This televised Tory squabble had to stop
THanK heaven for small mercies. tonight’s televised tory leadership debate has been called off after two of the candidates belatedly came to their senses. scarred by twin horror shows on Channel 4 and ItV, Rishi sunak and liz truss thought better of it and told sky: thanks, but no thanks. Watching the C4 debacle, presided over by a preening Krishnan Guru-Murthy in front of a largely Conservative-hating audience, I couldn’t help wondering why the candidates ever agreed to it in the first place.
What was in it for them? they were always on a hiding to nothing. More to the point, what was in it for those of us who are not paid-up members of the tory Party?
We don’t get a say in who becomes our next Prime Minister, at least not until the next General election. and, as all the runners and riders made crystal clear, no matter who emerges victorious from this unseemly playground squabble, there is no prospect of any of them going to the country any time soon.
Meanwhile, the 200,000 card-carrying Conservative members will only get to make the final decision after tory MPs have whittled the field down to two.
Even if some of the dedicated envelope-stuffers, door-knockers and jumble-sale-organisers quite fancied voting for sajid Javid, nadhim Zahawi or sue ellen Braverman, they’re out of luck. they have all been eliminated, but we knew that was going to happen before the tV debates.
Each of the candidates has been pitching to Conservative MPs at a series of private hustings. so why expose themselves to trial by television, especially in front of a studio full of hostile punters who are never going to vote for them in a million years?
FRIDay’s audience looked as if it had been selected from the Islington branch of Momentum. Wisely, sunak and truss opted for damage limitation and pulled out of the sky debate yesterday. It’s the best decision either of them has made for weeks.
especially as they would have had to face a barrage of questions about honour and morality from presenter Kay Burley, who was herself suspended from work for six months for breaking lockdown restrictions while celebrating her birthday in soho with, among others, sky’s political editor eleanor Rigby, also sent to the sin-bin in disgrace.
yet, in the amoral world of television, neither Burley nor Rigby have any qualms about mounting their high-horses and slagging off the tories as corrosive, dishonourable and law-breaking. Dear Kettle, love Pot. Why give them the satisfaction? sunak and truss are to be congratulated for calling a halt to this unedifying circus. after the candidates tore lumps out of each other on sunday night, a period of sober reflection is long overdue.
On ItV, Fizzy lizzie at least recovered some of the spark which appeals to the grassroots. But trading insults on live tV is hardly the best way to impress the faithful, let alone floating voters who will decide at the next General election. People don’t vote for hopelessly divided parties.
As sky news said in a statement: ‘Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits . . .’
Or, as a leading light in one of the candidate’s inner circles admitted: ‘Flagellating ourselves three times in five days on live tV isn’t a brilliant thing to be doing.’
As I wrote on Friday, the candidates must be subjected to proper scrutiny, but a three-ring clownfest on television isn’t the best way to do it. tV only ever produces sound and fury.
The most pertinent revelations about the hopefuls’ real character and policies have been uncovered by newspapers digging diligently and the evidence of those who have worked closely with them, such as lord Frost and anne-Marie trevelyan.
Penny Mordaunt’s early appeal, which propelled her into first place with the rank and file, has been exposed as an illusion. When it looked as if she might become our next PM, I started working on a nickname. Penny For-your thoughts, Penny arcade, Penny lane? But given what we know now, I’ve settled on:
Penny Dreadful.
One person who has emerged from the debates with an enhanced reputation is the virtually unknown Kemi Badenoch. she could be the next tory-leader-but-one, either when they lose the next election or after she’s gained experience in a serious Cabinet job.
Like the other candidates, however, she would do well in future to observe Ronald Reagan’s sacred dictum about not speaking ill of fellow Conservatives.
That’s why scrapping the superficial, nasty tV debates is the only sensible course of action.
Watching both C4 and ItV at the weekend, there seemed to be something missing, a certain star quality. Polls of party members demonstrate there’s still one tory politician who’d walk it, were he allowed to take part.
As Box office Boris reminded us yesterday with his barnstorming valedictory in the Commons, there’s no show without Punch.