The Tory Race
The Tory Race
As a student, a UK citizen and a supporter of the conservative party I have been following the race to 10 Downing Street closely and with bated breath. It is an incredibly important decision, one that could shape the future of our country, and one that has been taken out of the hand of the public. Mind you after the Brexit catastrophe this might not be a bad thing! This means that ordinary citizens like myself have to watch and hope we get the result we want, that is, if we even know who we want.
The initial field of 10 candidates has now been whittled down to two, with Gove just missing out, thank god, potentially due to the fact he admitted to taking cocaine in the middle of a leadership race. Now only Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt remain, two worthy candidates, both with good ideas but both with flaws. One of the major themes running through this race has of course been Brexit. Both have taken a stance, Boris initially took the firmer stance saying we will be leaving in October with a deal or without a deal and that?s that, ?Do or die?. He has kept this stance throughout the race, instilling confidence that he is a man of his word and he does intend to keep it. Whilst I am against Brexit I have come to terms with the fact that it is happening and therefore I am just happy to know when!
Jeremy Hunt on the other hand has had a mixed response to Brexit. Initially he said that a no deal Brexit would be ?suicide? for the conservative party, predicting that it would ruin the economy provoking a general election that the Tory?s would tank completely. Which wasn?t too outrageous to think, this could very well happen. When pushed on the matter, however, he has said that if we don?t have a deal in place by 1st September he would push for a no deal Brexit. Going back on his word and creating disparity in his bid to be the next PM.
I think it is fair to say that Brexit has been the most important topic in this race, everything else promised by the two won?t see the light of day until we have wrapped up this Brexit business. The other policies and promises do create insight into what kind of a Prime Minister the two will want to be. It seems like the two are each backing a different sector, Hunt is backing the fishermen and farmers and Boris is backing the education sector. Boris has promised that he would reverse the damage done to the education sector by the last government and Mr Gove, pledging to spend a minimum of ?5,000 extra for each secondary student. Whilst this might not be completely realistic it does show that he understands that the education sector is in need of some serious help. I find solace in the fact that a politician finally seems to understand how serious the situation is. Hunt has also earmarked plans to help the education sector out, but his plans don?t seem to be as drastic and are generally focused on university students. Hunt seems to be turning all Corbyn on us saying he will try and reduce debt and try and write some of it off, but like Corbyn I believe these are just hollow promises that will never see the light of day. I?m surprised we didn?t see him on a Glastonbury stage spouting lies to the nation as Corbyn did two years ago.
Overall I believe it is hard to look past Boris. He has been very successful in the ballots running up to the big one and he is clearly well liked within the party. Although I disagree with how he handled Brexit he seems to be by far the best candidate, for the nation and for the education sector. His time as London Mayor will go down as a great success, he has proven that he can lead on a big scale and I believe it?s time for him to prove it on the biggest scale. Also his dad was hilarious on I?m A Celeb!
Author: Joshua Heath
The views expressed above are that of my own and in no way connected to Class People.