As Boris Johnson largely disappears from the scene, the remaining candidates in the race to replace him as Britain’s Conservative leader sling dirt at one another
It was the most striking moment so far in the U.K. Conservative Party’s contest for a new leader. The five remaining candidates were asked during a televised debate to raise their hands if they would let Boris Johnson serve in their Cabinet. Not a single hand went up.
On Friday, Johnson visited a Royal Air Force base and took a ride in a Typhoon fighter jet, with “Top Gun”-style footage released by his office. He spent the weekend at Chequers, the country house that comes with the prime minister’s job, throwing a farewell barbecue for staff and friends. Political and media attention has turned to his would-be successors, who are slinging dirt at one another as they try to convince Conservative Party members they can rebuild trust in politics and defeat the opposition Labour Party at the next election, due to be held by 2024.
Penny Mordaunt, a trade minister who has emerged as a strong challenger, has appealed in vain for an end to “mudslinging,” much of which has been directed at her. She has been accused by opponents of wanting to make it easier for people to change gender – a hot-button issue for some Conservatives – and of neglecting her government duties to prepare her leadership bid.
Fielding said that may prove problematic for the new leader, because he or she will be chosen by a Conservative membership – “primarily white, southern, very well-off” – with political priorities very different than the general electorate. Cabinet Office Minister Kit Malthouse, a long-time Johnson ally, argued that the party’s testy debate was healthy, and predicted Conservatives would reunite in a “spirit of harmony” after the leadership campaign.
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