The queue for hustings is a sea of white hair and bald heads. There are few women and almost no one who is not white. The identity of the Tory party membership is now a matter of national importance in Britain
will also decide Britain’s next prime minister. The franchise for this choice belongs to members of the Tory party, at least 160,000-odd of them. Probably. For no one can or will say how many Tory party members there actually are.
According to research from academics at Queen Mary University and Sussex University, 68% of Tory members are over 50; 96% are white; 21% belong to the National Trust or English Heritage; 66% are male . Tories may be mockable. That does not mean that they are malignant . It is a trope that deviancy lurks behind the upstanding Tory exterior. George Orwell wrote that for a murder to make a truly entertaining news story it should have been perpetrated by a pious Christian preacher or a “chairman of the local Conservative Party branch”. Edward Heath, a former Tory prime minister, felt his party consisted of “shits, bloody shits and fucking shits”.
The hustings do reveal two misconceptions about the Tory party race. The first is the idea that it is about Mr Sunak and Ms Truss. There are, as it were, three of us in these hustings. Many members are there less to elect a new leader than to mourn their old one—and to berate his killer. As one Tory, a fan of Mr Sunak, regretfully observes, in the assassination of Boris Johnson Mr Sunak has been cast as Brutus.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sajid Javid backs Liz Truss for PM in further blow to Rishi SunakFormer Tory leadership candidate Sajid Javid has backed Liz Truss to become Britain's next prime minister, slamming Rishi Sunak's approach by insisting 'tax cuts now are essential'.
Read more »
Sajid Javid backs Liz Truss for PM as he takes swipe at Rishi Sunak's tax plansTory frontrunner Liz Truss described Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford as a 'low energy version of Jeremy Corbyn' days after criticising Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon and calling her an 'attention seeker'
Read more »
Sky News Conservative leadership Q&A: Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss fact checked - Full FactConservative leadership contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have just taken part in Sky News’s BattleForNo10 Q&A. We’ve taken a look at some of the claims they made, including on public sector pay, Ukraine, Covid support and tax.
Read more »
Why is the American right obsessed with Viktor Orban?Hungary offers American conservatives a model of an ethno-nationalist state with limited checks and balances, where one party always wins
Read more »
Can Kuwait’s New Prime Minister Revive The Country’s Shrinking Oil Industry? | OilPrice.comKuwait has failed to boost its oil production in recent years due to a reluctance to invest in the industry, the new prime minister has the opportunity to change that
Read more »