Andrea Leadsom

Most people aren't trying to be PM. Just highlights the woman's naivety and her lack of media awareness. I would be totally shocked if AL wins the contest, but given the total mad vacuum we are in at the moment who knows.

I will be quite surprised if she doesn't get the vote

And I will be surprised if she DOES.
Leadsom has show herself up remarkably quickly as naive, inexperienced, over-eager to impress with exactly the opposite consequences. Even dyed in the wool Tories and "Leavers" such as the Telegraph and politicians such as Priti Patel, Liam Fox etc have spoken in favour of May and against Leadsom. Not PM. material.

Can you accept now obieone that this is not a stitch up by the media?

I will be quite surprised if she doesnt get the vote.

And a person should keep a dignified silence if they think their words have been taken out of context in a national or for that matter, local newspaper?
Most people do not even do that on gransnet!!

I have read comments for many years but this is the first time I have felt strongly enough to comment myself. This woman since she first emerged has appeared shallow and playing to the galleries. I pray the grassroots membership see through her. I am getting fed up hearing the next PM HAS to be a Brexit supporter. No it doesn't! This vote is for PM of the UK which is about a heck of a lot more than leaving the EU. She has never held a cabinet post and is totally lacking in experience. Ah but say her supporters, David Cameron and Tony Blair had little experience. The big difference in their cases was they were in opposition when they became leader so they had years to learn their craft. Going straight in as PM is no job for an novice. So far we know she only decided to run because Boris failed to provide a written guarantee of a top post for her. She supports another vote on foxhunting, she is against gay marriage (or she may be for it since she voted for both, Children of single parents tend to turn out to be drug addicts or criminals, she is against maternity/paternity leave, pensions and various other benefits for employees of small businesses, she doesn't think the collapse in the value of the pound is a bad thing....and that is before we get onto her embellished CV and questionable past tax actions. I can't help thinking that this is a woman who says what she thinks her audience wants to hear. I have yet to hear anything from her that convinces me she is suitable for any cabinet post never mind PM. I shudder to think what will happen if she is elected. This may seem unkind but I can't help thinking of Donald Trump - all soundbites and no substance. I thought there was no chance of him being elected in November but it seems anything is possible.

Isobel Hardman on why Leadsom's comments could still be turned to her advantage.
It all depends on what influences the Tory membership.

I think it says a lot about her character. Rather than apologising for being misunderstood and any offence she's caused, she's gone into overdrive about how she's being smeared and victimised. It's all "me me me". It's not a very mature repsonse.

I will be more than astounded, but nothing much surprises me any more.

Leadsom is certainly making a song and dance about the Times report.

She ought to learn that a dignified silence says more about your strong character than all the screeching that she is doing.

I will be astounded if she gets the vote.

If not allowed it will be deleted but It's the truth.

Let's hope the Conservative Party members think the same.

I'm not sure you're allowed to write 'bitch'. I was told off by one poster for calling her a 'nasty piece of work' a couple of weeks ago - and that was based on her policies and shallowness, before I even knew about the massaged CV, the dodgy trust funds or her obsession with being a 'mum' and babies.

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

@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.

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.

^ 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.

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.

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

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

TYPO ALERT moot point NOT mute point. Doh!

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.

@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).

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.

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.

Only time will tell.

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.

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

this was the article I referred to.

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.