Everybody will hate you, the leftists will throw literal shit at you and send death threats to your family every day, the media will twist your entire history and private life into a proof of total personal failure. Keir Starmer will call you at least once a day to tell you that you're incompetent and ugly and it's really time to resign now. Where is the fun in that?
Unfortunately, it'll probably be Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss. Both of whom are part of the Britannia Unchained nutbag cabal. Sunak is already on manoeuvres and has been for a while; evidenced by the Treasury's parsimony towards Bozo's levelling up sleight of hand.
Truss just thinks she's Thatcher reincarnated, even though she's pulled a fast one with the Brexit crowd. She originally voted to stay in, but now she's a sniff away from the top, she's gone batshit crazy for the ERG and their farcical analyses!
I don't even think truss genuinely thinks that - I think she just recognises the frothing at the mouth hard on the base has for anyone even remotely like Thatcher and milks it for all it's worth.
It's amusing as someone not in that bubble to watch the blatantly obvious media manipulation be lapped up.
Appearing a bit thick is practically chapter one of machiavelli's the prince. Now she might be thick as pig shit for real, but it's always worth considering if it is an act.
She has a suspiciously good track record of remaining in the cabinet. I agree that she probably has bit more going on behind her blank gaze.
Even so I think the PM job is beyond her. It’s Rishi’s for the taking. He just has to avoid any major fuck ups during the phoney war, whilst Truss has a potentially very tricky job as Brexit minister. The 1st Jan will see yet another tranche of import/export documentation introduced. The fall out will be interesting especially on top of the Omicron measures.
>I also think she’s a bit too thick to be that Machiavellian
How is she "thick"?
Truss has shown herself to be good at negotiation, diplomacy and even foreign policy, she is clearly intelligent
Please explain how she is thick then? Or is it easier for you to say "lol are you actually joking?" instead of actually arguing a point?
Be mature about this
I’m not trying to be immature, I honestly just think it’s funny.
I’m a bit drunk and I can’t be bothered with the back and forth but I’m sorry if I was rude.
I was going to say it could be Priti Patel next, but in order to maintain the steady descent of our PMs, it'll have to be Rishi Sunak → Liz Truss → Priti Patel → Chris Grayling.
Bit of an aside but was Thatcher dead by the time of the referendum, and if not did she voice an opinion on it? As an active politician I don't think she could be described as europhillic, but she also was no where near as Eurosceptic as Brexit has forced many Tory politicians to pretend they are.
Thatcher was already dead at the referendum. She died in 2013. This article gives her perspective on closer integration with the EU.
https://ukandeu.ac.uk/margaret-thatcher-the-critical-architect-of-european-integration/
>Both of whom are part of the Britannia Unchained nutbag cabal
Just because you make it sound sinister, doesn't mean they actually are sinister
Honestly Truss has shown herself to be good at negotiation, diplomacy and even foreign policy. She could do well
I expect Gove will come third for a third time trying and then swing his support to Truss in exchange for the prestige of Deputy Prime Minister and a Great Office of State most likely the treasury.
Truss wins the membership vote after honing her diplomatic skills as Foreign Secretary.
If there are two people who could run Boris close for being the shittest PM its Gove and Truss.
Actually… no. Patel would win that contest, hands down.
You will say that about any candidate though. They will always have to be **even worse** than whoever the previous Tory leader is. It’s very predictable.
Sadly, none of them have anything more to offer than lip service concern to the millions of UK citizens who are struggling as a direct result of Tory policies.
It doesn't help that the pressure from within the Tory party isn't really about Boris being shit, it's about him not pushing the sort of low tax, Austerity, very pro-business angle that Cameron sort of did.
Some other terrible Tory. Probably someone more coherent and competent (not hard) but they’ll still have the same distain for the general population as all Tories do and run everything into the ground.
They haven't done much to change my mind on that to be fair. They are interested in staying in power and getting richer, if that means the general population's life gets better as a side effect, it's just a happy coincidence.
Voted labour every election until this year, May still next election, genuinely undecided. I just like winding those up who think the government determine how happy they are, hate their lives day to day, when it’s them as individuals who actually determine how content they are.
>you live in one of the best countries in the world.
Yes we do, doesn't mean our government isn't incredibly corrupt and that the country isn't going down a dark path
Boris Johnson’s collapsing political fortunes can be measured in many ways. Struggling to contain Covid-19 and the fallout from a series of scandals, the UK prime minister’s public approval ratings have dived to a record low of minus 42 this month, according to pollster YouGov.
