Rishi is on the rise

Back in November 2019 less than a fortnight before the general election longstanding PBer, Philip Thompson, had a guest slot here in which he suggested that the then 200/1 that Ladbokes offering on Sunak as next PM looked like a great value bet.

What prompted Philip Thompson to suggest that big things might be in the offing for Rishi was that “Sunak has been earmarked by Boris to represent the Conservative Party in the 7-way debate“. This was a great call.

I love long shots and my reaction led me straight away to log in to my account and bet £20. As I clicked to place the bet the bookmaker site asked if I would like to take advantage of their odds boosted price, 250/1, on this outcome which of course I did.

Undoubtedly things are looking good for Sunak. Even though both he and BoJo were caught trying to evade self-isolation a few weeks ago only the PM saw his ratings move downwards. This is from the Indy’s John Rentoul in article headed “As Boris Johnson falters, Rishi Sunak keeps his eye on the prize”:

Not only is Sunak popular in the country – partly because people are grateful for his furlough scheme – but he is popular among the Conservative MPs and party members who will choose the next leader. It is no coincidence that opening up travel and getting people back to the office are things that a lot of Tory MPs care about. And the contrast between Sunak and Johnson among party members was dramatised by the Conservative Home poll, in which Johnson’s net satisfaction rating crashed from plus 39 per cent to 3 per cent, while Sunak’s is at plus 74 per cent. The chancellor also has a commanding lead when Tory members are asked who should be the next leader of the party after Johnson. Sunak comes top on 31 per cent, ahead of Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, on 12 per cent, and Penny Mordaunt, the paymaster general, on 11 per cent. Sunak’s closest rivals are interesting: it would seem that members have forgiven Truss’s Remainer past as she signs post-Brexit rollover trade deals, while Mordaunt is admired for her occasional partisan outings at the despatch box.

It is Tory members, of course, who will decide the next leader. A big question is could sonething happen before the next general election?

If this bet comes off for me the £5k winnings would top the £4.3k that I made backing the LDs at up 20/1 in the Chesham and Amersham by-elecction – my current most profitable wager.

Mike Smithson

Now