To not understand why Penny Mordaunt is so popular?

[TheGeoffLinton]

She seems to have loads of support. Does anyone know why? It seems like she’s come out of nowhere.

*parties put together

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The thread is about Penny Mordaunt, not about Keir Starmer - whatever your views on him.

They've never voted for a leader from an ethnic minority or a woman, though. I am not a Tory, but come on, fair's fair on this point.

She’s not Rishi Sunak.

She and rishi are the only candidates who aren't saying they will abolish the net zero CO2 policy asap. The others are all saying it's too expensive to combat climate change.
This is terrifying.
Self id is also scary, but on the scale o f things taking real steps to save the planet is my priority

All a bunch of bastards, I will never vote Tory, but in environmental issues she is our best bet )until tories voted out)

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Because she is very pro Brexit which is a big thing for new Tory voters, as many turned from labour (esp up north) for brexit alone.

Plus contrary to the belief on here, most in the public don't care all that much about unisex toilets. MN is a bit of an echo chamber on that point. So her only 'down sides' aren't that big of a deal to most Tory voters

As it happens, the SDP seem to know and support what a woman is. I suspect they may pick up all of the left-leaning women's rights voters (and perhaps even some on the right!) if Penny Mordaunt wins the leadership contest meaning there is no point in them voting Tory.

The problem is that currently that won't be enough to put them in power over the Tories, but it could significantly impact on the number of seats the Tories would get in a general election.

sdp.org.uk/policies/

I'd like to point out two facts to you - Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. How many Leaders who are women have Labour had?

I'm a floating voter, but posts like the above are so pointless.

The toilet issues is more of a sm debate but trans women being accepted as women in all areas of life is not it’s becoming more mainstream.

It comes under the woke umbrella and for many and being seen a woke or non woke is for many voters is a factor on who they shall vote for

It will play out in general elections what KS said will certainly be used against him as it’s being used against PM by her own party right now

Apparently Mordaunt is an excellent communicator- she comes across as a good listener one on one, and makes people feel understood and valued when she meets them, and that’s why she’s so popular with grassroots Tories.
I don’t like her and I’m not a Tory, but I find the assumption that she’s only popular because she reminds Tory men of Thatcher but fuckable pretty offensive in the implication that that’s the only reason people on the right would support a female candidate.

Because the UK Conservatives (and, apparently, the UK electorate) LOVE, CRAVE, and ADORE a REALLY big, REALLY shameless, REALLY unbelievable liar more than almost anything else.

She's a fresh new face and a fresh new name. Her popularity with the public is more of a reflection of how much Truss and Sunak are distrusted in a 'can't be as bad as them' kind of way.

She's attractive and that kind of thing holds water with a lot of people.

She'd be a disaster of a PM of course.

knitting neither of the two were chosen by the party membership. Thatcher because that wasn't how it worked and May because she was the only candidate. They did choose Boris though.

Thatcher and May were both driven out of leadership. Plus with a parent that’s a former Tory Party local chairman I’ve seen exactly these prejudices in place for decades.

And we’re not talking about the Labour Party on this thread, are we, so those comparisons are equally pointless then.

Thatcher lead the party for 15 years much longer than anyone has since and the longest leading PM in modern history

the party has moved on since she became leader of course she was driven out she wasn’t going to win the next election her determination, ethics, past success, being popular with many new Tory voters rather than all Tories then become irrelevant only winning the next election mattered

unfortunately I think Morduant will be PM. Unfortunate because she’s the only one of them who has a decent chance of beating Starmer in a couple of years. Which will mean yet another five years of Tory “levelling up”. (ie shrinking our GDP with Brexit, wrecking public services and making owning a home unaffordable to most people under 40).

Anyway, Morduant seems a largely inoffensive, moderately intelligent sounding blank state upon which Tory voters can paint their fantasies until they got bored again in two years time and do it all over again. Meanwhile Truss is, let’s say, not the smartest tool in the box. While Sunak appeals to virtually nobody,

Slightly off topic but - really? Criticising a middle aged woman for having brittle hair? Unbelievable.

The cost of living crisis has barely begun to be felt yet. And boy will it be felt. So I don't think I'd be overly pessimistic about Labour losing the next general election. In fact if I was a betting person I'd put a few bob on there being another Tory leader contest in the next two years.

As long as Michael Fabricant exists every other politicians hair looks fine to me tbh.

As long as itchy ball sack doesn't get in, I'm happy, for now.

Next GE I may well vote like I've never done in my life

More interesting sneering going on here showing all kinds of assumptions and prejudices. Does a 2.I from Reading make Mordaunt less intelligent than Johnson or Rees Mogg with their 2.1s from Oxford? Or, given her relatively non-wealthy background, might she actually be quite intelligent by comparison?

I'm not supporting anyone in the race to lead a government I could never vote for, but Mordaunt is definitely not the worst on offer here. Unless you subscribe to the view that the Tories who have supported women's rights in sport but not supported abortion rights or lesbian and gay marriage are motivated by a sense of fairness and not by innate prejudice and narrow mindedness.

For what it's worth, I believe the debate about trans and women's rights is complicated, and while there are people on both sides who think it's straightforward, there are many thoughtful, intelligent people who are trying to work out what they think.

A lot of people who would have unthinkingly said "transwomen are women" a year ago have had their eyes opened to the issues and are struggling to find a way through that respects the views of both transpeople and women.

So I think it's possible that many Labour MPs , and in fact Mordaunt, are trying to find an ethical way through this that doesn't just chuck trans people under a bus.

But if you have chosen a side, you will never be happy to accept people trying to find a workable compromise. Which may, in fairness never be possible, but might still be worth trying for.

And that, in a nutshell, is the answer. Rishi is just a snake who has been plotting for the top job. He got parachuted into one of the safest seats and then became 2nd most important minister without any previous serious ministerial positions. There's something going on behind the scenes to propel him into power, and "ordinary" backbenchers and party members don't want any part of it. Not to mention his screw ups with the economy, covid support (or lack of it for 3 million people), rampant inflation, tax rise/falls flip flopping - he's not shown any economic competence in the few years he's had any power.

I think it’s the Thatcher effect. They all want another Iron Lady. She looks like a no-nonsense ball buster

This was the same hype when appointing Teresa May.