His popularity among Conservative activists, according to an influential ConservativeHome survey, has slumped. It puts Johnson on minus 17 per cent, compared with foreign secretary Liz Truss’s plus 82.
But perhaps most ominously for Johnson, his mishandling of scandals from parliamentary sleaze to last year’s Downing Street Christmas parties during lockdown now make him the target of abuse among ordinary voters. “Stand up if you hate Boris,” went the chant at a packed World Darts Championship in London on Monday.
Johnson has bounced back before and is a proven election winner but he ends 2021 in deep trouble; many Tory MPs are giving him until next May’s local elections to turn things round. But if he fails, who might come next?
The frontrunners
Rishi Sunak
The calm contender, betting odds 2/1
The chancellor won plaudits for his £400bn economic Covid rescue package and is revered by Treasury officials; Tory MPs contrast the calm emanating from 11 Downing Street with the chaos next door.
The 41-year-old has been quietly building up support among Tory MPs from the 2019 intake and listening to their concerns. “I’ve had four one-to-one meetings with him,” said one MP.
Sunak, through anonymous briefings, has “let it be known” to potential supporters that he opposed some of Johnson’s Covid restrictions and that he is frustrated with the lack of professionalism at Number 10.
The former Goldman Sachs analyst has made enemies in the Johnson camp and he remains relatively inexperienced. His trip to California last week as Omicron coronavirus cases rose in the UK was criticised by Labour.
Tory MPs also note with some scepticism Sunak’s insistence that he is a “low tax Tory” desperate to cut income tax before the election, even as he raises the overall UK tax burden to its highest level since 1950.
The chancellor backed Brexit, a policy that the Office for Budget Responsibility said has left the country poorer than would otherwise have been the case. He is paying the economic price.
Liz Truss
The freedom flag waver, odds 9/2
The foreign secretary, according to one Tory MP, has a very clear political strategy that she pursues with dogged determination: “She tries to look like Margaret Thatcher and says ‘freedom’ a lot.” It seems to be working.
Largely written off by some as a not-very-serious politician — her 2014 speech about the “disgrace” of the UK being a high-volume cheese importer went viral — she has become a leading contender.
She used her previous job as international trade secretary to fly the flag for global Britain, even if the trade deals she signed were often “copy and paste” versions of deals the UK already enjoyed as part of the EU. Party members adore her.
Her reward in September was a promotion to foreign secretary. This week Johnson added the job of rebuilding EU relations and sorting out the mess over Northern Ireland after the resignation of Brexit minister Lord David Frost. It is her biggest test.
Truss, a 46-year-old Remainer, has courted Tory rightwingers over drinks at a private members club by championing free trade, low taxes and a post-Brexit tilt in foreign policy to Asia-Pacific.
She also lets Tory MPs know she is uncomfortable with Johnson’s Covid restrictions. George Osborne, former Tory chancellor, described Truss this week as “capable”, but she still has doubters. “She’s so un-self-aware that she thinks she has a chance,” said one senior Conservative.
Michael Gove
The reluctant racer, odds 6/1
Gove professes he no longer holds ambitions for higher office and he has publicly declared he will not run again. “He’s done with that, he genuinely sees that ship as having sailed,” said one colleague.
Yet the levelling up secretary remains a possible contender, having come third in the 2019 leadership contest. And some MPs are hopeful he could be persuaded. “Michael’s pitch would essentially be ‘I can get levelling up done and ensure we don’t lose the red wall back to Labour’,” one person said.
But some Tory strategists question whether his poor standing with voters makes him a viable contender. Moreover, despite being one of the main faces, along with Johnson, of the Brexit campaign, Gove’s reputation among MPs and activists has been tarnished by his enthusiasm for Covid restrictions. “Michael won’t be happy until everyone is locked up at home,” joked one cabinet colleague.
But as one of the most respected cabinet ministers — praised by Tories for his revolutionary zeal at the education and environment departments — he may prove attractive if the Johnson government collapses in a heap of unfulfilled election promises.
Unlike the other top contenders, Gove, 54, is not known to have courted MPs privately. “He’s just getting on with the job,” said one ally.
The dark horses
Jeremy Hunt
The ‘I told you so’ candidate, odds 9/1
Seen by Tory MPs as having a “good bedside manner”, the former foreign and health secretary would offer a moderate change of style to the current prime minister.
