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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: 3, Interesting) by Dr Ippy on Saturday July 09 2016, @10:46AM
The real issue is that May is for staying in the EU whereas Leadsom is for leaving.
Presumably if Leadsom becomes PM she'll press the Article 50 button quickly, initiating the two-year process for taking the UK out of the EU.
However, if May becomes PM, her strategy may be to delay as long as possible. After 31 March 2017, Article 50 becomes subject to Qualified Majority Voting. (Not many people know this.) This means that the UK may not be allowed to leave the EU! It would need 14 countries to vote for Brexit, which is unlikely since the UK helps pay their bills.
Of course the UK could always leave via a unilateral declaration of independence, but that's not the British way of doing things.
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