We’ve already covered which MPs the Daily Beagle think should be PM, and done a secondary review as candidates get eliminated. I think it’s now time to examine the bad choices on the table and decide the tactical voting aspect.
We know globalist supporter dubbed turd-in-hat got eliminated, and other globalist child abuse supporter Penny Mordaunt votes stalled.
For Team Good Guy, the votes break down to being between Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss or Kemi Badenoch.
Rishi Sunak got 115
Penny Mordaunt got 82
Liz Truss received 71
Kemi Badenoch received 58
I think the reluctance for Brexiteers backing Badenoch to collapse their voting line so it falls behind Liz Truss is on the basis she voted Remain.
Several of Braverman’s Brexiteer backers could not get over the fact that Truss voted Remain. Others concluded from the debates that Badenoch is the better communicator.
Despite this, I’d like to offer the Brexiteers a concession, and an insight.
Being PM does not give Liz Truss unilateral powers to re-write bills so she can undo Brexit. They still have to be passed by Parliament. A Parliament the Tories hold majority in. It is also possible that, should she completely screw things up, another Thesera May situation would occur where she gets constantly blocked.
This assumes Liz Truss is dumb enough to try some Remain shenanigans. And I don’t think she’s dumb. In-fact, her eagerness to invoke Article 16 in response to the EU suggests she’s tired of the EU’s bulls**t and is more than happy to kick them in the nuts and depart. Your risk isn’t a ‘Remain’ situation, but that Liz Truss might go to town on the EU. This is good from a Brexiteer position.
Badenoch might be the better communicator, but that suggests she’d do well in a ministerial role, communicating with other nations. Communication skills and leadership skills are not synonymous. Really good leaders have both, but more often than not, people only possess one or the other skill. CEOs of companies are rarely good orators.
What Brexiteers could do is formally ask Liz Truss to agree to terms where she does not engage in whatever Remain behaviours they fear, in exchange for receiving their vote, and also appointing Brexiteers to specific positions.
For example, she could still appoint Braverman and Badenoch to good positions of power within the government, so what you have is a government staffed with Brexiteers, lead by someone who voted Remain once. That way ensuring a checks-and-balances situation.
It’s not ideal, but the reality is, and I think everyone knows it, is Badenoch is likely to be eliminated having the lowest number of votes, thus Badenoch should negotiate a position of favourability with Truss now in exchange for the certainty of a given position. Here’s the thing: Badenoch can always run again in another leadership contest, with the benefit of experience.
The Rishi Sunak crowd fear a Sunak v Truss situation. Notice they do not fear a Badenoch or Mordaunt situation?
Without the Badenoch backers, Truss does not have enough votes to outcompete Mordaunt currently, but with the Badenoch backers, Truss would have enough votes to even overtake Sunak. Essentially, Brexiteers want to establish a rapport with Truss such Brexiteers have de facto power. A sort of ‘winner takes all’, either you agree to have Brexiteers in office or we’re backing Rishi Sunak.