Plan B Forum

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.

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.”

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

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.

Lord Jim wrote:Comparisons between Trump and Johnson are grossly unfair to Johnson......