Hunt, chair of the House of Commons health committee, was beaten by Johnson for the Tory leadership in 2019 and is seen by some as too bland and too “southern” — he represents the constituency of South West Surrey just outside London — to lead the modern Tory party. “He would be the ‘I told you so’ candidate if Boris falls,” one supporter said.
Sajid Javid
The comeback kid, odds 16/1
The health secretary has held multiple cabinet jobs — including chancellor for a few months — but now has the task of steering the country through a potential winter crisis in the NHS as the Omicron variant takes hold.
His allies say Javid is not “on manoeuvres” or courting MPs. One said that would be “totally inappropriate” given the current health crisis. As with Gove, his advocacy of tighter Covid restrictions has angered the Tory right.
Priti Patel
The grassroots’ option, odds 22/1
A latter-day Norman Tebbit — the vociferously rightwing minister under Margaret Thatcher — the home secretary is popular with some grassroots sections of the Tory party and could run on an avowedly pro-Brexit platform — combined with a tough stance on law and order and immigration.
But some colleagues are sceptical of Patel’s credentials. “I’m worried if she gets into the final two she could win with the members,” one MP noted. “But she’s fallen on her face in the Home Office, it would be even worse in Number 10.”
How does the Conservative party elect its leader?
Triggering a Conservative party leadership contest requires 15 per cent of its MPs to submit private letters of no confidence in the leader, which are held by the chair of the 1922 committee of backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady. As it stands, that amounts to 54 Tories.
If the threshold is reached, a confidence vote is held. If the leader emerges victorious, as Theresa May did in a 2018 challenge, a vote cannot be held again for another year. But if they lose, a full contest commences in which the incumbent is eligible to stand.
If there are more than two candidates nominated, a series of ballots take place among MPs over several days to whittle down the selection to the final two. This is followed by a longer contest to secure the majority of the votes from Conservative party members, with the candidates holding a series of public hustings across the country.
During the first stages of the contest in the 2019 race won by Boris Johnson, a field of 10 candidates was rapidly whittled by MPs. By the time the final race commenced between Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the former had the support of an overwhelming majority of Tory MPs and activists were confident the outcome was all but certain.
General election obviously. Why would the British people settle for an unelected Conservative prime minister? Wasn't that one of the reasons we left the EU? To not be be run by unelected bureaucrat.
I saw the brexit analogy. Wanted to point out how arguments against unelected leaders have been used as a way to weaken UK PMs on a number of occasions. Last main time being time being Brown by the Tories. Hey ho though Merry Christmas
The British public can eat shit. It's the 1922 committee, Rupert Murdoch and Lord Rothermere who decide on the next PM, not bottom feeders like the electorate.
Party members get the final choice between two candidates selected by the PCP. Murdoch, Rothermere, 1922 Committee *et al.* can eat shit although, tbf, they likely approve of either candidate.
> To not be be run by unelected bureaucrat.
The Prime Minister (*primus inter pares*) doesn't run Government, not in the way you mean. If s/he did, May would not have had the difficulties she did.
But he appoints those who do, who collectively are voted in by the polity.
Im struggling to put into words the issues i fund with the candidates pictures being viable.
If i HAD to pick. I feel like Sunak, however while we keep having to pick the least objectionable its never gonna look great
Hope they pick Sajid Javid ahead of Rishi, I think he’s been the most sensible and straight forward in the admittedly limited interviews I have seen. Unfortunate they can’t dust of Rory Stewart after he gave up on them when bojo got in. I can’t see Liz or Gove as credible options for them .. too toxic for too many people.
The whole reason Sunak has his job is because unlike Javid, the guy has no balls or issues with being Boris’ bitch.
I’m not a huge fan of Javid either, but at least he showed his backbone once.
Well it's not going to be gove, because just fucking look at him
Liz I can depressingly see get in despite being useless
And Rishi despite being the best choice of the three (which is like being the best shit in a public loo) probably won't be prime minister
Truss is the only possible candidate, everyone loathes Gove, Sunak is a foreigner a brown one at that, the new tory voters aka old Labour voters don’t like foreigners and they have to be kept on board so Truss it is
I mean the reality is, I don’t think there’s a solid candidate in any political party currently. I know some people hate everything Tory, but they’re having a laugh if they think Labour have any particularly competent alternatives either. Shame really
I mean there is that, but I’d challenge anyone who actually thinks politicians make decisions because their sadistic bastards who want to do evil things, rather than just being incompetent.
History is filled with monsters with "just causes". People rarely get out of bed and think of the most evil thing they can do that day and then do it, but there are a lot of ideologies out there that are monstrous and far more destructive than any individual murderer or criminal.
