Editorial Comment
Aview is gaining ground that the Tories should not be electing the leader of their party, but somehow the entire country should be. This is especially pronounced on the political Left, which considers Conservative MPS and party members unrepresentative of the nation and so disqualified from choosing the next prime minister.
However, they are not electing a prime minister but a party leader. Whether he or she becomes prime minister is dependent upon Parliament. If the winner of the Tory contest can command a majority in the Commons on key votes of confidence, that is the test of their right to the position.
No one on the Left suggested the franchise for the Labour leader should extend beyond the party membership, even if many moderate MPS wished that it had when Jeremy Corbyn won. The fact is that who leads a party is a matter for its members; who leads the country is a matter for Parliament, even if, invariably, the leader of the party with a majority is prime minister by default.
What those who question the legitimacy of the Conservative process mean is that they do not want a Brexiteer to lead the Conservative Party; and since the membership is overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit, they fear the next prime minister will seek to expedite and conclude the UK’S withdrawal, to which they are opposed. Specifically, they fear it will be Boris Johnson, who launched his campaign formally yesterday with a pledge to do just that.
Mr Johnson, a former mayor of London and foreign secretary, brings not only experience to the contest but an infectious optimism that his supporters hope will overwhelm the questions concerning character that will pursue him throughout the contest. Furthermore, as an opinion poll in the Telegraph indicated, he is the one candidate who is able to win an election.
Given Mr Johnson’s pivotal role in the Leave campaign in 2016 and his popularity among large sections of the party membership, it would be wrong of MPS to orchestrate the parliamentary selection in order to keep him off the final list of two. He is ahead of his rivals at the moment in terms of pledges, but there is a suspicion that a “Stop Boris” movement will seek to block his advance to the last stages. MPS must resist the temptation to do this.