Next Prime Minister

[Bevan Price]

Don't rule out Ian Duncan Smith as a possible compromise candidate when the Tories fail to agree on Boris, Michael Gove, etc.

 

[Butts]

Don't rule out Ian Duncan Smith as a possible compromise candidate when the Tories fail to agree on Boris, Michael Gove, etc.

Once bitten......

Hague would be preferable to him.

 

[Busaholic]

Michael Portillo fits all the criteria - a Leave supporter, socially liberal in private as well as public and, for the purposes of this forum, pro-railway. Oh, and he's not only not Boris Johnson but also can't stand him.

 

[phoenixcronin]

Michael Portillo fits all the criteria - a Leave supporter, socially liberal in private as well as public and, for the purposes of this forum, pro-railway. Oh, and he's not only not Boris Johnson but also can't stand him.

He's also not an MP. Shame. At least when it came to railways he would have some idea what he's talking about.

 

[Busaholic]

He's also not an MP .

That could be arranged. By-election in Witney?

 

[Andyjs247]

Camoron not resigning as MP though so no vacancy in Witney. Yet.

Suppose Portillo could be ennobled to the Lords - though I doubt that would go down too well. Or Heseltine maybe if you wanted an existing peer.

 

[phoenixcronin]

Ken Clarke has also decided to step down as an MP at the "next election" so if this is brought forward then Portillo could stand.

It would be quite a step change from a quite lefty Europhile tory to a Eurosceptic

 

[miami]

By-election posibilities in Witney, Trafford,

However not before a new MP is enabled. And the last time a house of lords member was PM was Salisbury in 1902. That would be hilarious though as a campaign based on "EU isn't democratic" not only appoints a new PM without a mandate, but doesn't even have someone who was voted in. A lordship for Ken could shift him out fairly quickly.

Portillo is left wing where it's most important, wasn't involved in the campaign, I think he'd work well. But there's simply too many people in both big parties that don't care about the UK, only about their own political careers.

 

[Domh245]

Osborne has ruled himself out officially now

 

[ainsworth74]

Suppose Portillo could be ennobled to the Lords - though I doubt that would go down too well. Or Heseltine maybe if you wanted an existing peer.

Out of pure curiosity when was the last time that we had a Lord as Prime Minister rather than an MP?

 

[DarloRich]

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, (PM 1895 - 1902) was the last person to serve a full ministry from the Lords although Alec Douglas-Home renounced his title to sit in the commons was he became PM in 1963

 

[telstarbox]

Realistically it's going to be Theresa May or Boris Johnson.

 

[ainsworth74]

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, (PM 1895 - 1902) was the last person to serve a full ministry from the Lords although Alec Douglas-Home renounced his title to sit in the commons was he became PM in 1963

Interesting I wouldn't have pegged as being as late as that! Thanks

 

[Howardh]

Realistically it's going to be Theresa May or Boris Johnson.

If it's May with her background in the Home Office, she will no doubt be advised by her EU colleagues that leaving the EU would result in greater terrorist threats due to the loss of cross-border co-operation; (how true or not that is would be up for debate, but it's been in the Remain brochure) and that could help the government stay as close to the EU as possible?

Actually, if it could be proved that we ARE at greater risk*, I wonder if the new government would throw out the referendum on public safety grounds??

*I can't see how, but I'd need experts to explain to me one way or the other.

 

[DarloRich]

technically it is Alec Douglas-Home as he was a noble when appointed but he gave up the title asap.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

technically it is Alec Douglas-Home as he was a noble when appointed but he gave up the title asap.

From those nice people over at Wiki:

"Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister from October 1963 to October 1964. He is notable for being the last Prime Minister to hold office while being a member of the House of Lords, before renouncing his peerage and taking up a seat in the House of Commons for the remainder of his premiership.

In October 1963 Harold Macmillan was taken ill and resigned as Prime Minister. Douglas-Home was chosen to succeed him. By the 1960s it was generally considered unacceptable for a Prime Minister to sit in the House of Lords, and Home renounced his earldom and successfully stood for election to the House of Commons. The safe Unionist seat of Kinross and West Perthshire was vacant, and Douglas-Home was adopted as his party's candidate.

