James Cleverly is running to be Mayor of London

Cossy

Living in Essex, within a unitary borough, which will be no more after he boundary changes, I dread it all!

I agree, it has been muted we will join with one area, than a few months later we were due to join another.

Fallingstar

sundowngirl

I’ll be keeping everything crossed that he beats Sadiq Khan but I fear not

As a Londoner I believe Sadiq has been a great mayor. Just recently it was proved that ULEZ had lowered the dangerous emissions in the air in the capital. Most Londoners rate him pretty highly. And I suppose that is all that mattersz

I think Khan is a hopeless chancer, but I cannot see Cleverly beating him. 🙄

I wish the other parties would put up viable candidates, so we can get shot of Khan.

The not he!

Living in Essex, within a unitary borough, which will be no more after he boundary changes, I dread it all!

I have a feeling both Cleverly and Patel are biding their time, returning to the back benches so they can concentrate on constituency matters and whatever else they say they want to do for a couple of years.

There is no guarantee Cleverly will be selected as the Tory candidate for London Mayor.

All party leaders fall out of favour sooner or later. Badenoch, who I really do think could start an argument in an empty room, will be no exception.

Cleverly almost won the party leadership but for some bungled voting in the later stages. He may be looking at what happened with Starmer and Burnham and think he will have another crack at the leadership after a term as London mayor, were he to receive the nomination and win. (I doubt he would win if Khan stands again.)

If he loses, two years will have gone by anyway and only one year out from a full term General Election. The political landscape is sure to be very different by then.

Whether Reform will still exist much longer remains to be seen but for now they are a threat to both Cleverly’s and Patel’s Essex seats as Reform ratchet up the divisive rhetoric over RAF Wethersfield. That has to be a priority, to be seen to be a decent constituency MP, something that takes a back seat for ministers, even shadow ones.

Reform are also objecting to the reorganisation into unitary authorities which is supposed to be taking place in the county. Orders from Farage. It’s doubtful they would win a judicial review to halt this. Meantime, they are seriously jeopardising the timetable that had been set. Both MPs need to put some work in locally to address these issues and liaise with Rayner else local government in Essex is going to end up in even more disarray than Reform are causing in other councils they control.

James Cleverly 'special'?
Nothing 'special' about his date r*pe joke.

Cossy- yes -Badenoch could be capitalising on the diminishing poll ratings of Farage and Reform UK. Also much of her current, soon to be previous shadow front benchers, had front bench posts before the last elections. Voters who went elsewhere definitely need to see some visible change.

It all depends on the key reasons why they left though. Without having that knowledge difficult to woo them back.....

Fallingstar

Well if Kemi decides to compete with Reform it is going to be curtains for the Tories. I thought she had more about her.
I have voted Tory in my time as well as Labour, but a lot of voters like me whose politics are not always set in stone but could go either way will now turn away from the Tories and see them as an echo chamber for Reform if Kemi does go down that road.
A predictable shift though unfortunately.

Whilst I agree, think they (Tories) had to do something to counter AB.

Whether this works for the Tories, or indeed AB works for Labour and our country, only time will tell.

Perhaps Badenoch is capitalising on some of the polls showing Reform’s popularity diminishing?

Well if Kemi decides to compete with Reform it is going to be curtains for the Tories. I thought she had more about her.
I have voted Tory in my time as well as Labour, but a lot of voters like me whose politics are not always set in stone but could go either way will now turn away from the Tories and see them as an echo chamber for Reform if Kemi does go down that road.
A predictable shift though unfortunately.

Just been reported Mel Stride, as shadow chancellor has also been replaced. And all before forthcoming Conservative Party Conference...

Ilovedogs22

I thought Mr Cleverly had something very special about him. Bursting with common sense, he was also very thoughful, passionate & dignified.
He would have made a great PM. Such a shame he's changed tack, our loss, more's the pity!

I would agree with the first part of your post, he did have something “very special” about him. But, imo, not in a positive way and I’d have hated him to be our PM.

When B Johnson was MoL he spent afternoon at his Americansgirlfriend flat claiming she was giving him “IT lessons”. 😂 He also closed many police and fire stations, despite promising not to do so. He was a rubbish mayor IMO. He also promised to stand in front of one of the water cannons to show it was safe ( he never did) oh and lie down at Heathrow if they had a third runway. Total lies. Sadiq Khan is not popular with a certain demographic- he gets more death threats than any politician, but he’s not been afraid to take unpopular decisions. He’ll get my vote if he stands again - I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.

I thought Mr Cleverly had something very special about him. Bursting with common sense, he was also very thoughful, passionate & dignified.
He would have made a great PM. Such a shame he's changed tack, our loss, more's the pity!

Patel is right wing within the party though, she’s not a One Nation supporter. It seems risky to me to both disenfranchise the One Nation MPs, and refuse to accept back the defectors to Reform - Badenoch is apparently aiming for a niche position, and I wonder if there are enough people who would vote Tory on a redefined brief like that.

Btw, cannot imagine Patel being “too wet” for anyone! She’s quite vile!

If Tories wish to survive they do need a slight shift further to the right, just as Labour need a slight shift further left.

We don’t need Tory and Labour to both be centralist.

Green are currently more left than Labour.

We have a centralist party in LibDems, we have our few independents, we just don’t need our far right divisive parties, so if, big IF, Tories can win back some lost Reform voters, so much the better.

