Next Tory Leader.

Noting the mention of Mark Francois, what a very shouty person he is! My MP Steve Baker is his favourite to join the contenders, and Mr Baker has long made himself an unpopular MP but, on the strength of being a Francois protege (!) he has thrown his hat in the ring.

margaux

I do agree that there will have to be some sort of reconciliation and compromise margaux

But not with Mays WA. I want, if we don’t remain, to be much closer to Europe than May was proposing.

I think Labour would have indeed conceded if Mays WA had included a closer CU and SM. This would have sorted the NI problem as well.

F may have won the most seats, but he didn’t get anywhere near the most votes so he hasn’t won the battle and to do that he needs influence inWestminster.

I believe only a General Election has any prospect of releasing this nation from the political mire we all find ourselves in. Sat 01-Jun-19 13:22:15

A general election is the only way to change the numbers in parliament so it is certainly one way to break the log-jam. Grandad1943

The only other I can see is putting it back to the people AFTER revoking article 50, holding Citizen's Assemblies and then putting the "possible" forward.

In the line-up for next Tory leader Rory Stewart sort of wants to do this - although he calls them Citizen's Juries - I am not sure he will "allow" whatever they recommend to be put on the ballot paper though. At least he is looking for ways to give people a greater say and to politically educate them. Something that would benefit most of us. Perhaps the LP will pick up on that.

“I want, if we don’t remain, to be much closer to Europe than May was proposing.”

Sometimes I think we never had that referendum!!

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That person will be from the Tory Party, and it has been solely that party that has brought Britain into this Brexit debacle.

Well, given ALL the main parties promised (prior to 2016) a referendum on our EU membership Grandad, many people I know respect Cameron for having the guts to keep his promise. I don't particularly like the man, knew him to be a Remainer and understood why he had to walk away from leading a UK that wanted OUT/LEAVE.

He didn't have much going for him, but keeping the referendum promise was his saving grace imo.

Strange how we see things in different lights depending on which side of the fence we sit, eh?

You are right. Our remainer parliament is refusing to let us leave so the next Conservative PM will face all the blocks May has encountered.

That is in itself is criminal. The will of the people has been beaten by the will of parliament. There is a principle at stake, one of democracy being killed off. If by some chance the next PM was a Labour politician (heaven forbid!) Brexit would be sorted instantly. We'd be handing over our billions to Brussels for eternity.

Yes, that would be nice for the UK wouldn't it? That would be just the balm needed to soothe us all - NOT.

All leaders promised to respect the outcome of the referendum. They haven't. They thought (stupidly) the UK would want to remain, despite the strong feeling in the country that we were mere puppets of Brussels politicians.

I pity the next PM, whoever s/he is. They are on a hiding to nothing. They have no chance of being successful - and if it doesn't concern you, it should.

Politics is broken. Our system doesn't work.

Nothing will change. No wonder the Brexit Party has been SO successful just six weeks after its inception.

Sometimes I think we never had that referendum!! Sat 01-Jun-19 15:44:24

You mean because everyone didn't define the word "leave" as you did Urmstongran

Sometimes I find other peoples arrogance totally amazing.

Day6 good post

Urmstongran some are just very bad sad losers

Well who knew some people think leave means remain and if you add up all the loser votes and they add up to more than the winner votes the losers win. Well I never ?

Because in the EU elections, which were never supposed to involve us, happened before Brexit terms could be agreed and the numbers of people who voted for MEPs in the remain camp exceeded those of the Tories and Farage's club combined.

You're still citing historic figures from 2016. Most people have moved on since then.

Sad losers Granygravy? Remember the witches curse. You may find this coming back to you three times over - in the end. I wonder how you will take it being said about you should things change over coming months.

Anybody as enthusiastically endorsed by Donald Trump (Boris Johnson) might wish he had kept out of it as a foreign Head of State is supposed to do.

Looking at the candidates with the possible exception of RS (and the opium pipe might have done for him) all things considered, they might have done worse than sticking with TM!

Day6, regarding your post @ 16:09 today (01/06/19) I believe that we can agree that following the referendum result in 2016 the Palimentery Labour Party did support the passage of the Referendum Bill through Parliament.

However, it rapidly became clear following that action that the leaders of the leave campaign had not thought through how they envisaged Britain leaving Europe following that leave victory. Evidence to that can be witnessed in the statement made by David Davis on becoming the UK's first Brexit Secretary when he recited to the assembled press the now famous lines "these will be the easiest negotiations ever concluded."

Britain then demanded a full tariff-free trade agreement without the free movement of labour. That the European Union could not grant due to the treaties that all twenty-eight members had signed including Britain.

