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

[Thirteen]

he needs a role for Javid maybe back in health

Javid I'd say Foreign Secretary rather than Health.

 

[Busaholic]

50/50 I'd say if Sunak doesn't fancies reshuffling the cabinet too much, I'd say JRM and James Cleverly will get the boot though.

I think he'll keep Hunt and Shapps intact as Chancellor and Home Secretary

I'd say Rees-Smirk and Cleverly definitely out, Coffey significantly demoted so will probably resign, Brandon Lewis probably out too, and Buckland for his ill-timed move to the Truss side, but Wallace kept at Defence despite his coming out for Johnson and Hunt staying as Chancellor, for now anyway. I think Javid might get Foreign Secretary and Truss can join May and Johnson on the backbenches. Zahawi deserves to join them there too. Hancock angling for a job, but I think Hunt will make sure it's not Health, as he's decidedly not a fan of his. Finally, Eustice might well secure a comeback.

Johnson gets more like Trump, claiming he'd have won if he'd stood: you couldn't stand, mate, because you couldn't get the votes!! Brady and co. had calculated that by imposing the 100 vote minimum he wouldn't be able to insinuate his way onto a ballot for the members, and they were proved right.

 

[WatcherZero]

It was Boris concession statement where he said he would be there leading the party to victory in 2024 that sounded the most like Trump.

 

[Thirteen]

I'd say Rees-Smirk and Cleverly definitely out, Coffey significantly demoted so will probably resign, Brandon Lewis probably out too, and Buckland for his ill-timed move to the Truss side, but Wallace kept at Defence despite his coming out for Johnson and Hunt staying as Chancellor, for now anyway. I think Javid might get Foreign Secretary and Truss can join May and Johnson on the backbenches. Zahawi deserves to join them there too. Hancock angling for a job, but I think Hunt will make sure it's not Health, as he's decidedly not a fan of his. Finally, Eustice might well secure a comeback.

Johnson gets more like Trump, claiming he'd have won if he'd stood: you couldn't stand, mate, because you couldn't get the votes!! Brady and co. had calculated that by imposing the 100 vote minimum he wouldn't be able to insinuate his way onto a ballot for the members, and they were proved right.

I'd probably say BEIS will go to Hancock. Health I have no idea.

 

[DarloRich]

These people think this is a game, a wheeze, a jolly jape. For them is is not serious. For is it absolutly is.

We need a general election now.

 

[Djgr]

Strange, everyone i know (which tend to be women who work in offices not men in streets) think Boris is vile.

(Almost) everyone I know think the whole wretched lot of them are vile.

 

[AlterEgo]

Look at the positives. At least Rees-Mogg won’t be in the cabinet.

 

[AM9]

I've just heard Christopher Chope in an interview by Nick Robinson claiming that there now needs to be a general election because Sunak didn't promise to give his full support should Johnson win. Chope said that the Conservative government would be unable to govern and be damaged.
Talk about blaming others for Johnson's failings.

 

[yorksrob]

I find it quite difficult to feel sorry for him, but at least he’s willing to take something extremely difficult on despite having a fairly good idea of what to expect.

Indeed, although it should be a comparatively easy job, considering that his first task should be to call a general election.

I think that the key problem is that too many MP's see it as a career, and as such are desperate to cling on, even though in their heart of hearts they probably know that there should be an election. Getting voted out is a fundamental part of democracy. If you're not prepared to take that in your stride, you shouldn't be an MP in my opinion.

 

[Bantamzen]

Despite the complete cluster-you-know-what of the last few weeks, there is still very little chance of an election. Sunak, if chosen, will look to calm the membership & the financial markets down to take the heat off them. I don't expect anything massively controversial from his government one way or another for a while. If Labour were hoping for a gimme election, that moment is passing. They are going to have to do the heavy lifting themselves in the house if they want to take advantage of the current polls, the Tories haven't quite ratted themselves apart yet. They've got two years to go yet, which is a lifetime in modern politics.

 

[DerekC]

50/50 I'd say if Sunak doesn't fancies reshuffling the cabinet too much, I'd say JRM and James Cleverly will get the boot though.

I think he'll keep Hunt and Shapps intact as Chancellor and Home Secretary

I agree that Hunt will stay. Not sure about Schapps, though. I wonder if Sunak will bring Mordaunt in as Home Secretary. It would be a good unifying move and there hasn't been much acrimony between them this time, as far as I know.

 

[43096]

I think that the key problem is that too many MP's see it as a career, and as such are desperate to cling on, even though in their heart of hearts they probably know that there should be an election. Getting voted out is a fundamental part of democracy. If you're not prepared to take that in your stride, you shouldn't be an MP in my opinion.

