As the election of a new leader of the Conservative Party gets under way, it seems highly likely that Boris Johnson is heading for ultimate victory, so long as he avoids doing anything silly. However, swathes of left wingers are hitting the airways with every imaginable reason why he shouldn't be elected, reasons why they consider him to be divisive and, most of all, how wrong it is that his election as leader of his Party, if it happens, will coincide with his promotion to the position of Prime Minister. They argue that this is wrong as he will not have a mandate from 'the people', having only been elected by the membership of the Conservative Party which, of course, does not share their political views.
That this is blatant and hypocritical nonsense should be apparent to all but is a point which has been largely ignored by the media. One strongly suspects that if this was an election for a new Labour Prime Minister and similar arguments were being advanced, there would not be the same media silence. This is all about the Conservatives, Mr Johnson and a largely left wing media.
In the not too distant past, we have been landed with Prime Ministers elected by their party midway through a parliamentary term and I don't recall there being much fuss made then. Theresa May, being a Conservative and coming to office immediately after the 2016 referendum was greeted with calls for her to hold a general election which were all about Remainers wanting a second bite of the Brexit cherry. However, I don't recall Gordon Brown, undoubtedly the most incompetent Prime Minister of recent times until surpassed by Mrs May, being hounded with such demands, nor was John Major when he succeeded Mrs Thatcher. Harold Wilson's successor, Jim Callaghan, moved into No 10 without any uproar and proceeded to create an almighty mess, but I don't recall much in the way of demands for him to seek a new mandate before the due time. Anthony Eden succeeded Churchill and Alec Douglas-Home succeeded MacMillan, both mid-term, neither lasting long but neither calling unnecessary elections.
We do not have a presidential system in this country and our general elections are about electing a government, not an individual leader. When we vote in elections we almost invariably vote for a party or a local representative, we do not vote for the party leader. Whoever wins the Conservative Party's leadership election, will still be bound by the party's 2017 manifesto and, while they can choose their own inner circle, they are not free to do whatever they like. They have to deal with the same parliamentary numbers and views, the same opposition to carrying out the Will of the people as expressed in the 2016 referendum. It is sheer nonsense to try to argue that they have no mandate as an individual and it is irrelevant.
I want whoever wins to take our country out of the European Union as quickly as possible, deal or not. Frankly, I do not care who it is and I do not expect them to put us through the turmoil of a general election unless they have no choice. Replacing a Prime Minister mid-term is not unusual and does not require the consent of the nation; anyone who wants a say in such matters is free to join the relevant party, otherwise they should simply shut up.
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