A number of constituents emailed enquiring why candidates for the Conservative Party Leadership, who -on the basis of media speculation- were expected to ‘throw their hats into the ring’, had not yet done so.
There are several possible answers. First, the speculation may have been misinformed. Second, the anticipated candidate might not have secured the required ten signatures from colleagues necessary for a valid nomination. It is always preferable to get the nomination sewn up first, then to announce your candidature, rather than to announce first, only to have to subsequently and ignominiously withdraw, having failed to get sufficient endorsements. Third, the potential candidate may have thought better of it and changed their mind.
I think this is my 9th Conservative Party leadership contest in 28 years a member of the parliamentary party. In only one of them have I backed the winner from the outset of the official contest.
On this occasion I have signed the nomination of Mel Stride. I accept that there are other candidates with great strengths under whom I would be pleased to give support from the backbenches. (I have no desire to return to the frontbench having spent 11 years there in opposition and 6 years there in government.) Nevertheless, I regard Mel as the most experienced candidate because he has been a Treasury minister, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and -In my estimate most important of all, and unlike any of the other candidates – he has been a whip. I regard experience of the whip’s office, the nuts and bolts of managing the ‘wolf pack’ that is the parliamentary party, as being extremely important, particularly in opposition where you have no ‘payroll’ on which to rely or other preferment that you can offer.
Have some sympathy however, for whomsoever wins this contest.
I served two Leaders of the Opposition as parliamentary private secretary over six years. Leading the Opposition is the worst job in politics imaginable, particularly when a new government has been elected with a large majority. That government has all the initiative and all the interest of the media and ‘commentariat’ is focussed upon it. Nobody takes much notice of what the Leader of the Opposition has to say, unless it turns out to be something stupid, in which case they will make a meal of it.
There is little money to afford heavyweight support. And it is always much harder to ask the questions at the weekly match with the Prime Minister than it is for the PM to answer them: The expectation is that you must address the big issues of the week, otherwise it will be thought that you are ducking them, and on those questions the PM will have been briefed to the eyeballs with the full resources of government.
You will have your own record in government traduced and thrown back at you, and you will be humiliated when some daft comment by one of your colleagues is quoted back to you.
I wish Mel the best of British…but whichever candidate wins, I hope they know what they are letting themselves in for.