Yay or nay - should Britain vote to leave the EU?

[Jezza]

We're down to two candidates now for the Conservative Party leadership election:

1). Theresa May
2). Andrea Leadsom

Theresa May is favourite to win the ballot and become Britain's next PM.

[Wokko]

[sixpoints]

Andrea Leadsom states she has more stake in Britain's future than her Tory PM rival Theresa May, as she has children and May doesn't. WTF!?!
She also states she "prays all the time" and now it appears that this junior minister may have embellished her C.V when working as a middle ranking exec in the financial industry. Sources in the financial industry had either never heard of her or cite she was middle management at best, despite her claims of being involved in high ranking decision making.
But none of that matters as she was on the Brexit side and May wasn't.
Now the 150,000 odd paid up Tory Party members get to vote. Leadsom sure appears to be aiming to appeal to the Right wing of the Party with her I'm a mummy, I'm for Brexit, I'm religious claims.
Surely this is not the person to lead Britain through the minefield of negotiations required for Brexit?

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/07/10/would-be-british-pm-andrea-leadsom-sparks-row-over-kids

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/07/08/uk-pm-candidate-leadsoms-cv-questioned-race-heats

[Mugwump]

^ Leadsom has a truth problem, it seems. Her claim to be "one of a small group of bankers called together by the Governor of the Bank of England after the Barings crisis, working through the weekend to calm markets" is dismissed by those who were clearly there.

Her CV has had to be amended after it was clear that she grossly exaggerated various roles (nobody in similar roles in the City had heard of her). Then she claimed to be quoted out of context on the tasteless and snide "childless Theresa May" comments - and The Times released the tape, which completely vindicated the reportage. Finally, after pressure, she has offered to release her tax returns as her family company (soecialising in that great social wealth-creating pastime, buy-to-let housing) has allegedly been domiciled in offshore tax havens. Having said she would do it weeks ago, the tax returns don't seem to have been produced yet. If they had come from her womb she'd have been brandishing them pronto.

In short, unlike Theresa May, Liedsome is an utterly unsuitable person to be PM of a serious country. But then, i'm not so sure it is a serious country after the past few weeks. And indeed, the average Tory party member (like the average member of other parties) looks nothing like the country, so it is just possible that Ms Loathesome will prevail. Alack a day.

[Pies4shaw]

Of course it isn't a serious country. It's been globally irrelevant since John Lennon moved to New York.

If that hadn't been the case how could Thatcher have ever been allowed to become a Prime Minister (or Corbyn a leader of the Opposition)?

[Mugwump]

[sixpoints]

With Leadsom it's not a matter of fudging your CV.
She has lied to the Commons, to Treasury Select Commttees and constantly to the press about her "role" in the select group convened by the Bank of England during the Barings crisis of 2010.
She was nothing more than a middle ranking exec at Barclays in 2010 at time of the crisis. A job she had had for only 7 years to that point.
To think the Governor of the Bank of England would seek the advice some junior exec at a time of national crisis defies belief. No one involved in working through that crisis has any knowledge of her.
Involved in buy to let housing, worked for those bastions of economic diligence = hedge funds, won't reveal her tax details......
This train wreck has been described as a "rising star" of the Tory Party.
It just shows again the parlous state of government. Sadly the Labour Party is just as moribund.

[Mugwump]

^ indeed, sixpoints. Such a charlatan. At least the latest polls among Tory members show May on 60%, and this lying carpetbagger on 40.

Looked at more broadly, this is really just a British variant on the increasingly fractious politics of our time. Trump, Abbott, Farage, Le Pen, Corbyn are all expressions of a deep unease in our (by historical standards) peaceful and relatively prosperous societies. Right now, globalisation seems to be unleashing forces which we are struggling to control, as trade flows (and their corresponding capital balances) grow increaingly distorted and disruptive across the world.

I read an excellent book last week by Mervyn King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, called "The end of Alchemy". This is a non-partisan, strikingly lucid analysis of this problem, and the ways in which our banking systems need to change to protect real growth. It is technically good, but written in clear English for the lay person by someone who truly does understand the matter. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Morrigu]

This is off topic I suppose but as a female who couldn't have children I am SICK TO BLOODY DEATH of being told " you don't understand" " you wouldn't know" " oh you are not a mother are you" !!!!!

Should we " barren" females just slit our wrists when it is established we can't or don't want to breed!

I tell you what I'd vote for May - not because she couldn't have children but because she has most probably dealt with the prejudice and tsk tsk judgement mostly from women it must be said and is still out there giving it a lash!!!

[Mugwump]

^ It's partly just an expression of the sentimental times we live in. "But you could not possibly understand, because you are not gay/white/black/female/ male/disabled/in the profession" etc. The notion that judgement is somehow purified by having a direct personal interest in a particular condition, and an axe to grind, is one of the more peculiar ideas of our times.

Still, on the bright side,, perhaps we may look forward to the relaunch of one of the more ambitious family values projects of the mid 20th century :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Honour_of_the_German_Mother

[Morrigu]

^

Ah well that's me gone then Mug!!

Yes you are probably right but how can it be that a woman's ability to lead a country is still judged by so many on whether or not she has children Surely a sharp mind, intelligence, negotiation skills and a willingness to learn and adapt are more important attributes ?

But it is for many people otherwise it wouldn't be mentioned at all - I often heard people say this about Julia - pfftt she wouldn't know she doesn't have children!

No wonder I prefer animals - they are not so judgemental!!!!!

[think positive]

Judgement goes both ways. Everybody judges.

[Wokko]

[Mugwump]

^ listen to the recording of the interview, Wokko. She knew damn well what she was saying. Even in the bit quoted she says it'd be really horrible to talk about this issue as a differentiating factor.... And then she goes right ahead and does it. She's either a complete airhead, utterly naive, media-incompetent, a bass-baritone dog-whistler, or all four of those.

[sixpoints]

Leadsom the fraud, pulls out of the race to be P.M.
Once outed, she had nowhere to go.
I hope she doesn't try to play the victim as that would be truly sickening.
No Brexiters left in the running now.