Earlier this week my attitude to the Conservative leadership contest was “anyone but Hunt”.
Thankfully the former health secretary fell at the first hurdle but now the circus has moved on I’m tempted to say “anyone but Mordaunt”.
I had an open mind about Penny Mordaunt. She’s clearly an able communicator with a sense of humour who would brighten up the House at the Despatch Box. (No, I’m not being sexist, I’m talking about her debating skills.)
I know too there is a lot of bad-mouthing and bitching when it comes to leadership contests and since Mordaunt is a clear threat to her more experienced colleagues she has inevitably made herself a target.
That’s politics and to date she’s done the right thing and not risen to the bait.
Nevertheless, can MPs really ignore Lord Frost’s comments about his experience of working with her on the Brexit negotiations? Lord Moylan, another Liz Truss supporter, has had his say too.
I know that if I had a vote I would take their comments very seriously indeed. I also find it extraordinary that someone who is completely untested at a high level in government could be prime minister within weeks.
I’m trying to think of anyone else who has come from such a junior level to PM overnight and off the top of my head I can’t think of anyone since the war.
Attlee, Churchill, Eden, McMillan, Douglas-Home, Wilson, Heath, Wilson (again), Callaghan … They had all served in senior positions or as Opposition leaders. They were also older with far greater experience.
I’m not saying they did a great job because they didn’t. They managed Britain’s post war decline and did nothing to reverse it, and then came Thatcher.
Mrs T was a minister in the Heath government and then Opposition leader for four years before she became PM.
Since then we’ve had Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May and Boris.
Neither Blair nor Cameron had served in government before they became prime minister so they were less experienced, arguably, than Mordaunt who has held ministerial roles, but they were Opposition leaders for several years and had built a team around them that was ready to govern.
Can Mordaunt make a similar claim? No.
I watched the first half of last night’s leadership debate on Channel 4 and Mordaunt wasn’t bad but she didn’t stand out either which she surely must if she wants a place in the final two.
The problem was, no-one else really grasped the opportunity to shine either which is why I switched to BBC2 to watch England play Northern Ireland in the Women’s Euros.
As an aside I was going to write about my interest in women’s football a couple of weeks ago but I fear I’ve missed the boat because if England continue their current form it will look like I’m jumping on the bandwagon. I am tempted however because I recently read a book, The History of Women’s Football by Jean Williams, and it was quite an eye-opener.
Anyway, back to politics.
If I was to judge the leadership contenders by the MPs who have come out in support of each one I would vote for Liz Truss but the Foreign Secretary’s pathway to Number Ten is far from clear and Penny Mordaunt was not the only one who failed to deliver last night.
Tom Tugendhat was too smarmy for my taste, and kept smirking. Kemi Badenoch, who is great, nevertheless came across as a bit hesitant but I imagine she was very nervous. She won’t win but she’s got a great future, I hope.
And then we had Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. As Henry Hill noted in the Telegraph:
Truss also struggled tonight. But the Foreign Secretary still seems more likely to consolidate right-wing MPs behind her – especially if she carries on literally dressing like Margaret Thatcher.
I laughed at that because Truss’s outfit included an enormous bow on her blouse and my wife and I made exactly the same connection when we saw it.
Of course, when Mrs T was elected leader of the Conservative party there were some issues that had to be addressed but she had four years to fine tune everything.
Whoever succeeds Boris doesn’t have that time. They have to be ready to walk in to Number Ten and do the job immediately.
Politically, Truss or Kemi Badenoch would be my choice but on last night’s evidence I’d give the job to Rishi. He handled the debate well enough and came across as the one true adult in the room.
Overall though I was a bit disappointed. No-one really shone and the debate was a bit lacklustre, which is why I stopped watching.
Subsequent debates may be better but it wasn’t a great advertisement for the leadership contest.
I suppose it’s too late to bring back Boris?
Update: Apparently Truss’s outfit, including the pussy bow blouse, was almost identical to one worn by Mrs T in an election broadcast in 1979.
If that’s not hero worship I don’t know what is. Others might call it something else.
The best and most distinctive outfit, a bright yellow dress that made her stand out from every one of her rivals, male and female, was worn by Kemi Badenoch.
How will they respond to that next time out? That might be more interesting than most of their policies!