Portillo Quits Politics! Guardian

[Screaming Lord Byron]

Buh-bye. Nothing to do with Michael Howard getting the top job, eh?

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,9061,1080339,00.html

[T_i_B]

1. Michael Portaloo?

He would have actually made a better tory party leader than Michael Howard IMHO, but it would appear that he has just had enough. The Grauniad does point out an interesting angle though.

The direct snub to Mr Howard - not only deciding to step down within 24 hours of the new leader's coronation, but making public the fact that he had been offered and turned down a shadow cabinet job - will provide a little respite for the Labour party.

The question I would have is, will he make some sort of comeback? You can't be too sure with Portillo.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

2. He's got 10-15 years left in, but he sure looks more and more

like the nearly man of British Politics. Lots of potential, rotten timing.

[AP]

3. Tories would have an easier time winning with Portillo. He'd be sort of...

...like the Tory Arnold. Enough moderates would be confused into thinking he wasn't a threat.

[AP]

4. Maybe he'll switch to Lib-Dem?

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. Would they take him?

No gain for them, there.

[T_i_B]

6. PULL THE OTHER ONE!

Portillo in a Euro-phile, tax & spend party such as the Lib Dems?

Come off it. Portillo has tried to re-invent himself, but as a libertarian on some issues, not as a liberal by some stretch. And it's not like the Liberal Democrats would ever want Portillo anyway.

It would be very difficult for Portillo to join "new" labour too. Perhaps the greatest image of "new" labour success ever is that of Portillo being stuffed in the 1997 general election. It even inspired a boom entitled "Where you still up for potillo?" in which there was lots of Labour gloating over Portillo's demise. Portillo still inspires dislike amongst the Labour ranks, old and "new" alike and I don't think that even Blair would want Portill.

Portillo really is a pig in a poke here. He's stuck with the tories, who are very much in decline, and his star is on the wane.