Tory runners and riders: a digest | thearticle

One way or another, we have a Tory leadership contest on our hands. And it’s going to be bloody. TheArticle brings you a digest outlining the pros and cons of each of the runners and riders

spoken of by Conservative MPs as likely candidates. JEREMY HUNT  For: * DID A DIFFICULT JOB WELL AS LONGEST SERVING HEALTH SECRETARY. Went out with a bang in July, having secured a

£384m-a-week funding settlement for the NHS. * HAS CHAMPIONED SOME POPULAR CAUSES AS FOREIGN SECRETARY, including securing the release of Matthew Hedges, a British student jailed for spying

in the UAE. * IMPRESSIVE AND INTELLIGENT STATESMAN ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. Speaks fluent Japanese, and graduated with first class honours from Magdalen College, Oxford. Against: * HAS

FLIP-FLOPPED ON BREXIT. Although he has now reinvented himself as a leaver, unafraid of no deal, he backed Remain in 2016 and even discussed the possibility of running as a pro second

referendum candidate in the subsequent leadership race.  May struggle to gain the trust of Tory grassroots Brexiteers. * WIDELY DISLIKED AMONG MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR

WORKERS following his intransigence during the junior doctors’ strike. Tory MPs might feel he just wouldn’t have enough public support to win them a general election. * AS A SELF-MADE

MILLIONAIRE AND DISTANT RELATION OF ELIZABETH II AND OSWALD MOSLEY, HUNT IS BOTH VERY RICH, AND VERY POSH. After Cameron and Osborne, the British public – and even Tory members – have grown

wary of the English upper classes. SAJID JAVID For: * FREE-THINKING HOME SECRETARY. HAS STOOD UP TO MAY ON UNPOPULAR IMMIGRATION TARGETS FROM DAY ONE, AND IS BACKING POLICE AS THEY SEEK £15M

FUND TO TACKLE KNIFE CRIME. * BRIGHT, QUICK THINKING AND EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD IN PREVIOUS CAREER. UNLIKE ANDREA LEADSOM, WHOSE CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN A BIG PLAYER IN FINANCE WERE WILDLY

OVERBLOWN, JAVID WAS A GENUINE STAR IN THE NOTORIOUSLY TOUGH BANKING WORLD. THIS HAS EARNED HIM THE RESPECT OF TORY MPS, WHO SEE HIM AS A CLEVER AND COMPETENT SAFE PAIR OF HANDS. *

COMPELLING PERSONAL STORY. Javid grew up in a cramped flat in Bristol with his four brothers and attended the local sink comprehensive school. He has talked about learning from his

hard-working father that everything in life had to be earned. His modest upbringing is likely to go down well with both Tory grassroots supporters, and the public Against: * TRULY TERRIBLE

SPEAKER. Despite a quick mind and a sharp sense of humour off screen, he could give the Maybot a run for her money when it comes to wooden communication. * BACKED THE WRONG HORSE ON BREXIT.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF OSBORNE, JAVID WENT AGAINST HIS EUROSCEPTIC INSTINCTS AND CAMPAIGNED FOR REMAIN IN THE REFERENDUM. ON THE EVE OF POLL HE ADMITTED THAT HE ONLY VOTED TO STAY IN THE EU

WITH A HEAVY HEART. HE HAS SINCE RE-STYLED HIMSELF AS AN ENTHUSIASTIC LEAVE SUPPORTER, BUT CAN BREXITEERS FORGIVE HIS EARLY WEAKNESS? * SHORT LIST OF TANGIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS IN OFFICE. Javid

stands up to May in cabinet meetings and clearly has some big plans for his department. But he hasn’t presided over much change: his bold ideas to end the housing crisis have been kicked

into the long grass, and though he may have a strategy to deal with knife crime, it clearly isn’t working. Boris Johnson For: * DARLING OF THE TORY GRASSROOTS. Johnson has been writing for

The Telegraph for nearly half of his 54 years and shored up support among the party faithful last year after resigning from the Cabinet in protest at Chequers. * EXCELLENT NAME RECOGNITION.

Boris is a brand. Tory MPs know that whether the public loves him or loathes him, they at least know who he is. The same cannot be said for some of the other names on this list. * LYNTON

CROSBY. BORIS DID NOT WIN TWO LONDON MAYORAL ELECTIONS ON HIS OWN. HIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER BOTH TIMES WAS SIR LYNTON CROSBY, THE “WIZARD OF OZ”. CROSBY WAS THE MASTERMIND BEHIND CAMERON’S

UNEXPECTED 2015 ELECTION WIN, AND IN THIS LEADERSHIP RACE, HE HAS EYES ONLY FOR BORIS. * Against: * DISLIKED AND DISTRUSTED BY HIS COLLEAGUES. The enmity towards Johnson among Tory MPs

should not be understated. His personal following in the Commons is small, and though it’s likely that he would win if his name were one of the two put to Tory members, it is more than

possible he won’t get that far. * TERRIBLE RECORD AT THE FOREIGN OFFICE. JOHNSON’S VICTORIES AT THE FCO WERE VERY FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. A HIGH POINT WAS AN INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR THE

