Now the TV hustings are over, where does that leave us?

Liz Truss's finest moments.
twitter.com/i/status/1549396990051639296

"I hear there's a move among MPs to re-instate Johnson - so he will definitely be in with a chance, he's popular with many of the electorate which is why the move was instituted."

If I couple this with the fact that he didn't actually say he was resigning I get a sick, ominous feeling in my stomach.

Whitewavemark2

Truss the bookies favourite for next PM???

Bring it on!

... where does that leave us?

Well I think those who are struggling will still be struggling, and those who are just about managing will continue to just about manage (maybe some won't).

Those more fortunate with savings, will eat into them. And the very wealthy will continue to remain so.

Johnson has coined the mantra of "delivering", so whoever is the winner will continue to "deliver", though I'm not sure what it is they are delivering.

We've got our sovereignty back (not that I was aware we'd lost it - although we did have to comply with the rules of the club we'd joined, as you do with any club) and we've taken back control - well, kind of).

As far as I can determine, jobs and growth are created by investors investing, and the most attractive attribute for an investor is a flexible, low-wage, low tax economy, with a government dedicated to small-state, free-market libertarian ideology..

Which is exactly what we had under Johnson and probably exactly what we'll continue with. If you're happy for the NHS and social care to be whittled down by these services "doing more with less" (can't remember who said that, but it's another mantra they all believe in), then it probably won't matter much who becomes the next PM, it's win-win for you.

For the rest of us it will be just more of the same. So, I don't actually care who wins the race.

... and I hear there's a move among MPs to re-instate Johnson - so he will definitely be in with a chance, he's popular with many of the electorate which is why the move was instituted.

So we might end up going out the same door we came in (but don't ask Truss for directions).

Mamie

I have a bit of a soft spot for Ellwood because as a young man he came canvassing at our house and said how nice it was to meet the real Labour vote. ?

He was also the MP who tried to save the dying police officer after the 2017 terrorist attack in London.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Ellwood because as a young man he came canvassing at our house and said how nice it was to meet the real Labour vote. ?

What a horrible, vindictive man Johnson is. Now, I may have misunderstood this but a Badenoch supporting MP who was asked who he would now be supporting, implied that he would be finding out what would be in it for his constituency. Which reminded me of something else that happened where Conservative MP’s were threatened with withdrawal of funds for their constituency if they didn’t support the government. What promises are being made by the various camps to people who vote for their candidate? It’s like a mediaeval battle.

In a statement, Ellwood said he had been unable to return because of travel issues. He said: “Following my meeting yesterday with the president of Moldova I was unable to secure return travel due to unprecedented disruption both here and in the UK.”

Truss the bookies favourite for next PM???

Whitewavemark2

Mamie

Ellwood was in Moldova meeting the President as part of his role as Chair of the Defence Committee. Doing his job in fact. Obviously a sacking offence as far as Johnson is concerned.

Johnson has had Ellwood in his sights since the humiliation Johnson received at one if the committees.

Johnson was clueless and Ellwood gave no quarter.

How quickly did Ellwood lose the ship compared to Pincher?

Mamie

Ellwood was in Moldova meeting the President as part of his role as Chair of the Defence Committee. Doing his job in fact. Obviously a sacking offence as far as Johnson is concerned.

Johnson has had Ellwood in his sights since the humiliation Johnson received at one if the committees.

Johnson was clueless and Ellwood gave no quarter.

Ellwood was in Moldova meeting the President as part of his role as Chair of the Defence Committee. Doing his job in fact. Obviously a sacking offence as far as Johnson is concerned.

I typed the above 20 minutes ago and then was distracted b my DH talking about plants so apologies for overlapping

Badenoch is out. Sunak first, Mordaunt second and Truss third.

Interestingly a YouGov poll an hour ago suggested that Badenoch would win and Sunak lose.

Conspiracy whisper is that Sunak’s whips have asked his supporters to “lend” their votes to Truss because he’d rather go up against Truss than Mordaunt.

Wouldn’t surprise me.

"The foreign secretary sought support from the right of the party, and early into her bid won the backing of Johnson loyalists Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg."

(Wo)man is known by the company (s)he keeps.

So now there are three ...

Personally, I think they're as bad as each other, but at least the worst has gone.

Ilovecheese

I read that Ellwood was in Moldova

That sounds more important!

I read that Ellwood was in Moldova

They are choosing their Party Leader It just so happens that the chosen one will be PM. The same thing would happen if Labour were the Party in power. In all these types of elections in the end the donkey always Red, Blue, Yellow ,or Green.

growstuff

MayBee70

So it’s just happened! The government call for a vote of no confidence in itself but doesn’t allow itself own MP’s to vote the way they don’t want them to. Frightening.

Ellwood didn't even vote. I understand he was on his way back from some meeting, but couldn't make it.

I read that he abstained: did he, perhaps, deliberately plan to not be in the house for the vote?

RichmondPark1

Blossoming

The only thing I can’t understand is why these ‘debates were ever given airtime in the first place. This is not a General Election, only a tiny percentage of the UK’s population will be eligible to vote for the next Conservative leader. Are they trying to copy the Americans?

Does this normally happen? Or is it just a very good distraction from the fact that Johnson has admitted he met Russian oligarch and ex-KGB officer Alexander Lebedev without officials present?

No, this doesn’t normally happen.

MayBee70

So it’s just happened! The government call for a vote of no confidence in itself but doesn’t allow itself own MP’s to vote the way they don’t want them to. Frightening.

Ellwood didn't even vote. I understand he was on his way back from some meeting, but couldn't make it.

Zonne

On the whole fees issue: if she was 16, which is what she says, she wouldn’t have been at university, but at sixth form or tertiary college, for which there are no fees.

I think she was working on Saturdays or whatever, as I imagine most of us did, to earn some spending money.

She came to the UK when she was 16 and went to a sixth form college to do A levels - and worked at MDonalds to earn pocket money. She then did a gap year, attending some kind of exclusive foundation/transition course. I use to know the name of the organisation which ran it, but I've forgotten. She then went to Sussex University to study Computer Systems Engineering.

So it’s just happened! The government call for a vote of no confidence in itself but doesn’t allow itself own MP’s to vote the way they don’t want them to. Frightening.