Tory leadership candidate has caused furore by implying that having children meant she has more invested in UK’s future

Andrea Leadsom’s campaign manager has hit back following criticism of an interview in which she implied motherhood gave her an edge over Theresa May in their battle to replace David Cameron at No 10, saying it was her children who were the driving passion behind her leadership attempt.

Leadsom, who faces off with May to win the support of Conservative members who will decide the next prime minister, sparked a furious reaction on Saturday after she implied in an interview with the Times that being a mother meant she had more invested in the country’s economy and stability. May does not have children.

“Genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake,” she said.

Tim Loughton, Leadsom’s campaign manager, said it was “the establishment trying to get Andrea” and that she should not be deterred from making her family part of her appeal as a candidate.

“That’s what fires her up,” he told the BBC1’s the Andrew Marr show. “People are fired up and inspired by different things. I’m godfather to Andrea’s eldest son, her children are the things that fire her up. What she is saying she is passionate about her kids. