Leader comment: New PM must serve in national interest

By the end of this week, or possibly even the end of today, we will know who the next prime minister is going to be.

We will have the third prime minister of the year within days

The third prime minister of the year will enter Downing Street just days before the medium-term fiscal plan is due to be delivered to the House of Commons.

The impact of that statement should be to calm the markets and stabilise the economy. As it stands we cannot even be confident who will be delivering it.

As the Scotsman has previously said what is desperately needed for the public, markets, and politics in general is stabi lity and an experienced hand on the tiller.

Much like, we suspect much of the country, we would like to see a general election to put this whole sorry affair in the past, but short of that there must be responsible leadership and immediate support targeted at those who need it most.

A Conservative party battered, bruised and humiliated by the experience of the last month also needs to take a long hard look at why we are where we are.

At a time of extreme crisis across the country, the party embarked on a needlessly drawn out leadership election, voting in which began, perhaps crucially, before the various hustings were held.

We endured months of inaction from the former Johnson government when families across the country were crying out for help and the markets demanded the certainty of knowing someone was in charge and knew what they were doing.

And then Truss arrived and, well, it all went wrong from there.

Contrast the summer of bickering with this latest hastily organised leadership contest. A result due within a week. It does beg the question, what was the point?

Neither version of the Tory raffle will deliver a prime minister voted for by the country, or indeed one who will be able to unite a fractious party.

Without a mandate from the people, they will never command authority. A general election is an absolute necessity. Until then our latest prime minister has a responsibility to the country – not to whichever faction of the Tory party happens to support them – to deliver stable leadership and make decisions in the national interest.