Top Conservative MPs warn Andrea Leadsom would be lame duck leader just like Labour’s Jezza
String of senior ministers paint hopeful as a threat to security
ANDREA Leadsom will be the Tories’ Jeremy Corbyn if she wins the race for No10, party members were warned today.
The Energy Minister would be a lame duck just like Labour’s leader in being unable to command her MPs, said website Conservative Home.
Its editor Paul Goodman issued the alert to grassroots Tories preparing to choose between her and Theresa May.
Her rival was the clear winner in a final vote by MPs that whittled down to two the contenders to succeed David Cameron.
Mrs Leadsom was backed by just 84 compared to the 199 who support Home Secretary Mrs May.
Mr Goodman wrote: “A win for her in the second stage of the contest would be a Jeremy Corbyn victory.
“In other words, an empty one.
“She might command the support of party members; but she would already have been rejected by MPs, twice as many of whom would have voted for her opponent.”
A string of senior ministers also painted Mrs Leadsom as a threat to security.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said only Mrs May had the experience to keep the country safe.
He contrasted the Home Secretary’s six years tackling terrorism and crime with Mrs Leadsom’s two-year junior ministerial career.
Speaking from a Nato meeting in Poland, Mr Hammond told The Sun: “Theresa May has a strong track record of taking tough decisions and doing what is needed to keep Brits safe.”
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Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire, ex-Defence Secretary Liam Fox and former Cabinet Minister Sir Eric Pickles formed a deafening chorus portraying Mrs Leadsom as out of her depth.
Mrs Leadsom, 53, has only been an MP since 2010.
She served for a year in the Treasury before becoming Energy Minister last May and has never attended Cabinet.
With the threat level from terrorism currently at severe, many MPs have questioned whether she is equipped to deal with the challenges of being PM.
Mr Brokenshire said the choice between her and Mrs May, who has been an MP since 1997 and held a string of front-bench positions, was a no-brainer.
Tory MP Mark Pritchard, who serves on Parliament’s Joint Committee for National Security Strategy, said: “Our serious national security environment requires a proven national security leader.
“Theresa May is that leader.”
Mrs Leadsom is popular with party members for backing Brexit.
She was tipped to win by Steve Bell, president of the Conservative Party’s National Convention, representing its voluntary associations.
He said it would be a wake-up call for MPs to start listening to rank-and-file members.
The vote will see Britain’s second woman PM after Margaret Thatcher installed on September 9.
Mrs May said: “I hope that people will know my proven leadership, will see that’s what is needed, but also see my vision of a country that works for everyone.”
