A defeated Rishi Sunak should go, but my advice is: not too quickly | Martin Kettle

If Rishi Sunak leads the Tories to defeat this autumn, as most of his MPs now suspect will happen, he should not then resign immediately.

Then, around Christmas, he would disappear into the rest of his life, perhaps resigning as an MP and triggering an early byelection in North Yorkshire.

Yet there remains a creeping default assumption in our political culture, fed by an impatient media, that a defeated party leader ought to go immediately.

The leadership election process was rethought, though not as radically as Howard wanted, and the shadow cabinet was reshaped.

The mood, priorities and sense of political discipline will feel very different with, say, 280 surviving Tory MPs than if there are only 180, or even a smaller number still.

For Sunak to quit while the general election dust has not settled is simply the worst way of addressing these challenges.