I’d welcome good strong opposition, clearly Tories are not my party of choice, but they’ve had some good strong dedicated MPs in the past, particularly the one superseded by Farage in Clacton, and in my own area, David Amess.

Casdon

Whitewavemark2

Cleverly says he is going to run as a “true” conservative.

Different to Badenoch then.

I’m beginning to think there is something more going on now Priti Patel is to be replaced as well.

Kemi announced recently that she is not going to consider any potential tory candidates who don't agree with her declared policies

Mrs Badenoch has previously abandoned the Conservatives’ long-standing commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, arguing that the target would impose excessive costs on households and industry. She has also made leaving the ECHR official Conservative policy, saying withdrawal would be necessary to strengthen border controls and address wider legal constraints facing government.

conservativepost.co.uk/badenoch-draws-line-on-net-zero-and-echr-as-conservatives-vet-future-candidates/

Perhaps Cleverly and Patel are too wet for her liking.

Does she really think that these policies will be enough to improve the tory's electoral chances?

There is definitely something going on. Probably tied up with Bedonoch's announced strategies that are taking the party further to the right?

Shadow front bench changes: Cleverly has resigned. PATEL announced last night she is "leaving', Stuart Andrew has been sacked, Claire Coutinho is shortly going on maternity leave and Helen Grant has asked to step down from her role.

Bednoch's shift and focus on rolling back on net zero, on "anti woke' rhetoric, her economic stance, her intention to win back voters that left to Farage/Reform all has shifted her party more towards the right but she has put at risk at loosing floating and centrist voters. She has publicly declared she will not tolerate existing or allow any new MPs to stand for election who do not comply with her vision and stagey for the party.

So far Badenoch's shift and focus has resulted in a visible positive impact or increase in national poll numbers.

More centrist Conservative front benchers and those who disagree with Bedenoch may leave before being sacked?

Whitewavemark2

Cleverly says he is going to run as a “true” conservative.

Different to Badenoch then.

I’m beginning to think there is something more going on now Priti Patel is to be replaced as well.

MT62

I think apart from the grand education, I think you could be describing anyone from the Labour Party 😂 Cossy.
They rushed through things like winter fuel allowance then back tracked, which wasn’t on their manifesto.

I think on this, I need to respectfully disagree. Though of course the Winter Fuel Payment marlarky was a complete fiasco.

I think apart from the grand education, I think you could be describing anyone from the Labour Party 😂 Cossy.
They rushed through things like winter fuel allowance then back tracked, which wasn’t on their manifesto.

Maremia

Yes, Grantanow, that would be a good use of them.

Could they not have been kept as a backup to put out wild fires?
£11,025 that is disgraceful waste of money.
Could have been sold on to another country that do use them.

MartavTaurus

You see kids like Boris at school. They're intelligent, but in a calculating way for their own end. They usually have an aversion to rules and detail. I think Boris probably fitted that profile. They are difficult to tame, but they are usually enthusiastic and like Boris, want to crack on quickly with the job. Somehow that impulsiveness, which can be a a positive, needs to be tempered with thinking things through.
Just my opinion.

There’s absolutely no doubt that both Johnson and Farage are very well educated and clever people, they also are manipulative and able to easily exploit people’s fears and anxieties.

Being “impulsive” and wanting to “crack on” is a good trait in many areas, imo, not what is needed in “leaders” of any kind, particularly in politics, or leading one’s country, where what is required is calmness, measured critical thinking, the ability to see all sides of an issue and an ability to put one’s own feelings and beliefs to one side and to negotiate.

Sadly, I don’t believe Farage or Johnson possess these skills and qualities.

You see kids like Boris at school. They're intelligent, but in a calculating way for their own end. They usually have an aversion to rules and detail. I think Boris probably fitted that profile. They are difficult to tame, but they are usually enthusiastic and like Boris, want to crack on quickly with the job. Somehow that impulsiveness, which can be a a positive, needs to be tempered with thinking things through.
Just my opinion.

Fallingstar

My older sister loves Boris and I know she is not alone, sadly. Indeed the man has still got a following. My sister describes him as big teddy bear 🫣
But therein lies the problem, his followers tend to see him as a harmless blustering, bumbling bloke - or a teddy bear 😬 - someone they could see themselves having a bit of a laugh with down at the local watering hole etc. But have great difficulty seeing that this man was actually in the highest political career in the country and so was expected to run it in some shape or form.

It was all part of his “charm”.

It’s very easy to draw parallels between Farage and Johnson;

Both are good orators and can be utterly charming. They are clearly great after dinner speakers and can be very amusing.

They both maintain a facade of understanding “the man in the street”.

They both showed tendency to completely ignore rules right from their schooldays.

They both appear to sneer and dislike Muslims (Johnson’s “letterbox” remark, Farage’s obsession with “the boats”).

They both over promise and under deliver.

They both had very elite and expensive educations and upbringings.

They both are happy to look people in the eye and lie.

They both appear to love themselves and money beyond anything else.

They don’t appear to do terribly well at sticking things out long term, relationships, jobs etc.

I don’t think they are good “leaders”, but can see exactly why people follow and support them. They have “charisma”, “charm” and “personality”.

Much like many sociopaths or even psychopaths.

Of course, this is merely my opinion and I accept they have many “admirers”