Four are women. Six have recent forbears hailing from far beyond Europe — India, Iraq, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and Pakistan. Of the three white men, one is married to a Chinese woman while another holds a French passport.
On paper, the nearly dozen candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister are a kaleidoscopic tribute to Britain’s rich diversity. In terms of policy proposals, however, the mosaic they create is resolutely monochromatic.
Nearly all the candidates are promising to cut taxes of one sort or another to cushion the blow of a spiraling cost-of-living crisis. Most favor legislation that reneges on an agreement with the European Union on trade in Northern Ireland. Many would continue to put migrants in the country illegally on planes to Rwanda.