By: Matt
Conservative Leadership Race 2019

Rory Stewart

Name:
Roderick James Nugent “Rory” Stewart

Age:
46

Current Position In Government:
Secretary of State for International Development

Current Position In Circus:
Unicyclist – Going round the crowd, entertaining them and maintaining the balancing act

MP For:
Penrith and The Border

Best Known For:
Making campaign videos that look like selfies but aren’t.

Screenshot 2019-06-06 at 12.13.20

And then admitting to it.

Previous Career:
Where to start.

  • Tutor to Princes William and Harry,
  • Foreign Office in British Embassy in Indonesia,
  • British Representative to Montenegro after the Kosovo crisis aged 26 (also possibly as a spy),
  • Military co-ordinator in Iraq (awarded OBE),
  • Worked for an NGO in Afghanistan,
  • Fellow at Harvard University Centre for Human Rights Policy.

View On Brexit:
Voted Remain.
Says that no-deal would be disastrous, and wants to create a Citizens’ Assembly with 500 members of the public to find a solution. Fan of May’s deal, seeking consensus with Labour to push it through.

Major Policy Idea:
Would expand the National Citizen Service to make it universal for all teenagers – essentially, enforced community service to bring young people of different walks of life together.

Bookmakers’ Odds:
25/1- Skybet, 06/06

Campaign Video:
Not really a campaign video, but in an interview with JOE Media he spelled out his vision pretty clearly.

Pros:

  • An absolutely bizarre Tory politician – incredibly diverse background, an almost entirely on-foot campaign to talk to real people without the usual fanfare… what is happening?
  • A new, fresh face with good ideas.
  • Seems to be winning over non-Tory voters, too.

Cons:

  • Another unknown entity – could be a positive in modern times, but also doesn’t have the clout of other candidates.
  • Definitive stance against no-deal is likely to put off the more right-wing factions of the Conservative Party and voter-base.
  • Sounds a little bit like a deflated Tony Blair – does he have the oomph of rivals like BoJo?

Analysis:

Rory Stewart has come out of the woodwork like an earwig on crack. His unconventional campaign and common-sense approach are at odds with much of the Tory voter-base pandering of his rivals.

However, this carries a risk – he’s certainly generating support with the public, but they famously have no say in who becomes PM. That falls to the Tory MPs and Conservative Party membership, who he might be doing a good job of alienating.

Rory Stewart might just be on the path to being a brilliant politician, but probably one for after Brexit.

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