The Westministenders Hunger Games continues. Boris still trying not to be outmanoevered.

[RedToothBrush]

Clearly Boris didn't get the memo, on when to quit the power games, even after Gove schooled him in the dark arts of the Tory Leadership....

So the Tory Smackdown rolls on whilst Corbyn STILL clings on. UKIP has now entered the race to make a challenge for who can make the biggest leadership contest shambles.

In The Blue Corner
May strikes fear into the hearts of EU citizens as she counts her bargaining chips.
Gove strikes fear into the hearts of humans, with his Martian twitch.
Loathsom strikes fear in the hearts of Britains by talking about babies brains.
Crabb strikes fear into the hearts of Torys by suggesting a plan that Corbyn might like. (and that beard doesn't help).
And Fox.
Well he just turned up.

Johnson is still waiting in the wings to stab Gove. He'd quite fancy a seat at the cabinet table too.
Osborne has gone quite again and we wait with baited breathe to see if he is the 'Charlie off Casualty' of the Tory Party (y'know whatever happens he somehow survives like a cockroach).

In The Red Corner
Corbyn apologies. So we know he's getting a bit desperate.
Will the Unions figure out something else to do other than sit with their head in hands.
Angela Eagle is still doing jellyfish impressions and hasn't found that backbone.
We STILL don't know who the fuck Owen Smith is?
Will Bliar's chicken's finally come home to roost?
The Cult of Momentum, rumbles on. We aren't quite sure who they actually vote for, but they seem to like their Dear Leader.
When will this country next have an opposition party?

Its kinda getting boring guys, we need some action now. End the Chicken Coup! The Tories are definitely out doing in the high drama stakes.

In the Purple Corner
Farage has gone! Hurrah. We hope only that he stays under that rock.
(Don't count on it. They'll wheel him out when they need publicity)
Will Leadsom be elected leader? Oh sorry, wrong party. I was getting confused for a second there.
Will they throw the cuckoo Carswell out? [:)]
Will they be able to find a less offensive leader than Farage who can unite them in their common goal of errrr..... yeah. That.
How long before one of their candidates has to apologise for something?

And I suppose I should ask, when will a50 be triggered....? And by whom?

All these questions and more.
Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2670552-Has-Boris-been-outmanoeuvred?pg=1 Previous thread 1

//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2672388-Has-Boris-been-outmanoevered-Will-someone-please-tell-me-who-is-in-charge Previous thread 2

//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/a2673982-Have-Boris-and-Jeremy-been-stabbed-in-the-back-Please-can-we-have-some-leaders Previous thread 3

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2675432-Boris-outmaneovered-Et-tu-Gove-Corbyn-The-Westministenders-Hunger-Games-Continues? Previous thread 4

[Chalalala]

place marking!

it brings me great joy that Andrea "your mum" Loathsome has shot herself in the foot by rambling on about babies' frontal lobes.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

Marking my place early.

If Leadsom gets leadership art50 will be invoked whilst we sleep the second she officially takes the helm.

[MrsLupo]

Couldn't load your straw clutching link on the other thread Red. Does it relate to the Tory MPs who would lose their seats if the election expenses investigations agree there has been wrongdoing?

I've been banging on about this for months - since before the referendum - as I feel that if the Tory majority was illegitimately claimed, then DC had no right to call the referendum in the first place. I have agitated and emailed and generally been bad-tempered about this with all the people of any kind of influence I could reasonably badger, but no one really took it seriously before the referendum, and I guess everyone has just been too busy since.

It's a shame there's no option for legal redress in the event of political fuck ups as there might be for bad decisionmaking or fraudulent activity in business.

[LineyReborn]

Yes, there are over twenty potentially dodgy Tory seats that were 'won', I think, MrsLupo. A serious margin.

[Peregrina]

Are the Tory members likely to know that Loathsom made a mess of her hustings, or are they just going to vote like sheep (as they usually do?)

