It is generally assumed that the best candidates for the job of prime minister are people who have considerable experience of top-level politics. Ideally, this experience would involve having served in the cabinet and in particular, having occupied one of the “great offices of state” – chancellor of the exchequer, foreign secretary or home secretary.
Of the remaining candidates in the contest to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, two have held great offices of state and one is significantly less experienced, instead seeking to present herself as a clean-slate candidate who has not been so closely associated with Johnson’s government. Conservative party members will shortly be asked to decide which of these options is preferable as they vote for their new leader.
