New Tory leader

[InsaneApache]

Prolly only of interest to a few of the UK posters, but who do the organs think should get to be the new Conservative leader.

Having watched the speeches this week, I have to say that far and away the best (IMHO) is Cameron. He actually says things that I havn't heard for a decade or more. More democracy, less tax and he at least has the courage to grasp the education nettle and point out the nonsense of New Labours policies.

http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do...400&speeches=1

Maybe the man for the job? Watch this space.......

[Duke Malcolm]

I agree, I think Cameron's speech was most interesting, mostly the fact that he performed the whole thing wandering about the stage and without notes. I have to say, I didn't see most of the speech, but of what I did see and of what I just read, I might just consider voting Conservative in the next General election... beautiful... especially the bit about why he joined the party... *sniff*

I think that Sir Malcolm Rifkind or Dr Liam Fox might perhaps be able to win over more Scottish votes in the next election to both Westminster and Holyrood, although I feel that Kenneth Clarke might give the party a slightly better chance with the voters overall.

[Adrian II]

[Geoffrey S]

Boris Johnson, right? That picture sums up my feelings on the Conservatives at the moment. They need to get some kind of common ground going rather than the internal bickering and divided opinions which permeate the party right now, if they want to look like a feasible alternative to Labour.

[BDC]

Cameron might go somewhere. But Clarke will win, dooming the country to four years of Brown. The Tories really need to pull the finger out. They are failing completely as the opposition. All they do is say the exact opposite as Labour, which never goes anywhere.

[English assassin]

As a paid up member of the party I can honestly say I couldn't care less who wins, as they are all terrible. Clarke should have won after 97, and is now too old. Fox is a moron even by the undemanding standards of UK politics. Cameron is a 30 something Old Etonian and I will go to hell in a handbasket before I think the country needs to be lead by one of those. Rifkind (is he standing?) is all right but ineffectual.

Although I am not on his wing of the party Davis seems to be the best of a bad lot. The old working class thug made good schtick has worked in the past after all.

But honestly I couldn't give a monkeys. This ought to be telling me something...

Incidentally I hope you were all impressed by the brilliant way the party got the worst possible result from the ballot to change the rules for electing the leader? A majority against the present rules, but not a big enough majority to change them. Superb. So we are stuck with a system in which Sid and Doris Bonkers (aged 87) elect the leader, but whose credibility is underminded by the fact that most sensible people didn't want it. (Having met Sid and Doris Bonkers I certainly don't.)

Mark my words this has gone from an unfortunate period and is looking like it could be terminal decline. Which is rather unfortunate as The Labour party is not nearly so centre right as Polly Mad in the Guardian pretends to believe. (see eg Gordon Brown being told off for running budget deficits by the IMF despite the economy being nowhere near recession)

[econ21]

But Clarke will win, dooming the country to four years of Brown.

As a Labour supporter, my suspicion is that Clarke would be the biggest threat to Brown in an election. It would be harder for Brown to patronise and appear superior to him, plus Clarke has a likeable human side to him that Brown arguably does not. I suspect ideologically, Clarke appears more palatable to floating voters - he does not seem part of the "nasty party", which Davis does and even the younger faces may be identified with.

I may be biased though as I confess Clarke is one of the few Conservative politicians I like and can listen to without briddling (Willetts and Rifkind might be too others).

But more generally, it is hard to see Brown losing the next election unless the economy or something goes very sour. From that point of view, Clarke may be a bad choice due to his age, if he has to be replaced for yet another leader. From such a defeatist point of view, it may be better to choose someone younger but stick with him, allowing him to build up his credentials to win the election after next.