You will have noticed the brouhaha surrounding putative conservative leader Andrea Leadsom and her remarks about motherhood, it's been rather difficult to avoid them. I watched the reaction unfolding when I got back from work on Friday night, alerted at first by Leadsom's furious tweets about being misrepresented. After her official apology, I'm forced to wonder if these initial tweets weren't laying the groundwork for something far cleverer.
Post Brexit, there's been a lot of talk about how the vote was for some a protest against "The Establishment" those nebulous shadowy figures who are carelessly ruining all our lives for us. Those who of it wasn't for "them" we'd all be living happier and wealthier lives (The problem with this is of course that it's total cobblers, which I'll return to some day). There is a climate of mistrust of elites (accompanied by a dangerous prevailing anti-intellectualism, but that too is a post for another day). "The Establishment" has as its running dogs "The Media" and "The Establishment"'s media outlet of choice is The Times. To stand up and cry foul against the Times puts Leadsom on the right side of the country's prevailing mood of mistrust of authority.
As to the remarks themselves, the unpleasant implication that May's unfit to be PM due to her childlessness, they are of course beneath contempt. But whilst they are awful and and of themselves, it should be borne in mind that the voters who will decide the next PM are Conservative members. Not me, probably not you, and certainly not Conservative MP's. In much the same way as Corbyn's shock success was down to the party grassroots, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see the Conservative rank and file break for Leadsom. The demographic is overwhelmingly white, middle class and around the average age of 60. They are predominately some way to the right of the parliamentary party's stance on social issues (Cameron' stance on gay marriage, for example, did not endear him to the party faithful). They do stand for what they perceive to be "British values" family, church etc. Leadsom talks their traditionalist language in much the same way as Corbyn blew the dog whistles that stirred the heart of the traditional Left.
May, on the other hand, is the candidate of "The Establishment". The Media have her as a heavy favourite, and most thinking people would say she's a far stronger candidate. But The Media also discounted Corbyn entirely. The party membership, however, had other ideas.
Post Brexit, there's been a lot of talk about how the vote was for some a protest against "The Establishment" those nebulous shadowy figures who are carelessly ruining all our lives for us. Those who of it wasn't for "them" we'd all be living happier and wealthier lives (The problem with this is of course that it's total cobblers, which I'll return to some day). There is a climate of mistrust of elites (accompanied by a dangerous prevailing anti-intellectualism, but that too is a post for another day). "The Establishment" has as its running dogs "The Media" and "The Establishment"'s media outlet of choice is The Times. To stand up and cry foul against the Times puts Leadsom on the right side of the country's prevailing mood of mistrust of authority.
As to the remarks themselves, the unpleasant implication that May's unfit to be PM due to her childlessness, they are of course beneath contempt. But whilst they are awful and and of themselves, it should be borne in mind that the voters who will decide the next PM are Conservative members. Not me, probably not you, and certainly not Conservative MP's. In much the same way as Corbyn's shock success was down to the party grassroots, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see the Conservative rank and file break for Leadsom. The demographic is overwhelmingly white, middle class and around the average age of 60. They are predominately some way to the right of the parliamentary party's stance on social issues (Cameron' stance on gay marriage, for example, did not endear him to the party faithful). They do stand for what they perceive to be "British values" family, church etc. Leadsom talks their traditionalist language in much the same way as Corbyn blew the dog whistles that stirred the heart of the traditional Left.
May, on the other hand, is the candidate of "The Establishment". The Media have her as a heavy favourite, and most thinking people would say she's a far stronger candidate. But The Media also discounted Corbyn entirely. The party membership, however, had other ideas.
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