Who to replace Cameron?

Boris supported Burnham yesterday in the debate about EU nationals living in the UK.
Having the support of Boris these days is the kiss of death.

I was talking to my 18 year old son earlier about the Tory leadersip.

His comment about Leadsom was 'Nah! Mum! Don't worry. She's thick. Nobody will vote for her."

I wish I had the naivety of an 18 year old!

There will be a lot going on behind closed doors:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/07/philip-hammond-to-hold-informal-talks-over-rights-of-eu-citizens-in-uk

In any case, there's absolutely no excuse for racist/xenophobic harassment. Whether or not EU nationals have the right to stay here indefinitely, they're here for at least two years and they're human beings. The knuckle dragging numbskulls responsible for abuse should have the full force of the law thrown at them. I would like to see a PM making a public service broadcast to that effect. Unfortunately, there's nobody at the moment who commands or deserves public respect.

Weirdly, I keep thinking over the last couple of days, it wont be either Theresa May or Andrea Leadsome. No idea why though.

I think grassroots will choose Leadsome over May, unless there are several skeletons in the Leadsome cupboard.

I think she is going to have to learn very fast though. She seems quite inexperienced and lacking depth.
How bright is she supposed to be?

There's a whole mausoleum of skeltons in the Leadsom cupboard, but do Conservative Party members care?

I don't know how bright she's supposed to be, but it's fairly obvious that she doesn't know half as much as her 'alleged' experience would suggest she knows.

I just looked up and saw Leadsom on the television. I thought Thatcher had come back!

Aaaaarrrgggghhhh!

The trouble is this version is on steroids.

...and she's thick.

Are you allowed to say that, daphne?

Just said that most Tory members are male and over fifty.
Who will they vote for?

Probably not!

In my defence, she appears to know little about economics or childcare, which she claims to be her 'specialist' subjects. My daughter is an economist and my son is a wannabe economist. I know enough about child development to recognise fraud.

She seems to me like the bossy chair of a parish council, which is probably her level. I'm sure it's a coincidence that her brother-in-law has contributed £800,000+ to the Conservative party.

They'll probably vote for Leadsom because she's sexier. How scary is that?

Believe it or not, many males found Thatcher sexy. I think they fantasised about being tied up and hit with her handbag.

Personally I think it will be a good thing to have a woman, she certainly can't make a worse job of it than the men. Between the two think I would prefer May, for some reason Leadsom dosent do it for me. Certainly don't think she is sexy, and like durhamjen when I saw her on tv I thought of Thatcher.

DD, I have had many fantasies in my life time, but being hit by Mrs Thatchers handbag has never been one, I cannot understand why. As I am often being asked, where do you get your facts from, handbags anonymous perhaps ?

But you never know, now you have sown the seed, tonight may be the night.

Blimey! If this above is typical of the level of thinking in the average female head we really are doomed after all.

No, Anya, I knew a male at the time Thatcher was first elected, who did find her sexy, a view I found quite astonishing. I expect you also remember how she was depicted in 'Spitting Image'. Nothing to do with what goes on in the average female head, certainly not mine.

I cannot believe that anyone would think it appropriate to elect a Prime Minister at this challenging time who has had only minimal experience as a junior Minister and who has never been in the Cabinet.
Experience will be essential.

Sadly, at the moment, I can believe anything possible.

whitewave was asking the other day which candidate The Times is backing. I answered that it was not clear to me they were backing any one. This has been confirmed this morning by this leader article which is critical of all three—I included Gove's dismissal for your entertainment; tbh, there might be a touch of regret in the article about Gove being kicked out of the running:
(it's not the entire artice but I think I've lifted the relevant paragraphs)

"In the second round of voting for the leadership, and hence for the post of prime minister, Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom have prevailed. The final choice between them will go to the roughly 150,000 members of the Conservative Party in a postal ballot, with the result due on September 9. The party would be well advised to bring forward that timetable to fill the vacuum in national leadership.

"The clear loser yesterday was Michael Gove, the justice secretary, who trailed Mrs Leadsom with 46 votes to her 84 and was thereby eliminated. He seems to have alienated his parliamentary colleagues by his ruthless dispatch of the leadership hopes of Boris Johnson. In reality Mr Gove, while provoking strong antipathies, has intellectual weight and an inquiring mind.

"Mrs Leadsom, who as energy minister does not hold cabinet office, has so far shown little evidence of these qualities.
There must be suspicion that, given her inexperience, Mrs Leadsom has been propelled to the final ballot more through a general ideological wishfulness than through her personal qualities. She has argued for Brexit and positioned herself to appeal to the right-wing flank of Conservative thinking. She made clear yesterday her opposition to gay marriage on the grounds of “hurt caused to many Christians” and a wish to repeal the ban on fox hunting.

'This is an oddly narrow set of subjects on which to found an appeal to prime ministerial office, especially at a time when the need to unify party and country and set them on a new course is paramount. Most worryingly, Mrs Leadsom delivered a speech yesterday that purported to be an important contribution to economic debate yet addressed almost no economic issue. It was, rather, an exhortation to “optimism”. Her claims to have held senior posts in the City have been called into question by evidence that she has burnished her CV.

"Mrs May, the home secretary since 2010, is far the stronger candidate and has the overwhelming support of most MPs. She backed the Remain campaign but not vocally. That is not necessarily a criticism. A prime minister with awareness of the costs of Brexit and no obvious zeal in the debate may be the more suitable negotiator for Britain’s interests in leaving.

"Doubts about Mrs May are more in her having little prior indication of an interest in the economy. Given the importance of maintaining trade and investment flows while Britain leaves the EU, that is a large issue on which to be untested. Mrs May has also dismayingly been prepared to countenance the idea of using the issue of nationality of EU citizens already resident in Britain as a bargaining chip in negotiations".

So the weird way this poor country is going, it looks like we will be getting an inexperienced, untried and unpopular (with the Tory MPs) PM.

Still she does a good line in smile and inane soundbites.
Boris will probably be made chancellor and Gove in charge of everything else.

Thanks for that, thatbags. I don't have access to the Times.

Ironically, May has more experience of banking than Leadsom. If Wiki is to be believed, she worked at the Bank of England and Association for Payment Clearing Services, although she could have been the tea girl. Who knows?

No matter which woman is PM , there will be much more suffering inflicted on the vulnerable in this country