Tory leadership contest

Certainly not a member of the ERG, who has been behind every disaster for the past 14 years.

nanna8 I totally disagree with your viewpoint about the UK.

You are correct on one point though - yes I do ‘live it’ and, respectfully, I am therefore better placed to understand life in my country than you.

I have my views about Australia; I have family living there and I have visited your country. However, I wouldn’t presume to really understand your lived experience in Australia.

I can assure you my freedoms are not being removed; no need for you to worry about the UK or to feel ‘sick thinking of it’. We’ll be fine

I agree, LizzieDrip.

Nanna8, I often wonder where your information about the UK comes from. Is it family whose word you blindly accept, an Australian media or information source, or what? I mean, I realise people's opinions on things differ, but yours often seem not to be opinions but misunderstandings.

Nanna8 you did say that you were going to vote in the GE. Did you?

I think I know the source about "threat to our freedoms" which was posted on the previous page but not sourced.

Yup -its Farage.

On Monday, in response to a post by the rightwing Reform party leader, Nigel Farage, saying: “Keir Starmer poses the biggest threat to free speech we've seen in our history,” Musk replied: “True

x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1822698420240355417

The guardian reports

"Labour MPs have begun quitting X in alarm over the platform, with one saying Elon Musk had turned it into “a megaphone for foreign adversaries and far-right fringe groups”.

Over the weekend, newly elected MPs took to WhatsApp groups to raise growing concerns about the role X played in the spread of misinformation amid the far-right-led riots in parts of England and Northern Ireland

Two Labour MPs are known to have told colleagues they were leaving the platform. One of them, Noah Law, has disabled his account. Other MPs who still use X have begun examining alternatives, including Threads, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and the open-source platform Bluesky"

X has become the voice of the appalling Musk and I hope people stop using it.

Kandinsky, how true your comments are about this thread.

It's so hard to find any news about how the leadership contest is going. Nothing I could find about a candidate's list at all even on local Conservative Association sites.

W3... So far only x3 men and x1 woman have pitched an email to the Members. Not rushing this time.

Thank you Visgir1, who are they?

(As I expressed earlier, am genuinely interested as in seeing an effective opposition)

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nanna8

You know why I said that, you live it. Why ask ? Freedoms are being removed, surely must see that? No point in arguing, just open your eyes. I really worry about what is happening there and I will never again visit, don’t worry. More and more like Hong Kong and what happened there. It makes me sick thinking of it.

You really need some new distance glasses!
I know Australia is the other side of the world so what makes you think you know better than those of us who live here?

Talk about getting the wrong end of the stick and then beating all and sundry about the head with it.
You say you find this thread “boring” - could that possibly be because nobody thinks you have a scooby about life in the U.K. these days?
Hong Kong? Get real.

I think it's perfectly reasonable, if you have a real interest in politics, to want to participate in a discussion "who will be leader of the opposition".

It's going to make a considerable difference to public life to have a leader who wants to participate in the business of parliament and our democracy and not stand outside it.

That's where the threat comes from, rule by tweet like we saw last week in the riots

I would vote for Ruth Davidson in a heartbeat!

MaizieD

Whitewavemark2

To get anywhere though, the candidates have to convince their membership, who, judging by their previous choices, are not the most level headed voters.

They changed the rules for Sunak, though, didn't they?

I wonder how the new intake of MPs breaks down between right and centrist. If the PLP's vote is the most influential looking at them could give a clue as to the tory's future direction.

I could be wrong, but a lot of the more right wing conservative MPs lost their seats, as Reform took enough votes from them, that it let in Labour candidates.

So there are now less right wing MPs than before?
Well there would be anyway, as there are so many less of them now!

But sadly many of the right of centre Conservative MP’s had already left because of Johnson or being thrown out by him. It’s a huge loss to the party losing someone like Tobias Ellwood. A good government always needs a good opposition.

I looked her up, I agree, seems a really sensible "lets get ourselves together" person.. She's supporting Cleverly.

Eventually found the 6 candidates who have declared and have sufficient MP support so as you say Visgir1 taking their time, wise after last time.

List and some details.
www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/29/who-are-the-conservative-leadership-candidates

Tom Tugendhat
Mel Stride
James Cleverly
Kemi Badenoch
Robert Jenrick
Priti Patel

To be whittled down to 4 in September by MP's.

But she is in the lords now - unless she was to renounce her title and could you see her living in London?

Wyllow3... So far these have reached out to the party members...
Tom Tugendhat
Mel Stride
Kemi Badenoch
Robert Jenrick.

Still x2 need to pitch.

Latest IPSOS poll
www.ipsos.com/en-uk/james-cleverly-tops-list-who-would-make-good-tory-leader-3-in-5-say-they-dont-care

Thank you Visgirl, so Cleverly and Patel to go still.

I read that Casdon what really stood out at the moment is Patels' "negative" ratings as the others are pretty close.

So Tugendhat is now saying that Starmer did not deal with the riots very well. Along with him saying he would be prepared to leave the ECHR it means that he has gone down even further in my estimation. I thought he was one of the good guys.

So negative. I want to hear what they will do, how they want to see things going, what the heart of their vision is.

On the other hand (report Independent 2 days ago)

"Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly tells Farage to choose between ‘serious politician or content creator’
Shadow home secretary asked if the Reform UK leader believed Parliament was an important institution or ‘just part of a PR operation for clicks and likes"

(I admit I am hoping for a clear line drawn which distinguishes between conservatives and Reform for the sake of our democracy)

W3.. James Cleverly pitch this morning. Still nothing from PP.

He must have a good chance. He seems to both hold the centre ground and have respect from his record.