I'd be interested to see a breakdown between young and old Tory voters, as to what they thought most important. Young ones, wanting to end immigration, I would think, and old ones wanting to bring back the days of the Empire on which the sun never set.

[BoreOfWhabylon]

Superb summary Red

[thecatfromjapan]

Wonderful summary, Red.

[MrsLupo]

I'd be interested to see a breakdown between young and old Tory voters

I'd like to see a breakdown of venal, power crazed Tory leadership candidates and merely loathsome, untrustworthy ones.

Oh. Complete overlap. What on earth are the odds of that?

Actually, I'd just like to see a breakdown. Preferably on camera. Preferably Gove.

[IrenetheQuaint]

I'm still traumatised by the Gove kilt link on the previous thread.

[officerhinrika]

I've never said this before but
Place marking!

[officerhinrika]

Ah yes, Jeremy has sent me a video this evening. He rehearses how well Labour have done since he was elected, how many new members there are, but mostly repeats about half a dozen times that we need to "come together". Over what or how is regrettably left rather vague.
I think someone's been going through the marketing info Red has linked to!

[BestIsWest]

Place marking. This thread has taken over my life. Thank you all.

Charlie off Casualty .

[howabout]

Douglas Carswell giving the UKIP POV on the Daily Politics yesterday:

70% of Labour MPs represent constituencies which voted for Brexit, meaning they are fundamentally at odds with their electorate. He sees that as a huge opportunity for UKIP and I find it difficult to disagree.

The idea that the PLP could or should put itself back together around a "credible" status quo Remain figure is surely for the birds.

Heartened to hear some in the PLP are keeping their sense of humour. Apparently they view TM as a greater electoral threat and so would prefer AL. I assume this is a double bluff. TM in a GE campaign could be attacked on her record in the Coalition, in DC's government, and in her own right. Whether or not the Brexit negotiations go well there is likely to be a lot to exploit politically in terms of Remainers feeling betrayed and Leavers feeling undersold.

OTOH AL gets to disavow the Coalition and the DC premiership. She also gets to disown GO - wouldn't we all like to - since he sacked her for telling him to apologise to Ed Balls. She has already proved electorally successful with the 52% and in 70% of Labour seats. Boris would be a prominent part of her team. According to the Ashcroft data he is the one candidate with crossover appeal between Remainers and Leavers.

Ever the optimist, I assume a strong credible Corbyn anointed successor sweeping both the PLP and Momentum into a fervour of united vigour and vision with Labour GE victory in prospect. For this to happen they would also need the SNP on side.

The more depressing but undeniably sane assumption is that the LP continues to be a complete shambles and haemorrhages support to a UKIP left wing nationalistic party on one side and either the Liberal party or some equivalent New Politics denying "progressive" alternative on the other.

Just for the sheer entertainment value I did consider who the Eagle would look better against at PMQs. I didn't get very far.

Maybe there is still time for Yvette to adapt to the new normal. She was brilliant (imo) as GB's second in command at the Treasury and is heavily involved in efforts to address the migrant crisis. AL would also find it difficult to exploit her Ed Balls connection, although actually I think there is a great deal of affection for EB in the Corbyn supporting Twitterati.

[SugarPlumTree]

Thank you for starting this Red,,great summary.

[Floisme]

I disagree that Farage resigning is a good thing. I fear we might come to miss him.

It reminds me of when I heard Thatcher had resigned.

[GingerIvy]

Who might emerge ahead as MPs vote in the Tory leadership race?

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Posted at
06:48
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith says the Conservative leadership election could end up as a "straightforward tussle" between Theresa May and Michael Gove.

However, Mr Gove could be "fatally damaged by his act of fratricide against Boris Johnson", Norman tells Today, and he detects some "momentum" building behind Andrea Leadsom.

