Would you have him back if the polls said he’d lead Labour to government again? There always seems to be rumours of a return.
There was a rumour recently that he was setting up a new party with Ruth Davidson.
Blair was always a tory in the wrong party
Not really from his point of view I reckon. Lawyers such as Blair and Starmer who decide to turn their hands at politics are more likely to be successful if they join the Labour Party than if they join the Tory Party imo.
Today's Labour Party will bend over backwards to find a safe seat for a successful barrister to contest, in contrast the Tory Party is likely to send them to the back of the queue.
Then there's the huge competition among public school/Oxbridge educated politicians to be members of a Tory Cabinet, and compare that with the competition among politicians to be in a Labour Cabinet.
Just look at Alan Johnson, for example, a state educated orphan who lived in a council flat and was a postman, he did end up as Chancellor of the Exchequer but his only redeeming quality was that he is a staunch right-winger, otherwise a public school/Oxbridge professional wallah after the job of Chancellor would have pissed it.
Obviously things have changed in recent years since New Labour as lawyers and other middle-class professionals have tighten their grip on the Labour Party, so competition is now getting tighter. But when Blair carved out his political career many Labour politician were still of state educated manual worker background.
It certainly made sense for him to join a political party where being a successful lawyer gave him far more leverage than being in the Tory Party would have done.
And he never did find the big scissors.
Inheritance tax, or rather the low rates of inheritance tax are massively responsible for the economic problems we are facing.
We have seen property values double or Triple since the 2007 banking crisis whilst wages have stood still or gone backwards.
All this does is divide society even further, the prospect of getting on the property ladder is a pipe dream for most younger people. Increased property values also puts enormous pressure on the rental sector, making wages worth even less.
All this does is put all the assets in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Interestingly, the reason that Rishi Rich is so rich (via his wifes fortune) is because India doesn't have inheritance tax at all.
There is a difference between earned wealth and made wealth, unfortunately, many pensioners with a property worth a million think they have earned it, that they worked hard for it amd deserve it when in fact it has been gifted to them by the way in which the economy has been managed.
I would argue that this displacement of wealth has more to do with the cost of living (in a house) crisis than any other factor and is the single most significant factor with regards increasing the wealth gap, yet the issue is never addressed.
We know why...
To get back on topic...unless she is on the receiving end of a miracle, it won't be truss; we'll be spared 'liz for leader' and thank god for that.
To get back on topic…unless she is on the receiving end of a miracle, it won’t be truss; we’ll be spared ‘liz for leader’ and thank god for that.
Currently i think the risk is still real: i don't think PM did as well as expected in the first debate which increases risk Truss will gain votes and frankly, i reckon if Truss is in the final 2 and it went to the Tory member vote, i reckon they'd pick Truss
ERG would love an incredibly weak PM like Truss to try and control.
Today’s Labour Party will bend over backwards to find a safe seat for a successful barrister to contest, in contrast the Tory Party is likely to send them to the back of the queue.
But a quick google, before white wine took over, shows these tories, obviously the back of the queue is not a barrier to success?
Bob Neil mp
Suella Braverman QC mp
Jeremy Wright QC mp
Geoffrey Cox QC mp
Robert Buckland Qc mp
And that ^^ is of course precisely my point - being a QC gives you very little advantage when joining the Tories, a party bursting at the seams with public school/Oxbridge professionals, it does however give you significant advantages of you decide to join the Labour Party instead.
Tony Blair probably made a very wise career move when he decided to enter politics via the Labour Party. If he had chosen to do it via the Tory Party he quite likely would not have ended up Prime Minister.
Edit : And Starmer would similarly have made the correct decision to enter politics via the Labour Party - being the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service will have given him huge kudos in the LP. Although as I mentioned earlier that advantage has slowly been eroded as the Labour Party becomes more and more the party of the professional classes.
Your point was
the Tory Party is likely to send them to the back of the queue.
That’s quite obviously not the case.
That’s quite obviously not the case.
I reckon it is very much the case. You obviously don't agree which is fair enough, but the list that you provided in no way proves that they didn't join the back of the queue. Only that they eventually got to the front.
Btw my comments are not directed at all public school/Oxbridge professionals who have joined the Labour Party, just the obvious careerists such as Tony Blair. I have no doubt Tam Dalyell who was Eton and Cambridge educated, for example, was motivated primarily by strong conviction rather than career.
i reckon if Truss is in the final 2 and it went to the Tory member vote, i reckon they’d pick Truss
I agree, Truss is definitely still in with a reasonable chance
I hope they pick Truss as she is gives the Tories a better chance of losing.
I hope they pick Truss as she is gives the Tories a better chance of losing.
