Evidently not.
I don’t think he’s planned it out that intricately, and in today’s unstable political climate I’m not sure it’s worth it to do so. All he needs to do is to position himself as the Anti-Boris - the toadies who want a spot in Boris’ cabinet will gravitate that way, but Stewart is aiming to grab support from those who dislike Boris and everything he stands for. The question is whether the party as a whole is pro- or anti-Boris, and I fear Stewart may be out of luck in the short term. It may still play out to his advantage but I’m not sure I’d call it a plan.
Fascinating for me as a political junkie to watch this process unfold. Horrifying for me as an Anglophile, though.
Stewart’s out. This is now a lot less interesting. Johnson’s so far ahead of everyone else I expect this won’t even get to the membership vote.
Shame. Shame. Shame.
OB
Steward is now well-positioned to lead a new centrist party when the Tories finally self-destruct.
I think we have quite enough centrist parties in the UK already, none with a great deal of traction.
ETA: Unfortunately.
OB
What the heck- can’t the Brits see what happens when you put a loud, boorish, lying blond in power? Everybody hates the guy, let’s make him PM!
I’ve got to admit, this tweet from Sajid Javid is heartwarming. Handwritten letter from his daughter about the Conservative party leadership race.
Yeah, I’m not a Javid fan but as the father of a daughter of similar age I am feeling the warm fuzzies here.
I don’t know what his future holds, but he’s an interesting character. With his background - and his reported ability to master a brief while doing his DFID duties - he’d probably make a good Foreign Secretary and that’s something the next PM is going to need very badly indeed. I do get the impression that he has begun to develop his own politics, and that’s no bad thing.
Anyway, here’s a Rory Stewart anecdote from a former Parliamentary researcher who was based in the next-door office a few years ago:
Rory Stewart denies ever having been in any way connected to the Secret Intelligence Service.
Johnson is only getting 40% of the vote. He could lose if someone benefits from an “Anybody but Johnson” movement.
I think Johnson will win, however. He’s rabid about Brexit and has more charisma than Gove. Would that be a good thing for the UK? Probably not, but then again, voting for Brexit probably wasn’t good for the UK either.
At least he’s realistic about one thing: they can’t keep delaying Brexit. They already voted to separate, and if the only way to do that is no deal, they’ll have to do it.
Sounds like he’d be great as the next James Bond.
I just noticed, Rory Stewart kind of looks like what would happen if you morphed all the faces of the members of the Rolling Stones together.
It doesn’t matter. The Tory MPs only winnow the candidates to the final two, and then the Tory membership gets to vote - and they seem to love the utter charlatan. Barring a “live boy or dead girl” scenario* happening in the next few weeks the clown is the next PM. It’s going to feel weird hearkening back to the Golden Age of Theresa May’s reign.
- And even then the ranks of the undead that forms the Tory membership would probably still vote for him
Good graphic of the evolution of the Conservative Party.
From an excellent article in the New Statesman, The closing of the conservative mind
Man, that’s a low bar to clear. Might as well point out that he’s taller than Peter Dinklage and a better sprinter than Stephen Hawking.
That said, this may make you throw up in your mouth a little: Girls4Gove.
Thanks. I’m not big into trigger warnings, but if ever one was needed…
Michael Gove always gives me the impression that he’s a boy made out of wood that’s been give the power of life. So a bit like Pinnochio, but without the growing nose feature.
Well, he’s out, so it may be a little unfair to be piling in on him, but he always reminded me of Pob.
So as many predicted it’s down to Hunt vs. Johnson. While we’re at it, let’s be really puerile and remark on Hunt’s over-vigorous wrist action at the time of the London Olympics. You may make up your own jokes about “end” and “bell”.