VOTE: Who should lead a post-Cameron Tory party? Osborne? Hannan? Johnson? or Gove?

[London Pride]

I know others will have their favourites, and others still will favour a "none of the above" option... but Gove's performance at Leveson certainly puts him in the running according to the commentariat, so I think this field of four is realistic.

Surely nobody thinks the Tories will win outright at the next GE, or that Cameron will be in place in five years time?

Admittedly two, Johnson and Hannan, will first need to find favorable Westminster seats to contest.

1. Osborne has clearly had his eye on the top job for a while, but is not generally viewed as a sympathetic figure. And it is questionable whether the "author of the cuts" will ever win the public's confidence.

2. Hannan though popular with Euroskeptics is little known outside the Westminster village excusing one YouTube appearance years ago. Though charismatic and personable, he is a baldy (like me) which is never a good sign in our image-obsessed modern politics. He is known to already have his eye on Eastleigh, as a potential by-election route to the Commons.

3. Johnson has been touted since his re-election as London mayor as a "saviour" of the right, the one Tory to come up smelling of roses at the drubbing the Tories got at the last election. But Boris too needs a seat, he's getting on a bit, and has a far from perfect public image.

4. Gove is now pulling into the field as a potential, and on paper he looks good: a former newspaper man he knows how to work the press well (and his Leveson performance will earn him still more friends), his performance in Education is an application of conservative principles strikingly lacking in other departments, and he is a man of unique articulacy and intelligence. Though many think he does not pass the "blink test" and comes across as "odd" to the general public.

PLEASE VOTE ABOVE - and if you can, tell us your reasons why below... Thanks BDF-ers!

[alycidond9009]

Bj.

. .

[Baron von Lotsov]

John Redwood is the man we need. Boris Johnson I suspect is some sort of socialist. Hannan is a good academic but doesn't have the clout. Osborne is wedded to his Jewish billionaires and Gove I don't really know about. Some reckon he is good but he's the sort that could end up toeing the line.

John redwood though has all the right qualities. He's good at finance, he speaks up even when everyone else follows the lunacy, e.g. when he rebelled against the climate change act and he has a great deal of experience. It’s no good someone just saying they will get us out of the EU. We need someone who is actually capable of it. You don’t think for one moment they would get an easy ride if they tried to get us out. You need balls of steel to do it.

[Matron]

I wouldn't like to see George Osborne or Boris Johnson as leader. Out of the remaining two, I don't know that much about either, though I did admire Gove's utterance on freedom of speech at Leveson.

[Road_Hog]

None of the above. Dan Hannan isn't really a Eurosceptic, he's a Judas Goat.

[flamingreen]

I cannot believe that BJ has two votes - this is the man who wanted to give an amnesty to illegal immigrants in London, an act which would make London into even more of atarget for illegals than at present!

[Baron von Lotsov]

I cannot believe that BJ has two votes - this is the man who wanted to give an amnesty to illegal immigrants in London, an act which would make London into even more of atarget for illegals than at present!

Yes and he is someone of communist tastes. He was involved in a homosexual march of sin and he thinks Anish Kapoor is a wonderful artist. So like all the other clowns that have gone before him, such as Ken Clarke and Ken Livingstone and Nigel Farage, he is anything but what he appears to be.

[ron]

I cannot believe that BJ has two votes - this is the man who wanted to give an amnesty to illegal immigrants in London, an act which would make London into even more of atarget for illegals than at present!

Weren't you supporting Bozzer during the mayoral campaign?

[Baron von Lotsov]

Weren't you supporting Bozzer during the mayoral campaign?

Yea but I was as well, because London needs Red Ken like a hole in the head.

[ron]

Yea but I was as well, because London needs Red Ken like a hole in the head.

I don't disagree but from what fg is saying about that ridiculous amnesty idea, is Boz much better?

People have to start voting for who they want instead of worrying about who they don't want.