Forum Topic

Conservative Candidates

So far, Nadhim Zahawi who is being investigated for tax problems. Grant Shapps who thinks Boris was great, Suella Braverman who thinks it's fine to break international agreements and Rishi Sunak who set up his ReadyforRIshi website way back in December.  Liz Truss? and Kemi Badenoch: would she have had much ministerial experience to take this on?Does this selection send messages of hope to us all?

Vivienne Cox ● 1535d45 Comments

As for rishi,hes doing what all chancellors do Major and brown did. They plotted way before taking over so not sure what the issue is with that

Julian Pavey ● 1535d

Sunak seems like the best of a bad bunch. As has been pointed out, he is too rich to be corrupt.

Susan Kelly ● 1535d

Thanks for a new thread. The previous ´ain’t Johnson a bottom ‘ thread had run its course and confirmed that BJ was a losing, lying, waste of wallpaper bottom. With this new thread we can explore the chasm of capability that is the post-Boris Tory party.Who was it that expelled the talent btw?

Alan Clark ● 1535d

Where is Nigel?When we need him

James Roy ● 1535d

Bring back Sir Geoffrey Cox for consideration I'd say.

Jim Lawes ● 1535d

I doubt anybody is ever too rich to be corrupt.

Mairi Franses ● 1534d

Remarkable that UK voters are engaged in active discourse about distinguishing politicians based on how corrupt they might be. How far our version of democracy has fallen.

Paul Campbell ● 1534d

Agree Jim

Janice Evans ● 1534d

Given the hundreds of thousands that the tories receive from Russians there should be no surprise that democracy is at best tarnished. These Russians are billionaires whose existence is dependent on Putin, who siphon money to Putin, who launder money through the UK, who have stolen assets from Russia, who are frequently ex-KBG, who continued to donate after the Ukraine invasion. Pirates and thugs who are given credibility  by the UK and are given favour by our government - which gets money from them in return.Of course that is not corrupt.

Alan Clark ● 1534d

Exactly, Alan.  And what you describe demonstrates that wealth is no barrier to corruption.  I really hope that the Tories are willing and able to find a leader who can put an absolute end to the lies and corruption that we’ve seen over the last several years.And, btw, I am so shocked by the education secretary giving the finger to the ‘baying mob’.  The *education* secretary.  What an example to the nation’s youth.  And I don’t think she’s even apologised.  But that’s what you get when you have a PM with no moral compass and no shame.

Alastair Banton ● 1534d

What I cannot understand is anyone thinking any of these wannabees is suitable - they have ALL been complicit in going along with Johnson's appalling behaviour, the only one who has been a fairly long-standing critic is Tom Tugendhat, so may come out of this with some integrity. The more I have read to- day about Johnson the more I've felt sick, it was so well known what an untrustworthy sh*t he was, to quote one senior Tory - he was 'only interested in being king of the world and shagging', what does that say about the people who have stood by him?

Vanessa Smith ● 1534d

I think I need to stay away from this forum as well as the media. I can't bear hearing one more time the repeated behaviour of johnson as if we don't already know by now and the repetitive "he is a kind decent man with integrity by those in labour" without anything else. I woke up this morning feeling sick, I turned on the radio and feel sick, I've put the tv on and feel sick. Now I've read another Vanessa rant and feel really really sick.   "What I cannot understand is anyone thinking any of these wannabees is suitable" And yet labour doesn't want an election. Funny that i feel much better all of a sudden I need a large rum and coke

Julian Pavey ● 1534d

Are you talking Lawson, Farage or Havers? I can't see any of them making much of a fist as prime minister.

Sue Rowe ● 1534d

Oh dear! So sorry I have added to your woes - as a matter of fact I think a G.E. would be the best way to resolve the mess we are in - but then I'm neither a Labour party member nor the Leader. I'll join you though, but with a G&T!