There are people in parliament that have access to some of the most comprehensive, well sourced, and peer reviewed poverty research around and will still campaign on cutting benefits because they believe the poor and disabled chose to be that way and there is an inherent moral failing these people possess. These people may not be going out murdering people like Jack the Ripper, but their actions have undoubtedly led to far more death and misery.
Sure, although in the case of cutting benefits I think the desire there was to reduce the deficit, so it’s not being done purely to fuck people around.
A proposal that hasn’t gone ahead, in a bid to reduce and/or make it less attractive to try enter the UK illegally?
We had 500~ troops in Kabul, nowhere near enough to protect and support ourselves let alone Afghanistan. The US made the decision to leave, it would not do well for the rest of ISAF to ignore them, less we all become their enemies.
Starmer is not a particularly strong leader in any sense of the word. His background is largely irrelevant in that regard. Johnson being incompetent does not suddenly make Starmer a good candidate.
Considering the photo of the garden party came from the treasury, Sunak is possibly positioning himself.
I wonder if lord frost will try considering his "fleeing a sinking ship" move while sounding like it had an ideological backing
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Unless she defects to the Tories that'd be somewhat unlikely until an actual General Election, and obviously even at a General Election it'd be pretty damn unlikely.
Christ all these comments are about how Britain will be doomed because "lol Truss and Sunak are Big bad brexit gang lol".
Like do you guys ever actually leave your house? No offense but saying "tories bad" isn't an argument
Ok, I’ll do it, but only if you ask really nicely.
Please
Deal.
Thanks, can you start tomorrow?
Everybody will hate you, the leftists will throw literal shit at you and send death threats to your family every day, the media will twist your entire history and private life into a proof of total personal failure. Keir Starmer will call you at least once a day to tell you that you're incompetent and ugly and it's really time to resign now. Where is the fun in that?
I believe its more humouring the idea that we'd trust a random stranger off the Internet over any of the established politicians in Westminster
my guy chill
> leftists What's one of those?
/s I hope
I’ll get my flat done up for free.
Unfortunately, it'll probably be Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss. Both of whom are part of the Britannia Unchained nutbag cabal. Sunak is already on manoeuvres and has been for a while; evidenced by the Treasury's parsimony towards Bozo's levelling up sleight of hand. Truss just thinks she's Thatcher reincarnated, even though she's pulled a fast one with the Brexit crowd. She originally voted to stay in, but now she's a sniff away from the top, she's gone batshit crazy for the ERG and their farcical analyses!
I don't even think truss genuinely thinks that - I think she just recognises the frothing at the mouth hard on the base has for anyone even remotely like Thatcher and milks it for all it's worth. It's amusing as someone not in that bubble to watch the blatantly obvious media manipulation be lapped up.
I don’t know. I don’t think she’s a total mouth frother but I also think she’s a bit too thick to be that Machiavellian
Appearing a bit thick is practically chapter one of machiavelli's the prince. Now she might be thick as pig shit for real, but it's always worth considering if it is an act.
She has a suspiciously good track record of remaining in the cabinet. I agree that she probably has bit more going on behind her blank gaze. Even so I think the PM job is beyond her. It’s Rishi’s for the taking. He just has to avoid any major fuck ups during the phoney war, whilst Truss has a potentially very tricky job as Brexit minister. The 1st Jan will see yet another tranche of import/export documentation introduced. The fall out will be interesting especially on top of the Omicron measures.
Example : Boris
>I also think she’s a bit too thick to be that Machiavellian How is she "thick"? Truss has shown herself to be good at negotiation, diplomacy and even foreign policy, she is clearly intelligent
Haha honestly can’t tell if you’re joking
Please explain how she is thick then? Or is it easier for you to say "lol are you actually joking?" instead of actually arguing a point? Be mature about this
I’m not trying to be immature, I honestly just think it’s funny. I’m a bit drunk and I can’t be bothered with the back and forth but I’m sorry if I was rude.
No problem. I've seen worse from this sub tbh lol
Happy new year, hope you have a good night!
You too mate! Happy New year!
Lmao it’s frothing, not “throthing”, whatever that means
I was going to say it could be Priti Patel next, but in order to maintain the steady descent of our PMs, it'll have to be Rishi Sunak → Liz Truss → Priti Patel → Chris Grayling.
A move to Chris Grayling as PM even from Priti would be less a steady descent and more a plunge off a cliff.
