Conservative leadership contest: Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, whoever wins must restore government's focus on great problems facing the UK – Scotsman comment

The fact that the Bournemouth East MP was in Moldova, one of the countries menaced by Vladimir Putin, to meet its president does not seem to have been considered a good enough excuse.

But then, in 2019, Ellwood backed Rory Stewart to be Conservative leader and Stewart, of course, was one of 21 Tory MPs purged from the party by the winner of that contest, Johnson who, despite his own track record of rebellion against the party’s leadership, moved quickly to deselect those he disagreed with on Brexit.

One of Johnson’s numerous flaws was that he chose members of his Cabinet based, to a significant degree, on their loyalty to him and their Brexiteer credentials, rather than any ability to do the job. Michael Gove, sacked by the outgoing Johnson and rudely described as a “snake” by one Downing Street source, was one of the few exceptions.

Ellwood told Sky News that he regretted losing the whip, describing recent weeks as a “sad chapter” in his party’s history in which it had “lost our way”.

“We need to perhaps exhibit greater decorum, dial the temperature down a bit, showcase the ideas, the vision, focus on those things that are important, that the nation wants to see,” he added.

For these words alone, Ellwood deserves to be back not just in the Tory party but in government. The climate emergency, the Ukraine War, and the cost-of-living crisis all pose extremely dangerous threats that require government ministers whose focus is policy – identifying and then solving problems in a reasoned and compassionate way – rather than settling petty scores, spouting empty populist rhetoric and making cheap jibes at the Opposition.

We need a serious government for serious times. And if we still do not get it after Johnson’s overdue departure, then the Conservatives will have given up the right to govern and should probably prepare, in Ellwood’s words, for “a long spell in opposition”.