When, in the summer of 2019, the Conservative Party and the country faced the twin nightmares of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister and Keir Starmer maneuvering to reverse Brexit, there was only one man who could imagine that he could avoid that catastrophe Boris Johnson.
It was why I became the first in Theresa May’s cabinet to endorse him, why I agreed to introduce him at the launch of her leadership campaign and why I stood by her side through the dark battles and difficult that led to the elections of December 2019. and its sudden and complete vindication.
That is why I continued to support him after, at his request, he had left the Council of Ministers. I continued to do so, even as I observed with growing suspicion the government’s inexplicable lack of direction and purpose as it was battered by the crises that beset it, the lack of any obvious overall plan to prepare and strengthen our country for to a future beyond the European Union and to face the urgent national challenges that this future has to face.
I agree with David Frost on the urgent need for such a plan and sympathize with him in his frustration.
I continued to support Boris, even after the evidence of his appalling indiscipline and disregard for the laws put in place by the government to beat the pandemic and his neglect of important conventions gradually emerged.
This was because he had been elected to lead that government by an overwhelming majority, and it is no small thing to overthrow the newly expressed will of the electorate. But in the end the damage done to the trust in him was too much. It’s a tragedy. But that’s all in the past now. Now the whole Conservative Party has to choose between the two candidates who have left us the rules.
Just like in 2019, I have no doubt where this pick should fall. I have sat in cabinet with both of them, but I am convinced that only one of the candidates possesses the seriousness of purpose, consistency of conviction and belief, talent as a communicator and people skills to unite the party and regain its mature reputation and Competent Government: Rishi Sunak.
Rishi needs to make no apologies for his past views on Brexit or any other matter dearest to the hearts of many Conservatives. He supported our departure from the EU from the start when it was not conducive to his career, a departure out of conviction rather than expediency.
He has a clear understanding of the national mission that must now absorb all our energies, tackling inflation and restoring the economy after the ravages of the pandemic, consolidating Brexit by taking advantage of it, and strengthening resilience and security of our country at home. and abroad.
Having steered the Treasury through a period of unprecedented crisis, he has the maturity to get the best out of an imperfect Whitehall, to motivate, persuade and bring along those who must implement the changes we need .
Two years from an election, and after the missed opportunities of the first half of this parliament, we cannot risk our reputation for good government.
Success will not be achieved by clinging to the wildest shores of unproven economic theory about the effectiveness of tax cuts, backed by ever-increasing debt, in the futile pursuit of a quick fix. As Michael Howard has said, this was not Margaret Thatcher’s way.
It will come through the patient, constant accumulation of right decisions at the service of a clear and coherent direction for our country.
It will take enormous skill, intelligence and courage, hard work and human empathy to understand and meet the aspirations and anxieties of the British people at this time in our history, and to tell them the truth about the realities that face us.
It will take teamwork and backbone to implement the plan.
These were the qualities of Margaret Thatcher. They are also by Rishi Sunak.
Sir Geoffrey Cox QC is the Conservative MP for Torridge and West Devon, and a former Attorney General