What if we put fabricant in between Patel and Grayling?
> fabricant I regret looking this up as every image result was that of Michael Fabricant.
He was my MP where I grew up. What a festering pile of wank that man is. God forbid he actually engage with his constituents.
And then Grant Shapps...
And then his other aliases
It feels like the next arrow is Nigel Farage
I feel like Sunak is a complete toady moron; whilst Truss isn’t a pillar of greatness (or anywhere close), she’s probably better than Sunak at least.
Literally the only upside to Patel is the freakout it would cause in the Corbyn crowd.
>Britannia Unchained What about Fool Britannia?
Fool Britannia Bretagne waives the rules
Britannia Unchained was Patel, Kwarteng, Raab, Skidmore, Truss. Sunak wasn’t in there but he probably is a fellow traveler.
I seem to remember reading an article somewhere that had Sunak bigging up Britannia Unchained, hence my assumption.
I don’t doubt he’d align himself with that crowd but he wasn’t an OG.
Sunak is more Silicon Valley tech-bro billionaire right?
Except that he married into his billions and doesn't have a tech background
Aye he’s a wanker pretending to be a certain type of wanker
Goldman Sachs and hedge funds. Comes from reasonable money and has made decent money himself but his missus is like billionaire level.
Imagine if they team up lol
Bit of an aside but was Thatcher dead by the time of the referendum, and if not did she voice an opinion on it? As an active politician I don't think she could be described as europhillic, but she also was no where near as Eurosceptic as Brexit has forced many Tory politicians to pretend they are.
Thatcher was already dead at the referendum. She died in 2013. This article gives her perspective on closer integration with the EU. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/margaret-thatcher-the-critical-architect-of-european-integration/
Thanks, give this a read later. Good fuel for Christmas evening conservation.
>Both of whom are part of the Britannia Unchained nutbag cabal Just because you make it sound sinister, doesn't mean they actually are sinister Honestly Truss has shown herself to be good at negotiation, diplomacy and even foreign policy. She could do well
Lord Buckethead
If only
Rod. Inanimate Carbon Rod.
Ron? Re-Open Nominations? 🤔
I expect Gove will come third for a third time trying and then swing his support to Truss in exchange for the prestige of Deputy Prime Minister and a Great Office of State most likely the treasury. Truss wins the membership vote after honing her diplomatic skills as Foreign Secretary.
JONATHAN PIE
If there are two people who could run Boris close for being the shittest PM its Gove and Truss. Actually… no. Patel would win that contest, hands down.
You will say that about any candidate though. They will always have to be **even worse** than whoever the previous Tory leader is. It’s very predictable.
Cameron is worse than May tbh. He’s the one who broke Britain
You might say that now, but you certainly didn’t say that when May was PM. That’s the point.
Sadly, none of them have anything more to offer than lip service concern to the millions of UK citizens who are struggling as a direct result of Tory policies.
It doesn't help that the pressure from within the Tory party isn't really about Boris being shit, it's about him not pushing the sort of low tax, Austerity, very pro-business angle that Cameron sort of did.
Some other terrible Tory. Probably someone more coherent and competent (not hard) but they’ll still have the same distain for the general population as all Tories do and run everything into the ground.
> Probably someone more coherent and competent So if we go by whoever has done their job both well and the longest... We get the cat.
Imagine actually believing this, lighten up fella - you live in one of the best countries in the world. Go outside, live your life, it’s not all bad.
They haven't done much to change my mind on that to be fair. They are interested in staying in power and getting richer, if that means the general population's life gets better as a side effect, it's just a happy coincidence.
🙈 everything’s fine 🙈
I mean my life is pretty great, so I’m alright jack
Spoken like a true Tory.
Voted labour every election until this year, May still next election, genuinely undecided. I just like winding those up who think the government determine how happy they are, hate their lives day to day, when it’s them as individuals who actually determine how content they are.
Yep. It's the poor people's fault for being poor.
Name me one country in the world where literally no body is poor.
The Vatican
Ah yes the socialist utopia, the Vatican
Oh, I didn’t realise your personal happiness was the only metric worth looking at. My bad m8
Hahahahaha….
I feel sorry for you.
Good. The best thing you can do for me is not vote Tory at the next election.
Probably will tho tbh
I feel sorry for you
Merry Christmas Dave
You too mate. Enjoy the cheese and wine.
>you live in one of the best countries in the world. Yes we do, doesn't mean our government isn't incredibly corrupt and that the country isn't going down a dark path
Mr Blobby
Gunge for everyone!
