Conservative party leadership election 2022

[dutchman]

Penny who?

No one outside of the party has heard of her.

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Boris Johnson accused of trying to derail Rishi Sunak’s bid to be next PM



Senior Tories accused Boris Johnson of trying to torpedo Rishi Sunak’s bid to succeed him as prime minister – and of refusing to leave No 10 with good grace – as the leadership race descended into bitter infighting.

As a trio of cabinet ministers entered the contest last night, senior MPs said the battle now risked inflicting even more damage on the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago.

One party grandee accused Johnson of installing unsuitable MPs to middle-ranking and junior government posts when he knew he was on his way out “to cause maximum problems for his successor” who would inevitably have to sack most of them on taking office.

“Those appointments were the most appalling thing I have seen in politics,” said the senior source. “It was obviously a move to sabotage his successor’s first weeks in office.”

Another senior figure in the government added that Johnson was so incensed at the way he had been ousted, having won such a huge mandate at the 2019 general election, that he was now intent on exacting revenge on those he saw as responsible, and on influencing events wherever possible from the outside.

“This is not an administration that is going to go quietly. There is a lot of anger about how this all happened,” said the source. “It is clear that much of it will now focus on Rishi. It is all very Trumpian.”

A former vice-chairman of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers, Sir Charles Walker, told the Observer that pleas for restraint were pointless because there was so much bad blood.

“People like me can say until we are blue in the face that the Conservative party should not tear itself apart, but our pleas will fall on deaf ears.

“Clearly the prime minister remains deeply bruised by the chancellor’s resignation. Rishi’s camp will have to soak up a lot of anger over the days to come. That will apply to whoever takes over.”

Meanwhile, Johnson allies warned the party it would soon regret ditching him and accused the candidates vying to replace him of being incapable of repeating his successes. They say Sunak, in particular, faces questions of “loyalty and propriety” and accuse him of plotting his leadership bid for months while publicly professing his loyalty.

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Awkward start to Penny Mordaunt’s leadership campaign with hasty video edit

Penny Mordaunt’s campaign to become the next Tory leader got off to an awkward start with her launch video hastily edited to remove several identifiable figures including athlete Jonnie Peacock.

The international trade minister announced that she wants to be the next Prime Minister on Sunday morning, saying the UK’s leadership “needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship”.

Her original campaign video featured two seconds of footage showing Jonnie Peacock competing at the London 2012 Paralympics.

Peacock subsequently replied to Ms Mordaunt on Twitter, saying: “I officially request to be removed from this video…. Anything but blue please.”

Just over five hours later, Ms Mordaunt posted an amended version of the video to her Twitter.

The clips of Peacock were replaced with a plane flying over the camera.

Several other elements of her original campaign video were also altered in the second video.

A smiling police officer, clearly identifiable, was removed and replaced with a clip of a tractor driving through a field.

Cricketer Jonny Bairstow could be seen in the original video but was replaced by the Angel Of The North sculpture in the follow-up.

In the original video, a clip of the Welsh football team celebrating its win over Ukraine in June directly followed Bairstow. This too was removed in the second video.

A clip of soldiers wearing a uniform not associated with the British armed forces also featured in the original video but was replaced with some footage of Westminster.

Video from an interview with Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the British co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, was replaced with more generic footage of healthcare staff.

[rebbonk]

State of betting from oddschecker.com...




State of backing within the party, sourced from order-order.com...

[rebbonk]

So September the 5th is the day we'll know who is going to replace Johnson. I'm not impressed with any of the contenders so far and it looks like it might be a dirty contest.

Today's situation...


Source: https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-conservative-leader


Source: https://order-order.com/

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The next Prime Minister speaketh thus:

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Eight candidates through to next round as Sajid Javid drops out



Eight candidates remain in the race to become Conservative leader and Britain's next prime minister, Sir Graham Brady has announced.

They are Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch, Nadhim Zahawi, Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman.

It comes as Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, dropped out of the leadership race just moments before nominations closed.

Mr Javid, whose decision to quit the Government this time last week hastened the political demise of Boris Johnson, said: "I have set out the values and policies I think are right for the future of our great country. I believe the party must now look outwards, not inwards, if we are to win again.

"There is an abundance of both ideas and talent in our party... I look forward to seeing the debate unfold and to see colleagues working together as a united Conservative Party once the leadership election is concluded."

[rebbonk]

State of play today... Javid failed to obtain sufficient backers so dropped out.


Source: https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/next-conservative-leader


Source: https://order-order.com/

[dutchman]

Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt voted out of Conservative leadership race



Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi have crashed out of the Conservative leadership race, leaving six candidates in contention to become the next prime minister.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, commanded the support of the most Tory MPs, receiving 88 votes, with Penny Mordaunt - who earlier polling showed has become a favourite among grassroots activists - taking second place on 67.

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, was in third with 50 backers. Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Suella Braverman also remain in the race.

Further votes will now follow tomorrow and into next week - until the field is whittled down to just two candidates.

Mr Hunt, the former health secretary, admitted he had his "big shot" at the leadership in 2019, while the Chancellor, Mr Zahawi, issued a statement confirming he would not throw his public support behind any other candidate.