The Conservative Party has just begun the process of selecting its tenth leader since November 1990, when John Major succeeded the defenestrated Margaret Thatcher.

He held on as prime minister in the 1992 general election, although the government’s majority was slashed from 101 to 21; and Major was then serially undermined by a cabal he described as the ‘loons’ before crashing and burning to Tony Blair in 1997.

The run of leaders and results since then says a great deal about the party.

William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard came and went.

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David Cameron did, at least, reverse the losing trend in 2010 (although he didn’t win an overall majority and cut a deal with the Lib Dems).

He surprised the pollsters and pundits in 2015 when he managed to win an overall majority, albeit of just 10; but it was a win earned at the expense of buying off the challenge from Nigel Farage’s Ukip by promising a referendum on EU membership.

The loss of that........

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