Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

http://news.sky.com/story/1721982/watch-ken-clarke-ridicules-tory-candidates

Does anybody with an once of common sense take a blind bit of notice
what ken clarke splutters from his hush puppy mouth..

He's the Tory's John Prescott...Looks like they've been hitting the bottle
continuously for their adult life...

Is it only haystack who gives a shit who or what runs the tory sinking ship??.

I see no signs of it being a sinking ship. Once there is a new leader we will be up and away. The Conservatives' problems are temporary, Labour's are more existential.

Branson had a meeting with May last week to ask for a second referendum.

From The Guardian at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/04/andrea-leadsom-tory-leadership-brexit-campaigner

Andrea Leadsom’s pitch for the Tory leadership: our writers’ verdict
Andrea Leadsom at her leadership campaign launch on 4 July. In her speech the Brexit campaigner outlined her vision for the Conservatives and country. How successful was she?

Jonathan Freedland, Simon Jenkins and Deborah Orr
Monday 4 July 2016 13.00 BST Last modified on Tuesday 5 July 2016 07.24 BST

Jonathan Freedland: If the Tory voting pattern holds, she’ll be leader

For a moment, you had to wonder if Andrea Leadsom was announcing her bid to succeed Nigel Farage, the freshly resigned leader of Ukip. Her opening pitch was a leave message so orthodox that the words could have been written by Farage himself. The EU had been “stifling” Britain; there could be no going back from the 23 June vote; freedom of movement must end, allowing parliament to get a grip on immigration. There could be no ifs or buts, no dithering about triggering article 50. Britain would leave the EU and “we will have our freedom back”.

That’s what you’d have expected, an attack on Theresa May from the right. But Leadsom’s offer was not just one note. She moved to May’s left when she promised to “guarantee the rights” of those EU citizens who are already living and working in the UK. She would not use them as “bargaining chips” in any negotiation, she said – making a direct contrast with the home secretary. Remember that May, perhaps in order to reassure Tory members worried by her support of remain, has suggested the status of EU nationals in Britain might be up for grabs.

But Leadsom staked out more terrain on the left. Workers’ rights previously guaranteed by the EU would be safe and even “enhanced”. Top boardroom pay was often undeserved and needed to be reined in. If there was money to give away, it would go on tax cuts for the lowest paid: “The richest people in Britain will not be my priority.”

Sure, some of that may raise a few eyebrows, given that Leadsom, a former banker, voted against a tax on bankers’ bonuses, the proceeds of which would have helped young people get into work and contributed towards the building of affordable homes.

But it was canny positioning. Keen to avoid being branded the Ukip candidate to succeed David Cameron, she sought to be the One Nation candidate instead.

Will it work? It shouldn’t. Leadsom has a tenth of May’s experience and bears the mark of Cain formed by the words “former banker”. But in every contest since 1997, Tory members have chosen the candidate perceived as most hostile to the EU – regardless of electoral appeal or experience. If that pattern holds, Leadsom will be our next prime minister.

Simon Jenkins: She’s eerily reminiscent of Thatcher, circa 1974

“The referendum is final. It must be respected and I will respect it.” If Andrea Leadsom’s bid to be next prime minister succeeds, it will be for one reason. Such is the suspicion of the Tory party that her rival, Theresa May, is a closet trimmer, they will take the last true Brexiter standing. With Boris Johnson gone and Michael Gove limping, she is the one to drive a stake through Britain’s EU membership and bury it at the crossroads with garlic in its mouth. The bloodsuckers of Brussels will depart. “We want to be free.”

Leadsom’s performance was eerily reminiscent of the young Margaret Thatcher in 1974, when she too challenged the grey suits of the Tory party and took it by storm. There was the same tilt of the head, the same slightly forced smile, the same confidence in mouthing the cliched necessities of politics. (Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, and in 1979 became prime minister)

And there was steel. Leadsom clearly regards Theresa May as potentially weak on EU negotiation. She wants to press ahead with renegotiation, with a cross-party team if possible. “This has been the biggest event since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” she said. Cheap labour would end. “We are choosing freedom from stifling EU institutions. We are no longer bound by that model. We will have our freedom back.”

On other topics there was the new populism. There was a distinctive side, a Gove-like attack on boardroom pay: “The richest people in Britain will not be my priority.” Workers’ rights would be protected and enhanced, as would the national living wage.

