Brexit - Tory leadership contest

There is naughty joke to be made here with all this pulling out business.........but I don't want to be slapped on the wrists AGAIN, so you lot can all make your own up........As far as Gove is concerned, is it me or does 'e look like an ageing Rick Astley with less hair, I can just see him rickrolling Theresa May

And if you elect Theresa May the cops will all be sulking

And the Footsie climbed even higher today, I wonder If interest rates will go negative at some point.

"Date: Thursday 30 Jun 2016

LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday as Boris Johnson bowed out of the race for Prime Minister and the Bank of England governor said an interest rate cut was likely after Brexit.
Johnson, the former London mayor, announced his decision not to run for Prime Minister in a speech on Thursday after Justice Secretary Michael Gove made a surprise late bid for the contest to succeed David Cameron.

Home Secretary Theresa May also threw her hat into the ring in what is now expected to be a very bloody contest, with bookmaker Ladbrokes making her the 4/7 favourite over Gove at 11/4 after Johnson's withdrawal.

"Her position as a reluctant 'remainer' may not go down well with the more ardent Brexiteers but her scepticism could well be enough to see her as an acceptable choice to the other candidates, and certainly her reputation as a safe pair of hands appears to have been received fairly well by the markets," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

"While the FTSE 100 looks set to finish the month and the quarter higher, and its highest levels this year, this can be largely put down to a weaker pound, as well as the rebound in commodity prices."

Nominations closed at midday. The contest was sparked by Cameron's resignation after 52% of voters decided to leave the EU last Friday. The new prime minister is expected to take over on 9 September.

Late in the session, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the central bank is likely to slash interest rates over coming months to cushion the blow from Brexit.

Interest rates have been at 0.5% for more than seven years after being cut during the UK's downturn and financial crisis. "The committee will make an initial assessment on 14 July, and a full assessment complete with a new forecast will follow in the August Inflation Report. In August we will also discuss further the range of instruments at our disposal," Carney said in a speech.

The pound plunged 1.25% against the dollar to $1.3262 after Carney's speech.

In economic data, the final release of first-quarter UK gross domestic product from the Office for National Statistics confirmed growth at 0.4%, in line with expectations.

Growth on the year was confirmed at 2%, also in line with expectations.

Dennis de Jong, managing director of UFX.com, said: "Despite Brexit fears looming over the UK economy throughout June, GDP figures for the month look pretty solid. Now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, however, uncertainty is rife and Q2's figures will go further in gauging the health of the economy."

The ONS also released data on the UK's current account which came in at £32.6bn in the three months to March, down slightly from the upwardly revised £33.96bn in the fourth quarter. Economists had expected a deficit of £28bn.

UK consumer confidence remained in negative territory in June, GfK said, with the index unchanged at -1. Analysts expected a reading of -2. Confidence was hit by concerns that economic growth could be affected following a Brexit vote.

In the eurozone, the consumer price index rose 0.1% year-on-year as energy prices improved, beating estimates of 0% and marking an improvement on the -0.1% fall the previous month. However, it remains well below the European Central Bank's inflation target of just below 2%.

In the US, initial jobless claims were up by 10,000 to 268,000 last week from the previous week's downwardly-revised 258,000, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected claims to push up to 267,000."

Me thinks we're near the top of the rollercoaster hold on to your hats!!!!

I just put a link in there that explains it all..

I think you pulled a switcheroo there .. BoJo is maybe most popular with Joe Public (but so is Jeremy Corbin) .. Neither is flavour of the month with (the majority of) their MPs.

I've always liked Boris but never liked the thought of him becoming prime minister.  Don't get me wrong, the guy is intelligent but also slightly buffoonish.  Our prime minister represents us on a world stage, and if Boris was that person, that would terrify me.

Gove has shot himself in the foot; there is no way the conservatives will send votes his way after today.