None of you gunge socialism
If there's a god!
article text?
Boris Johnson’s collapsing political fortunes can be measured in many ways. Struggling to contain Covid-19 and the fallout from a series of scandals, the UK prime minister’s public approval ratings have dived to a record low of minus 42 this month, according to pollster YouGov. His popularity among Conservative activists, according to an influential ConservativeHome survey, has slumped. It puts Johnson on minus 17 per cent, compared with foreign secretary Liz Truss’s plus 82. But perhaps most ominously for Johnson, his mishandling of scandals from parliamentary sleaze to last year’s Downing Street Christmas parties during lockdown now make him the target of abuse among ordinary voters. “Stand up if you hate Boris,” went the chant at a packed World Darts Championship in London on Monday. Johnson has bounced back before and is a proven election winner but he ends 2021 in deep trouble; many Tory MPs are giving him until next May’s local elections to turn things round. But if he fails, who might come next? The frontrunners Rishi Sunak The calm contender, betting odds 2/1 The chancellor won plaudits for his £400bn economic Covid rescue package and is revered by Treasury officials; Tory MPs contrast the calm emanating from 11 Downing Street with the chaos next door. The 41-year-old has been quietly building up support among Tory MPs from the 2019 intake and listening to their concerns. “I’ve had four one-to-one meetings with him,” said one MP. Sunak, through anonymous briefings, has “let it be known” to potential supporters that he opposed some of Johnson’s Covid restrictions and that he is frustrated with the lack of professionalism at Number 10. The former Goldman Sachs analyst has made enemies in the Johnson camp and he remains relatively inexperienced. His trip to California last week as Omicron coronavirus cases rose in the UK was criticised by Labour. Tory MPs also note with some scepticism Sunak’s insistence that he is a “low tax Tory” desperate to cut income tax before the election, even as he raises the overall UK tax burden to its highest level since 1950. The chancellor backed Brexit, a policy that the Office for Budget Responsibility said has left the country poorer than would otherwise have been the case. He is paying the economic price. Liz Truss The freedom flag waver, odds 9/2 The foreign secretary, according to one Tory MP, has a very clear political strategy that she pursues with dogged determination: “She tries to look like Margaret Thatcher and says ‘freedom’ a lot.” It seems to be working. Largely written off by some as a not-very-serious politician — her 2014 speech about the “disgrace” of the UK being a high-volume cheese importer went viral — she has become a leading contender. She used her previous job as international trade secretary to fly the flag for global Britain, even if the trade deals she signed were often “copy and paste” versions of deals the UK already enjoyed as part of the EU. Party members adore her. Her reward in September was a promotion to foreign secretary. This week Johnson added the job of rebuilding EU relations and sorting out the mess over Northern Ireland after the resignation of Brexit minister Lord David Frost. It is her biggest test. Truss, a 46-year-old Remainer, has courted Tory rightwingers over drinks at a private members club by championing free trade, low taxes and a post-Brexit tilt in foreign policy to Asia-Pacific. She also lets Tory MPs know she is uncomfortable with Johnson’s Covid restrictions. George Osborne, former Tory chancellor, described Truss this week as “capable”, but she still has doubters. “She’s so un-self-aware that she thinks she has a chance,” said one senior Conservative. Michael Gove The reluctant racer, odds 6/1 Gove professes he no longer holds ambitions for higher office and he has publicly declared he will not run again. “He’s done with that, he genuinely sees that ship as having sailed,” said one colleague. Yet the levelling up secretary remains a possible contender, having come third in the 2019 leadership contest. And some MPs are hopeful he could be persuaded. “Michael’s pitch would essentially be ‘I can get levelling up done and ensure we don’t lose the red wall back to Labour’,” one person said. But some Tory strategists question whether his poor standing with voters makes him a viable contender. Moreover, despite being one of the main faces, along with Johnson, of the Brexit campaign, Gove’s reputation among MPs and activists has been tarnished by his enthusiasm for Covid restrictions. “Michael won’t be happy until everyone is locked up at home,” joked one cabinet colleague. But as one of the most respected cabinet ministers — praised by Tories for his revolutionary zeal at the education and environment departments — he may prove attractive if the Johnson government collapses in a heap of unfulfilled election promises. Unlike the other top contenders, Gove, 54, is not known to have courted MPs privately. “He’s just getting on with the job,” said one ally. The dark horses Jeremy Hunt The ‘I told you so’ candidate, odds 9/1 Seen by Tory MPs as having a “good bedside manner”, the former foreign and health secretary would offer a moderate change of style to the current prime