Leadsom claimed to “know how to succeed in a man’s world”. She went out of her way to plead for more support for young families in difficulties. “My commitment is to the emotional health of the nation.”

For all that, Leadsom’s brief career in politics, and even briefer in government, has hardly been remarkable. As for how her view of Brexit as an “economic disaster” three years ago had become the “huge opportunity” of today, it was of course a matter of context. But that, of course, was a twist that Thatcher also took on her march to glory. If not leader, Leadsom clearly marked her card as a coming oligarch of the new Tory party.

Deborah Orr: She reminds me of Blair. Except he believed his own rhetoric

That’s nice. Andrea Leadsom wants to be prime minister because she loves us. And our European friends. The EU had been stifling Leadsom’s career, which has now taken a turn for the better. She’s got her freedom back. And ours. Apart from our freedom of movement. She doesn’t want us to have that. She is going to build a Greater Britain. One without Scotland. Though not if Leadsom has her way.

Leadsom thinks it’ll be great, now we can sack politicians more easily. The Labour party is particularly glad about this. The Tories would prefer to have the power to keep theirs. Because of love. Lots of love. We haven’t stopped loving our families and our children. Just the families and children of people who weren’t born here.

Leadsom is fed up with rich people, people who work in financial services. They will not be her priority. That’s why she first worked in financial services, then joined the Conservative party. It was all done out of love – love for the poor, who will be getting lots of support to build houses, if they have the money to do so. What with the EU having banned building houses. Or something.

Social justice is Leadsom’s passion. Despite loving the people of this country, she’s going to concentrate on intervening to stop people bringing up their kids really badly. It’s not poverty that stops them, of course. It’s ignorance. People need to be taught about aspiration, tolerance and hope. She reminds me of Tony Blair, except that at least he started out believing his own sentimental rhetoric.

Leadsom was fine when she was making stuff up, unencumbered by any challenge. So she answered questions by saying that things would all be fine once we were out of the EU. Because she’s an expert, with all the facts at her fingertips. This is exactly the sort of thing leave campaigners wanted us to distrust. Leadsom also thinks the Conservative manifesto will be fine until 2020. These Brexiters lose a lot of their enthusiasm for democracy and The People once they’ve got their feet under a powerful table.

Other papers a very anti Andrea.

Its only until recently that ken clarke excepted that it would've been a
disaster if the UK had joined the eurozone..

Mind its taken since 1999 for it to sink into his sop filled head.

Theresa May has called for a vote on Trident before the summer recess in a couple of weeks. That is a very clever move as it takes advantage of Labour's split. It will also increase pressure on Corbyn as the party wants to keep Trident but the hard left doesn't.

Yes Branson did meet May ,who the hell does he think he is ? Richard go back to your island in paradise where you live and shut up.
I have flown Virgin several times a year to Miami for a long time and that's my last ever flight i shall go BA in future.
=====================================

The Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson has held secret talks with Theresa May in an effort to boost his plea for a second referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union (EU).

Sky News understands that Sir Richard and the Home Secretary, who is the front runner to succeed David Cameron as the Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, met last week following his warning that Brexit would cause "long-term damage [to Britain's economy] that is on the verge of going beyond repair".

A source close to the Virgin founder said the meeting should not be interpreted as him offering support for Mrs May's leadership bid, although it was unclear whether he had also discussed his views on the referendum with any of the other four candidates for the Tory crown.

"There is no political endorsement and there was no ask of her beyond the need for politicians to show leadership," the source said.

"Richard simply explained why he felt there needed to be more details on what Brexit means and for the options to be debated in parliament."

Mrs May has publicly ruled out the prospect of a second referendum, saying: "Brexit means Brexit."

The Virgin Group founder said last week that his company had cancelled a deal to acquire an unnamed UK-based company in the wake of the referendum result.

He also pointed to the slide in the share price of Virgin Money in the days following the Brexit vote.

In a blog-post published on 27 June, Sir Richard wrote: "The vast majority of MPs voted in by the electorate want the UK to stay part of Europe.

"In light of the misrepresentations of the Leave campaign, Parliament should reject the results of this non-binding referendum as Nicola Sturgeon has announced she will do in Scotland's Parliament.

