Are the Tories in any state to choose a leader?

Are the Conservatives in a fit state to choose a new leader? The party that gathers in Birmingham next week needs to face a difficult fact: no matter how bad things are, they may become a lot worse. The party has lost, but not learned. They preach liberty while preparing to vote for a smoking ban. They are wedded to a net-zero agenda that forces up the cost of living.

The difficulty is that all four candidates for the leadership are deeply compromised by the biggest mistakes of the past few years. On the issue of lockdown – perhaps the most damaging policy ever inflicted on this country by its government – none of them can say they did what they could to mitigate its damage. They ducked for cover instead.

Today, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat all say they want low taxes.