Is it too late for Sunak to fall on his sword? Matthew Parris in Times

[Westfacing]

Matthew Parris is pondering whether the Tories could have another leader before the election!

A bit far-fetched... surely? But then again...

Is it too late for Sunak to fall on his sword? (thetimes.com)

It's a pretty terrible dilemma for the Tories. The D-day thing really has to be the last straw for Sunak, to the extent that I suspect winning his own seat is looking a bit dodgy. But really they have two terrible alternatives - going to the country with a leader who is coming over as badly as this, or going to the country in a state of chaos with, presumably, Dowden as interim leader and an electorate knowing that all they have to offer is the prospect of yet another PM solely elected by Conservative Party members. But, then again, even if by some miracle Sunak did win the chances of him lasting for any length of time as PM are pretty minimal, so we're looking at another leadership election anyway.

I suspect they're concluding that the reality is they're going to lose anyway so they might as well keep Sunak so as to have a scapegoat.

Is that allowed? Are they not all just “candidates” now? Either way, it would be the absolute final nail in their collective coffin.

They all just need to accept that the majority in the UK wants them out and for once put country ahead of themselves.

As he’ll be on a plane to California before September (school start) he should probably be forced to see this out. The Tories need someone to blame before they collapse into post election chaos

There’s absolutely no point in replacing him now. He’ll be kicked out pretty sharpish on 6 July and the remnants of the party remaining in Westminster will set about choosing his replacement. It doesn’t look as if the choice will be wide.

Isn’t it 4th July? Don’t want to turn up on the wrong day 😁

They’re not going to kick him out on election day.

Won’t need to. He’ll probably be on a plane to California that evening .

I am genuinely curious as to why this man wanted to be PM. I do not understand his motivations- and with the benefit of hindsight I wonder if Tory party members, who rejected him in favour of Liz Truss, saw something of the real man (as we now all do) and this was part of the reason he lost. Truss was terrible after all. It is quite the mystery

He will resign probably before noon on 5th July, once Labour have a majority. I'm hoping the Tories do so badly that the Lib Dems end up with more seats than them.

@bombastix to impress his in-laws I think. So much financial imbalance in that relationship, so he was desperate for a way to improve his status.

Something to do? Getting to the top of the greasy pole?

He doesn’t seem to have any passion for anything, I agree.

Can you imagine how foolish they will look if they install another leader ( their 6th) and then they lose their seat? They may as well see who's left after what looks more and more like a bloodbath

It has brought untold wealth for his family. He has been in a position to ensure that his wife's family company Infosys has a finger in many pies, bringing them billions.

Now that's done he can head off west.

I’m hoping the same thing. I’d love to see Ed Davey as Leader of His Majesty’s Opposition. PM’s questions would at last become civilised.

If that is true it explains his contempt for those performative elements of the role of PM. Oddly most PMs enjoy this aspect. It is telling that Sunak was never properly elected as PM. He is also about to be humiliated in terms of his vote. Any real politician would be deeply wounded. He strikes me as basically untroubled.

Absolutely no interest in most areas of the role of PM. And no care for being humiliated. He has achieved his goal and will have a very comfortable life in the US, having achieved great things for his wife and her family.

To be fair to his wife's family I think they were billionaires before Sunak married their daughter!

Ironic that he will be, forever and a day, at The Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday along with Johnson and Truss.

I think the three of them should have to draw lots to see which one can attend each year, after all they span only one government term.

No one would want to be the one to replace him now. It wouldn't change the outcome, so they'd be leader of a party that's just had a massive defeat.

If anyone wants to take over, better to let Sunak take the hit and take over afterwards.

Parris had nothing else to write about, that’s all.

I would hope that once a Labour government is in, they will ensure the corrupt practices and neglect in the Covid years leads to the criminal charges that I think should happen.

Though even if that does not happen and Mr Johnson is still a free man he will attend. However, if Mr Sunak moves to the US, will he attend?

I've been reading Parris' columns for years. He's been absolutely steadfast in his support of Sunak. It is notable that he's even referencing a change of leadership, particularly now.

Of course it's completely impractical and likely to make matters worse. So I suppose they might do it.

I wondered this. In my wildest dreams I see Cameron leading them into the election.....

On the contrary, there’s plenty else he could have written about but he’d look pretty stupid ignoring the biggest story of the week.

What actually happens if the leader of the party doesn't win their seat? Presume that means they'd be out of a job and the party would need a new leader? Has it ever happened before? How embarrassing would that be!!