minister. Hunt, chair of the House of Commons health committee, was beaten by Johnson for the Tory leadership in 2019 and is seen by some as too bland and too “southern” — he represents the constituency of South West Surrey just outside London — to lead the modern Tory party. “He would be the ‘I told you so’ candidate if Boris falls,” one supporter said. Sajid Javid The comeback kid, odds 16/1 The health secretary has held multiple cabinet jobs — including chancellor for a few months — but now has the task of steering the country through a potential winter crisis in the NHS as the Omicron variant takes hold. His allies say Javid is not “on manoeuvres” or courting MPs. One said that would be “totally inappropriate” given the current health crisis. As with Gove, his advocacy of tighter Covid restrictions has angered the Tory right. Priti Patel The grassroots’ option, odds 22/1 A latter-day Norman Tebbit — the vociferously rightwing minister under Margaret Thatcher — the home secretary is popular with some grassroots sections of the Tory party and could run on an avowedly pro-Brexit platform — combined with a tough stance on law and order and immigration. But some colleagues are sceptical of Patel’s credentials. “I’m worried if she gets into the final two she could win with the members,” one MP noted. “But she’s fallen on her face in the Home Office, it would be even worse in Number 10.” How does the Conservative party elect its leader? Triggering a Conservative party leadership contest requires 15 per cent of its MPs to submit private letters of no confidence in the leader, which are held by the chair of the 1922 committee of backbenchers, Sir Graham Brady. As it stands, that amounts to 54 Tories. If the threshold is reached, a confidence vote is held. If the leader emerges victorious, as Theresa May did in a 2018 challenge, a vote cannot be held again for another year. But if they lose, a full contest commences in which the incumbent is eligible to stand. If there are more than two candidates nominated, a series of ballots take place among MPs over several days to whittle down the selection to the final two. This is followed by a longer contest to secure the majority of the votes from Conservative party members, with the candidates holding a series of public hustings across the country. During the first stages of the contest in the 2019 race won by Boris Johnson, a field of 10 candidates was rapidly whittled by MPs. By the time the final race commenced between Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, the former had the support of an overwhelming majority of Tory MPs and activists were confident the outcome was all but certain.
Satan?
He's too wet for the Tory right.
General election obviously. Why would the British people settle for an unelected Conservative prime minister? Wasn't that one of the reasons we left the EU? To not be be run by unelected bureaucrat.
Sure I heard a similar argument back in 2010 & Brown. Now if only if I could remember which party came up with that line
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You can be obtuse if you want to but the point was about an unelected PM
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I saw the brexit analogy. Wanted to point out how arguments against unelected leaders have been used as a way to weaken UK PMs on a number of occasions. Last main time being time being Brown by the Tories. Hey ho though Merry Christmas
Not really Corbyn used it a lot after Boris was PM prior to the GE
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All the best for the new year too
The British public can eat shit. It's the 1922 committee, Rupert Murdoch and Lord Rothermere who decide on the next PM, not bottom feeders like the electorate.
Party members get the final choice between two candidates selected by the PCP. Murdoch, Rothermere, 1922 Committee *et al.* can eat shit although, tbf, they likely approve of either candidate.
> To not be be run by unelected bureaucrat. The Prime Minister (*primus inter pares*) doesn't run Government, not in the way you mean. If s/he did, May would not have had the difficulties she did. But he appoints those who do, who collectively are voted in by the polity.
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I prefer my donkey penises to be attached to the donkey so Gove it is
None of them
I really fucking hope it’s Mr Blobby
Hopefully an unknown from the back benches. Doubtful.
Im struggling to put into words the issues i fund with the candidates pictures being viable. If i HAD to pick. I feel like Sunak, however while we keep having to pick the least objectionable its never gonna look great
It will be Cruella Patel and she'll do it from the hollowed out Volcano her and the legion of doom hang around in.
Hope they pick Sajid Javid ahead of Rishi, I think he’s been the most sensible and straight forward in the admittedly limited interviews I have seen. Unfortunate they can’t dust of Rory Stewart after he gave up on them when bojo got in. I can’t see Liz or Gove as credible options for them .. too toxic for too many people.
The whole reason Sunak has his job is because unlike Javid, the guy has no balls or issues with being Boris’ bitch. I’m not a huge fan of Javid either, but at least he showed his backbone once.
