The Conservatives need to stop acting like gluttonous children after Liz Truss mess

I once allowed my son to choose what we had for dinner. I had thought of myself as a new-age dad who would liberate our family from the house hierarchies of old.

Three helpings of ice cream later, we both sat unable to move while sugar rushed through our veins. I looked at him. He looked at me. We both realised this was a mistake.

I asked him what he wanted for dinner the next day. His answer? More ice cream. While being proud at his determination and resilience, as a sometimes sensible adult I turned down this mad menu selection and turned back to more suitable and healthy sustenance. Our moment of food freedom had passed with the brain freeze.

Which brings me to the question on many people's lips right now: Why are we allowing the same people who selected Liz Truss to be Prime Minister to choose who takes the hot seat next?

Truss was the knickerbockerglory selection in the last round of voting. We had all been warned her policies were pie-in-the-sky, that they would tank the economy, that mortgage payments would rocket and the banks would lose confidence. But the promise of lower taxes, more money in pockets (especially for those already with bulging wallets) and a vision of huge economic growth was the sugar that hooked so many Conservative MPs and voters.

Today they looked at each other and finally all agreed while wiping the mess from the table, this had been a big mistake. A dog’s dinner rather than a delight. It seems illogical to turn back to them and say 'try again'. What if their failure is repeated? What happens to the economy, the public's trust in politics and our standing as a (reasonably) sensible country?

Maybe a General Election is a distraction at a time when we're all looking for stability. Maybe the next Conservative will be an adult who avoids parties and performing live economic experiments on an entire population. Maybe a Labour Government won't be any better, although the majority of people seem to think that is highly unlikely.

As my son said as I took the spoon out of his hand, 'yeah, maybe you know best'. It's time to let the adults decide.