The motherhood row and the reality of fighting for the leadership of the Conservative Party with mud being slung has weighed too heavily on Andrea Leadsom who has quit the conservative leadership race. In an interview with the Telegraph she says that she was reduced to tears by the row and therefore decided that she may not be ready for the scrutiny of Government. Her campaign manager, Tim Loughton, has contributed to this perception of a candidate struggling to cope with the pressures of media scrutiny and has since condemned the media for an "onslaught of often very personal attacks".
Nevertheless, the specific reason that she cited in her resignation speech is that she commandsthe confidence of just 25% of the Conservative Parliamentary Party. This, she decided, was too little to leadan effective and stable government, therefore deciding that she did not want to emulate Jeremy Corbyn, with a mandate only from party members.
Theresa ToryLeader
Nigel Farage has expressed his disappointment, after he backed her for the leadership. This is likely to be due to the fact that Leadsom was the last Leave supporter in the running to be the next Conservative Leader and Prime Minister. Instead, that privilege will go to frontrunnerTheresa May, in what could be seen as a coronation by the rank-and-file membership who will not be given a proper choice of candidates.
This may be particularly disappointing of them, given that they are nowforced to select a Remain supporter, despite being a largely eurosceptic crowd.
Disappointed that @andrealeadsom has decided to withdraw from the Conservative leadership contest.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 11, 2016
A Eurosceptic Twist
Nevertheless, Theresa May has always appeared among the most eurosceptic of Remain supporters, having given only one notable speech during the campaign, which condemned the European Court of Human Rights.
Despite this being separate from the EU, it may have been a signal that she could implement Brexit, given a Leave vote. She has also signalled today that restricting freedom of movement is a more important priority in negotiations than retaining full access to the single market. This was at the launch of her national campaign to become leader, which has becomemeaningless given the fact that Leadsom has bowed out.
May's strong eurosceptic speech at her campaign launch may, however, have contributed to Leadsom's surrender, due to the fact that the Leave supporter will feel that Brexit is in safe hands, and will not be hijacked.
Graham Brady, the chairman of the powerful Conservative 1922 backbench committee has announced that May will now be formally confirmed, however there are hints that David Cameron would like to do one last Prime Minister's Questions before officially stepping down as prime minister. The next few days and hours will truly be fascinating, as have the past few, with many a comparison between the Conservative Party, Game of Thrones and House of Cards. Watch this space!