Vanessa Smith ● 1534d

I'm sure a lot of the character assassinations emerging of all the new candidates are coming out of Johnson's camp, to be gladly picked up by the right wing press, with the presumed intention that Johnson can put himself forward as the only possible PM and save the day!

Peter Evans ● 1534d

Avoid the radio, TV and this forum, if they make you feel sick. In any case, I'm sure you'll feel better when it comes to betting on the candidates for the Conservative leadership.

Robert Fish ● 1534d

We have a lot of sickness going around robert. Vanessa feels sick this morning after reading the news,TP Howell felt depressed the other morning after leaving the dinner table due to starmer and brexit. Sound like politics is not good for some peoples health or they have been eating to much wet lettuce in the hot weather.😁 On a serious note Stay clear when it comes to betting and politics

Julian Pavey ● 1534d

If you are feeling sick the link below to BBC's Friday Night Comedy may help.Not quite Lilly the Pink "who invented a medicinal compound for application in every case" but an excellent tonic.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ck6tnc

Adrian Irving ● 1534d

There is one good thing emerging from the Tory leadership contest.At least 3 of the leading candidates are not white, yet the subject of their ethnicity appears to be a complete irrelevance.Maybe there is hope for this country after all

Justin Stephenson ● 1534d

Don’t you just love it when they accuse one another of ‘socialism’?  If they’re socialists then I’m Stalin.Would be hilarious but it’s the future of the U.K. that’s at stake here.

Alastair Banton ● 1526d

..and that 'socialism' should be regarded as an insult rather than a desirable objective. But then the present Labour Party seems to take a similar view.

Peter Evans ● 1526d

Careful, Peter, or a certain someone is going to appear and remind us about how awful Jeremy Corbyn was, is and ever shall be.

Alastair Banton ● 1526d

"..'socialism' should be regarded as an insult.."Didn't Stalin regard himself as a socialist ? Happily, not all socialists are mass murderers like him, but socialism does tend to lead to authoritarianism.

Richard Greenhough ● 1526d

You conjured him up in an instant, Alastair! But the message was a slight variant on the usual.

Robert Fish ● 1526d

Surely Stalin regarded himself as a communist, rather than a socialist?

Kerry Chandler ● 1526d

I know, Robert. Magic isn’t it.  And a certain someone else is pretty soon going to remind us for the umpteenth time about his chronic boredom issues…Deep joy :-)

Alastair Banton ● 1526d

Wow, what an observation. So northern european socialist leaning countries are authoritarian. What rubbish.Unlike dictatorships which are deffo not socialist and deffo have authoritarian tendencies. I say tendencies, I mean ruthless murdering authoritarian control.

Alan Clark ● 1526d

Corruption like shaping laws that favoured his billionaire mates and non Dom wife. That sort of corruption?If it was another country we'd call that corruption.Politicians morals, if they had any must have sunk to a new low?

Basil Finnis ● 1526d

"Unlike dictatorships which are deffo not socialist.."Unless they are National Socialists ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1526d

Five Go Mad in Westminster - you couldn't make it up! Not exactly an embarrassment of riches is it? Or should that be an embarrassment of Rishis? I've yet to hear a word uttered about the NHS, education, transport, police or housing. We really ought to change the constitutional way of doing things in this country so that if/when this situation arises again it triggers a general election automatically.

Vanessa Smith ● 1526d

Why did I just know that you were going to make that reference?

Alan Clark ● 1526d

'We really ought to change the constitutional way of doing things in this country so that if/when this situation arises again it triggers a general election automatically.' I'm not so sure that would work. If such a mechanism was in place then it would be certain that we'd have had Johnson for a full 5 year term. No tory MP would press for ridding the country of a PM and at the same time risk losing both their majority and the MP's own seat. You would always end up with the failed MP stuck in their role - not really supported by their own party but a party that would not dare push the PM out.Having said that, the issue does need addressed in some way. What we have here is logical dissonance. The claim is that the 2019 majority was (largely) because of their charismatic leader. People voted tory because of Johnson. But now, with Johnson being pushed out, it is also that we do not have a presidential system. The vote was for the local MP and the party - not at all just a vote for a charismatic leader. So which is it? It cannot be both.

