Who should be the next leader of the Tory party?

[Gabriel]

Getting back on to the point of the thread, yes the poll I created was slightly tongue in cheek, but interestingly it has shown that Defence fella is the leading light for the Tories on here, whilst those on the left obviously prefer Larry the cat to any Tory, but what is without doubt in mind is that the next Tory leader will have to fully in support of Brexit for them to succeed with the Tory membership.

Would have preferred if you had made it ‘who do you think will be’ as opposed to ‘should’.

Wallace was a remainer as was Truss, and he has a kind of IDS feel about him, similar backgrounds, so the Conservatives do have a history of picking such. You’re right, though, that there is no candidate with both a vision and a practical plan, albeit Larry has been infuriatingly tight-lipped.…

I’m often more intrigued by who chooses not to run in leadership contests. Raab has already ruled himself out and I’ll be fascinated to see if Sunak actually runs, maybe he won’t. Both might be playing the long game and think that now is definitely not the right time.

By the time the membership get their say, the MPs will have whittled it down to two candidates that will be much of a muchness.

 

[halfmist]

I know what your point was. Your comparison was still ridiculous.
The combined population of the Scandinavian countries is well over 20 million people compared to a population of less than 40 thousand in Monaco.

20 million on a worldwide population of over 6 billion is equally ridiculous.

 

[west didsblue]

20 million on a worldwide population of over 6 billion is equally ridiculous.

It really isn't.
You're just making yourself look even more daft than usual.
I'll leave you to work out why.

 

[unicorn]

Could get him in for the Tamworth by-election, assuming there is one.

I know Rory's been in some dangerous places, but I suspect even he would draw the line at Tamworth.

 

[johnnytapia]

Always have been always will be.
Some will always succeed in life others won’t.
It’s in our DNA we were not built as robots
Some are happy to take risks others to be lead, that’s Society.
No matter how much certain people have a problem with that it isn’t going to change.

If succeeding in society were simply about risk-taking and hard graft, outcomes would be considerably fairer. They’re not. The Chumocracy endemic in the UK has never been stronger and never felt so self-entitled. Johnson, Gove, Cameron, Sunak et al. All cut from the same greased pole cloth. Level up? Fuck off.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Sunak has imo shown himself to be inept as a chancellor since covid came to an end. He has little to no understanding of the extreme hardships that everyday people and small medium businesses are currently going through. He put forward tax policies that largely favoured big buiness but hammered small busineses, these came into force this spring, he assumed the economic climate would be significantly better than it currently is, but when it turned out to not be the case, he has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to make even small changes. He is reactive at best and certainly not proactive. I expect better, much better. I guess this is what happens when you have a billionaire chancellor who doesn't live in the real world.

 

[halfmist]

If succeeding in society were simply about risk-taking and hard graft, outcomes would be considerably fairer. They’re not. The Chumocracy endemic in the UK has never been stronger and never felt so self-entitled. Johnson, Gove, Cameron, Sunak et al. All cut from the same greased pole cloth. Level up? Fuck off.

I am afraid the formula works for most.
For those who want to just sit around and wait for the world to change to how they think it should work, have not had any luck to date and that lucks not going to change who ever is in power.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Conservatism is in crisis mate, it has no ideology. Back in the day I always understood where they were coming from, I didn't agree, but you knew they would be competent and govern in the interests of the nation rather than for their own people. Now the Tories have Libertarians, Evangelists, Thatcherites, One Nationers and they have always been split by the EU. Now I struggle to see what they believe in beyond cutting taxes and this spurious notion of levelling up. It is a party ruled by slogans and soundbites, probably Tony Blairs greatest achievement.

You're right. Whatever peoples' thoughts on Thatcher, she had a strong belief that things needed to change, how they needed to change and had the force of character to make those changes happen. She also demanded integrity and competence in her ministers. She believed in the UK but saw the benefits of a European trading bloc. She was also a good communicator, if somewhat too strident at times.

I'm sure there are politicians in the House of Commons, in all parties, who are in it for the right reasons but, sadly, these aren't the ones who make it to the top of the tree.

 

[Aba452]

You may have noticed the price at the lower end of wine is increasing and will continue to do so. Sparkling wine including champagne has had its duty cut.

We're all in this together, unless you're poor or haven't got multiple leg ups from the old boy network.

 

[inbetween]

In times like these with what's happening in Ukraine I think there is a tendency to move towards military circles so my money is on Ben Wallace.

The dark horse is Penny Mordaunt. I don't know if she's well connected enough to gather support but she comes across quite well and she's not of the Etonian ilk that has plagued the last decade.