Boris Johnson has been more categorical than Dominic Raab so far, and is the frontrunner. If Boris does backslide, it really will be the end of the Tory Party. They're currently polling 20% - if the great Eurosceptic hope Boris turns out to be a liar, they'll sink faster than the Titanic and so will his premiership. It would only take a handful of the ERG to go on 'strike' and the government wouldn't be able to pass any legislation. Then they would face Farage and a Brexit Party on steroids. Much of my family and social circle voted Tory in 2017 - continued support is now hanging by a thread.
As for Rory Stewart being able to take us out, erm what? The man sits on BBC Question Time telling us "love" is the answer to this impasse. His speeches sound like extracts lifted from a Miss World speech, that's why he appeals to Remainer Liberal Democrats on the Twittersphere. This surrender treaty will not get through Parliament, how many times must it be demonstrated?
It is this Deal or No Deal. And the Tories have to deliver by October.
Only Raab and McVey have said they will prorugue Parliament to enforce No Deal so far, Boris has not
Hunt appears simply too boring to get it. It might have worked 29 years ago, but apparently not today. The Tories want a feel good showman to bring the curtain down.
I see Team Leadsom are playing the woman card. "We must have a woman in the final two."
Perhaps the mystery backer is a woman not a man...
Ether McVey is probably a woman...
Still not convinced re Leadsom but I can see a way through for her if BoJo's campaign goes off the rails and leavers are left in a situation with Hunt in the lead and a choice between her, Raab and McVey for the Leaver vote.
Leadsom I think goes out first on Thursday unfortunately, she has only 2 backers compared to over 60 in 2016. She probably then backs Boris
Once bitten, twice shy for many MPs I suspect. Ironically, she might have had a better chance if she hadn't stood against May last time and her failings were exposed. In the current field, the allegations against her would have seemed fairly small.
I see Team Leadsom are playing the woman card. "We must have a woman in the final two."
Perhaps the mystery backer is a woman not a man...
Ether McVey is probably a woman...
Still not convinced re Leadsom but I can see a way through for her if BoJo's campaign goes off the rails and leavers are left in a situation with Hunt in the lead and a choice between her, Raab and McVey for the Leaver vote.
Leadsom I think goes out first on Thursday unfortunately, she has only 2 backers compared to over 60 in 2016. She probably then backs Boris
Given the Raab bullying case was settled by means of an NDA, is there any justification at all for his surrogate Maria Miller to claim, as she did on R4 this morning, that the original claim against him was ‘vexatious’ ? And might this indicate a potential breach of the NDA on Raab’s part ?
Miller’s claim appears to be potentially libellous.
This was the agreement (which came to light when Raab sued the Mail on Sunday)
The documents said both Raab and Davis entered into a "compromise agreement" with a woman who also worked in Davis’s office.
The agreement brought to an end both the woman’s employment with Davis, and a claim she had made at an employment tribunal, according to a letter from Raab’s solicitor that is quoted in the court documents.
In 2011, Raab’s solicitor wrote to the woman warning that if she breached the terms of the agreement she would “be required to repay the sum [she was] paid in consideration for the confidentiality obligations”. She made clear she had no intention of breaching the agreement.
In 2012, Raab won an apology from the Mail on Sunday after it published “unfounded” allegations about his behaviour....
I can’t see how an assertion that the woman’s tribunal claim was ‘vexatious’ can be supported.
Hunt appears simply too boring to get it. It might have worked 29 years ago, but apparently not today. The Tories want a feel good showman to bring the curtain down.
Hunt looks like Portillo 2001 to me. Like Portillo he started off with most MP declarations of support but I think like Portillo he may miss the runoff, Raab or Gove or Javid or Hancock could face Boris instead, I could see all of them picking up more support from eliminated candidates than Hunt.
I see Team Leadsom are playing the woman card. "We must have a woman in the final two."
Perhaps the mystery backer is a woman not a man...
Ether McVey is probably a woman...
Still not convinced re Leadsom but I can see a way through for her if BoJo's campaign goes off the rails and leavers are left in a situation with Hunt in the lead and a choice between her, Raab and McVey for the Leaver vote.
Surely the weekend papers will be an exhibition of skeletons from Boris's cupboard. More skeletons than a Halloween party in an ossuary.
Probably the amoral scumbag will get elected anyway. The next step in our national self-immolation awaits.
I see Team Leadsom are playing the woman card. "We must have a woman in the final two."
Perhaps the mystery backer is a woman not a man...
Ether McVey is probably a woman...
Still not convinced re Leadsom but I can see a way through for her if BoJo's campaign goes off the rails and leavers are left in a situation with Hunt in the lead and a choice between her, Raab and McVey for the Leaver vote.
Leadsom I think goes out first on Thursday unfortunately, she has only 2 backers compared to over 60 in 2016. She probably then backs Boris
Once bitten, twice shy for many MPs I suspect. Ironically, she might have had a better chance if she hadn't stood against May last time and her failings were exposed. In the current field, the allegations against her would have seemed fairly small.
Yes, having pulled out after getting to the final 2 and prevented a membership vote many MPs in the right are wary to trust her again
None of the ten is suitable for the job but if I had to list them in order of merit, starting with the least disastrous and working my way down I'd go...:
Gove Hunt Stewart Hancock Leadsome Harper Javid Raab McVey Johnson
A PB poll on this would be fun.
I'd switch Javid and Leadsom. Otherwise, I agree.
The more important switch is Gove with the blank space at the bottom.
Gove’s biggest problem is that he might be seen as culpable for the last three years of May given his knifing of Boris last time.