Being an MP is their job and despite what you may think they have mortgages and bills to pay, so it’s hardly surprising that they want to stay employed.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I've just heard Christopher Chope in an interview by Nick Robinson claiming that there now needs to be a general election because Sunak didn't promise to give his full support should Johnson win. Chope said that the Conservative government would be unable to govern and be damaged.
Talk about blaming others for Johnson's failings.

There will now be a constant stream (nay Amazon river) of this tripe. Sore losers, can't admit defeat, won't let the winner concentrate on the key issues facing the government, instead they will be constantly fighting bushfires on the back benches. The media, especially the Boris Broadcasting Campaign will lap it up as easy copy. I'm sure the BBC has been bought and they are client journalists.

The Boris camp needs to be told very firmly where to go, to stay there and to shut the heck up. A bit like certain (ex)royals.

 

[DerekC]

There will now be a constant stream (nay Amazon river) of this tripe. Sore losers, can't admit defeat, won't let the winner concentrate on the key issues facing the government, instead they will be constantly fighting bushfires on the back benches. The media, especially the Boris Broadcasting Campaign will lap it up as easy copy. I'm sure the BBC has been bought and they are client journalists.

Interesting perspective. Who do you think the BBC journalists are clients of?

 

[nw1]

I think the country needs a boring but fiscally competent PM for the next few years. Sunak is probably the right choice for the current state of affairs. However I agree he is another John Major when it comes to appeal to the wider electorate. He will not win an election. In fact I don't think he will stop a labour majority.

Though if Labour win the election, he won't be around for the "next few years", but just over 18 months max.

Having said that, the worry to me is, if he is another Major (to Boris' Thatcher?) we might get a 1992 type result next time round and get stuck with the Tories for another six and a half years, at least. I really hope not.

Really hoping we're not going to end up with a situation where the Tories are ahead in the polls by the end of the year with large sections of the electorate charmed by Sunak and completely forgiving Boris' transgressions and Truss' ideological actions, in the same way that many forgave the Tories for Thatcher's actions in 1992. But knowing much of the UK's electorate's seeming love affair with the Conservative Party and distrust of the opposition, it wouldn't surprise me...

I'd probably say BEIS will go to Hancock. Health I have no idea.

I hope nothing goes to Hancock after he lectured us about staying at home and then had an affair during a time of restrictions. Also made the dog-whistling comment during the 2019 election that "it's the National Health Service, not the International Health Service". A brown-nosing, sanctimonious hypocrite who is absolutely unfit for government, though again knowing the Conservative Party it wouldn't surprise me if he's considered PM material in a few years.

Despite the complete cluster-you-know-what of the last few weeks, there is still very little chance of an election. Sunak, if chosen, will look to calm the membership & the financial markets down to take the heat off them. I don't expect anything massively controversial from his government one way or another for a while. If Labour were hoping for a gimme election, that moment is passing. They are going to have to do the heavy lifting themselves in the house if they want to take advantage of the current polls, the Tories haven't quite ratted themselves apart yet. They've got two years to go yet, which is a lifetime in modern politics.

Though I still think the absolute latest we'll have an election is June 2024, so 18 months, give-or-take. But it's time we get rid of five-year terms. Completely and utterly ridiculous; even the much-derided USA has four-year terms for its President and a change over in Congress every two. Really gets my back up that the Conservatives are allowed to carry on for so long after all that has happened. Fed up of the lot of them, and Sunak will be little better. Worse, in fact, because he threatens to charm people in a way Truss couldn't.

There may not be an imminent election but I suspect there will be a lot of protests and anger. The people that dislike the Conservative Party will dislike them even more, while the Brexiters and the fiscal conservatives will love Sunak, as he will doubtless give them what they want (austerity and continuing poor relations with the EU) and the nation will just become more and more divided.

I honestly think we'd have been better off sticking with Truss-Hunt. Hunt would have made all the decisions, so nothing too silly would have happened, but the unpopular Truss would have remained the figurehead. The Tories wouldn't have recovered very much and I would have then expected to have Starmer by next June and the country finally putting the whole sorry episode of the last few years to bed.

 

[MikeWM]

A quick summary of the last six months or so in the Tory party:

Membership : We still quite like Johnson
Parliamentary Party : Well, we're having a confidence motion in him anyway.
M : We'd rather you didn't.
P : No problem, he won.
M : That's good.
P : But we've forced him out anyway. Don't worry though, you get to help pick his successor.
M : Well, that's something I guess.
P : We're got it down to four options. How about Sunak?
M : We'd quite like Badenoch.
P : Sorry, we just eliminated her. How about Sunak?
M : Mordaunt may be worth a go.
P : Sorry, she's gone too. How about Sunak?
M : Given the choice, we'll have to settle for Truss.
P : Sunak it is! Thanks for taking part in the democratic vote.
M : err...
P : oh, and please keep on going out in all weathers leafleting for us, and getting out the vote on election days
M : <goes off and joins Reform or one of the other right-wing parties>

 

[nw1]

I've just heard Christopher Chope in an interview by Nick Robinson claiming that there now needs to be a general election because Sunak didn't promise to give his full support should Johnson win. Chope said that the Conservative government would be unable to govern and be damaged.
Talk about blaming others for Johnson's failings.

