After Boris Johnson, Britain needs a different kind of politics

After an extraordinary 48 hours in British politics, it was the “brilliant and Darwinian system” that overcame even Boris Johnson’s unshakeable instinct for survival, with a record number of his own ministers belatedly deciding he was not fit for office. It was a conclusion that many came to only after Johnson’s strained relationship with the truth started to sully them personally. Meanwhile, months have passed when his lack of integrity, and disrespect for convention and laws of his own making, have damaged the country’s institutions, body politic and even union.

Faced with historic levels of rebellion within his own cabinet, Johnson was still unwilling to take personal responsibility, blaming the powerful “herd instinct” of party politics for his downfall. That his prime ministership has ended so dramatically is fitting for Johnson, whose bravado has, for good and bad, been utterly unforgettable as he led the country through both Brexit and the pandemic, electrifying voters whether they love or loathe him. He has secured his desired place in history books; whether they will be uniformly positive chapters is another question.

But it is high time for the needs of the country, not the Conservative party, to come first. What is needed from Johnson’s successor is not bluffing but sober mastery of detail, not dog-whistle politics but consensus-building, and not flippancy but focus. As a prerequisite, candidates ought to commit publicly to the Nolan principles that guide holders of public office but which have so frequently and egregiously been flouted under this prime minister.

Some of Johnson’s legacy is worth nurturing. He was right to point to his unwavering support for Ukraine. Levelling up neglected parts of the UK is key to the country’s long-term prosperity — even if the policy has lacked both focus and funding. Most importantly, Johnson has prioritised climate change in a way that is diametrically opposed to rightwing populists elsewhere in the world. It would be wrong, both politically and ethically, for his successor to abandon that fight, even if it will be complicated temporarily by high energy prices.

It will be tempting, with soaring inflation and stagnant growth, for candidates to make beguiling economic promises. But now is not the time to rush through hard-to-reverse changes to fiscal policy for the sake of political grandstanding. Improving the ailing economy will require a long-term vision, hard choices and frankness with the British people; another reason why the dearth of truth and accountability in UK politics has been so corrosive.

Whoever replaces Johnson as party leader, and therefore prime minister, has a tough job to restore the country and its standing, including with the European Union as both the UK and the bloc learn to live with Brexit.

Now that Johnson has been persuaded to go, he should do so quickly and unequivocally. A caretaker prime minister dragging a dysfunctional government through until the autumn would be damaging at the best of times, and these are not the best of times: a cost of living crisis, a summer of industrial action and the war in Ukraine demand an expedited process. The party hierarchy should do all it can to ensure that a new leader is chosen before the summer recess. That includes scrapping the drawn-out process of tendering the vote to all party members, streamlining the exercise by limiting votes to Tory MPs.

The Tories still command a majority and have more than two years before an election must be called. A new leader can take the party, and the country, into a more hopeful future — but only if they favour competence over dogma, unity over division, and responsibility over repartee.