago? It would be difficult to answer anything but “No” at this point.

Mr Sunak might stand a better chance, but he will still have the larger problem facing any prospective leader, of whether the Conservative Party can heal the rifts that have been created in recent years (and have become cavernous in recent months). It is a tough ask. No one who has served in cabinet under Mr Johnson or Liz Truss is working with a clean political slate, and while party members and MPs may eventually be persuaded to put up a united front, the public will be less likely to forgive and forget.

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But that is the price the party will just have to pay for this chaotic period. Whether an election comes now (as it should) or in 18 months, Britain needs a party in government that can bring the stability the country so desperately needs.

The Conservatives obviously still feel that they can fulfil this role, even if they are shying away from letting the public at large make that choice. But they will need to bring stability to their own operation first. Unity within the party is important not just for as long as they stay in government, but beyond.

No political party is perfect – the Conservatives are illustrating this abundantly at the moment – but our democracy relies on robust opposition in parliament, too. Current polling suggests that Labour would be in a strong position to win a general election, and in government it would need to be held accountable, just as the Conservatives are now. An opposition plagued by infighting cannot provide that.

Whoever is chosen to take the helm as Conservative leader and prime minister must somehow find a path to unity – even if they resist the call for a general election.