Andrea Leadsom

Labour MPs looking for a party with a social democrat/ liberal agenda need look no further than the Liberal Democrats. Why on earth would they join the Tories?

Even though Theresa May is more acceptable than any of the alternative Tories, she is still a Tory. I wish her well in this horrendously difficult task of becoming PM in the present circumstances, but she has pursued many right wing policies.

This country needs a strong centre/left party to oppose a Tory government. The Liberal Democrats were united in opposing the Iraq war, have a strong leader in Tim Farron and a huge number of councillors and members all over the country who are ready and willing to support the party in spite of the lack of medioa support.

Theresa Mays thoughts on Sharia Law are very worrying.

Have you read May's thoughts on Sharia Law or just read what the papers have written?

I think she bottled out of publishing her tax returns. Thank goodness we haven't got another 2 months of her playschool speeches. If she bottles out over press digging, imagine what she'd have been like dealing with Putin or Metkel.

Merkel- typo

@varian

Fingers crossed. I'd love to see the LibDems reinventing themselves, especially at local level.

I was just speculating really, because I suspect we're going to see a major realignment of parties. We desperately need PR, so that people have a greater say in the democratic process.

Tegan (Mon 11-Jul-16 13:20:54)

As we don't have a presidential system I personally believe the only democratic solution would be an election but I doubt that many have the heart for that at the moment. Perhaps after she is settled and we can see what this Conservative government is about we might be more prepared for one but calling an election now we have a fixed term parliament is not easy.

Agreed daphnedill. Out of all the talking heads that I have listened to over the past few weeks, Tim Farron has impressed me the most. I too would like to see some sort of PR but the problem is that no party, whether right or left, is going to propose it as it would be against their own interests. I also believe that we will never see another referendum in this country as the electorate have shown they cant be trusted to do what they were supposed to do. I do think that there may well be some realignment of parties, the labour party is eating itself and the ghastly Aaron Banks and his cheque book are lurking, possibly looking tempting to disapointed Tory right wing Brexiteers.It is like living through a political drama.

Will we see the Osborne getting the sack too? One can but hope.

Who would you like to see as Chancellor? Grayling?

varian (Mon 11-Jul-16 13:48:12)

I was a founder member of the SDP, on the local steering committee and involved until the end but I did not and would not join the Liberals although I have voted for known Liberals locally from time to time. To me they remained Liberal (not always a bad thing) and there was little of the social democracy I was looking for.

Join the Tory's? - probably not unless our politics changed out of all recognition but hope for a new, properly social democratic party - of course. Without PR I do not hold out too much hope though. So then you vote for those offering what you see as closest to your own principles don't you. With all that has happened in the last two weeks who knows who that will be

Thank goodness - Andrea (Mummy) Leadsom has gone and very soon we will have a Jolly Good Woman in charge.

At least AL saw the writing on the wall and did the proper thing.

I've just discovered Grayling use to be a member of the SDP. OMG!!!

TM has quite a task ahead of her, it should be 'interesting'!

All these below served as PM without going to a General Election first

2007 Gordon Brown Labour
1990 John Major Conservative
1976 James Callaghan Labour
1963 Sir Alec Douglas-Home Conservative
1957 Harold Macmillan Conservative
1955 Sir Anthony Eden Conservative
1940 Winston Churchill Conservative
1937 Neville Chamberlain Conservative
1923 Stanley Baldwin Conservative
1916 David Lloyd George Liberal
1908 Herbert H. Asquith Liberal
1905 Henry Campbell-Bannerman Liberal
1902 Arthur Balfour Conservative

I am finding the current '10minutes is a long time in politics' situation quite unbelievable. People are telling us that the Brexit vote was all about 'taking back control' - CONTROL of what? We have had about 6 sure fire Prime Ministers in Waiting declared and now, it seems, we will have a new one by the end of the week, simply because she is 'the last one standing'. Not a single democratic vote has taken place and every promise made has been broken.

Talk about 'Fiddling while London Burns'. While the Press and pundits try to keep up, it would seem that the future of the Nation is being decided via late night tweets and secret messages between a select few while the parliamentary and party political 'rules' are swept aside, ignored or rewritten as they go along. Someone on Facebook suggested that there is some great brain steering the course of events for their own ends - if so that brain must be a deranged one.

I am sick and tired of being lied to, taken for granted and taken for an idiot, told to trust,not to worry because 'THEY' will sort it out, etc. etc. 'THEY' have managed to alienate both those who voted for BREXIT and those who voted to REMAIN, made the country a laughing stock, disrupted millions of people's future financial, career and residence plans. If I were the Queen I would dismiss the lot of them (including the Labour ones who are too busy fighting each other to provide an effective opposition)and call a General Election under PR.

Well it worked didn't it

Canny maneuvering, by phone calls to Michael Gullible Gove, from 'friends' urging him to stand! This obviously caused Boris to drop out. Then Gove got his comeuppance (as was planned all along) and here is Theresa, as planned.

Watch who becomes Chancellor and all will be revealed!

Machiavelli couldn't have planned it better

Do you honestly have much confidence in people to deal with the likes of Putin, when they can't outflank people in their own party?

Is that a question to me DD because if it is you will have to put it more clearly, as I'm totally

Granny23 so what are you going to do about it?

Assuming you're not the queen, that is!

Yes, it was a question to you. You were the one who suggested some Machiavellian plot. If there really was a plot, May's played a blinder. She's been the best of a bad bunch all along.

As for Leadsom...apart from all the other reasons, I had absolutely no confidence in somebody who (in her own words in a Telegraph article) cried because people had abused her and who seemed more concerned about cooking more roast potatoes to go with a roast chicken for more Sunday guests than being PM.

@Granny23

You could write the novel before somebody else does!

Anya As a Scottish Resident and life-long Scottish Nationalist I will redouble my efforts to extract Scotland from the shambles that is the United Kingdom. If I were not Scottish, I would probably follow in the footsteps of the actual Queen and retreat to Scotland for the summer and hide there until order is restored (which might take a long time.

I think we are crediting politicians with too much in the way of tactics/manoeuvring tbh.
It's probably more just the way things fall out.