MP: party must unite and deliver under new leader

JOHN HOWELL is backing Liz Truss to succeed as Prime Minister despite his preferred candidate losing out in the Conservative Party leadership contest.

The Henley MP supported Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, to replace Boris Johnson, saying he had a better plan to solve the cost-of-living crisis.

But on Monday Ms Truss was elected leader by party members, winning with about 66 per cent of the votes.

The 47-year-old becomes the fourth prime minister in the last 12 years of Conservative government and the third female in the role after Theresa May, the MP for Maidenhead, and Margaret Thatcher.

Mr Howell, who succeeded Boris Johnson as Henley MP in June 2008, said it was wrong to say he had backed the wrong horse.

“I don’t think it’s helpful for people to look at it in those terms,” he said. “There was a choice of two candidates and the arguments brought up options and there were some that I favoured more than others.

“The main divergence between the two was whether we tackle inflation first or cut taxes and I still think tackling inflation is the best way of going.

“But this is a rehashing of arguments that were raised in the Seventies between the chancellors of the time and it took Mrs Thatcher to get the show back on the road.

“I do think people have lost that time perspective a little bit. If they remembered what happened then it may affect their view of the present.

“Now the party has decided that the next leader and Prime Minister is Liz Truss we need to make sure that we are united and deliver, deliver, deliver.”

Mr Howell accused the media and some fellow MPs of polarising the leadership campaign.

He said: “There is nothing that the media likes more than a fight and it will generate that fight whatever the true facts are.

“I would also criticise some of my fellow MPs for wanting to see this as a bipolar fight as if they were outside the Conservative party. We have one Conservative Party that will come together and debate the issues on how to tackle the economy and that will be a constructive way forward.”

Mr Howell said Ms Truss’s plans to deal with the issues facing the country faces would be subject to the usual parliamentary scrutiny and MPs who didn’t support her leadership bid would need to get behind her.

He said: “There will inevitably be a lot of discussion that takes place and any policy involves the front and back benches and any policy on the economy will be no exception.

“Liz has a tremendous amount to do with the continuing war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and many other issues.

“She has done a fantastic job as foreign secretary in the past and that spirit she has been able to create will continue. I don’t underestimate the scale of the task. She has a number of big issues that will be very difficult to tackle. I don’t underestimate that at all but I think she will be able to do it and we should give her time to do that. MPs will just have to accept that.”

Mrs May, who was succeeded by Mr Johnson at No 10, offered her congratulations to Ms Truss.

In a statement, she said: “We Conservatives must now work together to address the challenges facing our country — tackling the cost of living, delivering for those in need and managing the public finances responsibly.

“I look forward to supporting the Government in that task.”

Steve Baker, MP for the Wycombe constituency, which includes the Hambleden Valley, had backed Ms Truss for leader.

He is said to have played a leading role in orchestrating the resignation of Mrs May as prime minister.

Mr Baker said: “This is a time for knuckling under and, as a Tory MP, voting for the Government.

“I have to say I don’t ever want to rebel again. Enough is enough.

“Trying to steer the life of this country from the back benches through rebellions is an impossibly hard job.

“I have done it on three different subjects and I seem to have won on all three. That’s lovely but it’s not the way this country should be governed and I am personally going to be giving it up.”