One of the very rare occasions that I agree with Christopher Chope.

 

[GS250]

Though if Labour win the election, he won't be around for the "next few years", but just over 18 months max.

Having said that, the worry to me is, if he is another Major (to Boris' Thatcher?) we might get a 1992 type result next time round and get stuck with the Tories for another six and a half years, at least? I really hope not.

I guess the comparison of opposition is valid as far as they new Tory leader goes. We knew all about Neil Kinnock's Labour party in 1992. All of their policies, their Worldly views. They offered a genuine alternative methodology to the conservatives. The Tories were predicted to have had a largest party but it appeared the hatchet job on Kinnock quite possibly proved the difference between that and a majority.

As far as present Labour goes...I've absolutely no idea as to what they stand for. There are still some indicators that they have a strong 'momentum' undercurrent about them. However when Starmer boldly suggests the railways will not be nationalised maybe that indicates the direction they are moving in. The apparition of Union flags during his speeches maybe an attempt to woo his old voters back.

However, my gut feeling is that both he and Sunak will offer similar policies come the next election. Lets fact it, if you are faced with two similar choices, one of which has been badly tainted during the past few years or one which is not...I suppose you will go with Starmer? Or if you still have your house, a bit of spending money, stay with the Tories?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

We used to have that here, admittedly not same day.

Something has gone wrong since Covid, and an explanation from the NHS is needed as to why surgeries are adopting such a hostile approach to patients. It doesn't mean, however, that the NHS is fundamentally bad. Until 2019 it (mostly) worked.

I'd agree that some countries have affordable private healthcare, but that's not the point; we'd go from free to paid-for healthcare and that is a regressive step. And knowing what the Tories are like, I am sure they would choose the US model to line the pockets of their rich friends, rather than say a continental European model.

The reputation of Doctors Receptionists for being somewhat hostile goes back way further than Covid, but I agree it really ramped up with lockdowns. After two and a half years of being the National Covid Service, they now have the gall to blame me for not being given an appointment to manage a long-term condition.

Back on topic, does anyone remember the minor controversy over Mr. Sunak continuing to hold a United States "Green Card" whilst being in charge of UK fiscal policy? He does seem to be the most competent of the runners and riders, but there's a question mark over his loyalty to the nation... then again the same could be said of BoJo.

 

[najaB]

Back on topic, does anyone remember the minor controversy over Mr. Sunak continuing to hold a United States "Green Card" whilst being in charge of UK fiscal policy?

It was actually a felony crime in the USA. No idea if/how it was actually resolved in the end without any charges being considered.

 

[nw1]

I guess the comparison of opposition is valid as far as they new Tory leader goes. We knew all about Neil Kinnock's Labour party in 1992. All of their policies, their Worldly views. They offered a genuine alternative methodology to the conservatives. The Tories were predicted to have had a largest party but it appeared the hatchet job on Kinnock quite possibly proved the difference between that and a majority.

Though I actually seem to recall most of the polls predicting Labour as the largest party, which is why the majority was such a shock. The first election I voted in, and I voted for Kinnock. I was not pleased with the result, to put it mildly...

As far as present Labour goes...I've absolutely no idea as to what they stand for. There are still some indicators that they have a strong 'momentum' undercurrent about them. However when Starmer boldly suggests the railways will not be nationalised maybe that indicates the direction they are moving in. The apparition of Union flags during his speeches maybe an attempt to woo his old voters back.

One might think that nationalisation is a more worthy policy than flag-flying. If people think otherwise, then all I can say is, that makes the UK look pretty bad.

I'm more proud of British Rail than the flag. British Rail actually provided something meaningful. By contrast, flag-flying to me just comes across as thinking your country can do no wrong. But maybe I'm odd.

However, my gut feeling is that both he and Sunak will offer similar policies come the next election. Lets fact it, if you are faced with two similar choices, one of which has been badly tainted during the past few years or one which is not...I suppose you will go with Starmer? Or if you still have your house, a bit of spending money, stay with the Tories?

