Portrait of the week | 14 July 2016

Home

Theresa May became Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party when Andrea Leadsom withdrew her candidacy for election by party members. This came after a front-page report by the Times based on an interview with Mrs Leadsom in which she said: ‘I feel being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country — a tangible stake. She [Mrs May] possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people, but I have children, who are going to have children.’ Her remarks were criticised by some fellow Conservatives, which Mrs Leadsom found ‘shattering’. Mrs May said gnomically that ‘Brexit means Brexit’. David Cameron, who had been booed when he watched tennis in the royal box at Wimbledon, agreed to tender his resignation to the Queen after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. Larry the Downing Street cat decided to stay at No. 10.

Labour’s national executive ruled that Jeremy Corbyn did not need the backing of 20 per cent of Labour MPs and MEPs to stand for re-election as party leader against a challenge by Angela Eagle and Owen Smith. Labour party members who have joined in the past six months were denied a vote, but for £2 could gain one by joining a union. A brick was thrown through the window of Ms Eagle’s constituency office during the night when no one was there. She said that Mr Corbyn needed ‘to get control of people supporting him’. Serena Williams won her seventh Wimbledon singles final and Andy Murray his second. Sir Cliff Richard began legal action against the BBC and South Yorkshire Police over live coverage of a raid on his house in 2014 by police investigating allegations of sexual abuse that proved groundless.