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The women are coming - welcome to the new female face of politics

The new faces of politics? Theresa May, Hillary Clinton, Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Eagle
The new faces of politics? Theresa May, Hillary Clinton, Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Eagle

After the shock of the vote to leave the European Union, the cards in Westminster have been tossed high into the air and everyone is waiting to see how they will fall.

But - as things stand - by November, there could be a female President of the United States, a female Prime Minister, a female Leader of the Opposition, a female First Minister in Scotland (Nicola Sturgeon) and a female First Minister in Northern Ireland (Arlene Foster).

Time to pinch yourself.

The Conservative Party leadership will likely be a slug-out between Home Secretary Theresa May and former London Mayor Boris Johnson. Other sniffing around for a chance to be Prime Minister include Stephen Crabb, Nicky Morgan, Liam Fox and Jeremy Hunt, but they need to act swiftly if they are to have any chance of building enough support to have a serious chance of taking on the two front runners.

May has had a smart referendum campaign. She backed Remain but reluctantly, arguing that free movement of people needs reform. While other Conservatives engaged in mudslinging, the Home Secretary kept her kitten heels clean.

As a result, many see her as a unifying candidate and she will pick up support from fellow Remainers and members of he Cabinet as the preferred 'Stop Boris' candidate.

After being on the winning side of the referendum, Johnson will be hard to beat.

He's popular with local party members (who will choose between two candidates selected by the parliamentary party) and is already picking up support from MPs. But write May off at your peril.

On the Labour side, a leadership contest is looking inevitable. Jeremy Corbyn is still insisting he will run again - and win again. However, Labour Party MPs are frantically searching for one "Stop Jeremy" candidate to unite around.

Yvette Cooper and Dan Jarvis are still not ruling themselves out, but the two serious contenders are Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader, and Angela Eagle, the former Shadow Business Secretary who resigned from the Shadow Cabinet this week.

Both are on the "soft left" of the party, so have a chance of picking up considerable support from the left wing membership. Both are experienced MPs who would easily get the 51 names needed to sign a letter of support for their candidacy and provoke a leadership battle. I'm told both would be prepared to stand down to support the other and present a united front against Corbyn.

The battle between them is currently racing, and the unions could be king - or queen - maker. Many in Labour feel that if the unions withdraw their support, then Jeremy really is in trouble.

Labour has never had a female leader before. America has never had a female President. Two female leaders have never faced each other across the dispatch box at Prime Ministers Questions.

Finally, this is all within touching distance.

But, after the year in politics we've had, predictions are impossible to make. As voters reject the establishment; personalities are king. Who would bet against Donald Trump as President, Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn - still - as leader of the opposition?

Despite centuries of power, it's men who are suddenly successfully positioning themselves as the anti-establishment candidates.

The women who 'won' Brexit

by Charlotte Lytton

The past week has been one of the most torrid in modern political history: we’ve riled our European allies, send the economy into a tailspin and see more people calling it quits than a smokers’ support group on New Year’s Day.

Amid the macho posturing of our leaders, though, there have been a few shreds of light in the form of female politicos. Here are the ones making the best of the bleakness.

Laura Kuenssberg

Laura Kuenssberg
Laura Kuenssberg Credit:  Jeff Overs

It would have been easy for Laura Kuenssberg’s referendum night coverage to fade into the background. But the BBC’s Political Editor presided over proceedings with a steady hand – unsurprising for a woman who tops up her regular TV and radio work with a steady stream of well considered tweets and blogs.

Justine Greening MP

Justine Greening
Justine Greening

While Brits cycled through the stages of post-Brexit trauma on Saturday, Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development, celebrate gay pride with a suitably chipper post on social media.

Ruth Davidson MP

Ruth Davidson
Ruth Davidson Credit:  Chris Watt Photography

She’s fast become the jewel in the crown of Scottish politics, usurping devolution-mad Nicola Sturgeon to become a candidate for Westminster’s top job. Personable, progressive and keen to keep the kingdom united, Davidson spoke out against the prospect of a second vote over Scottish independence, saying: “You do not dampen the shock waves caused by one referendum by lighting the fuse for another.”

Jess Phillips MP

Jess Phillips
Jess Phillips Credit:  Phil Fisk 

It’s not a week that most parliamentarians will look back on with pride – save, perhaps, for Labour’s Jess Phillips, who was dubbed a “heroine” by J.K. Rowling. Having given up her post as the Education Minister's personal secretary in a bid to trigger a Corbyn coup, the Yardley MP’s stance against her party’s wayward leadership and refusal to back down against online abusers has made her a firm favourite.

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan Credit: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

Of all the esteemed commentators dissecting the results as they unfolded, nobody could have guessed that the most influential voice on referendum night would be child-star-turned-wildchild Lohan. In now deleted tweets, she wrote: ‘Sorry, but KETTERING where are u’ - arguably the highlight of her career. Some say she was hacked, we choose to believe that, as a London resident, she just cares deeply about the future of Britain in the EU.

 

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