Who will be our next Prime Minister? - Rishi Sunak!

[gswindale]

Unfortunately not as I suspect that no Conservative MP would vote in such a way to trigger an election.

 

[najaB]

And if the Conservatives win again?

Then, in my best Trump impression: the election was stolen.

Given the poll lead that Labour has, there is no way that the Conservatives could win a majority if an election was called now.

 

[Wynd]

The only candidate with a mandate, is Boris.

If its anyone else, then if we are to even pretend to be a democracy, there must be an election.

This plain fact is why there is little choice but to back Boris. Or vote yourself out of a job.

 

[najaB]

The only candidate with a mandate, is Boris.

He has a mandate to be the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

That is all.

 

[Bantamzen]

Johnson now very close to becoming bookies' favourite as PM. We live on islands filled to the rafters with absolute lunatics.

I think he's the best man for the job...

Now, can someone call nurse, I've run out of meds again...

 

[adc82140]

Polling suggests that Johnson would lose his seat in a general election. So let him become PM again, and have the humiliation of that happening.

 

[Wynd]

He has a mandate to be the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

That is all.

He won an general election as leader of the party and delivered an 80 seat majority for the Tory's.

We must accept the facts as they are.

 

[najaB]

He won an general election as leader of the party and delivered an 80 seat majority for the Tory's.

We must accept the facts as they are.

We do not vote for Prime Ministers.

 

[JamesT]

We do not vote for Prime Ministers.

Would you mind telling the Opposition this? They've been banging on for months about the need for a General Election due to a Prime Minister being changed in the middle of a term.

 

[DelayRepay]

Would you mind telling the Opposition this? They've been banging on for months about the need for a General Election due to a Prime Minister being changed in the middle of a term.

As did the Conservatives when Gordon Brown took over from Blair...

 

[Wynd]

We do not vote for Prime Ministers.

Prime ministers, as leaders of their respective party's, derive their democratic mandate, and subsequent legitimacy to govern, from the result of elections.

No matter how much you may or may not contrive an argument to obfuscate, or ignore the point, Boris Johnson is the only candidate with a democratic mandate from the electorate.

This is a self evident, and irrefutable, fact.

If any other candidate is put in to No.10, they will have to go to the electorate, and in all probability, remove the Tory's from power as a result

 

[Typhoon]

That's how we got Theresa May.

Right now, I would take May. Ok, Grayling was at transport but, compared to Kwarteng, Hammond was brilliant. She had a fair few other decent ministers; the likes of Lidington, Clark, Brokenshire and Gove were more than competent. She promoted Mordaunt, twice. Oh, and she sacked Patel!

Her big problem was leaving the EU, and, of course, Johnson got Brexit done ... didn't he!

 

[DelayRepay]

Prime ministers, as leaders of their respective party's, derive their democratic mandate, and subsequent legitimacy to govern, from the result of elections.

No matter how much you may or may not contrive an argument to obfuscate, or ignore the point, Boris Johnson is the only candidate with a democratic mandate from the electorate.

This is a self evident, and irrefutable, fact.

If any other candidate is put in to No.10, they will have to go to the electorate, and in all probability, remove the Tory's from power as a result

That may be how you would like the system to work (and I agree with you).

Unfortunately it is not the system we have. The Prime Minister is the person who can command the confidence of the House of Commons. They do not even have to be the leader of the largest party, although they usually are. However much you, I or Sir Kier may wish for a general election, the next Prime Minister is under no obligation at all to call one until January 2025.

 

[dosxuk]

Prime ministers, as leaders of their respective party's, derive their democratic mandate, and subsequent legitimacy to govern, from the result of elections.

Agreed - the elections within their party that appoints them as leader.

Nobody voting in the last election had a choice between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn on their ballot. Nobody chose between those candidates to give their support to them.

Boris Johnson's mandate to govern, as with Liz Truss, was solely derived from the Tory party membership electing him to that position.

 

[Howardh]

Make Sunak the PM and Johnson the leader of the conservatives.

 

[nlogax]

Boris Johnson's mandate to govern, as with Liz Truss, was solely derived from the Tory party membership electing him to that position.

As I understand it the membership vote mechanism was designed purely to get in a new leader while they were in opposition. Instigated as a result of the 1997 election wipeout. Pity no-one thought to amend it since they came to power.

 

[8A Rail]

May be history could repeat itself on the 5th November but this time it will be successful! One thing for certain most if not all Tories live in Aslyum's if they go down the Boris route again! What on earth are they thinking or smoking? Unfortunately having a general election will not solve our issues either as clearly Kier Starmer does not wish to show support or back the many 'workers' of the country whose living standards are being eroded. I always though Labour stood for the working class but not on this occasion sadly. What a very sad state of affairs our country find itself in all because of a handful of people who effect over 60 million in the UK - something is definitely wrong!

 

[Howardh]

Just reading some names as to who backs Johnson....Fabricant, Dorres, Jenkyns, Bone.....kinda says it all.