"Before the UK government invokes Article 50 of the European Treaty and does irreversible damage to the United Kingdom, the people's elected representatives must decide whether the facts that have emerged really warrant abandoning the EU and whether a second referendum will be needed."

This is the paragraph that's really annoying ...

He also pointed to the slide in the share price of Virgin Money in the days following the Brexit vote....

Oh dear Richard it might cost you a small portion of your billions

i've heard that hungary is to hold an eu referendum in october, but i can't find any confirmation of this

anyone else heard of this?

I heard about a week ago that it was considering a referendum on whether or not to accept an EU quota of migrants

It's old news cynic .

thanks chaps

thanks chaps

cynic try this from Reuters ...3rd May this year..

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-referendum-idUSKCN0XU10M

thanks jimmy .... perhaps the news has only just reached portugal :-)

No. You can't have an ice cream. It's back to the home for you.

From Telegraph

Britain needs stability. If Conservative MPs want Theresa May, she should be crowned without delay
Philip Johnston 5 JULY 2016 • 7:55PM

As he reminds us in his autobiography, Tony Blair’s first and only job in government was that of Prime Minister. The same is true of David Cameron. On that basis, Andrea Leadsom is more experienced than either. She has been an MP for all of six years and has held two junior ministerial posts. That, together with having spent years working in the “real world” as a financier in the City, apparently qualifies her for the top job in British politics at a moment of great national disquiet.

Quote: "I decided to stand myself because I thought we needed more choice for people about who they want to lead this country." Andrea Leadsom

Were Mrs Leadsom to win the premiership she would be the first arrival in Number 10 since Labour’s Ramsay Macdonald in 1924 not already a Privy Counsellor. Given that Macdonald was the leader of a relatively new party and had only been back in the Commons for two years this was not altogether surprising and was rectified when he took office.

But for a Conservative to become Prime Minister without having previously been a Privy Counsellor is unprecedented and reflects the fact Mrs Leadsom has never sat in the Cabinet let alone occupied one of the great offices of state or been leader of the Opposition. Yet it is quite possible that she could indeed be our next Prime Minister. With 66 votes from fellow MPs, she is well-placed in the race after yesterday’s first round of balloting and her popularity is growing among members in the country who have the final say. But we have no Westminster track record by which to judge her suitability for the post.

Mrs Leadsom takes the view that having served in the Cabinet does not bestow some unique qualification to be prime minister and she is, of course, right as both Mr Blair and Mr Cameron can testify. But they were leaders of the Opposition before becoming premier. Mr Blair had been an MP for 13 years; Mr Cameron for fewer but he had a longer spell as Opposition leader before getting into No 10.

Quote: "I am a very committed Christian. I think my values and everything I do is driven by that." Andrea Leadsom

At Westminster, experience matters. Previous prime ministers who have taken over in mid-parliament – Gordon Brown, John Major, James Callaghan, Alec Douglas-Home, Anthony Eden – all previously held high office. For better or worse, they knew how to handle the Commons, how to react in a crisis (even if Eden precipitated one), how to deal with allies and enemies, how to strike a bargain, when to stand firm and when to back down.

Some were better at it than others; a few could not do it at all. But at least they had all been in a position to judge their strengths and weaknesses at the highest levels of government. Mrs Leadsom has charm and evidently possesses a good deal of self-confidence otherwise she would not have put her name forward to lead the Conservative Party. But she has never felt the heat of a full-blown political meltdown and nor are we able to assess her capacity to cope with one.

She has another big problem: if she gets on to the final shortlist alongside Theresa May then she will have the support of far fewer MPs than her opponent. Yet she could then win the ballot among the 150,000 party members. A survey carried out by the website Conservativehome indicates that Mrs Leadsom is slightly ahead of Mrs May among activists.

It is difficult enough to be leader of the Opposition without the wholehearted backing of a majority of your MPs; but it must be doubly so to be the Prime Minister. If things started to unravel, for instance in the Brexit negotiations with the EU; or if Labour got its act together and started clawing its way back to popularity – especially as part of some centre-Left alliance with the Lib Dems, Greens and SNP – then Tory MPs would fret about their seats. They would undermine a leader who achieved office without their support. This is happening to Jeremy Corbyn now and happened to Iain Duncan Smith.

