Leadsom to pull out of Tory leadership contest

Nitefly

Axe_meister said:

I quess this makes transition into the job a lot easier.
May can just shadow the PM until October and will be able to hit the ground running rather than learning on the job.

October?  She starts on Wednesday evening!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-36570120

fretmeister

She slagged off Brown for being an unelected Prime Minister...

I bet she doesn't call an election.

Clarky

funny… the only Brexiter that stood by his guns was Gove..
and he was unelectable.. especially after he demonstrated so publicly that he cannot be trusted..

ICBM

fretmeister said:

She slagged off Brown for being an unelected Prime Minister...

I bet she doesn't call an election.

She can't - she would either have to call a vote of no confidence in her own government, or get a two-thirds majority for an early dissolution. I suspect she wouldn't even lose a vote of no confidence even if some Tories rebelled, since the other parties don't actually want an election now either and would probably abstain.

Chalky

ICBM said:

fretmeister said:

She slagged off Brown for being an unelected Prime Minister...

I bet she doesn't call an election.

She can't - she would either have to call a vote of no confidence in her own government, or get a two-thirds majority for an early dissolution. I suspect she wouldn't even lose a vote of no confidence even if some Tories rebelled, since the other parties don't actually want an election now either and would probably abstain.

A general election would probably be a waste of time as the Tories would most likely win at the moment anyway

ICBM

Chalky said:

A general election would probably be a waste of time as the Tories would most likely win at the moment anyway

Exactly why the other parties wouldn't want one. Labour is disintegrating and would be wiped out, the Lib Dems haven't recovered enough from the election, UKIP won't get anywhere unless the Tories say they aren't really leaving the EU, and the SNP can only realistically lose seats - to Ruth Davidson's Tories, which they don't want. The result would almost certainly be a much larger Tory majority.

So despite not actually having any confidence in the government, they would all be faced with the choice of voting that they did, or sitting on their hands...

FX_Munkee

Say what you want about the Leave campaigners. They're all bloody brilliant at leaving.

hungrymark

fretmeister said:

Myranda said:

My fear is that May has said things in the past that make her out to be an authoritarian nut job... 

anti-rights, anti-gay, pro-surveillance ... And on this leadership campaign anti-business 

I'm not sure she is going to be good for the country. 

It was like the X-Factor to pick the Anti-Christ


Yeah, I read that Frankie Boyle column too. 

richardhomer

ICBM said:

I suppose the important question is whether Cameron will stay in office until the conference or whether he just scuttles off now and leaves it all to May.

I believe he'll stay on until May

Rocker

FX_Munkee said:

Say what you want about the Leave campaigners. They're all bloody brilliant at leaving.

Thinking much the same thing myself....

Chalky

Rocker said:

FX_Munkee said:

Say what you want about the Leave campaigners. They're all bloody brilliant at leaving.

Thinking much the same thing myself....

Better than staying and losing. Then she would be a loser. Kinda like a Remainer... 

d8m

Ro_S

Always a good idea to pull out early rather than make a mess in the worst place possible.