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Original poster

The Glass Cliff

45 replies

Upzadaizy · 24/05/2019 10:00

Is what's happened to Theresa May. It's a perfect example of Michelle Ryan's model: woman brought in to organisation in crisis.

I have to admit that I do have a tiny skerrick of sympathy for her. Particularly as she's saved us from Boris Johnson as Prime Minister - or Jeremy Corbyn for that matter.

I had to vote with my head rather than my heart yesterday, and go for the party which defines women as non-men.

What's my penance? Grin

OP posts:
beenandgoneandbackagain · 24/05/2019 10:10

Absolutlely - Theresa May is a perfect example of the glass cliff. All of the men knew that leading the party in the current political climate was a poison chalice, so they gave it to a woman.

The same has happened at my local authority which is known to be unmanageable and many highly qualified men were approached and turned it down so the job of running it was given to a woman. At least they can give their sex-diversity quota a big tick.

Antibles · 24/05/2019 10:27

Completely agree. Glass cliff.

ByGrabtharsHammarWhatASaving · 24/05/2019 11:26

Yup, and then they all get to console themselves that this is proof that women shouldn't be in charge, whilst patting themselves on the back for having let them have a go.

deydododatdodontdeydo · 24/05/2019 11:35

Disagree. A couple of calibre men wanted the job. She won the leadership election on merit against Gove, who will probably be in the running next time.
She also lasted two years, which is about the same as Gordon Brown.

Michelleoftheresistance · 24/05/2019 11:51

Not sure Gove tried that hard. And after he ran away and hid under a table with Boris on the night of the referendum, he wasn't exactly someone to be taken seriously.

I doubt she would have been leader if it hadn't been a situation none of the male candidates wanted to dirty their hands with- because it was a foregone conclusion that Brexit would be a total shitshow and so whoever had to do it would lose their career in the process and be hated at the end of it - and as her tenure ended, those male candidates could step forward and blame it all on her while progressing with careers relatively untarnished.

Totally agree OP.

deydododatdodontdeydo · 24/05/2019 12:00

Sorry, correction - closer to 3 years.
2 years, 315 days so far.
Not what I would call getting pushed off a cliff.

Antibles · 24/05/2019 15:23

She teetered on the edge a good time then they finally pushed her off.

There were five original candidates. Two were women: her and Leadsom. The women were ranked first and second after the first round and the men withdrew or were eliminated, leaving two women. Double glass cliff!

Original poster
Upzadaizy · 24/05/2019 15:42

I doubt she would have been leader if it hadn't been a situation none of the male candidates wanted to dirty their hands with

Yup, I think this puts it very well.

OP posts:
dottiedodah · 24/05/2019 15:46

This had never occurred to me before .But now I see it makes perfect sense!.Felt sorry for her the other day ,coming away looking upset tbh. Now a two way race between Jezza and Boris!.

SonicVersusGynaephobia · 24/05/2019 15:54

I agree, OP.

Absolutely nobody could have made a success of this premiership.

I do believe she had some good intentions, but absolutely no way of inacting them. She didn't get to do anything in office because she was completely hamstrung by Brexit Manoeuvering (eg not stepping on the DUP's/ERG/1922 Committee, etc) toes.

What she tried to do within the confines of her ability/political capital was utter shit, for women, for children, for the vulnerable. Everything I wanted to see, she failed at. Whether that was because she didn't want to do it, or couldn't do it (eg abortion in NI), I'll never know.

BernardBlacksWineIcelolly · 24/05/2019 16:40

yes, it was very apparent to me when she got the leadership that the posh boys that are born to rule that the Tory party is so well endowed with wanted none of this job.

if boris comes in now and takes the leadership I may have to resort to civil unrest

Goosefoot · 24/05/2019 16:48

I disagree.

It was an impossible situation, that is certain, and maybe no one could have managed it. It may well be that many refused it because they knew that. Perhaps that was selfish of them.

But she wasn't forced to take the job herself. Did she do it out of a sense of duty, or because she didn't realise what an impossible challenge it was? I don't know. I am sure some others were glad she stepped into he breech. But to suggest she was set up to fail because she is a woman isn't justified IMO. If some hapless man had wanted the job they'd have been just as happy.

BernardBlacksWineIcelolly · 24/05/2019 16:59

but men of a similar calibre to her feel fairly sure that they'll get the job in good times. I wonder if she felt that this was her only opportunity?

I also think she felt a sense of duty which self serving narcissists wouldn't feel

deydododatdodontdeydo · 24/05/2019 18:35

All top politicians are self serving and ambitious.
She saw an opportunity to rule the country, went for it and got it.
Maybe it would have been better for all the candidates to be men, as usual.

isabellerossignol · 24/05/2019 18:37

I agree too, I've always thought she was set up to fail.

BogglesGoggles · 24/05/2019 18:38

Well it was always a set up. That’s why many wiser politicians didn’t get involved. Quite frankly TM has always been a bit stupid. What happened to her is a reflection on her intellect, not her sex.

Manclife1 · 24/05/2019 18:40

Thing is it wasn’t in crisis when she took office, it happened as a result of her being IN office. She was a crap Home Secretary too, just look at the knife crime epidemic she’s left us with.

HollowTalk · 24/05/2019 18:49

It was interesting today that she was reported as saying that being PM had always been her dream, but I for one had never ever seen her as a contender.

Yes, the glass ceiling absolutely sums up what happened there. None of those guys wanted it - they knew it was an unresolvable problem. What's ridiculous is that she felt she deserved it - no, the one who created the problem in the first place should have stayed to sort it out.

Dervel · 24/05/2019 18:49

Disagree entirely. I don’t think anyone is drawing the conclusion that women are unfit to lead, and I think the country agrees with me too. At no point when a female leader has been put to the British people have we failed to elect them to the highest office. Basically women whilst admittedly underrepresented are batting a 100% success rate in general elections.

I think a post mortem of her Prime Ministership reveals what she may have gotten wrong or indeed done better. Not one of those things will be she was a woman.

I also believe the Conservative party did not get behind her, but again I don’t think that was because she was a woman it was entirely down to the pro-Europe and Euro-skeptic wings of the Tory party moving against each other.

isabellerossignol · 24/05/2019 18:54

Thing is it wasn’t in crisis when she took office

It was evident that it was just about to be in crisis. If there was no crisis coming then David Cameron wouldn't have stepped aside. Politicians only ever resign to save themselves really.

deydododatdodontdeydo · 24/05/2019 18:58

Basically women whilst admittedly underrepresented are batting a 100% success rate in general elections.

Not quite true, she didn't win the general election, Conservatives didn't get a majority.

Manclife1 · 24/05/2019 19:07

@isabellerossignol by that logic she was too dumb to notice and therefore useless. Or she’s just quit to protect herself and a guy is going over the cliff.

Goosefoot · 24/05/2019 19:29

Quite frankly TM has always been a bit stupid.

Yup. If there was a set-up involved it was because someone thought, "May, she's a bit dim, we can get her to take this up".

I'm not sure how that could be looked at it being caused by her being a woman, unless they think women are more likely to be dim.

isabellerossignol · 24/05/2019 19:35

@isabellerossignol by that logic she was too dumb to notice and therefore useless

Yes, I think that's entirely possible. I suppose she also saw it as her one and only chance to be PM. If it had been an attractive post at the time there wouldn't have been people dropping out all over the place.

Trills · 24/05/2019 19:43

This seemed very much to be the case back in 2016 - the final two in a Tory leadership contest being women? That could only happen at a time when the position was not very attractive.

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