Sue Gray’s report might be the end of Boris – but this is what our PM must do to fix Brexit Britain… whoever they are

THE future of Boris Johnson’s Government needs to be settled in the next few days.

We have seen too much chaos, instability and distraction recently. Now we have a police investigation in the mix too. 

Matters need to be brought to a head. 

Sue Gray’s report must be published and judgments must be made.

Her report may provide evidence to condemn the Prime Minister. 

Or it may turn out, as so often before, that his critics have allowed their dislike of Brexit, or of Boris Johnson personally, to blind them to the facts.

For my part, I think the Prime Minister of this country should have the right to be believed — unless there is clear contrary evidence. 

That is why the Gray report is so important. 

MPs will have to draw their own conclusions from it. 

They must do so seriously, knowing what is at stake.

If they conclude the PM has misled Parliament, then I am afraid there will be no way back. 

Our system depends on ministers telling the truth to Parliament. 

The same will be true if there seem to have been deliberate breaches of the law.

But things could be less clear-cut. 

No 10 is often chaotic — and never more so than in those early weeks of the pandemic. 

Even in normal times, unplanned meetings happen. Not everyone reads every email, not everyone remembers every conversation. 

So, if the PM can convince everyone that what happened was poor judgment, not deliberate intent — and crucially, if he is open about anything else that may yet emerge — he may yet be able to reset the Government and move forward. 

Whoever is in charge, that fresh start is very much needed. 

Some say: “If Boris goes, Brexit goes.” I strongly disagree. We are not going back into the EU. But it is true that some still want us to run the country just as if we were a member of the EU. 

Whatever the future holds, we must resist that. If we go down that road, we will not get the benefits of doing things differently and Brexit will fail. 

Brexit was about change. It was about putting an end to those old ways of doing things which had failed to deliver for so many in this country. 

We need to get back on that track. We need to get back in line with what our voters want. 

Our voters believe in this country. 

They like what it stands for in the world. They are proud of our history.

They are happy to debate it but they don’t want to see it trashed. They don’t understand the obsession with identity politics and are increasingly fearful they cannot say what they think without falling foul of some enforcer who will destroy their lives. 

They don’t necessarily want big government — but they do want a government that is effective and can do what it says on the tin. 

That’s why they don’t understand why we still can’t control who comes into the country or why so many of those who shouldn’t be here still are. 

They also know that wealth is created by businesses and individuals, not by the Government. The pandemic showed how flexible private business could be in the most challenging circumstances — in contrast to so much of the public sector.

 We need to encourage that spirit, by lowering not raising taxes, cancelling the National Insurance rise planned for April, getting rid of unnecessary regulations, encouraging business investment — especially in parts of the country that haven’t had much — and not making everyday costs, including energy and motoring, ever more expensive. 

There is not much more than two years until the next election. 

So whoever is Prime Minister needs a clear plan for reform, a capable team and ruthless focus if people are going to feel the difference. 

On the side of freedom

I want us to be on the side of people who want to control their own lives; people who want to build a business, to save, to learn, to support their families, to hand things on to their children.

 In a high-tax, high-regulation, high-control society — which we risk becoming — only the rich, or those with special connections to the Government, get to do that. I believe everyone should.

So let’s be on the side of freedom. 

Here’s my rule of thumb for the future: If we are banning things, if we are telling people what to do, if we are making things more expensive or people’s lives more complicated, then we are getting it wrong.

In the referendum people voted for Britain to take back control. 

Now we need to hand on that control to the British people. That is the way forward — that is how we will succeed.