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

TBS True, it's all in context, eh?

Red I can't help but think that the more UKIP/Britain First articles that show up supporting AL will only work in favour of TM.

Britain First come out in support for Loathsom

Christ. Nick Griffin, Arron Banks, Britain First. Something about this woman really appeals to far right scum..........

Never did I think I'd see the day I'd be cheering May on. These are indeed strange times.

we mostly spent two days either thinking he was the whiny Guardian writer, or thinking possibly he was entirely made up, so in short, we knows nuffink!!

thanks that's what I thought, I'll jut go back to assuming he's an urban legend then, until he actually does something

Owen Smith was born in Morecambe, England, in 1970. Smith joined the Labour Party at the age of 16, later studying History and French at the University of Sussex. He worked for the BBC as a radio producer for 10 years, working on a variety of programmes in both Wales and London, including Today for BBC Radio Four and Dragon's Eye for BBC Wales

In 2002 he became a special adviser for Paul Murphy, then the Secretary of State for Wales. He later followed Murphy to the Northern Ireland Office. From 2005 to 2008, he was Head of Policy and Government relations in Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals’ UK communications team.

In 2006 (while employed by Pfizer) he fought the Blaenau Gwent by-election when the independent candidate Dai Davies was returned to the House of Commons.

After winning the seat of Pontypridd in 2010, he joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and was appointed a shadow minister for Wales.

In 2012 he was promoted to the Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, after Peter Hain stepped down.

In September 2012 he described Prime Minister David Cameron's first government reshuffle as an "highly unusual and unsatisfactory state of affairs. It looks to me as though Wales has only been considered at the fag-end of David Cameron's reshuffle and when they did look at it they found they'd run out of money for a full-time junior minister at the Wales Office, having almost certainly reached the ceiling allowed under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act. It's unheard of to have a whip also acting as a minister in a department."

He described Conservative plans to devolve powers over income tax to the Welsh Assembly as "a trap".

Smith was named as a potential contender in the 2015 Labour leadership election to replace Ed Miliband.[7] Ultimately, nothing came of this.

On 14 September 2015, he was named as the new Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party.

Lots of positives in there I think. Media savvy. Welsh with a knowledge of NI from the sound of it. Pro-Corbynite.

He's a good candidate all round for this moment in time.

A whole lot of money behind Leadsom at the moment including organising stunts like that 'march'. Does she say anything that is different to UKIP (she wouldn't comment on whether she was receiving money from Banks).

Hmmm, reading that back it looks like I'm saying Jesus Christ has come out in support of AL. I've spoken to his people and they have reliably informed me that Christ's official statement is 'I cannot stand that simpering idiot'.

^Patrick Wintour ✔ @patrickwintour
Hammond "if the bureaucrats in Brussels would say we are willing to sit down and talk to the UK", rights of EU migrants in UK solvable.^

I am being paranoid here, or is the foreign secretary telling the EU "start informal negotiations with us before we trigger A50, and nothing bad will happen to your citizens"?

Wow, journos pulling no punches on that Leadsom speech.

This from Andrew Sparrow is especially amusing:

"The problem was not that it was short, because it is not difficult to say something interesting and meaningful in a few hundred words. What was so awful was that it was trite - little more than a catalogue of slogans about optimism and Britain having a bright future."

I love the idea of banning all pessimists. It's brilliant.

I'm not sure she really is saying anything different to UKIP.

This is why I am seriously wondering if there will be a break in the Tories.

Red I'd much rather see him than AE as Labour leader.

Owen Smith voting record:

www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24797/owen_smith/pontypridd/votes

I'm a little nervous that UKIP seems to be mainstream now. Surely all those endorsements would be harmful to her, not helpful???

Agreed I think he a MUCH better option than AE on paper at least.

Jesus was a pessimist. Always banging on about dying, and then of course his negative thinking made it happen.

Banned!

If he's pro-Corbyn then he sounds like the compromise everyone knows needs to happen eventually. Corbyn and his followers will never accept Angela Eagle, if only because of her vote for the war.

Thanks for the voting record Red. He seems pretty even handed and would probably be very good for Labour if he can get everyone on the same page.

Owen Smith in broad strokes - anti-bedroom tax, pro gay rights, in favour of replacing Trident with another nuclear deterrent. Against cuts in disability benefits, against lowering corporation tax, pro mansion tax, anti academies,against hereditary House of Lords.

Not much on economic specifics but he has only been around for 6 years.

One point of caution - he's spent a week arguing with Angela Eagle over who'd stand, and didn't get anywhere.

We could end up with UKIP in parliament through the back door at this rate. Something no one voted for.

That however, I think would destabilise the government. I think people would be willing to rebel on that and risk their own necks to trigger a GE if Loathsom started getting too fanatical.

I can not see her commanding a majority even with the whip firmly in place.

Owen Smith in broad strokes - anti-bedroom tax, pro gay rights, in favour of replacing Trident with another nuclear deterrent. Against cuts in disability benefits, against lowering corporation tax, pro mansion tax, anti academies,against hereditary House of Lords.

Yes but is he in favour of free unicorns for everyone?

Seriously though, sounds good to me.

The BritainFirst support should be off-putting but I suspect it won't be.

Buzzfeed says Loathsome's brother in law has given the Tories 500k since she was elected: www.buzzfeed.com/jamesball/andrea-leadsoms-charity-is-bankrolled-by-her-offshore-banker?utm_term=.kqEQPoaJL#.iev86GylE

WTF was that Leadsom march about?

Seriously weird carry on.

No unicorns from Smith, as far as I can tell, Loathsome has them all locked up already

That march was bum clenching stuff. They even had a pretend hipster teenager at the front to appeal to da yoof.

On the charity:
Leadsom resigned as a trustee of the charity, according to its filings, in December 2014, eight months after getting her first ministerial job. Her colleague Tim Loughton MP, who is supporting her bid for leadership, now serves as the charity’s chair.

Loughton and Loathsome have been tight for a while, then

The charity was founded with Frank Field, but the clinical psych quit after the pilot:
"I felt, cynically perhaps, that there was a second agenda designed to
promote the MP who founded the project and her political party which was of more importance than our clinical goals, although this was never
explicit."

One point of caution - he's spent a week arguing with Angela Eagle over who'd stand, and didn't get anywhere.

I think if he had to deal with AE excusively for a week, and emerged intact and sane, he's a good 'un in my book. She makes my teeth itch.