Sajid Javid gets leadership bells ringing over EU
SAJID Javid has long been talked of as a future Tory leader, and yesterday he become the latest senior party member to express doubts about Britain’s membership of the EU.
The former treasury minister was speaking at a press gallery lunch in parliament, and was asked by one of the journalists if he would “shed a tear if Britain left the European Union?”. “No” came the reply.
While The Capitalist wonders what Javid’s former colleagues at Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank would make of his comments yesterday, there is little doubt that it will have gone down very well with a huge number of the Tory backbenchers and members who will decide their next leader.
Obviously conscious of the talk of his ascent, Javid started his speech: “I have today agreed to let my name go forward for the leadership of… Oops, wrong speech.” Subtle.
When asked if he actually wanted to be the Tory leader, he replied: “I’m not making plans to lead any party”. A perfect non-denial denial.
No surprise then that the odds on Javid, whose department is in charge of gambling law, are getting shorter by the day.
Leadership contest klaxons weren’t the only bell that Javid set off during the lunch either.
Cabinet members are regularly given a dressing down by the PM if their mobiles go off in their weekly meeting, and some funny details of the various ministers’ dubious ringtone choices have emerged.
Sajid Javid revealed that his ringtone is You’re Beautiful by James Blunt, “but only when Chris Bryant calls”. The Labour MP was recently engaged in a tiff with the teeny-tiny pop star.