Penny Mordant as PM - nooooooo...

[Sidaway]

Genuinely scared now that she might win - looks like she's second behind Rishi Sunak in nominations, and the most popular with Tory membership.

If gender self-ID is passed in law, it's going to be so difficult to repeal. (I don't trust her not to try, despite what she said on Twitter recently).

So also scared now that if she wins, the UK will go the same way re. gender policy as the US, Canada etc. and the UK as a beacon of reason in the world on this issue will be snuffed out forever. (Sounds hyperbolic but think it's near the mark).

How can we campaign to stop this? I've already emailed an appeal to the nearest Tory MP to me about this, but otherwise feel powerless.

Crazy idea, but why doesn't she just say she changed her mind? We all know she's lying because we've got the receipts.

I'm a little surprised she is so popular. But leadership contests can be difficult to call, sometimes top contenders can knock each other out. So I am not holding my breath.

If she were to get it, there would almost certainly time before a GE to see what tack she takes. I think she might continue to massage her history and not peruse gender ideology, it's clearly become a loser. Which is maddening but I tend to be pragmatic with voting, I don't care what they think I care what they will do. Obviously they are related to some extent but they are not always the same.

She has been canvassing Tory MPs for this all year. That's one of the reasons she's so popular.

I saw a thing online (can't remember where) which showed how long ago each candidates website address was registered and I think it said PM has had hers for years!

@MangyInseam

Even at her leadership launch event she said “this woman doesn’t have a penis”.

No woman has a penis.

It looks as if the MPs and the party are going for the Theresa May choice again. No good for women. Mordaunt is one of that class of modern Conservative women including Maria Miller, Justine Greening, Nicky Morgan, Karen Bradley, Theresa May, Caroline Nokes, Amber Rudd who obediently jumped aboard the bandwagon of Stonewall at the behest of that male element in the Commons and in the party headquarters. They're all for women until a man or men come along wanting to override women's place and women's rights. It's disastrous.

I do love how
"Transwomen are women. Except when I'm standing for the Tory leadership, at which point, women suddenly can't have penises despite every time I've been challenged on this before because otherwise I will lose votes and won't become PM".

This says everything you need to know about Penny Mordaunt.

She is just deflecting the point each and every time. Slimy

It's been suggested that her campaign video was deliberately designed to echo the The Day Today emergency broadcast.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=gbWQ2lD6kKU

It certainly feels like a ridiculous parody to watch. And I notice various faces have disappeared from it, such as that well-known women's champion Oscar Pistorious!

So she says 'a woman like me doesn't have a penis' and her target audience thinks she's said 'women can't have penises'. She's gaslighting everybody!

ScribblingPixie · Today 14:36
So she says 'a woman like me doesn't have a penis' and her target audience thinks she's said 'women can't have penises'. She's gaslighting everybody!

Yes
And one video has Be who we are which sounds good, but is a catch phrase for another target audience.

Yes, it would appear you have to be very direct otherwise she wriggles out.

Can a woman have a penis? If she says yes legally they can. It should be followed up with do you mean that any transwomen without a GRC is not a woman? Are you confining it to GRC holders?

Then, what is the criteria to obtain one?

Then, what is the criteria for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria?

Then, why should women's boundaries be eroded because of a medical condition applied to men?

I know it's easy for us to say on here, but it's only through questioning each answer, that you reach the inevitable sexist bullocks underneath.

She now says there are Biological Women and Legal Women. I know I am a Biological Woman, I am shitting myself over how Legal my position is under a Conservative government.😬

I watched her campaign launch. Hilarious. She thinks jokes about Willie (Thatcher was talking about Willie Whitelaw, if you are too young to remember) and I am a biological woman statements are going to make her betrayal of TRAs go away. They will make noise about it and it will mean more sunlight. Let's see if Labour dares to call her out on it. Let's get more TV clips of her saying at the despatch box TWAW, TMAM. That is now in Hansard. The official record of Parliament. She can never unsay it. She can never get away with it.
Sunlight sunlight sunlight.
Tory supporters might be ahem enjoying themselves at her Thatcher impersonation but she can't get away with it.
If she has genuinely changed her mind, she'll have to explain why in public and everyone will hear it.
Bring. It. On.

I have done something I've never done before and written to my local MP.

There’s a really good Twitter thread by Caroline Ffiske here summarising how we got to where we are for a lot of elements, under the eye of PM:

twitter.com/carolinefff/status/1547150797259132931?s=21&t=bJloq4h3IBbKfEYhw3bJ6A

Very good thread. Bang to rights. Thanks for the link, @rogdmum

Yes, I really hope she doesn't get it.

I tend to think that if she did, she would still be less able to move forward than a Labour government because the party is not on board to the same degree.

But I'd hope there was some time to see what she did before it came to an election.

I'm not sure this is really it.

I think for some of them, they really think this is the right thing to do - May is maybe an example of that. PM I am inclined to think is willing to do whatever she thinks will be popular and just chose to back the wrong horse.

What did Karen Bradley and Amber Rudd do?

Just watch Maria Miller being interviewed on Sky as a Mourdant backer. She was asked about PM's stance on "trans rights" and there was clearly no reversal from Miller. Lots of talk about respecting trans people, making it easier for them, trans people face the most violence and are most likely to kill themselves....

No mention of women and no pushback from the interviewer Sophy Ridge who clearly doesn't get what the controversies are.

It seems patently obvious that Penny Mourdant will say whatever she has to say to get voted in and then will just put someone like Miller in as Women and Equalities Minister and they will push through all their anti-women legislation.

I personally think Penny is being honest. It's hard to admit to changing your mind. She now seems very clear which side of the fence she's on. Why is only Penny asked these questions? Where does Rishi stand on the question? Seems like holding Penny to a higher standard because she is a woman? Penny also seems well qualified for PM because she has held high cabinet office and done so with aplomb. Kemi is only a junior minister. Kemi is now playing for a good position in the next government. She stood up head and shoulders above her pay grade, no one will overlook her or her brand of politics.

Why is only Penny being asked these questions? Because Penny was happy to be absolutely unequivocal about Transwomen being Women at one point, but now seems to be performing an intriguing double-pike reverse dive worthy of a trained celebrity high board diver on the issue. And is still twisting in the air

I know I'm wasting my time saying this but I really hate this tendency to first name these people. We didn't do it about any PM up to Boris Johnson and we still don't do it about Keir Starmer . These people are NOT YOUR FRIENDS

Exactly what I thought - Mmmmm - which woman has a penis then Penny??? A man who claims to be a woman. She's literally picking around with language to avoid having to be clear.