2016 Conservative Leadership Election

[JJ1532]

Well, today it has been announced that a leadership race to become the next leader of the Conservatives and new Prime Minister will be happening a lot sooner than people thought. The Conservative Party Committee decided that potential candidates for the leadership have from this Wednesday evening till Thursday at midday to announce their intention to stand. There will then be rounds of voting and they hope to appoint a leader by September 2nd.

This has massive implications for the future of not just politics but the future of the country. Does Boris Johnson get in like everyone is predicting he will? I'm very concerned by this announcement as it seems like the 1922 committee is doing this to give him the best chance at winning. Of the 18 members on the committee, 16 of them supported the leave campaign, including chairman Graham Brady, vice chairs Cheryl Gillan and Charles Walker, both secretaries(Bob Blackman and Nigel Evans), treasurer Stewart Jackson and and 13 of the 15 executive members. I'm very concerned that they are doing their upmost to get him into power.

Now, the leave side won, fair enough, I can live with that. But for this to work, we need someone better than him running the process to remove us from the EU. It cannot be some bumbling clown who I don't think even truly believes in the Leave cause, someone who took the stance he did purely down to his own leadership ambitions. I think if he did get appointed, it would be a disaster for the party.

I know a lot of the politically minded posters on this board are reds, but what are peoples thoughts on this election? Are we destined for Boris, or is someone else going to get the gig?

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

I just can't see Boris being popular enough. Sure, he has his fans, but the circus has to stop at some point.

 

[Pliny Harris]

Given that the average age of a Conservative party member is now 64, it will be pensioners who name our new prime minister, on top of deciding our future in the EU.

Appaz YouGov is polling people for their opinions on a National Government Lab/Con/etc coalition, à la 1931.

 

[Abertawe]

I think we're sleeping on Gideon personally.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Not Boris. Not May. Please.

 

[Pilgrim Meister]

I think it will be an outsider. Borris will be one of the names, but the MP vote he won't achieve

 

[Red]

Hunt is chucking his hat in and offering the possibility of a second referendum.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Looking at these alternatives, perhaps Dave isn't so bad after all!

Gideon has declared himself out of the running.

 

[Pagnell]

What a revolting, self-serving excuse of a man. Clearly willing to fuck over his previously stated beliefs as soon as he realised that voting and campaigning for the opposite of the current Prime Minister could result in him getting the job himself. This country is even more fucked than it is now if that pompous c**t gets in, which is looking likely.

 

[slaphead]

Stephen Crabb the first to throw his hat in the ring then....

 

[JaseTheVillain]

I actually think Crabb is alright from what I've seen of him (excluding his previous views on gay marriage), rather him than May or Boris...

 

[Pagnell]

Shows how much attention I pay to politics (and Tories in particular), until I read his name in this thread I'd never heard of him.

 

[.V.]

http://news.sky.com/story/1719331/goves-wife-raises-johnson-leadership-concerns

 

[Abertawe]

Murdoch runs the Conservative party

 

[TheArtfulDodger]

Nothing we didn't know. Absolutely astounding 'leak' though.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Hope Andrea Leadsom decides to stand.

 

[Veggie Legs]

Hope Andrea Leadsom decides to stand.

It would be a victory for nominative determinism, at least.

 

[slaphead]

Gove to stand now as he doesn't trust Boris apparently, according to Sky News

 

[Pagnell]

So Gove now too. Some quality choices here. Like being asked to choose which debilitating venereal disease you'd sooner have.

 

[Max]

The Parliamentary Conservative Party do not really like Johnson and a lot of them absolutely hate him. He can command some young supporters who hope for future favour (and haven't been burned by his stupid shit in the past) but a lot of people who will have been giving him the nod so far just like the idea of the Tory Party being popular with the general public.

Quite soon, a lot of Johnson's 'shtick' about the EU is going to be laid bare for the lying bullshit that it was, and most MPs know this and are anticipating it.

Unlike the Labour contest, MPs do a series of ballots to whittle down any people standing to a final two, and then the party membership vote for the final two. I would suspect that many Tory MPs hope that by having:

Leadsom
Crabbe
May
Gove
Fox

and then maybe a couple of stalking horse like Hunt or Morgan, they can split the Parliamentary Party up enough to knock Johnson out before it reaches the final two. If he reaches the membership final ballot, he would beat anyone except possibly Theresa May.

 

[Abertawe]

The May campaign is strong, a May win would very much be a continuation of the Cameron government. Says freedom of movement is crucial, that's gonna be where the fight is won or lost imo. She's better than I thought, the Tories could choose worse than her if they want to win elections.

 

[smat]

The May campaign is strong, a May win would very much be a continuation of the Cameron government. Says freedom of movement is crucial, that's gonna be where the fight is won or lost imo. She's better than I thought, the Tories could choose worse than her if they want to win elections.

She says CONTROLLING free movement is crucial. Is that what you were trying to say?

 

[Pagnell]

May is an even worse option than Gove or Johnson. Any champion of the thoroughly vile snoopers charter should never be the leader of a country that holds the concept of freedom as being in any way important.

 

[Abertawe]

She says CONTROLLING free movement is crucial. Is that what you were trying to say?

I interpreted what she said as UK under May would happily bargain on free movement if it meant trade would continue.

 

[smat]

I interpreted what she said as UK under May would happily bargain on free movement if it meant trade would continue.

She said "We must do something on free movement, we must bring some controls in".

Looks like Boris is toast. Many cons are switching their support to Gove. BoJo might even cancel his leadership bid today.

Cheers for everything then.

 

[smat]

There we go, Johnson out of the race.

BoNo.

 

[Max]

I suppose that actually makes sense. He didn't think Leave would win. He thought Remain would win, and he would sweep to victory in a leadership contest when Cameron eventually resigned later (given vast majority of Tory party members favoured coming out), without having to deal with the mess of Brexit.

 

[silkyman]

There we go, Johnson out of the race.

BoNo.

What a fucking coward.

 

[Pagnell]

Should be good news. But strangely I'm no happier than I was before I read it. Gove, Johnson and May are all equally repulsive and the idea of any of them as leader of the country I live in seriously makes me want to puke.

 

[Max]

Should be good news. But strangely I'm no happier than I was before I read it. Gove, Johnson and May are all equally repulsive and the idea of any of them as leader of the country I live in seriously makes me want to puke.

Also, one suspects that Johnson will just run for leader when he thinks the country would be easier to manage.