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Courtesy of the Sunday Telegraph.
While Westminster has been fixated on Theresa May’s battle with Brussels over her Brexit a deal, a battle already being billed as the dirtiest of a generation is playing out away from public view in Parliament. At stake is the future of both Britain’s future outside of the European Union – and the Conservative Party as a major electoral force. Up to a dozen senior Tory MPs are actively mulling whether to mount leadership campaigns to replace Mrs May when she quits – as expected – later this year. One MP says: “Everybody is trying to gauge what support they have got.” Another MP says: “It is early days – this is a slippery electorate… It is not as though there is a runaway favourite.” And given the wide open nature of the field, it is hardly a surprise the teams are drawing up “war books" about one another according to one adviser, shining a light on controversial historic articles, details of alleged sexual peccadilloes and unsavoury claims about their partners.
One adviser said that “without a doubt” the campaigning in the upcoming Tory leadership campaign will be the dirtiest for decades. “The biggest feature in Westminster is people looking for dirt on other people. “They are all at it [war books]. Everyone is going on about the war books, who has got what. It is already quite a nasty campaign. “The main focus at the minute is how you can take people down – it is not a battle of ideas yet. It is people trying to knee cap each other.” The battle for votes in the tearooms and corridors is already fully underway. While none of the leadership teams will confirm numbers Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, is seen in the “unenviable position” of being the early front runner with one observer saying he has pledges of between 70 and 80 Tory MPs.
Both Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, and Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, are said to have won the unofficial backing of 40 MPs. Further behind is Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, who is sitting on a “core support of 25 MPs without having to work” rising to – according to his cheerleaders - as many as 70 MPs, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, the ERG chairman. Each is tailoring his or her offering to MPs who have to whittle the field down to just two candidates to go in front of the membership. Mr Hunt – who is in Japan this weekend on official business when he will demonstrate his linguistic skills by teaching English to Japanese students – is emphasising a “compassionate Conservatism”, saying the Tories must show they are not just a “money, money, money party” but have a “social mission” as well. But his rivals are already describing him as the “establishment candidate” who is likely to pick up the support of Number 10. Plenty of observers say this could damage his chances among MPs furious about the Brexit talks.