Penny Mordaunt for PM… why not! She can’t win – but she might just prevent a total Tory wipeout

The emergence of Mordaunt as a possible ‘caretaker’ prime minister – one better placed than Rishi Sunak to help the Conservatives survive the general election bloodbath that’s coming – is a symptom of extreme panic gripping the right of the party, says Sean O’Grady. They’ve finally realised they’re all going to lose their jobs

Penny Mordaunt, carrying the Sword of State in procession through Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles (PA)

Are we about to get our fourth prime minister in four years? It does feel a bit absurd, doesn’t it?

Even for those of us who stick to the constitutional convention that, at our general elections, we vote for a parliament and not a presidential prime minister, ditching Boris Johnson, then Liz Truss, then Rishi Sunak and installing Penny Mordaunt in No 10 without consulting the British people feels a step too far.

Of course, what they really want is a general election and to give the Tories, whoever their leader is, a jolly good spanking, which some of them might enjoy.