Senior Tory Esther McVey says she would like to be prime minister

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/18/senior-tory-esther-mcvey-prime-minister

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The senior Tory minister Esther McVey has risked annoying her bosses by declaring she would like to be prime minister.

Most politicians frantically dodge the question of whether they would like the top job for fear of seeming to undermine their current leader.

McVey, however, who is not considered a frontrunner to succeed David Cameron, broke with the trend to tell ITV’s Loose Women that she would like to be leader.

When asked whether she wanted to be prime minister, the former television presenter said: “If I had to do a yes or a no, I’ll be honest, I’ll say yes.”

If the Conservatives lose power in May, the main contenders to take over from Cameron are the home secretary, Theresa May, the London mayor, Boris Johnson and potentially the chancellor, George Osborne.

Johnson has spent years giving confusing answers when asked whether he would like to lead the Conservative party or be prime minister, at times saying it was as likely as being reincarnated as an olive and at others suggesting he would be up for “having a crack” if the ball came loose at the back of the scrum.

McVey’s name is not often mentioned as a possible leader of the Conservative party, but Cameron gave her a seat at the cabinet table last year.

The MP for Wirral West will first have to hang on to her marginal seat, where she is defending a majority of just 2,436.

The 47-year-old Liverpudlian is one of the 2010 female intake to have risen through the party ranks, first as minister for disabled people, followed by a promotion to employment minister.

During that time, however, she has been criticised for justifying harsh cuts to benefits for disabled people, and for the botched introduction of the personal independence payment.

She has also defended the system of benefit sanctions, the spread of food banks and the flexibility of zero-hour contracts.

During the television appearance, McVey also appeared to express her disapproval of negative Conservative ads about the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

“I don’t do that and I don’t agree with that and I’ve never personalised anything,” she said. “Where I come from, from a very different point of view, it’s a Labour heartland, it’s a trade union heartland, and I’ll have a very personal campaign against me there. So I don’t believe in that at all.”

In a sign there may be wider unhappiness about the campaign among Tory women, May also called for a “positive campaign” on Tuesday, rather than one concentrating on the Labour leader.