Amid the welter of political punditry over the past few days, there has been one common theme: the fragility of the Tory Party.
The reason conventionally given for such talk is that Brexit has created an unbridgeable abyss between Theresa May’s supporters, who back her EU exit policy, and Right-wing Conservatives who would be overjoyed by a no-deal Brexit.
However, judging by events over the Christmas period, an even deadlier threat to Tory unity has emerged. This is the insatiable ambition of some of the Prime Minister’s treacherous and scheming Cabinet ministers.
Disgracefully, they no longer seem interested in running their Government departments.
Instead, several have embarked on a not-so-subtle spree of posturing, backstabbing and self-promotion in order to boost their chances of becoming party leader whenever Mrs May stands down.
Several of Theresa May's Cabinet ministers, pictured is Gavin Williamson, have embarked on a not-so-subtle spree of self-promotion in order to boost their chances of becoming party leader
Apart from trying to exploit the Prime Minister’s perceived weakness over Brexit, they are taking advantage of the fact that Mrs May let it be known that she will not fight the next General Election as party leader.
Of course, most politicians would go to the ends of the earth to further their own careers. But I never expected such overweening ambition, shameless self-promotion and brazen narcissism.
The fact is that, rather than help Mrs May through to Brexit D-Day on March 29, they are indulging in a very public beauty contest.
Not content with pimping themselves for any interview opportunity, like desperate, pouting Hollywood starlets, they have been posing for self-regarding photoshoots.
Like desperate, pouting Hollywood starlets, they have been posing for self-regarding photoshoots, writes Peter Oborne. Pictured is former minister Esther McVey
First out of the traps at the start of December was former work and pensions minister Esther McVey.
Having flounced out of Cabinet in a huff over Mrs May’s Brexit policy being too soft, she preened herself for a portrait for the hard Brexit-supporting Daily Telegraph.
Soon after, Amber Rudd, newly restored to the Cabinet in McVey’s stead, did an interview-photoshoot with The Times.
Not to be outdone, prime minister wannabe Gavin Williamson sashayed into public view — twice.
First, the Defence Secretary posed for pictures for a Sunday newspaper in front of a Royal Navy gun. (Never having been in the military, it was an embarrassing stunt.)
Just two weeks later, Williamson appeared in another Sunday paper in an even more grotesquely choreographed image — in front of a photograph of Winston Churchill and a Union Jack.
To me, both pictures reinforced the fact that the 42-year-old former pottery firm boss lacks any of the qualities — discretion, sobriety and judgment — which are bare necessities in the military. That hasn’t stopped this popinjay from milking his association with our Armed Forces for all it’s worth.
Next up was Home Secretary Sajid Javid looking earnest and intent (and, of course, he hoped, prime ministerial) in the Daily Telegraph.
This parade of Cabinet schmoozers is nothing less than an abasement of their public office. Government ministers are not fashion models. They are charged with running the country. That is their solemn duty.
Meantime, government has all but ground to a halt as rival ministers jockey for position.
For example, the public jostling between Javid and Williamson over how to tackle the dozens of migrants crossing the English Channel in dinghies has simply exacerbated the problem.
Indeed, Javid — whose ambitions, his critics say, are in inverse proportion to his talents — ended up looking a fool by making a U-turn on his original decision not to call on Border Force cutters to police the Channel.
His misfortune was to find himself up against a more nimble Whitehall frigate in the shape of Williamson, who has set standards of self-promotion so high that no other Cabinet minister can possibly match him.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt joined the fray. I had always thought he was above such petty rivalries.
But he has suddenly converted himself into a hard-line Brexiteer — clearly with a canny view to the fact that Tory party activists, who vote to select a new party leader, are said to be opposed 59 per cent to 38 per cent to Mrs May’s deal — and used a trip to the Far East to blatantly promote his leadership credentials. If only we had as many Navy ships on patrol in the Channel as we have Cabinet ministers on manoeuvres.
What an indictment of our political class that this should be happening at a time when Britain is about to embark on one of the most tumultuous weeks in our recent history as the House of Commons is due to vote on Mrs May’s Brexit deal.
This shabby spectacle is not only ridiculous; it’s deeply damaging to the national interest.
Public jostling between Javid, pictured in Dover, and Williamson over how to tackle the dozens of migrants crossing the English Channel in dinghies has simply exacerbated the problem
The depressing truth is this Cabinet beauty parade is a cynical attempt by ministers to ingratiate themselves with the Tory grassroots who will eventually have to vote for one of two candidates chosen by Tory MPs in any future party leadership election.
However, this tiny electorate — estimated to be around 100,000 people, compared to the three million members in the post-war era — are unrepresentative of the British people as a whole.
I know many Tory members and they are decent and honourable people. But, in the main, they are aged over 60 and too many local associations have become dominated by former Ukip members intent on making the party espouse a hard Brexit as much as possible.
Esther McVey, Amber Rudd, Sajid Javid, Gavin Williamson, Jeremy Hunt et al may think they can pander to the wishes of that ever-dwindling number of Conservative Party members, but their disloyalty to Mrs May simply gives the impression to the wider British public that they are treacherous and that the Government has taken leave of its senses.
Amid this mess, only one senior Tory looks statesmanlike: Theresa May herself. It’s time her traitorous underlings stopped playing games and got behind her deal.
A rare servant of integrity
Colette Bowe, a former civil servant who has been appointed to a key Bank of England policy-making committee, is one of the country’s most admirable public figures.
She is astute, hard-working and a model of discretion. She was the civil servant at the heart of the Westland affair 30 years ago, which saw Michael Heseltine storm out of the Thatcher cabinet, and knows every secret of the crisis that threatened to bring Thatcher down.
I hope she isn’t the only example left of unflappability and shrewdness for which the British used to be famous.
It takes a brave man to make a prediction for 2019. Nonetheless, here’s one.
Ex-PM David Cameron’s autobiography, an account of his five years in No. 10, sold to publishers for a reported £800,000 and meant to be published last year, won’t see the light of day this year either.
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/category/the-sun-world/
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/peter-oborne-theresa-may-deserves-better-than-these-narcissists/
News Pictures PETER OBORNE: Theresa May deserves better than these narcissists
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/04/23/8146712-6559347-image-a-17_1546646051830.jpg
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