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LONDON – After a whirlwind two months filled with drama and crisis, Britain is back where it was before, with some of the same faces vying to become the third prime minister in just eight weeks.
Supporters of the three presumptive front-runners – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and, yes, Boris Johnson – took to the blogs in the early hours of Friday, laying out their arguments for why their person should get the keys to Number 10 Downing Street , the prime minister. residence
Could Boris Johnson make an extraordinary political comeback? What about Rishi Sunak, the bookies’ favorite who fell to Liz Truss in the last contest? Or Penny Mordaunt, who is not well known but polls well in the Conservative Party? Or could someone else emerge as the leading contender to become the next leader of the Conservative Party?
Friday’s front pages of the famous British tabloids already had Truss firmly in the rear-view mirrors as they focused on “Boris v Rishi: Fight for the soul of the tories”, in the words of the Daily Mail. The Telegraph, the Sun and the Daily Express put Johnson on their front pages, while the left-leaning Mirror simply called for a general election “now” in huge print.
It has been less than 24 hours since Truss said she was stepping down as leader, giving her the unenviable title of shortest-serving prime minister ever. The party is working on a surprisingly short period of time and plans to finish its contest within a week.
No one has officially declared they are running, but supporters of the top three, and the new rules ensure there can be no more than three, have begun declaring their support.
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Rishi Sunak is the bookies’ favourite. The runner-up in the last leadership competition has been remarkably quiet, but his The ‘Ready for Rishi’ team has started rolling. They point out that during the last contest his candidacy received the most support from his colleagues and they say that many of his economic ideas turned out to be prescient.
His critics claim he betrayed Johnson and blame him for helping to end that era. But according to the Daily Telegraph, he has more public statements of support than any other candidate.
“Rishi’s competence, compassion, economic foresight and leadership skills make him the candidate to unite our Party. Rishi’s charisma and wider appeal in the country means he is best placed to rebuild support for our Party,” wrote Nick Gibb, a Conservative Party lawmaker.
Johnson’s supporters want him back from his plough, like the classical-era hero Cincinnatus brought in to meet a crisis, to whom Johnson referred in his resignation speech.
There are rumors that Johnson, who was Britain’s 55th Prime Minister, may also want to be Britain’s 57th Prime Minister. Those in the “Bring Back Boris” camp argue that Johnson is the only candidate who has a “mandate” to to lead In 2019, Johnson helped his party to a landslide victory in the general election. He’s not sure if anyone else could galvanize the population to the same extent, or if Johnson himself can still do it.
“A person was elected by the British public with a manifesto and a mandate until January 25. If Liz Truss is no longer Prime Minister, there can be no coronation of candidates who have previously failed. MPs must demand the return of @BorisJohnson; if not it must be a leadership or GE election,” or a general election, tweeted Nadine Dorries, a Johnson loyalist.
Johnson is the first choice among the 170,000 members of the Conservative Party. But there is also widespread antipathy among the general public. His time in office was marked by scandal after scandal, and voters and his own colleagues were upset by his refusal to accept responsibility. He was the first sitting Prime Minister to be fined by the police.
Johnson is also under investigation by the House of Commons for misleading lawmakers about the famous Downing Street parties and could still be suspended from Parliament.
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It was under his leadership that the Conservatives, earlier this year, began to fall behind the opposition Labor Party in the polls for the first time in years. Johnson is still under investigation for lying to Parliament. Not long ago, 41 percent of his own colleagues said they had no confidence in Johnson’s leadership.
Few people would be surprised if he officially declared that he was running. After all, there was this reference to Cincinnatus in his final speech, and Johnson seems ready to leave the farm again for his country.
The third potential successor seen by many is Penny Mordaunt, who is looking to become a household name but may have a ways to go; in one survey, most respondents were unable to name her when shown her photo. But his “PM4PM” supporters are trying to change that, pointing out that he polls better with key members of the Conservative Party than Sunak.
Mordaunt’s visibility received a major boost in the final days of Truss’s tenure, when she replaced the prime minister in Parliament after the dismantling of the economic program and deftly handled hostile issues. At the time, many speculated that it could be a dry run for his own bid for the top job as he showcased his parliamentary sparring skills.
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Candidates don’t have much time to gather support. The race has been cut short so it will go by quickly. The UK could have a new prime minister as soon as Monday.
The rules were changed on Thursday so the country can quickly replace Truss. Candidates must win the support of at least 100 Conservative colleagues to advance in the race. Given the high bar, it’s possible that only one candidate will come forward before 2pm on Monday, which is when nominations close.
If there is more than one, hopes will be dashed before the last two get close to the Conservative Party’s 170,000 members. Officials have said the contest will end on October 28 at the latest.
Some have argued that this method is undemocratic. The new leader will be selected by a group of around 350 Conservative lawmakers or, if it goes to members, 170,000 people, almost the same as an election for the whole country.
“By the end of October, the UK will have had three prime ministers in eight weeks, two of whom came to power without a general election…” the Financial Times wrote in an editorial. “The prospect of another Tory Prime Minister elected without a general election ignores not only the UK’s growing democratic deficit, but also the lack of competence shown by its woeful government.”
But despite growing calls for a general election, that seems highly unlikely. The Conservative Party is not expected to push something that, with the current polls, is likely to result in its annihilation.