I'm not so sure, even given the comments above. I suspect that Sunak will be considerably more pro-austerity, even more so in an effort to distance himself from the shannanigans of Truss. Also Sunak will not, I suspect, want to repair relations with the EU while Starmer, while not actually attempting to rejoin, will recognise that complete isolation and picking fights with the continent will do us no favours.

Essentially Sunak is a right-winger while Starmer is somewhat left-of-centre. If it was Starmer vs Major, I'd agree there wouldn't be a vast difference.

It was actually a felony crime in the USA. No idea if/how it was actually resolved in the end without any charges being considered.

Can we persuade Mr Biden to extradite him?

 

[Typhoon]

I've just heard Christopher Chope in an interview by Nick Robinson claiming that there now needs to be a general election because Sunak didn't promise to give his full support should Johnson win. Chope said that the Conservative government would be unable to govern and be damaged.
Talk about blaming others for Johnson's failings.

In complete contrast to Johnson who almost certainly offered May his full support but went about undermining her regularly in practice. At least Sunak is honest.

Jeremy Hunt today accused Boris Johnson of undermining the Prime Minister as Cabinet divisions on Brexit boiled over.
The Health Secretary publicly rebuked his Cabinet colleague for branding Theresa May’s favoured option for Brexit as “crazy”.
Calling on Mr Johnson to be a “team” player and keep “lively debates” in Cabinet secret, he said the Foreign Secretary risked damaging Britain’s position in Brexit negotiations with the European Union. “I do think that it is important that we have these debates in private,” Mr Hunt said on the BBC’s Today programme.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/pol...e-pm-on-brexit-says-jeremy-hunt-a3838406.html

 

[Busaholic]

For the first time, assuming Sunak does become P.M., we will have a leader who was never a Remainer: just a thought to drop in. Does he have Brexit regrets now? We shall probably never no, until the inevitable self-justifying autobiography.

One last observation on the chess pieces - Priti Patel is most unlikely to feature in his government, given the history between them when they were both jockeying for position to get selected as potential MPs by constituency associations - a Google search will be your friend!

 

[gnolife]

For the first time, assuming Sunak does become P.M., we will have a leader who was never a Remainer: just a thought to drop in. Does he have Brexit regrets now? We shall probably never no, until the inevitable self-justifying autobiography.

One last observation on the chess pieces - Priti Patel is most unlikely to feature in his government, given the history between them when they were both jockeying for position to get selected as potential MPs by constituency associations - a Google search will be your friend!

A Google search has not been my friend, would you like to be specific, or better still, provide a link?

 

[nlogax]

For the first time, assuming Sunak does become P.M., we will have a leader who was never a Remainer: just a thought to drop in. Does he have Brexit regrets now? We shall probably never no, until the inevitable self-justifying autobiography.

Privately I'm sure he'd be happier if the UK was at least in the single market. It'd make the political day job (jobs?) much easier. In the context of government any post-Brexit regrets will be presented as standalone financial challenges that don't mention the B-word itself. Directly admitting Brexit regrets seems to be a no-no.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

10yr gilts which is benchmark for government borrowing is now lowest its been for 1 month and im sure will head lower still once Sunak confirmed 1415ish by Brady. This should also give confidence to mortgage providers that they can top slice their rates in anticipation of a lower peak in which will be better news for homeowners and thus economic stability. Won't avoid some hard months ahead but more likely to get through with a shallow recession rather than 30's sytle depression Trussecomics was taking us.
Alos whilst i morally believe a general election is what should have happened there is some merit in the Torys doing the hard miles over next 18mths and leaving Labour some room for manoeuvre if they are successful .

 

[Bletchleyite]

Privately I'm sure he'd be happier if the UK was at least in the single market. It'd make the political day job (jobs?) much easier. In the context of government any post-Brexit regrets will be presented as standalone financial challenges that don't mention the B-word itself. Directly admitting Brexit regrets seems to be a no-no.

I very much see it going that way, either EEA or EFTA. That's what I thought Brexit would be anyway, the right wingers went a bit far with it.

 

[nw1]

I very much see it going that way, either EEA or EFTA. That's what I thought Brexit would be anyway, the right wingers went a bit far with it.

But I don't think we'll get that with Sunak. Starmer, quite possibly.

 

[takno]

But I don't think we'll get that with Sunak. Starmer, quite possibly.

Frankly I think Starmer will still be hanging around determined to "respect the referendum result" long after the entire population has decided we'd be better off back in the single market. Sunak is probably better placed to do it politically, although I think it's pretty unlikely in the next 18 months

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

I very much see it going that way, either EEA or EFTA. That's what I thought Brexit would be anyway, the right wingers went a bit far with it.

Had Corbyn played along with May this is the arena we would have been in but he was a much against it as ERG. Ultimately we have been served by politicians only interested in themselves and not the people they perpetrate to represent.