The Debate

Subject: FW: The debate. 

What a disappointing format for last nights political leadership contest. There was no way the contestants could be held to substantiate their claims on Brexit or tax cuts as the contestants sought to out shout each other and in fact one ended up even more confused as to who deserves to be the next Prime Minister.
The only realistic one was Rory Stewart who seemed to say "a plague on your houses" for not being honest and willing to fall foul  of that political temptation to promise what ever they think the electorate want to hear without any intention of fulfilling  the promise. His rejection of the claim made by the others that "they" would renegotiate the Brexit deal when Stewart repeatedly said to the others it's not in their gift to renegotiate if the EU has closed that option. Also he accused them of hypocrisy by claiming to offer tax cuts on an economy which can't afford them. He was a breath of fresh air in a smoke filled room and for that reason alone I would wish he were the next PM. Unfortunately his body language was at times one of apparent  disinterest and I wondered as he perched awkwardly on his stool if he wasn't suffering from a back problem which was distracting him. His 'tell it as it is' was in sharp contrast to the typical political strategy of saying things to please that section of the electorate, 'the target audience' without any substance for what he was promising. They were all at it, out promising each other as if we, the audience were too dumb to see their posturing.
Boris Johnson the uncrowned king sat looking uncomfortable as he listened to some of his gaffs in the past and it was noticeable how his colleagues, with the exception of Stewart were going easy on him in their furtherance of a plumb job when he becomes PM.
Heaven help us if we connive to brush over his failings because of some Party arithmetic but it seems that that is just what we will do.
The sound bites from the party faithful in one Conservative sanctum was that many were unmoved by Stewart's appeal for 'common sense' and 'honesty', rather they preferred the, same old same old as their party allegiance and the habit of a life times self-aggrandisement, without much thought for those outside their 'set' was disheartening to say the least.