Andrea Leadsom

Joined the Conservative party 3 months ago just so that I could vote against Boris or George as the next leader (had no idea who else would spring up). Shall now use my vote in favour of TM and definitely not AL. Is the rest of Europe laughing at us or just sad for the mess the Brexiteers have put us in?

Both I think leeds

Individual French people I have spoken to and some have been strangers are as perplexed as us. A Restaurant owner who knows us quite well said when we went there after England lost the match how England had lost twice - when asked what he meant he said Brexit. They all think the UK is mad but at the same time are sad about it. Despite what people think most French like the English - just a minority are not so enamoured.
However I am getting a tad worried now about driving to UK in our French Reg car in the Autumn - I read a piece by a journalist about his trip to the NE for his daughter's graduation ceremony and he was verbally abused.

leeds 22

They are not laughing at us!

Watch if you can the debate re Brexit from Strasbourg July 5th. You will hear from the ' horses mouth' , the MEP's , not from partisan rhetoric which occurs in the media and social networks.

People will use the term 'laughing at us' if it suits their remit to say I told you so or simply not apply any gravitas to mature debate. The latter seems to elude some people regularly hence name calling becomes the norm.

Very sad.

I could have screamed at the tele today.

Cameron was giving a statement re the UK's Defence Policy and Trident. What did the media a.holes ask about, being a mother and Andrea Leadsome.

Ye gods the gravitas of discussing politics is appalling at times.

Am I right in remmbering that Nicola Sturgeon walked along a beach with her niece/nephew to try to emphasise her mummy/children credentials a while ago?
[Not sure if that emphasises points I have made, or not].

I am not aware that there is any dislike of the British in the EU parliament. They seem to have more to do and think about. You forget they are governing and passing laws about much more serious subjects than Brexit. There is IS, NATO and general poverty in the EU. Greece is always needing money etc etc.

The EU does not behave childishly its for grown ups!

Read an article today that support for the EU has increased in Europe since the Brexit vote as they can see the mess the UK are in.

Tweet today -

Waterstones Cardiff (@wstonecardiff)
09/07/2016 10:07
Currently dividing the store into Mothers and Non-Mothers, so readers can tell which books were written by those who care about the future.

That's interesting suzied as I read an article today that quoted the IMF as saying "The euro area is at a crictical juncture. Muddling through is increasingly untenable". The IMF was also reported as having said that the eurozone is now under threat from growing Euroscepticism in countries including France, Italy and the
Netherlands following Britain's vote to leave the EU.

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/08/brexit-causes-resurgence-in-pro-eu-leanings-across-continent

this was the article I referred to.

I read that article and it's consistent with what I've read in the European press. The idea that BREXIT would lead the way appears to be a myth.

Only time will tell.

I really don't understand why, previous to this furore re mothers/non-mothers, Theresa May found it necessary to discuss her childlessness. It is absolutely nobody's business but her own and, in my view, it has absolutely no bearing on whether somebody will do good job. I also don't think their religion is of any consequence either - many of the politicians whose actions have, in my view, been despicable also profess to be Christians.

My feeling is that if Andrea Leadsom made the comments ascribed to her (and apparently she denies that she did), it really confirms what an underhand, bigoted and silly woman she is.

I think these women do all women a disservice by entering into a discussion about something that would never be required discussion material for a man.

Indeed! Germany has taken in over a million refugees, but support for Merkel and the EU hasn't dropped.

The Euro undeniably has problems, but that can be sorted without breaking up the EU.

My impression is that the UK was seen as a bit of a spoilt brat, without commitment despite the concessions it has, and 'ordinary people' are quite glad to get rid of us.

@Eloethan

Leadsom DID make the comments ascribed to her. The Times has produced the recording and the transcript. There's absolutely no denying it. Whether or not she intended to be interpreted as she has been is possibly a mute point. She certainly SOUNDS sneering and superior. It was Leadsom who introduced the issue of May not having any children.

May mentioned her lack of children in an interview a couple of weeks ago - I think it was in the Telegraph. She was asked directly by the interviewer about children. From memory, she said something like she would have liked them, but couldn't for health reasons and had moved on. She then moved on with the interview. Of course, that could have been a a ploy to show how 'matter of fact' she is - ideal PM material.

Leadsom has made motherhood central to her campaign. Just how many times has she mentioned it? Maybe it's a way of avoiding serious questions, but I think it makes her look very shallow (and spiteful).

If that was really how we were perceived, why was the EU so shocked when we voted to leave? You'd have thought they'd have been pleased to see the back of us.

Some of the comments made by EU politicians in the immediate aftermath of the result were more in line with toddlers throwing their toys out of the pram because the vote didn't go the way they'd expected or hoped for.

TYPO ALERT moot point NOT mute point. Doh!

That's what the British media would like you to believe, Smileless.

Nothing to do with the press when they simply ' quote ' what the Likes of Junker said. !

It's everything to do with the press, because they don't mention what EU citizens think of Junker.

Soundbites make good headlines.

PS. This thread is about Andrea Leadsom.

^ but support for Merkel and the EU hasn't dropped.^
I am not sure where your information comes from daphnedil but a friend has German in-law relatives and speaks to them every day - they are not happy and think that the UK did the right thing; they are very anti-Merkel and anti-EU.
Perhaps they are not representative of the majority of Germans but certainly they are not alone in their opinion.
They are not right wing fascists either, just ordinary people.

Leadsom has made motherhood central to her campaign. Just how many times has she mentioned it? Maybe it's a way of avoiding serious questions, but I think it makes her look very shallow (and spiteful).
I agree daphnedil
Theresa May has mentioned in at least one interview that it is a matter of sorrow that she and her husband never had children, but they got on with their lives regardless.

To use the absence of children in a political campaign is quite nasty imo.
People may not want children for all kinds of reasons, and for those who would have liked them but were unable to have any, it must be quite distressing to have it used against you.

@Jalima

Merkel's popularity did drop for a while after she allowed so many immigrants to the country.

My source is the German press, which I read almost daily and about a dozen German friends, some of them on Facebook. Over half of them don't support the CDU anyway and are a bit disappointed that her popularity remains high, although they're relieved that the right-wing isn't making many inroads. Thay are all most definitely pro-EU.

To say - she may have nieces and nephews but I have children . Bitch