Who in their right mind would like to become leader of the Conservative party at the moment? Yes, the holder of the office gets to be, for now, Prime Minister until the voters stage an intervention. The pay and conditions are good, by most standards. The post of PM also comes with the use of a large country house suitable for entertaining. And a flat and a garden in Downing Street ideal, outside of a pandemic, for hosting parties.
But really. Imagine taking over now. Surging energy prices could cause non-payment and even social unrest. The Bank of England warned this week of a recession involving five quarters of negative growth. Even if the Bank is too gloomy and turns out to be wrong, again, overcompensating for having underestimated inflation it said wouldn’t take off, the economic prospects look grim. Other countries such as Germany may be in an even worse position, thanks to reliance on Russian oil and gas, but that won’t save a British government if it gets as bad here as it might this winter. British voters live in Britain, not Germany, and vote accordingly.