DEPARTMENT MADE NECESSARY BY BREXIT AND THE NEED TO BUILD NEW ALLIANCES AND REINVIGORATE OLD FRIENDSHIPS. BUT HIS MISTAKES, ERRORS AND MISJUDGEMENTS AND A LOOSE TONGUE MADE HIM SOMETHING OF

A LIABILITY, AS MICHAEL GOVE APPEARED TO PREDICT IN 2016. * DIDN’T HOLD FIRM ON BREXIT. ALL OF THE SERIOUS CONTENDERS FOR TORY LEADER – INCLUDING JOHNSON – VOTED FOR THERESA MAY’S DEAL IN

THE THIRD MEANINGFUL VOTE, HELD ON 29TH MARCH. GIVEN THE DEAL IS NOW, SURELY, HISTORY, JOHNSON MIGHT HAVE BEEN WISER TO HOLD OUT AGAINST IT TO SECURE THE SUPPORT OF THE SIZEABLE MINORITY OF

TORY MEMBERS FOR WHOM NO DEAL IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE WAY FOR BRITAIN TO LEAVE THE EU. * RAAB For: * UNTAINTED TRUE BREXITEER. LOTS OF BREXITEERS FEEL THAT THERESA MAY COULD NEVER HAVE REAPED

THE BENEFITS OF BREXIT, BECAUSE SHE TREATED IT FROM THE START AS A DAMAGE LIMITATION EXERCISE. NEXT TIME, THEY ARE BOUND TO SUPPORT SOMEONE WHO CAMPAIGNED FOR BREXIT IN 2016. RAAB TICKS

THAT BOX, AND THANKS TO HIS SHORT SPELL IN CABINET, REMAINS RELATIVELY UNTAINTED.  * EXCELLENT SPEAKER. Unlike many of his rivals, Dominic Raab proved at party conference last year that he’s

a truly compelling orator. Tory MPs might well like the idea of him leading them into a General Election * LOYAL BUT PRINCIPLED POLITICAN. Raab has come out of the last year looking really

rather good. He showed loyalty to the Prime Minister in her darkest hour by taking up the mantle of Brexit Secretary when Davis stepped down, but then had the courage to stick to his

principles and resign when it became evident that she wasn’t going to let him do his job. Against: * UNKNOWN QUANTITY His tenure as Brexit Secretary lasted only four months, and as Theresa

May was freezing him out by conducting most of the negotiations herself throughout that time, it wasn’t particularly helpful political experience. Would MPs trust him in the top job at such

a critical time for Britain? * UNFORTUNATE PAST COMMENTS 2011 comments in which he argued that “feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots” have been a gift for Labour. Does he have

any other skeletons in the closet? * POOR NAME RECOGNITION. After such a short time in cabinet, too many people outside Westminster simply don’t know who Dominic Raab is. If he’s serious

about becoming Prime Minister, he’ll have to do a lot of media schmoozing over the next few months. AMBER RUDD For: * LOYAL MINISTER AMBER RUDD HAS COME BACK TO THE CABINET REINVIGORATED

AFTER A SHORT SPELL IN THE WILDERNESS. SHE HAS PROVED HER LOYALTY TO THE PRIME MINISTER BY FALLING ON HER OWN SWORD WHEN THE WINDRUSH SCANDAL BROKE, AND WHATEVER IT LOOKS LIKE NOW,

CONSERVATIVE MPS VALUE LOYALTY. * SOFT BREXIT ADVOCATE. An ardent remainer, Rudd would want to stand on a soft Brexit platform – the one option which seems to have a chance of commanding the

support of a majority of the House. * WELL CONNECTED. Rudd is known for her impeccable connections among London’s wealthy elite. Her brother Roland founded one of the capital’s most

prominent PR firms; her late ex-husband A.A. Gill was one of the U.K.’s most celebrated restaurant reviewers. Rudd is so well connected she was employed as the “aristocracy coordinator” on

the 1994 movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” And she has powerful supporters, including the influential former chancellor (the official title of the U.K. Treasury secretary) George Osborne,

who now edits the London Evening Standard newspaper. These friends could give her a big boost in the upcoming leadership contest. Against: * MAY-LITE If Conservative Brexiteers aren’t happy

with Remainer May, they’re unlikely to go for May-lite.  * TINY MAJORITY IF WE’RE HEADING FOR A GENERAL ELECTION, A PRIME MINISTER WITH A MAJORITY OF 346 IS THE LAST THING THE CONSERVATIVES

NEED. * WINDRUSH Although her political rehabilitation after Windrush seems complete, many still feel she didn’t cover herself in glory at the Home Office. She denied being aware of

deportation targets that her office was in fact aware of – which signals a worrying lack of attention to detail. Could Tory MPs really trust her? *