Comment: Sunak's thankless task leading the party of self-destruction

He probably reasoned that after three leaders in less than two months even those MPs who despaired at his coronation would bite their tongues and fall into line.

But Mr Sunak is quickly finding out that silencing his parliamentary party’s warring factions is no easy task. Following hot on the heels of the still ongoing controversy over Suella Braverman’s appointment as Home Secretary, the PM now has two former chief whips at loggerheads in a bullying row.

Aldridge-Brownhills MP Wendy Morton and South Staffordshire MP Sir Gavin Williamson share a constituency border, but it is the text messages they have been sending each other that are dominating the headlines.

In short, Sir Gavin appears to have been rather miffed at not getting an invite to the Queen’s funeral, and allowed his anger to spill over in a series of rather feisty texts to Mrs Morton, who he appeared to blame for him missing the cut.

Mrs Morton, who came in for fierce criticism for her efforts at playing government enforcer during the truncated Liz Truss premiership, has submitted them as evidence in a formal complaint to Conservative Party headquarters (CCHQ). The messages have also found their way into the press, opening up another opportunity for Sir Gavin’s many enemies to call for his removal from office.

Behind all of this, we have two senior MPs who don’t see eye to eye.

On her appointment as Chief Whip, Mrs Morton made it clear to Mr Williamson that her whipping operation would run very differently from his.

He may well have taken umbrage at this, while it is entirely possible he saw the non-invite to Her Majesty’s funeral as a personal snub.

Certainly, it leaves Mr Sunak facing a real conundrum.

After appointing Ms Braverman, questions were asked of his judgement, and the sacrifices he has been willing to make in order to sneak into Number 10. He has since steadfastly refused to countenance her sacking, despite the existence of plenty of evidence suggesting she is not up to the job.

It seems likely that Mr Sunak will take the same approach with Sir Gavin, with Number 10 saying he has the PM’s “full confidence” – despite the emergence of another bullying allegation from an unnamed MP dating back six years.

For his part, Sir Gavin has responded to the allegations of bullying and intimidation by saying he regrets showing his frustration in the texts. He has also held out an olive branch to Mrs Morton, saying he hoped they could work “positively” together in the future.

It may well be that Sir Gavin’s immediate future at the top table depends largely on the findings of the CCHQ investigation. But while that is going on, it is worth considering one undeniable fact: politics is, and always has been, a dirty business. To believe that MPs always treat each other with civility away from the glare of the cameras would be naive.

It was also perhaps naive of Mr Sunak to believe he could unite a parliamentary group that seems hell-bent on self-destruction.