It also soon emerged that leave leaders had also not thought through the amount Britain would be required to pay to Europe even after it withdrew from the EU due to forward commitments and ongoing pension payments etc. How shocked we all were when Theresa May was forced to agree to a figure of thirty-nine billion as a "divorce" settlement bill. That is now also the basis of the court action against Boris Johnson in regard to the three hundred and fifty million savings per week on the side of the Brexit Bus.

So, Day6 I hope we can agree that it has been the total lack of comprehension by this Conservative government in regards to the UK leaving the EU with any agreement that has brought Britain to its present political impasse.

However Day6, I believe that we could have even agreed on Britain leaving the European Union with no agreement whatsoever had the UK began its negotiations with the EU Commissioners three years ago on that basis. In that I mean, had we stated that no deal is our starting position to the EU, and so following that let's all see if we can come up with something better, then Britain may I am sure have been in a much better position than it finds itself in today.

In the above, all industries would have thoroughly prepared over those three years for a "no deal" scenario, and all sides in Parliament would have worked (I believe) towards that outcome as there would be nothing else to seek. However, the above is sadly not the position.

We are now deadlocked in the Parliamentary process on Brexit and as we have both stated Day6, and a new Prime minister entering the scene is unlucky to break that deadlock.

Therefore I believe that only a General Election can have any chance of breaking that political impasse. In that, the electorate would have the opportunity to look at their constituency candidates as to where they stand on Brexit and other matters affecting Britain and elect accordingly to that stance and not just on party allegiances.

So, I hope we can agree further Day6 and others on the forum in the above. I feel that at present, the whole of British democracy is now at stake due to this Brexit crisis and either side using words such as treachery and treason will do nothing to improve the situation.

All that had happened and gone before is now "water under the bridge", and in that clear thought and forward thinking is required now and nothing else.

Being a Gentleman or Gentlelady is knowing how to lose graciously GGMK3, and if it turns out that we remain within the “Federal States of Europe” I will except the situation with good grace.......that I believe is democracy?

Well said GG13
I feel exactly the same.

Quite honestly? I want to Leave, no deal. Just get out. Public opinion is starting to swing behind it now. I think this is crunch time. Farage and his huge support has brought it to a head now. Ducking and diving won’t cut it for much longer. The Tories are running scared. They know they cannot fudge even though the majority in the party do not want to deliver Brexit. They are between a rock and hard place now. If they don’t deliver, they know Farage will. It’s getting tricky but a decision has to be made - it’s been 3 long years.

But if the tide turns and Revoke is decided then so be it, as far as I’m concerned. But I don’t think the Tory party dare now.

All it would take is for the EU to agree to a date on the backstop - say 5 years & I think it would get voted through.

31 October is the legal default to Leave.

The only way it can be stopped is for Remain to coalesce behind one way to stay in.

And they can’t.

So I think we will be leaving.

Sam Gyimah, a former Tory minister, has stated he is joining the race to be Prime Minister to "Broaden the choice."

So, that now makes a full football team along with a couple of substitutes.

A former Tory party cabinet minister has described the elections of party leader as a "circular firing squad." Well, all I can think it will be a very big circle on this occasion, so I hope they have got telescopic sights on those rifles.

And many said this would be the job that no one would want this time around.

What all in the rest of the world must think of this government, a laughing stock.

Ken Clarke is supporting Rory Stewart , so Rory Stewart for me

So many of them just seem like ‘May mark 2’ I don’t know why they’re bothering. Well I suppose they’ll appeal to the Tory grandees in getting through to the final two places but then it’s over to the membership to decide .... not the same agenda!
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Rory Stewart’s voting record for those who might be interested:

Look at Rory's voting record:

Voted against measures to prevent climate change
Voted against regulation for fracking
Voted against paying higher benefits for those unable to work due to disability
Voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
Voted against a banker’s bonus tax
Voted against increasing the tax rate applied to income over £150,000
Voted for reducing the rate of corporation tax
Voted against restricting private patient NHS care
Voted against laws to promote equality and human rights
Voted against UK membership of the EU
Voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK
Voted for restricting the scope of legal aid
Voted against removing hereditary peers from House of Lords
Voted against restrictions on fees charged to tenants by letting agents
Voted against more powers to Scotland
Voted against investigations into the Iraq war

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Out of interest how many of these votes were free and how many “whipped”?

Good point Maw. I have no idea.

I've just checked my MP's voting record and, for example, re measures to prevent climate change, he has voted both for and against with some absences, so perhaps it depends on the particular issue and the wording of the different stages of the bill - and of course, as Maw says, whether it was "whipped".

Good question Maw

Why have you posted Rory's voting record, Ug?

Which one of these potentials will be willing to admit that the US is actively seeking to take the NHS into its agreements with the U.K.?