NORTH Wiltshire MP James Gray says he will be looking for a Prime Minister who can re-unite the Conservative Party.

It comes after Liz Truss announced she would be stepping down - making her the shortest-serving Prime Minister ever. 

Writing to his constituents, Mr Gray said he was deeply sorry on a personal level for Liz Truss, who "no doubt she set off with all the right intentions, but for a whole variety of reasons was simply unable to deliver".

Mr Gray wrote: "It is only right to acknowledge that the last few months in Government have been shambolic. The demise of Boris (only four points behind Labour in the polls- we look back nostalgically), Liz Truss’s election (I was never a supporter) and now demise; the mini-Budget which may or may not have been the best thing for the economy, but which was so badly delivered and explained that it crashed and burned within a week or two, the new Chancellor surgically reversing most of its proposals; the turmoil in the Cabinet and in junior ministerial ranks, the briefings, sackings, resignations; the Parliamentary shambles over the Labour motion on fracking; these and more are matters over which, as a Conservative MP, even one not involved in any of them, I can but say 'Sorry'. It’s been an unedifying sight, and really not a very good way to run a country.

"Attention now turns to what we should do about it? It looks as if there will be an immediate election (perhaps a ‘coronation’?) of a new PM. That will be conducted within Parliament, avoiding the unseemly battle we had over the Summer.

"I will be considering each of the candidates who will now emerge very carefully. Here’s a flavour of what I will be looking for."

Mr Gray has also ruled out the possibility of an early general election, and says his party has two years to re-establish the Conservative reputation !by getting a grip and sorting ourselves out".

Among the government's priorities, he says, is balancing the books.

"If that means unpopular tax rises, a tight grip on inflation, and perhaps cuts in Government spending, then like it or not from an ideological perspective, that is what we must do.

"So I will be looking for a PM who can re-unite the Conservative Party, who will support Jeremy Hunt in his efforts to return to sound money; who will achieve the respect and support of the electorate very probably despite taking some very difficult decisions on a whole variety of topics. I will keep you up to date as my thinking develops."