Noisy contest sees leadership hopefuls take potshots at Sunak on tax

One thing Westminster is rarely short of is ambition.

And what greater thing to aspire to than leading your country.

A minibus full of wannabes, with a cargo ship of promises not far behind.

Talk of futures and pasts, slick and not so slick videos, websites, Twitter handles and newspaper articles abound.

We don't yet know the rules of this race, or where the finish line is, but that's not holding anyone back.

So far, in short, we see the former chancellor Rishi Sunak leaping to the front when it comes to endorsements from fellow MPs.

And we see every other candidate, in one way or another, taking a potshot at him, particularly on the issue of tax.

The reason is this: by any modern comparison, tax and government spending is through the roof.

• Tories using fantasy economics, Labour leader says

• Tory leadership rivals battle over tax cut pledges

Plenty of Conservatives find this, well, un-Conservative.

And who's been chancellor for the last few years? Ah yes, Mr Sunak.

It's a useful reminder too as we hear the avalanche of aspirations that will tumble towards us in the coming hours and days.

Remember who these candidates are talking to: firstly Conservative MPs, and then members of the Conservative Party around the country.

Those party members - 100,000 or so people - have the awesome responsibility of picking our next prime minister on behalf of the rest of us.

Of course, the winner has to make the case to party members that they can win a general election, but they need to convince those party members that they share their outlook on what it is to be a Conservative too.

It is also worth remembering, and moments like this emphasise this point, our big political parties are broad churches.

Under the banner of Conservative, or indeed Labour, sits a broad range of views.

Some of these emerge in public some of the time.

But most are articulated privately, most of time, until moments like this, when they burst out for all to see.

The opportunity for the Conservatives is to renew while in office, picking their fourth prime minister since they came into government in 2010.

• Who could be the next prime minister?

• Tax cut beauty contest could turn ugly

The danger for them is tearing themselves apart in public.

For the next day or two, expect plenty of noise.

Those likely to be eliminated early on will make the loudest pitches now, while they can.

Those more hopeful of making it through the first few rounds of voting at Westminster at least will ration their early appearances, trying to ensure their policy platform can withstand the inevitable scrutiny that will soon come their way.

By a week on Thursday we expect MPs to have whittled the wannabes down to a final two.

Ordinary party members are likely to then have from late July until roughly the end of August to take their pick, selecting the man or woman who will replace Boris Johnson at the beginning of September.