Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016

[Antonio the Sixth]

How beautiful to see this whole mess blow up in Johnson's face. Serves him well. He'll curse the day he turned coats for Leave.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Three out of five of the Tory leadership candidates are Scottish, Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Stephen Crabb(Born in Inverness).

OMG, wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious if Scotland became independent and Gove went from Prime Minister of the UK to private citizen of the Republic of Scotland?

[Antonio the Sixth]

So much for Boris being a British Donald Trump. So basically this is like if Donald Trump had dropped out because Ted Cruz said he wouldn't make a good leader?

Johnson is a lot smarter than Trump. In this case, he knows that the next PM will have a term that will be nasty, brutish, and short. He is biding his time.

It's not only that. The Tory establishment has infinitely more control over their party than the GOP establishment has on theirs. Drumpf could afford to tell everyone to screw themselves, Johnson needed at least some degree of parliamentary and bigwig support in order to have a chance.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Little remarked but worth noting: Much more so than Johnson, Michael Gove (and his important adviser Dominic Cummings) is a strong eurosceptic, who during the referendum campaign has said that he wants to take the UK out of the single market and depend primarily on WTO rules for trade.

Good to know. I'll take the sincere eurosceptic over the shameless opportunist any day.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Could the tories Build a Benjamin Disraeli one-nation-tory coalition of  (shire middle class and urban working class)?

That won't happen. The Tories are, more explicitly and unabashedly so than most European right-wing parties even, the Party of the Rich.

[Antonio the Sixth]

and another threatening to turn him into ASOIAF's Theon Greyjoy (lmao).

[Antonio the Sixth]

May v. Leadsom would be a lot more interesting to watch for sure.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Leadsom vs Corbyn is like Thatcher vs Foot with both sides on steroids and no Alliance for the moderate heroes. Gonna be a mad couple of years - can't blame the Scots for scarpering.

The LibDems shall rise again!

/ag

[Antonio the Sixth]

This is a flash back to classic tories- sexist slurs, and a good old fashioned sex scandal (Something the tories have been awful at, Labour had an affair every year involving someone news worthy)

British Tories are awful at many things, but sex scandals most certainly aren't one of them.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Whoa: Leadsom will drop out.

Eeeeeeh?

[Antonio the Sixth]

This is probably good news for the UK, but it's basically gaming the system to prevent the members from having any choice in the leadership selection. Pretty low.