Amid SNP and Conservative leadership chaos, there's been one silver lining – Christine Jardine

Amid the chaos of recent years, one sliver of compensation has been the diversity which has marked political leadership in the past decade

Who would have thought that it would be the Tories who would ride to the rescue of a beleaguered SNP to distract the media from the hullaballoo at Holyrood? As the deadline passes to stand to replace Humza Yousaf, and it looks as if John Swinney has accepted the poisoned chalice, the spotlight has switched to Downing Street and the future of the Conservatives and their Prime Minister.

The local election results must have made frightening reading in their party's headquarters as news came of defeat after defeat, either to Labour or Liberal Democrats. Resounding defeat in the Blackpool by-election only served to rub salt in the wound and reinforce doubts about the Conservative leadership.

As recently as Thursday in the Commons, Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt dismissed speculation over her being installed in Downing Street "like a new boiler". However, clamour for change at No 10 is now likely to reach new heights, with Conservative members conflicted over whether yet another new leader might turn the tide, or if it would be best to accept the inevitable and call a general election.

Rishi Sunak, seen celebrating Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen's reelection, could now face a leadership challenge from fellow Conservative MPs (Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Certainly, the last time a set of English local elections looked this bad for them was 1995 when Tony Blair’s Labour were waiting in the wings to sweep to power in 1997, with the first of three consecutive election victories. Facing 1995’s challenges, the Conservatives stuck with John Major, perhaps already accepting that they’d defied the odds in 1992 and a period out of office was unavoidable.

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This time common sense would suggest that another Prime Minister – their fourth leader since the last general election – would look desperate. But then common sense has been in short supply in the Conservative leadership during this parliament.

If it existed in this parliament, they would have addressed the issues in the NHS which leave GPs in short supply, protected our public services and armed forces, and ensured rivers across the UK were not blighted by raw sewage.

The one sliver of compensation amidst the chaos and speculation in our political institutions is the diversity which has marked political leadership in the past decade. Currently we have a Prime Minister and First Ministers of colour in both Scotland and Wales. Rishi Sunak and Humza Yousaf were both preceded by women, although Nicola Sturgeon spent significantly longer in her job than Liz Truss did.

As the political spotlight moves to the next generation of leaders, whether that’s a new face in the top job or a new party in Downing Street, we must not lose sight of how much progress we have made in that one area. Following the resignation of still, but not for much longer, First Minister Yousaf, we saw the clips of his family in Holyrood as he took his place as Nicola’s successor.

We heard how important it was to him to be the first Scottish Asian First Minister. It was a defining moment in our history. Despite this, we still haven’t cracked equality of representatives, not just here but across the world. Whatever the Conservatives decide to do, we must work hard to maintain that progress and enhance it across the board in our councils, devolved administrations and at Westminster.

Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West