Parliament was due to meet on 24 October after the summer recess, but its return was postponed until 12 November pending the by-election. For twenty days Douglas-Home was Prime Minister while a member of neither house of Parliament, a situation without modern precedent. He won the by-election with a majority of 9,328; the Liberal candidate was in second place and Labour in third.

The manner of his appointment was controversial, and two of Macmillan's cabinet ministers refused to take office under him. He was criticised by the Labour Party as an aristocrat, out of touch with the problems of ordinary families, and he came over stiffly in television interviews, by contrast with the Labour leader, Harold Wilson. Douglas-Home's premiership was the second briefest of the twentieth century, lasting two days short of a year.

After a narrow defeat in the general election of 1964 Douglas-Home resigned the leadership of his party, having instituted a new and less secretive method of electing the party leader. From 1970 to 1974 he served in the cabinet of Edward Heath as Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, an expanded version of the post of Foreign Secretary, which he had held earlier. After the defeat of the Heath government in 1974 he returned to the House of Lords as a life peer, and retired from front-line politics."

 

[Phil.]

Michael Portillo fits all the criteria - a Leave supporter, socially liberal in private as well as public and, for the purposes of this forum, pro-railway. Oh, and he's not only not Boris Johnson but also can't stand him.

Forget Michael Portillo.
I met this charming and witty man once after one of his "evenings with" and when asked if he'd ever enter politics again his reply was, "I'd rather eat a bucket of 5h1t".
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

From those nice people over at Wiki:

"Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister from October 1963 to October 1964. He is notable for being the last Prime Minister to hold office while being a member of the House of Lords, before renouncing his peerage and taking up a seat in the House of Commons for the remainder of his premiership.

In October 1963 Harold Macmillan was taken ill and resigned as Prime Minister. Douglas-Home was chosen to succeed him. By the 1960s it was generally considered unacceptable for a Prime Minister to sit in the House of Lords, and Home renounced his earldom and successfully stood for election to the House of Commons. The safe Unionist seat of Kinross and West Perthshire was vacant, and Douglas-Home was adopted as his party's candidate.

Parliament was due to meet on 24 October after the summer recess, but its return was postponed until 12 November pending the by-election. For twenty days Douglas-Home was Prime Minister while a member of neither house of Parliament, a situation without modern precedent. He won the by-election with a majority of 9,328; the Liberal candidate was in second place and Labour in third.

The manner of his appointment was controversial, and two of Macmillan's cabinet ministers refused to take office under him. He was criticised by the Labour Party as an aristocrat, out of touch with the problems of ordinary families, and he came over stiffly in television interviews, by contrast with the Labour leader, Harold Wilson. Douglas-Home's premiership was the second briefest of the twentieth century, lasting two days short of a year.

After a narrow defeat in the general election of 1964 Douglas-Home resigned the leadership of his party, having instituted a new and less secretive method of electing the party leader. From 1970 to 1974 he served in the cabinet of Edward Heath as Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, an expanded version of the post of Foreign Secretary, which he had held earlier. After the defeat of the Heath government in 1974 he returned to the House of Lords as a life peer, and retired from front-line politics."

"He was criticised by the Labour Party as an aristocrat, out of touch with...."

Funny how they never criticised that old fraud Benn for the same. He was a Viscount which is senior to a Baron in the ranks of the peers. This privileged Holland Park mansion dwelling aristocrat with his drinking tea out of a mug and rabbiting on about socialism never fooled me for a moment.

 

[pemma]

Jeremy Hunt is going to run for Conservative leader.

Tweet from David Schneider "The good thing about Jeremy Hunt becoming PM is if the EU won't accept the deal we want, he can just impose it on them. That'll work."

 

[ExRes]

Jeremy Hunt is going to run for Conservative leader.

Tweet from David Schneider "The good thing about Jeremy Hunt becoming PM is if the EU won't accept the deal we want, he can just impose it on them. That'll work."

