Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom 'seriously considering' second run for Tory leader
3 min read
Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom today revealed she was “seriously considering” another tilt at the Conservative leadership.
The Leader of the House of Commons said she had supported Theresa May during her troubled premiership but argued a "determined Brexiteer" might have led the UK out of the EU by now.
Ms Leadsom quit the Tory leadership race in 2016 after she sparked controversy for suggesting she would make a better prime minister than Mrs May because she was a mother.
Pressure is mounting on Mrs May to step down amid anger in Conservative ranks over her handling of Brexit. Senior Tory MPs are expecting her to lay out a “road map” for her departure today.
But she could end up staying on until at least September - after the Government said it hoped to get Brexit finished by the summer.
Candidates to replace the PM have been jostling for position, with new International Development Secretary Rory Stewart openly declaring that he will throw his hat into the ring.
Ms Leadsom today became the latest top figure to signal her intention to stand when Mrs May does finally step down.
She told Good Morning Britain on ITV: "I've supported her for the last three years to get Brexit over the line and she has said she is going. So yes, I am seriously considering standing."
She added: “If you’d had a determined Brexiteer [in Number 10] things might have been different and we might have been out by now.”
Elsewhere, Ms Leadsom talked up the threat to the Conservatives from the Brexit Party led by former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, if the Government fails to deliver on the 2016 referendum vote.
She said the movement could eat into the Tory vote at a general election and usher in a Labour government, which she said "keeps me awake at night - the prospect of what is essentially a Marxist government, coming in by the backdoor because people are so sick of the Brexit issue".
Ms Leadsom handed victory to Mrs May in 2016 when she dropped out of the leadership contest after making the final two.
She was forced to quit after telling the Times that having children gave her “a very real stake” in the future of the country - in contrast to Mrs May, who has been unable to have children for health reasons.
Other top Tories who are expected to stand in the upcoming leadership race include Cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid and Dominc Raab, as well as backbenchers Esther McVey, Justine Greening and Boris Johnson.
The Times reported today that Mrs May could wait until mid-July to announce her departure, meaning a leadership contest could stretch into September.
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