Alan Clark ● 1526d

People are supposed to be voting for their representative (i.e. their MP) and let him/her decide who they want to lead their party. I know this is a tad simplistic but Boris seemed to convince himself that he was the sole reason anyone voted Tory and therefore had a personal mandate from the "people".If the PM doesn't understand the concept of representative democracy his Eton and Oxford education was very poor VFM.

Will Watson ● 1526d

'If the PM doesn't understand the concept of representative democracy his Eton and Oxford education was very poor VFM.'Well, given how many pisspoor P.M.s have been Eton educated their families ought to ask for their money back. The thing is Johnson knows how the system works only too well - whether he WANTS to understand is another matter entirely. Max Hastings really hit it on the head last week when he said they (the Tory party) knew very well what Johnson was like - a serial liar and womaniser among many things,  but they also knew he was a good campaigner and could get them elected - and that was all they cared about, trouble is you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

Vanessa Smith ● 1526d

"The claim is that the 2019 majority was (largely) because of their charismatic leader. People voted tory because of Johnson."The 2019 Conservative majority was, to a large extent, the result of an anti-Corbyn vote. Had Labour been led by, for example, David Miliband, the result might have been very different.

Richard Greenhough ● 1525d

You’ve approached my favourite sliding doors theory.  If Ed Milliband hadn’t stood against his brother David, the latter would have become Labour leader and soon after, PM, and subsequent UK history would have been very different no Corbyn, no Johnson, no Brexit …Where’s Marty McFly when you need him.

Alastair Banton ● 1525d

Ah, but then David wouldn't have become head of International Rescue and we would have had no Thunderbirds.....

Richard Greenhough ● 1525d

New comedian on Politics Live this lunchtime - Jonathan Gullis - waxing lyrical about how the Tories have such talent on display in the Leadership election - and how Labour would give anything for some of that! It is so laughable that he had to be taking the p*ss - Liz Truss - talented? They are just the dregs of the egotistical - over ambitious leftovers from the sh*t-storm that was the Johnson government.

Vanessa Smith ● 1525d

Well now that the party member vote will be for either Sunak ("now he does present well but isn't he from one of the colonies?") or Truss ("she does dress a lot like Margaret"). Who could possibly guess which way that vote will go?

Alan Clark ● 1524d

Truss must have an IQ in the part of the bell curve normally reserved for squirrels.How anyone can seriously consider her as our country's representative?At least Boris was a sophisticated idiot.

Will Watson ● 1524d

Both a nightmare. Care nothing for the vulnerable whether people, the climate or animals. Everything about maintaining their powe and rewarding cronies. Havecyou seen Truss's expenses bill? Lizzy Antoinette

Claire Moran ● 1524d

Tory candidates,they keep getting worse  Keir Starmer must be rubbing his his hands.

David Burke ● 1524d

What a choice! One candidate an "ideologue without ideas", an irresponsible and dangerously barking Boudicca, and the other whose insistence on fiscal responsibility seems likely to take us back to Osborne-style austerity.

Robert Fish ● 1524d

According to the bookies Liz is favourite and she seems to have the backing of the Tory press. She has never struck me as a good speaker and seems a bit gaffe prone - maybe that’s why she has not done a single broadcast interview during the leadership contest.  Rishi, despite having his own dodgy history, is slicker, appears brighter and presents well and I wonder if, after Johnson, the Conservative membership will decide to go for him as a safe pair of hands and surely more likely to win the next election than Liz? Any party members prepared to give us their insights? Whoever does win we’ll be back to another Oxford PPE graduate as PM.

David Turner ● 1524d

Thought they said those who received fines should not be in Government,wish they would make their minds up.

Janice Evans ● 1524d