What comes next? That is what many Tories are asking as they stare down the barrel of defeat. Even before Nigel Farage’s re-entry into the election campaign, most had privately conceded that the election was lost. An MRP/YouGov poll out yesterday suggested that the Tories are on course to win just 140 seats – the worst result in the party’s history. Penny Mordaunt, Grant Shapps and Jeremy Hunt are among those set to lose. If such a result came to pass, which of the survivors would be best placed to succeed Rishi Sunak and start the slow, painful process of building from such a meagre base?
‘Nigel Farage is still against many Conservatives,’ said Badenoch
Every contender is going to have to face a variation of the inevitable question: will you work with Nigel Farage? Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, got an early taste of this yesterday when she was asked if she would be willing to serve under the former Ukip leader in the event he became Tory leader.
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