“The Tory establishment launched a concerted attempt to derail Andrea Leadsom’s leadership bid yesterday after she was accused of ‘backstabbing’ her rival, Theresa May. Ministers called for Leadsom to stand down after she suggested in an interview that having children made her more qualified to be prime minister. The Sunday Times has learnt that as many as 20 Tory MPs are prepared to leave the party if Leadsom is elected leader” – Sunday Times (£)
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“In an interview with The Telegraph, Priti Patel, the high-profile Cabinet minister, says Mrs Leadsom could paralyse the government if she becomes Prime Minister, just as Mr Corbyn has damaged the Opposition. Ms Patel warns that Mrs Leadsom would struggle to win votes in Parliament because she lacks support among her fellow Tory MPs, a situation that would even jeopardise her ability to deliver Brexit” – Sunday Telegraph
“Michael Gove is being lined up for a big promotion by PM-in-waiting Theresa May. The leadership favourite is ready to forgive the Justice Secretary’s treachery – in withdrawing his support for Brexit colleague Boris Johnson, launching a bid to be PM himself – and hand him a top job in her first Cabinet… At least four other Brexit campaigners can expect to be given posts in a ‘unity government’ led by the Remainer” – Sun on Sunday
“The prospect of a second referendum on the EU was raised by a leading supporter of Theresa May yesterday. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve – a leading Remain advocate – said: ‘It’s possible that people may change their mind about this and I have to say I don’t take the view that referendums are writ in stone.’ The comments by Conservative MP Mr Grieve were seized on by Mrs May’s Tory critics, who said they reinforced their claims that she will face pressure from her allies to backtrack on the Brexit vote if she becomes Prime Minister” – Mail on Sunday
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“A national memorial for British citizens killed in terror attacks overseas is to be unveiled in Staffordshire next summer, David Cameron has announced. The Prime Minister revealed the decision to site the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire during his attendance at the Nato summit in Warsaw. A handful of artists will now be invited to offer designs for the memorial” – Sunday Telegraph
>Yesterday:
“On Monday in what aides say will be a ‘deeply personal’ speech over which she has agonised for days, Angela Eagle will formally launch her bid to be leader of the Labour party… But it is on Tuesday, when a special meeting of the party’s governing body, the national executive committee (NEC), will be convened at Labour HQ, that the key questions over this campaign will be discussed… At the top of the contentious agenda will be whether Jeremy Corbyn, as incumbent, needs to collect 51 MPs himself to appear on the ballot paper” – Observer
“I have no doubt that Labour will split. But it won’t be a Social Democratic Party Mark 2, it will be a Communist Party Mark 2…. In the end, the handful of MPs who believe that it is all about Jeremy and not about the country will have to leave” – John McTernan, Prospect
“UKIP’s best-known female politician has vowed to rid the party of ‘racists, homophobes and sexists’ and ‘stop it banging on about immigrants’ – by taking over from Nigel Farage as leader. The comments by former UKIP deputy chairman Suzanne Evans come after Farage announced his resignation in the wake of the Brexit vote, sparking yet another political leadership battle. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Evans said UKIP needs a female boss” – Mail on Sunday