THE Conservative Party is in a sorry, sorry state, and the only way that it will begin to repair its fortunes is by holding a vote of confidence in its leader, Iain Duncan Smith.

The internal dissent within the party has now reached such a volume that Mr Duncan Smith will never be heard again if he doesn't put himself up for election. He must, as his predecessor John Major once did, demand of his critics that they "put up or shut up".

Only by winning such a contest will Mr Duncan Smith be able to stamp his authority on the party and silence his critics.

It is nearly a year since Mr Duncan Smith issued his last ultimatum - the "unite or die" one last November. As the party has spectacularly failed to unite since then, Mr Duncan Smith's inaction must surely lead the party closer to death. He must take decisive action now, this morning.

Talking tough, as he was again yesterday, is admirable in some situations but such is the depth of Conservative despair that it is now meaningless noise. Talking tough is, in fact, simply prolonging the draining, demoralising agony.

Mr Duncan Smith's critics may not manage to muster the 25 names needed to force an election - many MPs will know that those who assassinated Margaret Thatcher 13 years ago are still haunted by their betrayal. But that will not mean that the current crisis will be solved.

It will simply go into the background, nagging away like an untreated rotten tooth, flaring up every now and then, drowning out Mr Duncan Smith's policies and reducing his stature as a politician that the people can trust - after all, if he cannot lead a fairly small political party without getting embroiled in long-running disputes, what hope has he of leading the whole country as Prime Minister?

So come on, Mr Duncan Smith, be brave. Are you not a Guardsman who can take blows to the chin? Screw your courage to the sticking point, and hold a vote of confidence. Let's lance this boil, lay this matter to rest, for the rest of the country is heartily sick of news bulletins of further Tory trauma.

It is nearly as tiresome as the Diana saga.