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from the tyrant dept.
UK Home Secretary Theresa May is favored to become the new leader of the Conservatives and the UK's next Prime Minister following a first round of voting, the elimination of Liam Fox, drop out of Stephen Crabb, and the earlier drop out of Boris Johnson:
Home Secretary Theresa May has comfortably won the first round of the contest to become the next Conservative leader and UK prime minister. Mrs May got 165 of the 329 votes cast by Tory MPs. Andrea Leadsom came second with 66 votes. Michael Gove got 48. [...] Further voting will narrow the field to two. The eventual outcome, decided by party members, is due on 9 September. Following the result, frontrunner Mrs May - who campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU - received the backing of Mr Fox, a former defence secretary and Brexit campaigner, and Mr Crabb, the work and pensions secretary, who backed Remain.
[...] Mrs May - who has said she will deliver Brexit if PM - said she was "pleased" with the result and "grateful" to colleagues for their support. She said there was a "big job" ahead to unite the party and the country following the referendum, to "negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU" and to "make Britain work for everyone". She added: "I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as prime minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party."
Update: The race to lead the Conservative Party and become the next Prime Minister of the UK is down to two women: Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom:
Theresa May does - though - have the overwhelming support of Tory MPs, strikingly she has the backing of newspapers as diverse as the Mail and The Mirror and The Sun. So, say some, she's sure to win but, remember, that's what they said about the referendum, that's what they said before Boris Johnson endorsed Brexit, as he is now endorsing Leadsom. Johnson was clearly not impressed by Theresa May's declaration that Brexit means Brexit. He knows... she knows that the truth is much more complex than that.
Brexit - May says - will take time, will be complex, will need an experienced negotiator. Brexit - Leadsom implies - needs to be delivered fast, should be embraced and treated with hope and not fear.
Who should the country be ready for? That question will soon focus on much, much more than simply the choice between two different women.
Theresa May is no stranger to SoylentNews readers:
Theresa May: UK Should Stay in the EU, but Discard the European Convention on Human Rights
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden Seemingly Supports "Brexit" For Security Reasons
Theresa May's Internet Spy Powers Bill 'Confusing', Say MPs
UK Home Secretary Stumbles While Trying to Justify Blanket Cyber-Snooping
UK Wants to Ban Unbreakable Encryption, Log which Websites You Visit
UK Government Ignoring Advisers to Pursue Ban on "Legal Highs"
UK Sheinwald Report Urges Treaty Forcing US Web Firms' Cooperation in Data Sharing
UK Home Secretary: Project to End Mobile "Not-Spots" Could Aid Terrorists
Open Rights Group To Take Government To Court Over DRIP
House of Commons Approves UK Emergency Data Retention Law
UK.gov Wants to Legislate on Comms Data Before Next Election
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 08 2016, @11:18PM
No doubt in their retirement, David, Boris and Nigel will be delighting us with paintings of dogs and Presidents of Russia and mowing thistles on their country estates (or whatever the British equivalent of clearing brush on the ranch is). Meanwhile the women (Theresa and Andrea) will be tidying up now the men have done the real work. I particularly like Andrea's stance on mental health checks for women = I hope she remembered to get her certificate of mental competency in time for the vote. It's just a formality, nothing to worry about.
Then after Maggie The 2nd has cleaned up, we can look forward to a triumphant Boris/Gove comeback. By that time the former UK will be sliced into 3 separate countries, each split 52-48 about what to do next. Austerity all round and mental health checks for women. Swarms of English graduates leaving their homeland will set up in the Calais Jungle seeking a better life. Oh to be young and full of vigor like the fresh-faced youth of England who voted Leave. The future is bright for them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 08 2016, @11:32PM
Unsure if sarcastic--the youth tended to favour Remain. It's been said that giving the vote to 16 year olds would have tipped the result. However Cameron wouldn't do so because the under-18s would have been less likely to vote Conservative.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 08 2016, @11:35PM
Could Cameron have unilaterally allowed 16-year-olds to vote on Brexit? If so, he has failed miserably by not choosing to do so.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 09 2016, @12:11AM
Not unilaterally of course, but as PM he has a great deal of influence. The House of Lords had approved having teenagers participate in the referendum; Parliament rejected it.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/625247/MPs-deny-vote-16-year-olds-EU-referendum-UK-European-union [express.co.uk]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Friday July 08 2016, @11:52PM
mowing thistles on their country estates (or whatever the British equivalent of clearing brush on the ranch is).
Completely wrong analogy! Bush only bought his "ranch" (former hog operation) when running for office, only cleared brush for photo-ops, was afraid of horses, and sold the "ranch" immediately after leaving office. I doubt he has cleared any brush since. "All hat and no cattle" does not begin to cover how a New England Preppie could fake being a Texas rancher.
Do all British politicians have country estates? Why are they always in Scotland? And what kind of a name is "Skyfall"?
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Saturday July 09 2016, @02:11AM
1. No. Some have floating duck houses (seriously, google it [google.com]).
2. There are probably some historical reasons for Scottish estates. I suspect it has to do with the legal status of such estates. Also, land is probably cheaper in the wilds of Scotland than in England.
3. Something that only a Hollywood producer could come up with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 09 2016, @05:19PM
Golf was invented in Scotland. That gives it tremendous cachet.