David Cameron has declined to comment on a row engulfing his party after his would-be replacement Andrea Leadsom suggested that being a mother made her a better candidate than her rival Theresa May.
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Tory big beast Philip Hammond launched a blistering attack on Conservative leadership hopeful Andrea Leadsom, saying European leaders “do not know who she is”.
May and Leadsom were selected by Conservative lawmakers from an original field of five candidates. Around 150,000 grassroots members of the ruling Conservative Party will choose a successor to Cameron by September 9.
She also appeared to suggest that any European Union citizen arriving after September 9, the date a new leader will be chosen, might not have their ability to remain in Britain protected under European Union rules: “Under free movement you don’t have to guarantee free movement for ever”.
The Times article also quotes Leadsome saying May “possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people”.
The paper headlined its front-page lead story “Being a mother gives me edge on May – Leadsom”. She accused the Times of “gutter journalism” and demanded a retraction.
“The reporting of what I said is beneath contempt”, she said.
The Times shot right back, releasing a voice recording of the key section of the interview.
Steve Bell, who chairs the group that represents the party’s local voluntary associations, said MPs will get a “wake-up call” when they discover the extent of support Mrs Leadsom has among ordinary party members.
“She was talking about what motivates her personally”, Mordaunt told BBC radio.
Theresa May received the backing of an overwhelming number of MPs in Thursday’s ballot and, given her long experience as Home Secretary, is seen as the establishment favourite for the top job.
In the interview the energy minister said: “I am sure Theresa will be really sad she doesn’t have children so I don’t want this to be “Andrea has children, Theresa hasn’t”, because I think that would be really frightful”.
He tweeted: “I’d like to think this is a case of verbal clumsiness, not calculation”.
“I’m not a feminist because I’m not anti-men, I just see people as people”.
While the question of parenthood has been raised in past races, British politics expert Victoria Honeyman at the University of Leeds said that personal insults – even in a heated campaign – are pretty low, particularly as May has acknowledged that the subject was hard for her. Among those angered is Conservative lawmaker Alan Duncan, a May supporter.
“But, genuinely, I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake”.
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The comments were made on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in Warsaw, where Mr Hammond is rubbing shoulders with fellow foreign ministers of the 28-nation alliance. For the record, he is a parent. “I am disgusted at the way this has been presented. I believe I – like everyone else – have a very real stake in our country”, tweeted Ruth Davidson, leader of the party’s Scottish arm, who had previously declared her support for May in the contest.
