You know what to expect: Theresa May wins, Andrea Leadsom comes second. Liam Fox forced out today, Stephen Crabb probably joins him voluntarily leaving Michael Gove to fight with Leadsom for second place – or, perhaps, both dropping out to let May take the crown.
You also know that the expected stopped happening in British politics some time ago.
Andrea Leadsom bombed in the Tory hustings last night; one Tory MP present told me that he’d have been embarrassed to have delivered a speech of that quality to a golf club. She finished by saying she was standing to be party leader then added, in a quiet voice as if even she didn’t quite believe it, ‘and also as Prime Minister’. This has set a lot of MPs thinking that they should vote tactically: that if there’s a risk that Tory members might enstool Leadsom then it’s best she doesn’t get into the final two.
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