Who Will Replace Cameron?

[Lord Jim]

Tory leader race: Who will replace David Cameron as the new prime minister?

David Cameron has said he will stand down as prime minister before the Conservative Party Conference in October after the British public backed Brexit in the EU referendum.

Speaking outside Downing Street this morning, he said it was not right for him "to be the captain of the ship" after voters chose a different path to the one he promoted.

So who might take his place in the coming months?

Former London mayor Boris Johnson has been sitting comfortably ahead of his rivals, according to the bookmakers and the polls – although it is worth noting that they had also largely favoured a Remain result.

Home Secretary Theresa May is still in second place in terms of odds, while Remain campaigner Chancellor George Osborne has dropped from third place earlier this year down to sixth place. He has taken a bruising by the overnight result.

Justice Secretary and leading Brexit campaigner Michael Gove has replaced Osborne in the third spot.
Andrea Leadsom, who earned thunderous applause when she savaged the "undemocratic EU" at this week's debate in Wembley, has risen to the fourth spot, followed by another Brexit campaigner Priti Patel.

http://www.theweek.co.uk/60665/tory-lea ... e-minister


In looking at these six:

It seems to me you can toss May and Osbourne out of the competition right off the bat. These two are both Remain supporters, and if you were going to pick either of them you might as well just keep Cameron. It makes zero sense to replace him with another member of the "Leave would mean another Great Depression and WW III" team...

Personally I like Boris Johnson, and I think he'd make a fine Prime Minister, but from what I've been reading he doesn't have a lot of friends among the Tory MPs, so his path to the Prime Ministership might not be the cakewalk that many in the press seem to be projecting...

I know nothing about Michael Gove, except that in trying to learn something about him I discovered that he is so dorky looking he makes Kevin Rudd look like a real macho man:



Not sure how effective he would be in leading the party in the next general election...

Priti Patel, who is the Employment Minister, would certainly be a bold choice. I didn't know anything about her either, but from some reading I've done she would be possibly the most right-wing choice of the contenders mentioned...

That leaves the Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom, who I mentioned in another thread, I was very favorably impressed with when I saw her during the vote coverage yesterday...

I think that if Boris isn't able to marshal the votes, she would make an excellent choice...

In addition to the positive qualities she has that I mentioned in the other thread, in doing some research on her I've discovered that she is frequently compared to Margaret Thatcher...

And there can be no higher praise then that...

[Lord Jim]

Looks like Dave may not be the only Party Leader out:

Jeremy Corbyn To Face Leadership Challenge As He’s Blamed For Brexit After EU Referendum Vote

Jeremy Corbyn is to face a leadership challenge as early as this weekend after furious Labour MPs blamed him for Brexit, HuffPost UK has been told.

The Labour leader is held responsible by many of his own party in Parliament for the huge vote in working class areas that took the UK out of the EU.

One senior Labour backbencher told HuffPost UK that the required 51 MPs and MEPs needed to back a new leadership contender were already ‘in the bag’.

Under the plan, once the individual letters are sent to party general secretary Iain McNicol, the party will then stage a special conference and ballot timed to have a new leader in place by September.

“We cannot go into this election with this bloke. All his comments about free movement in Europe showed a complete lack of understanding of the electorate and it was an incompetent campaign,” the MP said.

“There will be a new Tory leader by the autumn and the best guess is there may be a new Labour leader too.”

There are no plans for a single letter with 51 signatures, but rather individual letters sent in to McNicol - a move that formally triggers a leadership election.

However, veteran MPs Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey have now submitted a separate letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) chairman John Cryer, calling for a ‘motion of no confidence’ in Corbyn at Monday’s meeting in the Commons.

The motion would be followed by a ballot of the PLP on Tuesday, to give a symbolic show of collective criticism with the leadership.

Although Corbyn was elected by a landslide among party members in 2015, tensions have flared up repeatedly with those Labour MPs who believe he simply cannot win a general election.

The prospect of a possible ‘snap’ general election is terrifying many Labour MPs, who fear the up to 60 seats could be lost if Corbyn remains at the top of the party.

One Labour MP said letters would start to go in to McNicol this weekend and enough would be in place by early next week.

“The train will start leaving the station,” the MP warned his colleagues. “You can be on the train, be on the platform - or be under the train[ I like that ] - by Monday. Some may want to jump into the guard’s van.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/j ... 2d331db28f

The Labour Party establishment has been looking for a reason to can this clown since the day he was elected, and this has handed them the perfect excuse...

Personally I'll be very disappointed if they succeed...

I was really hoping to see him lead Labour into the next election, and build the Tory majority from 330 to between 375 and 400....

[rubato]

Someone wholly devoted to the task of covering up and denying any negative effects of Brexit, of course. A spinmeister.


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

I think it would probably have to be someone wholly devoted to the task of ameliorating any negative effects of Brexit, forming good relationships with foreign countries and replacing the European welcome-mat for terrorists with strong border enforcement.

[Gob]

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson for PM!!!!

(Jim that image is fucking HUGE, can you change it please?)

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yuuuuuuuge!

[Lord Jim]

(Jim that image is fucking HUGE, can you change it please?)

Aw geez, the image size whining again...

Happy now Sunshine?

[Scooter]

From The Onion:

Americans Confused By System Of Government In Which Leader Would Resign After Making Terrible Decision



WASHINGTON—In the wake of Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that he would leave office following the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union, tens of millions of Americans expressed their confusion to reporters Friday about a system of government in which a leader would resign after making a terrible decision. “Wait, so he made a really awful choice with far-reaching negative consequences and now he’s just stepping down to let someone else take over? What?” said Colorado Springs, CO resident Evan Austin, echoing the sentiments of citizens across the United States who were left struggling to understand why a democratically elected head of government would relinquish control simply because they had been shown to have made a spectacularly bad judgment call. “So he jeopardized the future of his country, and instead of spending the next several years remaining in power while trying to paper over his mistakes, he’s just gone? Where’s the part where he denies any wrongdoing or tries to blame somebody else? This is absolutely crazy.” The American public noted, however, that they completely understood the part where voters who had made a demonstrably terrible decision continued to double down on it.

[wesw]

are you that that isn t an old picture of meade, jim?

[RayThom]

'Hair' apparent?

[Lord Jim]

Comparisons between Trump and Johnson are grossly unfair to Johnson...(And there were a lot of such comparisons being made on TV yesterday by reporters and pundits who obviously don't know the first thing about Boris Johnson)

Johnson likes to clown around on occasion, but I have read stuff the guy has written, and seen him in extensive interviews and debates...

The difference between the two in terms of depth of knowledge and intellect is the difference between a kiddie pool and the Mariana Trench...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Comparisons between Trump and Johnson are grossly unfair to Johnson......

Comparisons between Trump and anything at all are grossly unfair to the latter.

For example, comparing Trump to an elephant crapping on its calf would be unfair to the elephants

[Lord Jim]

[rubato]

Thanks, now I have the perfect picture to illustrate "sphinctering of the lips".