Rishi Sunak - PM

[Woodchopper]

There's the perpetual "bring back Boris" a la Nadine Dorries's calls too, but which also seem to pop up every so often in twitter comments from a variety of people (possibly bots).

The general unhingedness of this particular fount of madness is that little more so, seeing as Fucko the Clown isn't even an MP any more.

That's not a complete barrier...

Yes, there’s nothing to stop someone who isn’t an MP from being a party leader. Nigel Farage has led several parties and he has never been elected to the UK parliament.

By convention the Prime Minister has to be an MP,* but Johnson has always been unconventional.



*Yes, some have been in the Lords, but that was a long time ago.

[IvanV]

The greater impediment to Johnson Redux would seem to be getting MPs to vote him onto a shortlist of two to present to the membership.

If against all the odds the great majority of MPs who were so angry with him decide to forget all that, and vote him back, I think they'll find a safe seat for him. They did that once before.

But he looks thoroughly out of it now. He is raking it in, and has bought a nice house and all that. Hard to go back to living on a PM's salary.

[Tessa K]

The greater impediment to Johnson Redux would seem to be getting MPs to vote him onto a shortlist of two to present to the membership.

If against all the odds the great majority of MPs who were so angry with him decide to forget all that, and vote him back, I think they'll find a safe seat for him. They did that once before.

But he looks thoroughly out of it now. He is raking it in, and has bought a nice house and all that. Hard to go back to living on a PM's salary.

It's not about the salary for him, it's about the status and attention, his image of himself as the new Churchill. His massive f.cking ego needs an audience.

[dyqik]

The general unhingedness of this particular fount of madness is that little more so, seeing as Fucko the Clown isn't even an MP any more.

That's not a complete barrier...

Yes, there’s nothing to stop someone who isn’t an MP from being a party leader. Nigel Farage has led several parties and he has never been elected to the UK parliament.

By convention the Prime Minister has to be an MP,* but Johnson has always been unconventional.



*Yes, some have been in the Lords, but that was a long time ago.

It's like the dream of Trump supporters that they could nullify elections, and electoral college votes, and instead have congressional representatives of the states vote him as being reelected.

That was more far-fetched, but still attempted.

[monkey]

Johnson can't be chosen as the Tory Leader without being an MP, it's in their rulebook. The 1922 committee can propose a change, but it has to be voted on by the membership. A rule change can also be initiated by a petition with at least 10,000 members, along with a couple of other things like the board. So while he could be given a peerage and become PM (technically), he can't be leader of the party, which would be a good sign that he doesn't command a majority in parliament.

This makes things even more complicated for any idiots who want Johnson back, or who are hoping for Farage.

[Woodchopper]

Johnson can't be chosen as the Tory Leader without being an MP, it's in their rulebook. The 1922 committee can propose a change, but it has to be voted on by the membership. A rule change can also be initiated by a petition with at least 10,000 members, along with a couple of other things like the board. So while he could be given a peerage and become PM (technically), he can't be leader of the party, which would be a good sign that he doesn't command a majority in parliament.

This makes things even more complicated for any idiots who want Johnson back, or who are hoping for Farage.

Good point.

[dyqik]

It's only a convention that the PM is the party leader...

</Rudy Dorries>

[lpm]

Been a while since we've had a fun vote in the Commons.

They've just gone off to the lobbies to vote.

Happy memories of all those Brexit votes...

[lpm]

Hilarious that they've already split the Conservatives into rival factions, squabbling and negotiating and forming temporary alliances.

Sounds like the European Research Group has allied with the Northern Research Group, fighting
the Commons Sense Group and demanding the New Conservatives open up a second front against the Conservative Growth Group.

Even the left has nothing on the Tory PFJ vs JPF.

[Tessa K]

Apparently Sunak spent much time trying to persuade MPs to support him. Threats and career bribery - or am I being cynical?

[lpm]

He might come to regret this win. Means a few more months of this stupidity.

[Trinucleus]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

[Fishnut]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

I think they're the group equivalent of countries with 'democratic' in their name

[Grumble]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

My MP is one of them

[Fishnut]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

My MP is one of them

Do MPs have to declare if they're members of these groups? Are there public lists? I seem to remember trying to find out all the members of the ERG (or whatever that group is called) and couldn't find a full list of names

[Grumble]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

My MP is one of them

Do MPs have to declare if they're members of these groups? Are there public lists? I seem to remember trying to find out all the members of the ERG (or whatever that group is called) and couldn't find a full list of names

No, but he was quite public about it

[Fishnut]

It's the ones who aren't public that worry me. I don't know why they get to keep their membership private. Though tbh I don't understand these groups anyway. Are they a new thing or have there always been them and it's only in recent years that they've become important?

[dyqik]

Aren't they basically Whatsapp group chats nowadays?

[Lew Dolby]

I'm old enough to remember the fuss the tories made about Militant and entryism in the Labour party. Can't see how the ERG and the rest are any different but not a peep from the tories or their mates in the press.

[IvanV]

I'm struggling with the idea that there's a common sense group of Tory MPs

There's the One Nation Conservatives and the Tory Reform Group. The latter calls themselves "the authentic and authoritative voice of moderate, liberal Conservatism throughout the Party. It is the home of the One Nation movement in Britain". So they claim to have that position. But I agree, given what the party has in general done, often with their cooperation, it is a struggle to think whether there really is much left of common sense anywhere in the party.

[Sciolus]

FPTP guarantees a two-party system, which means each of those parties needs to contain around 40% of political opinion. So they are broad churches and are likely to have more or less informal sub-parties within them. If we had PR, they would be actual parties forming ad-hoc coalitions rather than the permanent coalitions they are forced into here.

[TimW]

How are the Anti-Growth Coalition getting on these days? I haven't heard anything about them for a while.

[jimbob]

How are the Anti-Growth Coalition getting on these days? I haven't heard anything about them for a while.

Well, they are currently in office if not effectively running the country. To riff on a well known phrase that's more appropriate now than when it was coined.

[Woodchopper]

FPTP guarantees a two-party system, which means each of those parties needs to contain around 40% of political opinion. So they are broad churches and are likely to have more or less informal sub-parties within them. If we had PR, they would be actual parties forming ad-hoc coalitions rather than the permanent coalitions they are forced into here.

Certainly, in other places in Europe the parties look like:

marxist, green, trade union based centre left, pro-business centre right, Christian based centre right, libertarian, populist, racist.

Of course each group could have more than one party.

ETA also minority nationalists in many places but it’s difficult to fit them into a left right political spectrum

[FlammableFlower]

With Benton losing the whip courtesy of a Times sting around his gambling lobbying, Sunak may have another by-election on his hands.