Energy Minister Mrs Leadsom is a candidate who hasn't "bruised a lot of egos in the past" and doesn't come with as much political baggage as some of the others. She has pitched herself as "the change candidate" and "the Tory radical candidate", talking about policies such as tax cuts for the lower paid and workers' rights.

Norman says there are reports that some of Theresa May's supporters are "thinking of lending" some votes to Michael Gove to prevent Mrs Leadsom from ending up on the final shortlist of two - though Mrs May's camp denies that.

A series of secret ballots will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 July, until the list is whittled down to two candidates, who will then go forward to a vote of the entire Conservative membership.

If the final battle is between Mrs May and Mrs Leadsom, that means that one of them will become the UK's second female prime minister.

[GingerIvy]

What is that comment about TM's supporters "lending" some votes to Gove to prevent AL from ending up on the shortlist?? Isn't that taking a bit of a chance?

[GingerIvy]

And will this have any effect on TM's campaign??


Trident replacement: Theresa May calls for Commons vote
Posted at
06:33
Theresa May
AP
Theresa May said the UK faced threats from "conventional enemies"
There should be a vote in the House of Commons on replacing Trident before the summer recess, Theresa May has said.

The home secretary and Tory leadership candidate told the Daily Mail it would be "sheer madness" to give up the UK's nuclear deterrent because of the threat posed by countries including Russia.

Renewing Trident would show Britain was "committed" to working with Nato allies after voting for Brexit, she added.

Labour is split over Trident, with Jeremy Corbyn opposing its renewal.

[JedRambosteen]

Yes, you are off to a cracking start.?is it worth posting on the other thread that we've already 'moved house'?

I really rate Yvette Cooper & don't understand why she was so unacceptable in the Labour leadership election. Was it her association with Ed? If anyone can provide a quick run down on the Labour party factions etc so I can make sense of all the Jeremy Corbyn stuff, I'd be very obliged. I'm one of those left of centre floating voters living in a marginal seat who weighs up the local candidates, reads up on party policy/manifesto commitments and assesses the credibility of the leadership before voting. Jeremy Corbyn doesn't make sense to me at all & has effectively made Labour nationally unelectable, despite me voting for my Labour candidate (who won) in the last GE. I don't get why the party is so disinterested in what people like me think - aren't we the ones that swing elections? All the focus on party membership strikes me as only half of the equation & - well - nothing short of a circle jerk. Unless, of course, the actual objective is electoral oblivion...

[Globetrotter100]

Thanks for the new thread. I wish there were a lib dem corner raising absolute hell against these fools

Woke up this morning feeling thoroughly shocked (yes, still!) about this whole mess.

Loathsome terrifies me. How on earth did we end up here? Utter self-destructive madness.

[Peregrina]

IMO, as we have just seen, it's dangerous to vote tactically, because you might get what you vote for. Just imagine, if a backstabber like Gove wins. Presumably May must have done something right to have remained Home Secretary for so long, when the job has defeated other predecessors.

[Globetrotter100]

peregrina

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed woman is queen.

[Floisme]

Jed I'm not the slightest bit in the know but my guess is that Yvette Cooper is playing a long game. She won't want to go down as the leader who knifed Corbyn.

[GingerIvy]

This whole Labour situation is surreal. The MPs were the ones that have caused it through their lack of support for JC from the very beginning, as they didn't like him. It does seem to me that they've never even given him a chance. But that being said, it can't continue like this forever. Why do they keep confronting him?? Why don't they ask him to suggest a couple successors that they can discuss? Why don't they offer to put him in a position of advisory benefit, so he can have some influence without being the leader to a successor he helped choose? I suppose it's possible they've tried this, but I doubt it. They seem to be opting for "takeover" rather than peaceful (logical) options. I have reached the point where I think they're being ridiculous. They HAVE nobody to take over. So they want him to step down and leave Labour without a leader at all, so they can fight like a pack of dogs over it. How can they think that's better for the country?

[frumpet]