As Tories queue up to fill the Convict’s shoes, we are now officially in gameshow territory | John Crace

Hopefuls deliver a word salad of fantasy economics and flannel as they launch leadership campaigns

You might say it's a longstanding Conservative tradition to suspend reality throughout its leadership elections. Only the Tories have been struggling with reality for years. Just think. The Ukrainians voted for a comedian and got a serious leader. Three years ago, the UK voted for a comedian and got a sociopathic end-of-the-pier clown. Someone who visibly recoiled at the truth. The whole country is now in urgent need of treatment for PTSD as a result.

Even so, we are now officially in gameshow territory. AKA the Tory party having a collective orgasm, as it exposes its deep dysfunction with countless deluded halfwits deciding they want to be prime minister while making promises they haven't a hope in hell of keeping. I mean, Rehman Chishti. Not even his family knows who he is. Why waste everyone's time? It's not as if anyone is going to bung him a cabinet post.