If we were going to get a Hunt I'd rather it was James Hunt, he's only been dead 23 years so he's got to be a better bet

 

[Harbornite]

"He was criticised by the Labour Party as an aristocrat, out of touch with...."

Funny how they never criticised that old fraud Benn for the same. He was a Viscount which is senior to a Baron in the ranks of the peers. This privileged Holland Park mansion dwelling aristocrat with his drinking tea out of a mug and rabbiting on about socialism never fooled me for a moment.

Anthony Wedgwood Benn gave up his peerage and Wilson once said that he was one of the few politicians to immature with age.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Jeremy Hunt is going to run for Conservative leader.

Not another Jeremy!!!!

 

[Tetchytyke]

Jeremy Hunt is going to run for Conservative leader.

He's a better bet than Stephen Crabb, though. Crabb, charming individual that he is, is heavily funded by, and previously worked for, a radical Christian organisation who believe that gay people are "sexually broken" and so believe in, and fund, "gay cure" therapy.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...sed-for-links-to-gay-cure-group-a6941281.html

Hunt or a homophobe. Can we have Cameron back please?

 

[DarloRich]

Hunt or a homophobe. Can we have Cameron back please?

things are bad when Cameron looks like the best of a bad lot! Anyway we can sit back and watch it turn all a bit McBeth once the blood letting starts

 

[Tetchytyke]

The four pieces I've read in three different national newspapers today were all suggesting the probability of a General Election either later this year or, in Matthew Parris's case, in early 2017. Having predicted the referendum result so badly wrong I'd love to be proved right about this - after last year's general election I wrote on here that the referendum would tear the Tories apart and no way would the next election wait til 2020. Nobody wrote agreeing with me!

Most people would want a General Election, but it can only be called early if 66% of MPs vote for it or there is a vote of No Confidence in the Government which is not rescinded within 14 days.

The chance of MPs voting to put their jobs on the line is fanciful- I don't think many would fancy their chances of getting back in- and the Government have enough MPs to vote down any attempted vote of No Confidence.

There are a lot of political commentators, as well as plenty of MPs who should understand it, who simply do not understand the implications of the Fixed Term Parliament Act.

 

[pemma]

Most people would want a General Election, but it can only be called early if 66% of MPs vote for it or there is a vote of No Confidence in the Government which is not rescinded within 14 days.

The chance of MPs voting to put their jobs on the line is fanciful- I don't think many would fancy their chances of getting back in- and the Government have enough MPs to vote down any attempted vote of No Confidence.

There are a lot of political commentators, as well as plenty of MPs who should understand it, who simply do not understand the implications of the Fixed Term Parliament Act.

Couldn't the Fixed Term Parliament Act be scrapped or amended if 51% of MPs voting in favour?

 

[DarloRich]

An interesting question is the mandate for the post article 50 declaration world - none of us voted for what is happening now and will happen in the near future. We elected a mildly pro EU government on the promise of a referendum. That government has fallen after losing that referendum

 

[me123]

Jeremy Hunt is going to run for Conservative leader.

Tweet from David Schneider "The good thing about Jeremy Hunt becoming PM is if the EU won't accept the deal we want, he can just impose it on them. That'll work."

I cannot think of a worse candidate. A man who has failed in every aspect of his professional life.

Thankfully his pro EU stance will most likely rule him out on this occasion. That and the fact he managed to start a war with doctors.

I second the motion for Prime Minister Rees Mogg. At least he'd be entertaining in a backward sort of way.

 

[pemma]

I cannot think of a worse candidate. A man who has failed in every aspect of his professional life.

Robert Peston last night referred to him as a man who was responsible for chaos in the NHS wanting to take on a much bigger role where he would be leading negotiations with the EU.

 

[Senex]

I second the motion for Prime Minister Rees Mogg. At least he'd be entertaining in a backward sort of way.

Who would be the more likely to lead to an implosion of the Tories, Rees Mogg or Johnson, the oldest of old fogeys or the consummate blusterer?

 

[Johnuk123]

Liam Fox, little chance and that's a shame.