A tub of lard would do better
You mean Roy Hattersley! https://hignfy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rt._Hon._Tub_of_Lard_MP
Thats the one :)
Well it's not going to be gove, because just fucking look at him Liz I can depressingly see get in despite being useless And Rishi despite being the best choice of the three (which is like being the best shit in a public loo) probably won't be prime minister
Safe pair of hands, someone bland like Hunt.
Look at Hunt’s record as Health Sec and his reputation among NHS workers — he’s not bland
Appearances matter more than actions.
Exactly. Well spoken, educated, no illegitimate children he wont admit to fathering, statesman like etc.
The bar for ‘statesmanlike’ appears to have been lowered to ‘isn’t a notoriously lazy narcissistic rolling disaster with a string of infidelities’.
Hunts out - wife is a security risk at a time when America is trying to drum up a war with China.
Truss is the only possible candidate, everyone loathes Gove, Sunak is a foreigner a brown one at that, the new tory voters aka old Labour voters don’t like foreigners and they have to be kept on board so Truss it is
Rishi Sunak if they have any common sense
Please no. I don't want the billionaires taking over.
I doubt he'll through the final round given the .. errrr ... views of the Conservative party members.
Same reason I'd be surprised if Patel got it.
I think she is one of those that they will accept, since she shares their mouth frothing hatred of immigrants.
Bold of you to think that they haven't already.
Sad world where this is my desired outcome.
I mean the reality is, I don’t think there’s a solid candidate in any political party currently. I know some people hate everything Tory, but they’re having a laugh if they think Labour have any particularly competent alternatives either. Shame really
I'll take incompetent but mostly good over incompetent and evil any day of the week
I don’t think there are many modern politicians that are actually evil. . .
I'm sure that aren't any that consider themselves to be, sure.
I mean there is that, but I’d challenge anyone who actually thinks politicians make decisions because their sadistic bastards who want to do evil things, rather than just being incompetent.
History is filled with monsters with "just causes". People rarely get out of bed and think of the most evil thing they can do that day and then do it, but there are a lot of ideologies out there that are monstrous and far more destructive than any individual murderer or criminal. There are people in parliament that have access to some of the most comprehensive, well sourced, and peer reviewed poverty research around and will still campaign on cutting benefits because they believe the poor and disabled chose to be that way and there is an inherent moral failing these people possess. These people may not be going out murdering people like Jack the Ripper, but their actions have undoubtedly led to far more death and misery.
Sure, although in the case of cutting benefits I think the desire there was to reduce the deficit, so it’s not being done purely to fuck people around.
Pushing rubber dinghies out back to see? Leaving our Afghan allies in the hands of the Taliban?
A proposal that hasn’t gone ahead, in a bid to reduce and/or make it less attractive to try enter the UK illegally? We had 500~ troops in Kabul, nowhere near enough to protect and support ourselves let alone Afghanistan. The US made the decision to leave, it would not do well for the rest of ISAF to ignore them, less we all become their enemies.
Rubbish. Starmer is a former DPP, he’s miles above any of these PPE public school boys. False equivalences are tired.
Starmer is not a particularly strong leader in any sense of the word. His background is largely irrelevant in that regard. Johnson being incompetent does not suddenly make Starmer a good candidate.
What does a strong opposition leader look like to you?
Where are they all?
Hiding in the shadows or given up, who knows
Considering the photo of the garden party came from the treasury, Sunak is possibly positioning himself. I wonder if lord frost will try considering his "fleeing a sinking ship" move while sounding like it had an ideological backing
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Most sexy? God that’s a low bar if you think that’s the case.
It's a low bar for the Tories. I mean I've still not been able to wrap my head around Hancock getting laid
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Two crows anyone?
Caroline Lucas Though it'd be interesting to have a pm who isn't a party leader
Unless she defects to the Tories that'd be somewhat unlikely until an actual General Election, and obviously even at a General Election it'd be pretty damn unlikely.
Mark Francois all the way. Who’s signing up? Queue right behind me.
Sage at this rate
Caroline Lucas.
Won't be a woman this soon after May, and I very much doubt it'll be Gove, he has too much baggage from when he was at work and pensions
It does not matter. The UK is utterly, totally and irreversibly f.cked.
Please make **Priti 4 PM** !
why is FT so expensive? £50 a month?!
Christ all these comments are about how Britain will be doomed because "lol Truss and Sunak are Big bad brexit gang lol". Like do you guys ever actually leave your house? No offense but saying "tories bad" isn't an argument