Kemi Badenoch is the one Tory who could offer renewal

Her problem is not only with the voters. Until recently, many of her own MPs – including ministers – were taking their cue from Corporal Jones. When anything went wrong, rush towards the nearest camera yelling “don’t panic.” But in the last few days, it has got worse. Now, a lot of them are dropping the “don’t.”

Public opinion is volatile and two years is a long time in politics. That said, Truss has an almighty challenge, economic and political. We could be facing a world recession, and almost every country is in trouble. In other circumstances, ministers might be able to point this out, insisting that the Government was doing what it could and that there were no easy answers. Alas, many voters seem ready to conclude that the Government is blundering from one cock-up to another and that ministers have no answers at all.

At the moment, the PM and her supporters seemed to be stressing the negatives. In effect, they are insisting that, if the party were to dispense with her, it would no longer be a case of Dad’s Army. The Tories would have turned into the Keystone Cops and would be terminally discredited. But negativity is not enough. The Tories cannot fight the next Election without a positive case and a plausible Leader.

The party needs a period of calm and strategic planning. Truss deserves a chance to recover, but a strong replacement is available. Many Tories are desperate for a political reset and that is not impossible. There is a potential Leadership candidate who could persuade many voters to reassess her party. She is a powerful performer with courage and ability. Even in these adverse circumstances, she would bring hope and inspiration. Kemi Badenoch would be the youngest Prime Minister since Pitt the Younger and she has another obvious claim on the record book. She would have a dramatic impact. She is the one Tory who could offer renewal.

For the time being, Liz Truss has her last chance, and all is not lost, for there is a political strategy which the government could adopt. Even if it did not save Truss, it would help her successor. It should have two principal aspects: caring and growth. Ministers ought to begin almost all their speeches by reminding everyone of the massive efforts which they and their colleagues have made to deal with the two five-letter crises: Covid and Putin. Hundreds of billions have been spent to protect jobs and living standards. Although the Tories normally consider themselves to be the Party of sound finance, they have braced themselves to over-ride their instincts and run the books as if the nation were on a war footing.

Indeed, it is unlikely that a Labour government would have been able to be anything like as generous with quantitative easing. Rock-ribbed Thatcherites and rueful Labourites are both aware of the irony. Yet the government has received remarkably little credit for all this benevolence. That has been a huge political failure. The fear is that it is now irreversible because the public has stopped listening.

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