St Theresa de Mayhem.

[Workingman]

Her of red, white and blue, strong and stable, no deal is better than a bad deal (the one I she is going to get) is going to stand firm and lead the Tories into the next general election.

Get a grip, Tess!

We know the Tories are in a bad way when Rees-Mogg is being spoken of as a potential leader, and that being the case you can only imagine what they think of your chances.

[TheOstrich]

The irony is that, given a straight choice between May and Rees-Mogg, I'd be voting for May ...

Mind you, I think Davis is doing himself no harm, standing up to the perfidious junkers on t'ther side of t'cut ..

[Suff]

She had one foot in her PM coffin with her "social" agenda before the election disaster. The fact that she only has her head poked over the side of her coffin, now, is no surprise.

However they have to promote "Strong and Stable"; for now!

It is an interesting point that May has not crippled herself over the EU, so much, as crippled herself over a Labour/LabDim style social agenda that the grand old order of the Tories won't live with...

A new one for them.

[Workingman]

The problem is that May is not a "people person" and Rees-Mogg is so C19th that neither of them 'connect' with the ordinary electorate.

Then again, who does in the Tory ranks? Don't say Johnson, most voters, of all political persuasions, see him as a buffoon and in it for himself. There is a void, and nature abhors a vacuum.

Vacuums sometimes collapse of their own accord. Oh dear!

[cromwell]

Well her ersatz Maggie Thatcher routine seems to have died the death. There is a vacuum, yes. But on both sides. The "progressive, liberal" side of the Labour party want Corbyn out- desperately. Who do they have to replace him? The charmless Yvette Cooper? In her dreams.

I look at all parties and I can't see much leadership atm, though maybe Os is right about Davies, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Dan Jarvis pushed forward as a photogenic, ex-services anti-Corbyn candidate.

It's all up in the air, innit?

[Suff]

It's all up in the air, innit?

I don't know, Corbyn seems to be dug in so deep it would take a bunker buster to get him out. The main feature there is he has another 5 years to totally screw it up. Going by his current track record, he'll manage to alienate large areas of the Labour support by then. You can only keep Corbyn "on message" for so long.

If it looks like Corbyn is going to face a challenge again, you can count on up to 1.2m students to become Labour party members in time to head that one off.

As for the Tories? That will be a well planned campaign and certainly post the 2019 Brexit divide.

[Workingman]

Some sections put far too much emphasis on Labour under Corbyn, as though he is a dictator whose every utterance must be followed. It is not the case. Labour, as with all parties, is a coalition of the views of its members - we see it all the time. Cromwell mentions Dan Jarvis as a possible 'popular' successor, and he might be right, but let's not forget that it also has some very able people as well: Rachel Reeve, Tom Watson, Debbie Abrahams.....

The problems for the Tories are manifold. No matter how well organised its campaign is May is not the answer. The Brexit deal, whatever it is, will be seen in equal measure as good and bad. The immediate aftermath of Brexit, and possibly into the medium-tern, is not likely to be good for the UK, an early election will look like the Tories running away from what they have 'achieved' yet to stay on till 2022 risks a backlash from the electorate if things are not going well.

The Tories will be hoping and praying that Brexit shows promise... will it, wont it?

[Suff]

The Tories will be hoping and praying that Brexit shows promise... will it, wont it?

Very unlikely. It is more likely to take a decade to get things finally sorted out and things going with the rest of the world. Even if things go totally smoothly, the Tories will be hammered from both sides for not delivering on one of the two prevailing views.

Personally I believe Labour will win the next election no matter what. If they do I want Corbyn at the helm because he does not want to be in the EU. By that time the UK will be exiting just about all provisional measures and floating on the world markets. The unknown will, by then, be known and the voters will have at least some inkling of what is going to happen.

Not a good place for the Tories right now.

Sadly it is not just the world of politics that punishes the "wrong sort" of success...

[Workingman]

Personally I believe Labour will win the next election no matter what.

You might be right.

My big wish for a post Brexit UK is for politicians to tell the truth and an end to short-termism and a one-size-fits-all economy.

We need x-year plans of different lengths for all sector, and ones that all sides can buy in to. If that means politicians from all sides working together it would be no bad thing.