From: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/89ff6b1e-4204-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d.html#ixzz4DZdaWFZ9

July 4, 2016 8:31 pm
Leadsom forced to account for financial history
Martin Arnold, Banking Editor

Andrea Leadsom

Barclays gave Andrea Leadsom her first job. It also had a lasting impact on her politics — though not in a way the British bank might care to remember.

Mrs Leadsom, now a contender to become the next leader of the Conservative party and British prime minister, joined Barclays de Zoete Wedd, as its investment bank was then called, as a debt trader after graduating in political science from Warwick University in 1987.

A decade later she fell out with Bob Diamond after the swashbuckling American financier took charge of Barclays’ investment bank and pressed her to return to work full-time soon after she had given birth. By then a director in its financial institutions group, advising other banks on their finances, Mrs Leadsom left Barclays with a pay-off and went on to invest in buy-to-let properties in Oxford and Surrey.

Some former bosses at Barclays have suggested her recent political statements have exaggerated her roles at the bank. But her clash with the bank seemed to make a big impression: since entering politics she has set up a charity to support families struggling with the arrival of a new child and has campaigned regularly on the issue.

“I know, as a woman, how to succeed in a man’s world and how to fight the unfortunate prejudice that many working mums experience,” she said on Monday at the launch of her leadership campaign.

Back in 2012, Mrs Leadsom seized her chance to speak out against Barclays and Mr Diamond, laying into her former boss when he appeared before her and other MPs during the parliamentary inquiry into the Libor interest rate manipulation scandal.

Shortly before that appearance, Mr Diamond was fired following pressure from the governor of the Bank of England. Mrs Leadsom went on to become Treasury minister a couple of years later.

A senior financier who came across Mrs Leadsom on the parliamentary committee recalls an “obsession” with forcing banks to make their customers’ account numbers as portable as mobile phone numbers.

Despite being told that this would require the unpopular move of abolishing cheques, Mrs Leadsom kept pushing the idea as Treasury minister. “It is a bad omen if she ends up trying to negotiate a trade deal with Angela Merkel,” said the financier.

Mrs Leadsom is having to face questions raised by other events from her early career. Bandal, the company she and her husband Ben set up to invest in buy-to-let properties after she left Barclays, attracted adverse attention when she transferred some of its shares to a trust owned by her children, reportedly to avoid inheritance tax.

Furthermore, Bandal was financed with offshore loans from the Jersey arm of Kleinwort Benson, the private bank. This fuelled further questions over why she had chosen this form of loan, particularly when the Panama Papers scandal was putting the finances of politicians and others under the spotlight.

Using family trusts to avoid inheritance tax is standard practice for higher earners and there is no suggestion that Mrs Leadsom has done anything illegal.

She addressed the issue in her blog after being re-elected as an MP last year, saying: “We set up the company with £100, putting £24 of the shares into an onshore trust as our children were 0, 5 and 7 and therefore legally unable to own shares.”

While shares in Bandal have an accounting value of £1 each, the company has assets worth £1.6m at the end of 2015.

“The purpose was that the whole family would engage in — and learn from — running a small business,” she said, adding that “we had very little capital” and so raised a loan from Kleinwort Benson that was secured against the main family home. “As you may know, there is no tax advantage in borrowing money from offshore.”

Five years after her time as senior investment officer and head of corporate governance at City fund manager Invesco Perpetual from 1999 to 2009 the firm was fined £18.9m for regulatory breaches in a period that included her last year working there. A spokesman said she was not responsible for any wrongdoing.

Critics of her political judgment have also highlighted her links with Peter du Putron, the Guernsey-based hedge fund boss who is her brother-in-law, former employer and financial backer.

After leaving Barclays, Mrs Leadsom joined Mr du Putron’s hedge fund and worked as a managing director at Du Putron Fund Management, which has since been renamed Blue Rock Capital Management, from 1997 to 1999.

Mr du Putron, who is married to Mrs Leadsom’s sister Hayley, is a big donor to the Conservative party, giving it more than £600,000 in recent years.

After Mrs Leadsom was first elected as an MP in 2010, Mr du Putron helped to fund her parliamentary career by donating £70,000 over two years to pay the salary of a project manager and to cover printing costs for a campaign to reform the EU.

“The reason the donation became a ‘story’ is because my brother-in-law’s family come from the Channel Islands and have lived there for centuries,” Mrs Leadsom wrote in her blog. “I would like to reiterate that I have never evaded tax and have always declared all of my income.”