Monday, July 24, 2017
A nightmare in blue
Yesterday's Observer speculates that the long summer recess will see much manoeuvring amongst the ranks of Tory MPs to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister, possibly to even oust her. They say that the subsequent drain on the PM's authority has led to a plethora of unwelcome analogies from MPs about her position. A paddle boat in a storm, the lamest of lame ducks – and worse.
“She is the village goat, prepared for sacrifice to take on the sins [of the election campaign],” said one erstwhile May supporter. “Her throat will be cut in a humane way at a time of our choosing.”
Much of the speculation appears to be coming from David Davis' camp who many believe will benefit from an early contest but suffer if it is delayed. But the mood amongst Tory MPs according to the paper, is that they are exhausted and there is no appetite for an early contest:
The revealing survey of more than 1,000 Tory members, carried out as part of the Party Members Project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and shared with the Observer, shows that the calculation is well-founded. While two established candidates, Davis and Boris Johnson, are the leading options to replace May, the 26% of members who could not give an answer shows they are waiting for another candidate to emerge. Most members do not want May to stand down now.
The desire to put off a contest for 18 months or so, to allow new blood to reveal itself, is also strong on the backbenches. “A swift contest would probably see a battle between Davis, Boris, Philip Hammond and maybe someone like [the defence secretary] Michael Fallon as a caretaker,” said one MP. “If it is delayed, it is only really Boris who could still be in it. It’s wide open.”
Driving the desire for fresh faces is shock at the election result and the need to renew the party after seven years in office.
So all the talk is of finding a dream candidate. Amber Rudd, Gavin Williamson, Johnny Mercer, Rory Stewart, Ruth Davidson, and even Jacob Rees-Mogg are being mentioned. Seems more like a nightmare to me.
The sum of all this speculation however, combined with the inept approach to Brexit negotiations and the failure to act in the country's best interests on the single market, is that the government is in disarray. We are in danger of drifting off into the Atlantic by default simply because the two major parties are so dysfunctional.
“She is the village goat, prepared for sacrifice to take on the sins [of the election campaign],” said one erstwhile May supporter. “Her throat will be cut in a humane way at a time of our choosing.”
Much of the speculation appears to be coming from David Davis' camp who many believe will benefit from an early contest but suffer if it is delayed. But the mood amongst Tory MPs according to the paper, is that they are exhausted and there is no appetite for an early contest:
The revealing survey of more than 1,000 Tory members, carried out as part of the Party Members Project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and shared with the Observer, shows that the calculation is well-founded. While two established candidates, Davis and Boris Johnson, are the leading options to replace May, the 26% of members who could not give an answer shows they are waiting for another candidate to emerge. Most members do not want May to stand down now.
The desire to put off a contest for 18 months or so, to allow new blood to reveal itself, is also strong on the backbenches. “A swift contest would probably see a battle between Davis, Boris, Philip Hammond and maybe someone like [the defence secretary] Michael Fallon as a caretaker,” said one MP. “If it is delayed, it is only really Boris who could still be in it. It’s wide open.”
Driving the desire for fresh faces is shock at the election result and the need to renew the party after seven years in office.
So all the talk is of finding a dream candidate. Amber Rudd, Gavin Williamson, Johnny Mercer, Rory Stewart, Ruth Davidson, and even Jacob Rees-Mogg are being mentioned. Seems more like a nightmare to me.
The sum of all this speculation however, combined with the inept approach to Brexit negotiations and the failure to act in the country's best interests on the single market, is that the government is in disarray. We are in danger of drifting off into the Atlantic by default simply because the two major parties are so dysfunctional.