And burn the UK to the ground en-route to doing so. No matter who wins, I'll repeat my earlier point, I'm terrified. (As much as anything due in large part to the abject lack of proper opposition from any quarter)
If Liz Truss wins it won't be easy but I am sure that Keir Starmer will prove that he is more pro-business and low taxation than her. And of course more patriotic.
And that ^^ is of course precisely my point – being a QC gives you very little advantage when joining the Tories, a party bursting at the seams with public school/Oxbridge professionals, it does however give you significant advantages of you decide to join the Labour Party instead.
Some background to the status of “QC”.
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2020/silk-but-no-silken-tongue/
Over the past 20 years, successive governments have found it increasingly difficult to find lawyers in parliament who are suitable to serve as one of the UK government’s three law officers — attorney general, solicitor general and advocate general for Scotland. Labour used to send QCs to the House of Lords and appoint them when an attorney general was needed: thus Lord Williams of Mostyn (1999-2001), Lord Goldsmith (2001-2007) and Baroness Scotland of Asthal (2007-2010). Another option was to pick a junior lawyer in the Commons and make that person a QC on appointment: for example, Harriet Harman MP (solicitor general 2001-2005); Mike O’Brien (solicitor general 2005-2007). Strikingly, O’Brien does not use his rank and practises as a junior barrister.
And burn the UK to the ground en-route to doing so. No matter who wins, I’ll repeat my earlier point, I’m terrified.
Still the same Tory party just another rustless leader without the joviality and get Brexit done Johnson appeal. The burning to the ground will not be any different, we have had 12 years of that.
Gobsmackingly barefaced liar even by Tory standards. Still, she has nice hair.
https://twitter.com/haggis_uk/status/1548599777285361665?s=21&t=nX2_R-qofeAe5AQ_bGQUqg
Misleading? She's definitely been in the NAAFI.
Why did they have another tv debate
when the votes over the next 3 days are just mps?
Why do they show football matches on Telly when you can’t affect the result 🙂
It's a softening up tactic to break the countries spirit.
All five are utterly hideous . you might not like Starmer but his description as a circus is bang on
Why do they show football matches on Telly when you can’t affect the result
I have no interest in football, but I appreciate some people do and get enjoyment from it.
As much as I like to see Tories at each other’s throats, ultimately we’re the ones to suffer for at least 2 more years.
The next 3 rounds are for mps & they’ve done hustings. They could have left this to the last 2. What new has come out over the 2 debates so far?
I missed it. Can anyone provide a brief summary? How was Penny’s hair? 😍
Can anyone provide a brief summary?
It's all someone else's fault x 5.
What Thatcher outfit was Liz wearing?
Since Thatch Tories have always gone for great hair, Penney's got it.
William Hague?
Gobsmackingly barefaced liar even by Tory standards
She was right though when she referred back to it being like the remain campaign in 2016.
They used facts she and the rest of the leavers used lies.
ultimately we’re the ones to suffer for at least 2 more years.
You have answered your own question - public interest in the Tory leadership contest is driven by the fact that whoever the winner is they will automatically become UK Prime Minister.
And I think it is fair to assume that there is public interest in the contest. Just clicking on a thread titled "So…who’s going to be our next PM?" suggests an interest, even among those who claim none.
Tom T seems very worried about the next election....
Kemi playing the ERG card... looking like its only a pair...
Liz struggling to read and talk at the same time....
Penny forgot to fetch her actual polices..
Rishi was well Rishi...
Kemi
I quite liked Kemi due to her cool glasses. She seems to have binned them off though recently. A grave mistake, I fear this may cost her.
FB-ATB
Full Member
Why did they have another tv debate
when the votes over the next 3 days are just mps?
It's called taking control of the narrative.
Not sure they took control of the narrative....
Yeah it's a process. Tory overload on the tele and a fresh new face to into the next election with. This is basically the start of their next election campaign that'll last the next 2 years.
Why did they have another tv debate
I suspect to give those tories who haven't yet tuned their TV since 1981 when the great Thatcher was in power a chance to see it as they don't have that liberal and depraved Channel 4 with their red triangle and all that.
Badendoch polling very well with Conservative home members
Her culture war front & centre stance making her v popular with the membership want
I watched the debate and thought it came across as a bunch of children squabbling with each other. All about winning, and who's the bestest. A fascinating insight into how broken the Tory Party is. Really makes you wonder how we got here, so many great minds in the world and yet we have this childish behavior running it.
Why did they have another tv debate
One reason might be data collection. MPs want to keep their jobs, and through public debates and polls they can accurately gauge who is going to get the most support from the public.
I don't think that Tory MPs can instruct Channel 4 or ITV to stage televised leadership debates. These decisions tend to be based on what the TV channels feel their viewers want to watch.