Next PM ‘will be an outsider’
THE next prime minister will not be one of the established candidates but a new Tory outsider who can show “warmth as well as intelligence”, one of the party’s leading stars has predicted.
Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, says that she believes George Osborne, Boris Johnson and Theresa May will all be beaten in the race to replace David Cameron. Instead, she tells The Sunday Telegraph, she expects an MP elected six years ago at the 2010 general election to emerge victorious. “The party is quite good at picking people that aren’t necessarily the obvious choice”, she said. “When David Cameron stood [for leader] he was by far the youngest… he was the outsider.
“The party can pick winners and doesn’t always pick the obvious choice. I have a sneaking suspicion… it’ll be someone who comes through the middle from the 2010 intake.
“I think there’s a few really, really competent and impressive people who
demonstrate warmth as well as intelligence, and I think that’s quite important in politics.”
Both Mrs May and Mr Osborne have faced accusations of a lack of warmth and understanding towards ordinary voters. Recent polls have suggested Mr Johnson is still the most popular candidate among the public, but the race between the London Mayor and the Chancellor is closer among Tory voters.
Ms Davidson calls on politicians to be open and honest, and praises the “earthiness” of Scottish politics compared with Westminster.
“People aren’t daft… They can tell if you mean it or not. Like, just don’t say stuff you don’t mean and you’ll always keep yourself honest – it’s not rocket science, but yeah… maybe some people don’t understand the worth of it. It’s hard won and easy lost.”
Ms Davidson says personality matters “more now than it ever used to” and adds she would find it hard to vote for anyone else if Stephen Crabb, the Welsh Secretary, put his hat in the ring to replace the Prime Minister.
The Scottish Tory leader does not rule out a move to Westminster, but says: “I think there’s a few more miles left in me in the job I’m currently in.”
She would rather “have a life” than become Prime Minister, and adds: “I don’t think anyone who has held that job in the last 30 years has been able to combine both.”
The charismatic rising star who has the ear of Mr Cameron says the Conservatives could overtake Labour in the Scottish Parliament elections this year after recent polling suggested voters are switching sides.
She also reveals that she made a promise to herself never to conceal parts of her personality, but admits she was not “as comfortable in myself as I could be” with being openly gay early in her career.