The thinking will go: if Boris is that bad, then why are so many MPs from all wings of the party backing him now?
The more Boris looks like the inevitable winner, and the more Gove makes himself look iffy with his personal backstory and mendacious with his behaviour, the bigger a factor that will be.
None of the ten is suitable for the job but if I had to list them in order of merit, starting with the least disastrous and working my way down I'd go...:
A PB poll on this would be fun.
Gove Javid Johnson Hunt Raab Leadsom McVey Stewart Hancock Harper
To be fair to Harper he is last just because I can not think who he is.
On personal choice completely outwith my book:
Stewart Hunt Javid Gove Raab Leadsom Hancock Harper Johnson Mcvey
Mine are:
Johnson Stewart Javid McVey Hancock Gove Leadsom Raab Hunt Harper
The list itself tells you in microcosm what an iredeemably horrible Party the Tories have become.
On Stewart, much of him just radiates a traditional pragmatic Conservative. He has, for example, railed against rhetoric on ‘equality’ and ‘sustainability’ where these are just buzz words thrown around by MPs with no reflection on what they might mean in terms of achievable policy. He’s also talked practically about foreign policy, and Brexit.
But what lets him down is going so vociferously against the “horror” of tax cuts and his rhetoric that “love” is part of the answer. Quite aside from sounding a little bit too Jesus/John Lennon for many people’s liking he risks giving the impression he’s running against his own party.
He needs to be much more careful, define his own Conservativism and put his own stamp on it if he’s going to lead the party.
Stewart appears to be in the wrong party.
Easy strap line. Did you even read my post?
Like I said, I don’t think he is, but he’s enjoying being the outsider far too much without realising he has to lead the inside.
I read your post. I get the impression that he would be far happier and more at home as a Lib Dem. He is not cut from the same ideological cloth as the likes of Raab or the flamboyance for flamboyance sake Johnson. At best the sort of thoughtful, wet Tory that Thatcher did away with
If he were a Lib Dem he’d be arguing for a second referendum and revoke and shouting loudly about sustainability.
None of the ten is suitable for the job but if I had to list them in order of merit, starting with the least disastrous and working my way down I'd go...:
Gove Hunt Stewart Hancock Leadsome Harper Javid Raab McVey Johnson
A PB poll on this would be fun.
I'd switch Javid and Leadsom. Otherwise, I agree.
The more important switch is Gove with the blank space at the bottom.
Gove’s biggest problem is that he might be seen as culpable for the last three years of May given his knifing of Boris last time.
The thinking will go: if Boris is that bad, then why are so many MPs from all wings of the party backing him now?
The more Boris looks like the inevitable winner, and the more Gove makes himself look iffy with his personal backstory and mendacious with his behaviour, the bigger a factor that will be.
I expect Gove to now underperform.
Yes, he is showing what a little creep he is , sooner his bubble is burst the better. A little twerp who thinks he is chocolate.
I see Team Leadsom are playing the woman card. "We must have a woman in the final two."
Perhaps the mystery backer is a woman not a man...
Ether McVey is probably a woman...
Still not convinced re Leadsom but I can see a way through for her if BoJo's campaign goes off the rails and leavers are left in a situation with Hunt in the lead and a choice between her, Raab and McVey for the Leaver vote.
Surely the weekend papers will be an exhibition of skeletons from Boris's cupboard. More skeletons than a Halloween party in an ossuary.
Probably the amoral scumbag will get elected anyway. The next step in our national self-immolation awaits.
It was clear from yesterday that Gove blames the Johnson camp for the whole story about himself. I would imagine the Mail papers are busily on the case given Geordie Greig's pro-Remain leanings and the Sarah Vine connection.
As a Ukipper turned Tory member since 2016 (I knew I had to join as the next mission was to take back control of the Conservative Party), I will be using my vote for whoever pledges to pull us out as soon as possible. And at the moment of the frontrunners, Boris is the man. Last chance saloon for the Tories now.
Favoured: Boris, Raab, McVey, Leadsom.
Never: Stewart, Gove, Hunt.
I think there are some holdouts in the Conservative Party who think competence, common sense and, um, conservatism are a thing and haven't gone full UKIP fruitcake. You are no doubt seeing to that.
Ah yes, like you all gave us May in 2016 because she was apparently competent. We were told. You had your chance, and you blew it.
Comments
Gyimah
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/dominic-raab-confidentiality-agreement-female-colleague
According to publicly available court documents, Raab’s confidentiality clause was agreed back in August 2007 — before he became an MP — when he was working as chief of staff to David Davis.
The documents said both Raab and Davis entered into a "compromise agreement" with a woman who also worked in Davis’s office.
The agreement brought to an end both the woman’s employment with Davis, and a claim she had made at an employment tribunal, according to a letter from Raab’s solicitor that is quoted in the court documents.
In 2011, Raab’s solicitor wrote to the woman warning that if she breached the terms of the agreement she would “be required to repay the sum [she was] paid in consideration for the confidentiality obligations”. She made clear she had no intention of breaching the agreement.
In 2012, Raab won an apology from the Mail on Sunday after it published “unfounded” allegations about his behaviour....
I can’t see how an assertion that the woman’s tribunal claim was ‘vexatious’ can be supported.
Probably the amoral scumbag will get elected anyway. The next step in our national self-immolation awaits.
The thinking will go: if Boris is that bad, then why are so many MPs from all wings of the party backing him now?
The more Boris looks like the inevitable winner, and the more Gove makes himself look iffy with his personal backstory and mendacious with his behaviour, the bigger a factor that will be.
I expect Gove to now underperform.
He’s a one nation shire Tory.