A clean fight

We all know that politicians fight rough when it comes to their campaigns. Never mind what policies they are willing to support, how much dirt can they find about the other candidates. Often this means digging into the past to uncover some indiscretion but in the case of Andrea Leadsom, she was looking to the future with her remarks about Teresa May.

Ms Leadsom, who has two sons and a daughter, was asked in an interview with The Times whether she felt “like a mum in politics”.

“Yes. I am sure Theresa will be really sad she doesn't have children so I don't want this to be 'Andrea has children, Theresa hasn't' because I think that would be really horrible, but genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake," she said.

“She possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people, but I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next.

“It means you don't want a downturn but never mind 10 years hence it will all be fine, my children will be starting their lives in that next 10 years so I have a real stake in the next year, the next two.”

Whether we put this down to Leadsom's lack of experience or just being caught off guard hardly matters, Leadsom has dealt herself a blow that could cost her the leadership fight. Protesting that she was misquoted hardly carried any weight when the Times printed the full transcript of the conversation.