Penny Mordant's bid for leadership is surely over

Mordant reportedly said “I think it was Margaret thatcher who said ‘every prime minister needs a Willie. A woman like me doesn’t have one”

no Penny no, no women have willies. People with willies are men

(I also hate the euphemism willie for penis tho I know why it’s used here)

Lead story on Sky news. I think that is exceptional progress - I don't think that anyone can claim this is a niche issue, unimportant, not what voters are interested in etc etc anymore.

We really should not confuse Gender with Identity or Sexuality

There are only 2 genders Male and Female ( + a few with both characteristics)
You can change your identity, gender remains

Although a Remainer, the big problem for Truss in my view is that she is backed by Rees Mogg, Dories and Francois. Should she win, they will stay in Cabinet with a handle on direct power, shudder !

Mordaunt is popular with the mainstream Tory voter, and remains Sunaks big rival. She can boot out any remaining vestiges of the Johnson Government and present a "clean start". And, when compared to BJ, she does look the part on the international stage.

Janice Turner talks about Pm in her Thursday column:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/d3a5625e-02de-11ed-aa15-45d37b45dc0d?shareToken=d73cd5585d0aa572ad8d10aa56057211

Interesting.

Sky news is also looking for people to be in their virtual audience at the hustings on Monday. Chance to ask a question:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/conservative-leadership-race-penny-mordaunt-suffers-first-setback-of-campaign-as-mps-attack-her-stance-on-trans-issues-12651613

Sky news is reporting that hustings at the 1922 committee brought up the identity issue and she didn’t come out well in the exchange - either she is lying or she is lazy. No such report on bbc news

Alan Clark was a famous womaniser, drinker and wit as well.
He didn't like Heseltine...who had to buy his own furniture!

Aside from that, your summary of the situation is dismally apt. And Penny (does it subconsciously echo 'Money Penny' aka Bond and patriotism?) is being at least partly voted on for her looks.

This is the second time I've heard this today and I've been very surprised each time. She's middle-aged so surely not. Seems very disrespectful to her.

I thought Truss had done reasonably well as trade secretary considering we were in a relatively weak negotiating position. Haven't quite a few deals been achieved now?

Also whilst she may not be a heavy lifter, I do respect Mordaunt's background. She put herself through college and university. I don't what happened to that work ethic afterwards.

Aside from that, your summary of the situation is dismally apt. And Penny (does it subconsciously echo 'Money Penny' aka Bond and patriotism?) is being at least partly voted on for her looks.

Thank you MissusPongo! Interesting reflections here on his heritage.

blogs.timesofisrael.com/my-name-teaches-me-old-hate-is-still-alive/

What does it say that either of these two are taken seriously as candidates? Penny Mordaunt has achieved very little and is almost unknown - but Tories are flocking to her because they are being told they should and because she is middle-aged Tory man 'totty'- the comments about her in her red swimsuit are pathetic and about her 'slightly risque sense of humour' being like a 'dirty seaside postcard' are just seedy. When Andrea Leadsom, Michael Fabricant and John Gray are your supporters it's pathetic.
Truss is appalling- deluded, sneering, achieved nothing in terms of Brexit trade deals although you'd think she'd won the world round to listen to her, and let's remember she was a Remainer. She has done nothing but upset people abroad as Foreign Secretary since the war in Ukraine started. Add that to her photograph collection of her as Mrs Thatcher, Red Riding Hood etc and you'd wonder what she actually does. However, she has garnered Rees-Mogg, Dorries and Mark Francois as her most prominent supporters.
I mean - what are Tories thinking?

Which one is Jewish? Asking for a relative

twitter.com/cforwomenuk/status/1547316513836863495?s=21&t=ZuDO55huGF1BEfTht9o11Q

Penny can always find time for TRAs it seems.

I mean what does it say that Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt are anywhere on the same footing in this leadership race.

For all the seeming ground that's been made recently, clearly gender woo and womens rights is not an issue that enough people care about. It doesn't matter much after all. All those questions and TV interviews of politicians on this issue doesn't really seem to have mattered. Just a thing of the moment.

Sorry I haven't read the thread. Safe Schools Alliance has put 30 questions Penny refused to answer when she came on for her web chat. They are all collated in this tweet thread. Please do share on twitter, perhaps we will get some answers at last......

twitter.com/SafeSchools_UK/status/1547294625630765056?s=20&t=Vs_aQHfR1tQhDEbuxri0yQ

If Mordant wins we can look forward to the likes of Layla Moran heading up the EHRC and Caroline Noakes heading up Equalities. It will be a massive massive setback. Do not for one second think she won't reverse direction.

I don’t think she’s out of the running yet op

I’ve always thought Mordaunt was a lightweight and havn’t been impressed hearing her speak today.

Here is what the Guardian report

“A snap YouGov poll of 879 Conservative members, carried out for Sky News and the Times, suggested Mordaunt was the candidate most likely to beat Sunak, if she makes it through to the final two.

Asked which of the pair they would support, 67% picked Mordaunt, and just 28% went for the former chancellor. Presented with the entire field of candidates, Mordaunt came out ahead, with backing of 27%, followed by Kemi Badenoch on 15% and Sunak and Liz Truss level pegging on 13%.”

The disparity surprises me, particularly the members.

She is polling so well because middle-aged Tory men find her attractive. She has been written about numerous times on the conservative.home website making reverence to her appearance on some tv programme in a 'very becoming' red swimsuit and to her 'salty, risque' language and humour- she was compared to a rude seaside postcard.
Her continual harping on about her experience in the Navy is another Tory male thing. She makes a mountain out of not very much.
Tory males are pathetic specimens.
I haven't heard her say anything that suggested there is any substance to her.

We won’t see who people really support until the later rounds. They are allowed to change their votes.

She is a liar, dishonest, lacks integrity to say the least.

But the more Mordaunt is in the public eye, the more she will be asked these questions. The more Labour will have to consider going after her for her lies/u-turn. The more we'll see clips of her spouting TWAW TMAM at the Despatch box and the more sunlight this brings on gender woo.
I very much doubt TRAs are going to forgive her "betrayal" quietly.
This is not going away.

I’ve just attended a talk by someone who was high up in the Tory gov until relatively recently, and who knows a lot about how votes are won and traded behind the scenes.

He thinks (and polls are apparently suggesting) that it will boil down to Sunak versus Mordaunt or Truss, and it will be Mordaunt/Truss that ultimately wins. 😞

For most Tory MPs women’s rights and the trans issue are peripheral at the very most. The speaker himself referred in passing and dismissively to “the lavatory issue”.