Tory MPs must hold their nerve and stand by the Prime Minister

Don’t panic. That’s the message that Conservative MPs should be telling themselves this weekend. Given that the past few days will probably be remembered for centuries to come as a moment of great realignment, it is no wonder that some have lost their heads. But for the Tories the strategy ought to be simple: back Boris Johnson to the hilt. Yes, his axing of so many rebels was brutal. But what choice did he have? He must stay the course and push his current strategy all the way. There is no distinction now between saving Brexit and saving the Conservative Party, and both involve Mr Johnson winning a general election that must be called as soon as possible.

Jittery Conservatives should remember what the alternative is: under Theresa May and Philip Hammond, the party won just 9 per cent in the Euro elections. Mr Johnson inherited a desperate situation and is playing a weak hand far better than anybody could have possibly imagined. He has shot up in the polls and it is clear that there is much more support for a Johnson premiership, even if that means a no-deal Brexit, than there is for Jeremy Corbyn in No 10.

By voting to take control of the order paper in Parliament last week, ex-Tory rebels helped Remainers take the Government hostage, a constitutional aberration. By voting to instruct the Government to seek a delay, they seized control of foreign relations, which the executive is meant to run. How could Remainer Tories who have crippled their own Government and mangled the constitution run again on a coherent Conservative label? They are the ones who are eroding the trust and reputation in Parliament, not the Prime Minister. What is the public meant to think when it reads that rebel MPs were privately assured by EU leaders that a request for an extension would be granted? In America, conducting private diplomacy like this might be considered illegal.

Out there in the real world, millions feel that they voted for Brexit, that their MPs are conspiring to stop it, and that their only hope is a PM who won’t give in. If Conservative MPs do not back Mr Johnson in this epoch-defining moment, the electoral chances for them and their party will be “dead in a ditch”. The centre-Right, pro-Brexit electorate will never forgive them.