I know which blonde I want to become prime minister
Can Theresa May really be the favourite to become the next Tory leader? Well, that’s what a YouGov poll claims, saying 31 per cent of Conservative voters back her, against 24 per cent for Boris Johnson. Yes, I do realise that, nowadays, opinion polls are basically a branch of experimental fiction, but even so, this one is particularly rum.
While other ministers were putting their necks on the line during the referendum campaign, Theresa May did what exactly? She made herself invisible, that’s what. Declining to speak up too loudly for Remain, lest it make her seem hypocritical, she also refused to join forces with the Brexiteers, and thereby kept herself in the Prime Minister’s good books, just in case. What a weedy wet!
In a superb speech to the Tory party conference last October, Mrs May laid out the implications of continuing uncontrolled EU migration. She said that, while there was no economic benefit to the UK from immigration at such a high level, it did pose a serious threat to social cohesion. The case for Brexit could not have been made more clearly or more fearlessly.
It was deeply disappointing, therefore, for admirers of Mrs May to see the Home Secretary choose to play the part of the Cheshire Cat in such a vital campaign. At best an enigmatic smile where a forceful advocate should have been.
Let’s face it, picking Theresa May to be the prime minister of a Brexit government would be like giving neutral Switzerland the credit for winning the Second World War.
Believe me, the millions who delivered a victory for Leave will not trust a Remainer to fight hard for the best possible deal with Brussels, and could even suspect them of wanting to wriggle back to the status quo.
Mrs May was described to me by one senior Tory as “the most boring woman in Britain” (that’s from a female critic, by the way). That should not concern us. There is a good deal to be said for boring and capable. But cowardice is not a quality we want in a leader.
Far preferable, in my view, is Andrea Leadsom, who was a spirited delight in every debate she took part in. With her financial background, Andrea lent much-needed weight to some of Brexit’s airier promises. According to the Guido Fawkes website, Andrea is currently in talks with the Boris camp, offering herself as chancellor to BoJo’s prime minister. The mother-of-three is said not to be in the running for the top job itself.
Why ever not? The Tory Party has rather a good track record of elevating little-known blondes to greatness. Andrea, stop acting like a girl, woman! Either way, a female name should definitely be on the ballot paper. We need less testosterone and more common sense in those Brexit negotiations.
Whether it’s to be Johnson or Leadsom, let the battle of the Blonde Bombshells commence.