If Boris gets 100 backers, could Rishi not run and instead support Penny M as that combination would have a better chance of beating Boris?

[NightNite]

Just wondering why Rishi hasn't declared his candidacy yet?

Penny Mordaunt is a disgrace. She supported trans activists because her brother was engaged to a prominent TRA, who boasted about it on Twitter. The same brother has a suspended sentence for owning child pornography , the judge didn’t put him in prison because his sister is a prominent MP ( he actually said that).

if she was Prime Minister, would she be supporting child porn?

I didn't know that.I I'm not a fan of hers.

Penny is also very inexperienced, hasnt had a big govt job.
I am no fan of rishi, but we need someone with more than two brain cells and knows what actually running a country in crisis entails.
No penny please

What @Allthegoodnamesarechosen said.

Penny is also very creative about her CV. She spent next to no time as an active member of the Royal Navy Reserve but you'd think she had been in charge of massive warships under enemy fire to hear her go on.

Also famously lazy according to those who worked with her.

She looks good and speaks well though, which will no doubt be enough.

Why not the other way round?

This. Why on earth would Rishi drop out?! He has over double the support of Penny Mourdant.

Either way though - yes. If the candidates can agree with their backers then they can come to any arrangement. That is exactly how this will work.

They're different brothers.

Her gay twin brother is an air steward and Pink News is a big fan of his.

Her younger brother is a chartered surveyor whose conviction relates to him sending explicit images to what he thought was a 14 year old girl.

Not sure it will matter. If Johnson gets over 100 (which it seems he does have) then he'll get into the membership vote and inexplicably it looks like he'll win there against anyone. Tosser.

Because Penny has already thrown her hat in the ring, Rishi hasn’t.

It's a different brother who was has received the suspended sentence. Penny has two brothers, one is indeed a TRA it was the other one who was grooming and tried to meet up with an under age girl. As an aside please don't call it child pornography there is no such thing name it as what it is - images of the rape and sexual abuse of children.

I can't believe I'm about to say this....but I'd rather have Boris than Penny. She is a fucking disgrace

General election please. This whole stupid contest is a disgrace.

Penny Mordaunt who only has 22 public backers in her corner? I don't think that's going to fly.

I agree. I am no fan of Boris but he did lead the country through covid-19 & Brexit - I know it's a shambles but at least he didn't upset the markets. He also had some credibility on the international stage.

Rishi might drop out because he would rather Penny than Boris.
He could ask his supporters to back her. It might depend what the opinion polls of Tory members are saying

Here Penny, have my 114 votes to top up your 23...you're welcome. No, it'll be fine, MPs love unpopular candidates getting in to power.

It’s a mad idea

Sunak is courting various top MPs getting their support. He’s not just going to give all that work away to someone with good hair.

I jest about last part

I'd prefer the whole pantomime to be abandoned in favour of a general election though that looks unlikely to happen.

Boris should have been banned from standing as the recently ousted PM. The reasons he was ousted have not gone away.

I'd prefer everyone to put support behind Rishi, if he ever gets around to throwing his hat into the ring.

I just have a horrible feeling that Boris will get this and sneak back in again.

What a farce!!

Penny won't hit the 100.

She probably already knows that (as do most of her supporters), but she's hoping she's got leverage as a kingmaker for Boris or Rishi to get a prime cabinet job (unless either can get enough backing to make her cohort irrelevant).

The "deal" Rishi needs to strike now is with undeclared MP's to stop Boris getting to 100 and be crowned king without a membership vote.

Boris clams he has 100 but it's in his interests to do that even if he hasn't and publicly those votes are not in the bag.

He wants to force concessions from Rishi because the leverage Boris has is that IF he has the 100 he's got a good chance of winning the membership vote - but even that's not 100% certain.

Personally I think Boris has taken leave of his senses trying to run again now if he wants to make a comeback.

The term has 2 years to run in some of the most testing of times and the likelihood of a second term is uncertain, especially if his return is unpopular with the general electorate (which I think it would be).

Rather Truss has given him the gift of no longer being the crappist PM in recent times and he could use that to take in £££ on the circuit and re-stage his ambitions in the future (letting others to deal the economic mess of Brexit and Putin).

But he's Boris and his ego is far to big and self control too limited to do what's right for himself, never mind the country.

The whole thing is a shit show, but fundamentally the markets most value a Rishi/Hunt combo (a GE would also create more instability) - so that's where my hopes lie.

DH remarked last night that he'd rather Boris win rather than Rishi, as that makes the likelihood of an early general election much greater so we can actually get rid of the Tories once and for all (well for a few years, anyway!).

Penny should support Rishi

Sunak now has Badenoch and Baker and another B I can’t recall

Heavy hitters to the right of the party, there’s zero chance in handing over that gift to PM

It’s really illogical thinking tbh

That's probably a valid point.
If Boris wins there's probably enough Tory MPs willing to bring down the government to get rid of him ... or is that wishful thinking.

Not Penny no no no. Would rather have Boris! (Pref Rishi!)