A hard Frost descends on Penny’s campaign
IT’S an indictment of the reality- show nature of today’s politics that a virtual unknown could suddenly be propelled into the job of prime minister.
In times past, all the serious candidates would have had a track record in office against which they could be judged. Today, lack of experience and profile seem almost to be an advantage.
Penny Mordaunt is a prime example. She is now a favourite for the leadership, yet most Tories know little or nothing about her, except that she speaks well and seems a plausible figure.
Under proper scrutiny, cracks quickly begin to appear. Her former boss Lord Frost – for whom she deputised in Brexit talks – delivered a devastating critique of her abilities and application yesterday.
Couldn’t master detail, unable to deliver tough messages to Brussels when necessary, often missing in action. After six months, he asked the PM to move her on.
Coming from a man as battle hardened and as admired by the party membership as Lord Frost, these are grave charges that need to be addressed.
Given existing unease over Miss Mordaunt’s support for extreme trans issues and the fact she has criticised selfregulation of the Press, alarm bells should be clanging. Tories must remember they are choosing a prime minister, not the winner of I’m A Celebrity.
A candidate who does have a strong and demonstrable Cabinet record is Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
She embodies the values of traditional Conservatism – low tax, aspirational, meritocratic, anti-woke. And unlike the other front-runners, she remained loyal to Boris to the end. Significantly, she has the endorsement of Lord Frost.
Miss Truss advanced strongly in the second MPs’ vote yesterday but remains in third place. She will no doubt harvest many of the eliminated Suella Braverman’s votes, but they will not be enough.
With Kemi Badenoch still in the race, the split in the traditionalist vote could yet keep both women off the final ballot, when Tory members will choose from the last two candidates.
Mrs Badenoch is hugely promising but untested and the chances of her overtaking Miss Mordaunt or Mr Sunak are slim. If she threw her weight behind Truss, both could be winners – Miss Truss as PM and Mrs Badenoch in a key office of state, where she could hone her political craft.
If they continue to slug it out, however, the traditional wing of the party could find itself out in the cold. That would be a travesty.