Politics latest: Tories a 'spent force', former Conservative donor John Caudwell says - but Labour 'business unfriendly'

A former Tory donor has told Sky News' Politics Hub he feels the Conservative Party is a "spent force" - but he's got criticisms of Labour, too, despite switching his support to them at last year's election.

news.sky.com

L - R Johnson, Mourdant, Sunak

BACKERS	36	16	56
1	Paul Bristow	Derek Thomas	Crispin Blunt
2	James Duddridge	Bob Seely	Julie Marson
3	Nadine Dorries	Maria Miller	Richard Holden
4	Brendan Clarke-Smith	John Lamont	Angela Richardson
5	Michael Fabricant	Damian Collins	Steve Double
6	Stephen McPartland	Andrea Leadsom	Kevin Hollinrake
7	Marco Longhi	Robbie Moore	Jo Gideon
8	Andrea Jenkyns	Kieran Mullan	John Glen
9	Andrew Stephenson	Craig Tracey	Simon Hart
10	Christopher Chope	Nicola Richards	Andrew Bowie
11	Amanda Milling	Roger Gale	Anthony Mangnall
12	Shaun Bailey	John Penrose	Dominic Raab
13	Karl McCartney	Caroline Dineage	John Stevenson
14	David Morris	Harriett Baldwin	Gary Streeter
15	Holly Mumby-Croft	Caroline Ansell	Andrew Murrison
16	Peter Bone	George Freeman	Craig Williams
17	Jane Hunt		Paul Maynard

 

[Busaholic]

I consider the whole Johnson re-emergence story to be Fake News. As of an hour ago the BBC tally of MPs who'd committed themselves showed 56 for Sunak, 33 for Johnson and 17 for Morduant. The Boris cult lot, led by Rees-Mogg and Guido Fawkes, egged on by Dorries and co,. seemingly unwittingly aided and abetted by the Johnson government-approved BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, were absolutely committed to having their hero return from the abyss to his adoring public( ). The bookies' odds I saw this morning were offering 8-1 on Johnson, and they don't give money away willingly. Mason amd his bosses are s*** scared of JRM repeating his 'political bias' nonsense rather than facing him down. Funny how the 'libertarians' only want liberty for their chums and themselves: the rest of us can go hang. If Johnson reaches 100 endorsements it's game over, he'll get the membership vote and it'd be almost as bad for this country as Trump getting the Republican nomination again would be for the USA.

 

[Djgr]

Right now, I would take May. Ok, Grayling was at transport but, compared to Kwarteng, Hammond was brilliant. She had a fair few other decent ministers; the likes of Lidington, Clark, Brokenshire and Gove were more than competent. She promoted Mordaunt, twice. Oh, and she sacked Patel!

Her big problem was leaving the EU, and, of course, Johnson got Brexit done ... didn't he!

That's turned out to be a great success. Well done Bojo

He won an general election as leader of the party and delivered an 80 seat majority for the Tory's.

We must accept the facts as they are.

Oh yes...the facts. One thing that the Conservative government is renowned for.

Johnson now very close to becoming bookies' favourite as PM. We live on islands filled to the rafters with absolute lunatics.

It's increasingly depressing to live in a country of Mensa dodgers.

 

[dosxuk]

seemingly unwittingly aided and abetted by the Johnson government-approved BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, were absolutely committed to having their hero return from the abyss to his adoring public
...
Mason amd his bosses are s*** scared of JRM repeating his 'political bias' nonsense rather than facing him down.

What are you on about?

The interesting story here is clearly that a significant part of the party think Boris coming back would be a good thing, particularly amongst the membership who don't think he should have been sacked. That political reporters from across the spectrum are reporting this should be hardly surprising. Remember the story broke in the Times and quickly backed up by guido, or are you saying the BBC shouldn't report it because the bookies don't think he'll win?

 

[nlogax]

I consider the whole Johnson re-emergence story to be Fake News.

That may be true but I'd very much like a change of party running this current wreck of a country. For all his popularity amongst MPs and frothing Tory members, Boris Johnson as PM presents Labour with their best hope for a sweeping win at the next GE.

 

[Thirteen]

That may be true but I'd very much like a change of party running this current wreck of a country. For all his popularity amongst MPs and frothing Tory members, Boris Johnson as PM presents Labour with their best hope for a sweeping win at the next GE.

I agree, as I've said before, you only have to look at other countries where the previous PM returning to power doesn't bode well for the ruling party.

 

[yorksrob]

I'm not as against Boris as many are - he got voted in on a manifesto of concluding Brexit - and he did that.

However, given what's gone on since he left, I think that the current government no longer has any mandate or authority, regardless of who leads it.

 

[nlogax]

I agree, as I've said before, you only have to look at other countries where the previous PM returning to power doesn't bode well for the ruling party.

Returning as PM during the same parliament after a two month sabbatical would be a very new piece of political experimentation. We do know how it'll end of course. Already a dozen MPs have threatened to resign the whip if he returns.

 

[adc82140]

The Conservative party will never learn. Putting the vote out to the wider Tory membership Red Trouser Brigade (copyright Jeremy Clarkson) got us in to this mess. They need to restrict the decision to the MPs

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm not as against Boris as many are - he got voted in on a manifesto of concluding Brexit - and he did that.

However, given what's gone on since he left, I think that the current government no longer has any mandate or authority, regardless of who leads it.

I'm half hoping for Boris in order that I can witness the collapse of the Tory Party and its total absence from Government for at least the next 10 years.

 

[yorksrob]

I'm half hoping for Boris in order that I can witness the collapse of the Tory Party and its total absence from Government for at least the next 10 years.

TBH, I think that that will happen whoever leads it.

 

[Lost property]

I'm convinced eligible voting Tory members & 2/3 of the Tory party genuinely live on another planet.

Erm,no, sorry. The levels of formaldehyde and medications are adjusted to ensure they are not fully comatose when voting and are supervised by a responsible adult when trying to find the voting paper and put a thumb print on it....sharp objects being actively discouraged in their hands for obvious reasons.

 

[deltic]

Sunak on 85, Johnson on 63, Mordaunt (the only one who has said she will definitely stand) 23.

An alternative view puts Sunak on 82, Johnson on 48 and Mordaunt on 21 - see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...4ohSmtnr0eZ4fdqF_ivzk3kfe7aFsEvuBXVW/pubhtml#