# The next British Prime Minister **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 24, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450 "2019-05-24T13:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/1 "2019-05-24T13:02:55Z")
Ruined by Brexit, Theresa May has resigned in tears… as the next PM just might end up doing, too: [Brexit failure forces Theresa May to announce resignation | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/europe/theresa-may-resigns-brexit-gbr-intl/index.html) Here’s CNN on possible successors: [Boris Johnson is frontrunner for PM but he'll face the same Brexit nightmare | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/uk/may-resigns-what-next-merrick-gbr-intl/index.html) Who do you think it will be? Who do you think it SHOULD be? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/2 "2019-05-24T13:38:58Z")
I understand Tulsi Gabbard will announce her candidacy shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/3 "2019-05-24T14:07:23Z")
Of the top Tories, my pick would be Javid as the least crap. It will probably be Boris, though, for basically the same reason Brown got the job a few years ago - it’s “his turn”. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/4 "2019-05-24T14:19:37Z")
Guido has the front-runners [here](https://order-order.com/2019/05/24/next-pm-whos-backing/). [Raab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Raab) is a political hack who hasn’t really done anything of note. He’s said a lot of things but has actually done little. I don’t need to elaborate on Johnson. I will note that he was up here recently and he bombed his speech. [Hunt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hunt) does have some real-world experience and has done well there. He got caught big time in the expenses scandal and there are other question marks about his integrity. [Javid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sajid_Javid) is probably the best of the major candidates. He did well in the private sector. He hasn’t really put a foot wrong politically - granted he’s been over-ruled a couple of times (e.g. BDS) but politically his actions went down well with the target audiences. The problem is that he is a Remainer. [McVey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_McVey) is a hack who has made significant blunders, including the cardinal sin of misleading parliament. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/5 "2019-05-24T14:20:56Z")
Will be: Boris. Should be: Mogg or Farage but the little shits have the wiles to realize that it’s much safer to their reputation to cause a trainwreck than to have the buck stop with them when trying to manage it. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/6 "2019-05-24T14:32:32Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Will be: Boris. > > Should be: Mogg or Farage but the little shits have the wiles to realize that it’s much safer to their reputation to cause a trainwreck than to have the buck stop with them when trying to manage it. Can’t possibly be Farage can it? Boris and Mogg are at the top of my “Please God No” list ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/7 "2019-05-24T16:42:51Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > [Javid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sajid_Javid) is probably the best of the major candidates. He did well in the private sector. He hasn’t really put a foot wrong politically - granted he’s been over-ruled a couple of times (e.g. BDS) but politically his actions went down well with the target audiences. The problem is that he is a Remainer. According to your link, he _was_ a not-very-committed Remainer, but _now_ is firmly in the Leave camp. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Javid was an advocate for an EU referendum[16] and pro-Brexit Tories had long assumed Javid would join the Leave campaign, but in the end he backed Remain. He was never seen as very committed to that cause and has since come out as a firm Leaver.[147] Whilst Javid insists this was not as a result of pressure from either David Cameron or George Osborne, the FT revealed Osborne “got the thumbscrews out” because it would have been completely unacceptable for a Conservative Business Secretary to have advocated Brexit.[48] > > Javid has maintained his position that politicians should respect the result of the referendum, and when judges ruled that the PM could not trigger the formal Brexit process without Parliament’s backing, Javid accused British High Court judges of attempting to thwart the will of the British people.[148] > > Javid has made it clear since the referendum that he is sceptical of softer Brexit options such as remaining in the customs union, saying the free trade area was an “intrinsic” part of the European Union and that voters had given “clear instructions” when they voted to Leave.[147] Javid’s comments drew criticism from CBI.[149] > > Javid is known to have historically held Eurosceptic views; as a student in 1990 he was thrown out of the Conservative party conference for handing out leaflets opposing Britain joining the Exchange Rate Mechanism, a forerunner of the single currency.[11] ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/8 "2019-05-24T16:56:25Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > According to your link, he _was_ a not-very-committed Remainer, but _now_ is firmly in the Leave camp. So was May. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/9 "2019-05-24T17:46:30Z")
And we can all see how well that worked out for her! ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/10 "2019-05-24T18:15:43Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So was May. Yes, and…? I’m not sure what you’re getting at by calling him a Remainer. That he won’t pursue Brexit and will seek some way out of it? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/11 "2019-05-24T18:27:32Z")
It will likely be Trump’s equally evil twin, Boris. This is what happens when people are disappointed; they swing wildly the other direction. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/12 "2019-05-24T18:43:12Z")
Ignorant yank here, this will just be a new election by the party correct? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/13 "2019-05-24T18:47:06Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Ignorant yank here, this will just be a new election by the party correct? Yeah. The MPs whittle down the candidates to two, and then the wider party membership vote. The membership vote might not happen if there’s one overwhelmingly favourite candidate - that’s how May got the job. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/14 "2019-05-24T19:33:13Z")
The BBC have a list of possible candidates [here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48395611). ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/15 "2019-05-24T19:51:00Z")
I confidently predict that it’ll be someone who is (a) woefully inadequate for the job and (b) stupid enough to _think_ they want it. Boris, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/16 "2019-05-24T20:05:36Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > Boris, in other words. I won’t argue against you, but IMHO Boris would be better as Foreign Secretary. As in ‘keep him abroad as much as possible’. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/17 "2019-05-24T20:42:55Z")
Who cares any more? The country’s finished. May as well start the fire sale. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/18 "2019-05-24T20:51:38Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Will be: Boris. > > Should be: Mogg or Farage but the little shits have the wiles to realize that it’s much safer to their reputation to cause a trainwreck than to have the buck stop with them when trying to manage it. Farage isn’t Tory. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/19 "2019-05-24T21:51:10Z")
Britain is fucked. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450/20 "2019-05-25T03:03:24Z")
Three questions from a Yank: 1. What is so bad about Boris Johnson? 2. How could Nigel Farage be in the mix? Don’t you have to be an MP first? 3. Why does the BBC list Andrea Leadsom as a possible candidate? Didn’t she resign from the party a few days ago? How does that work? Can she rejoin now? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-british-prime-minister/834450.md?page=2)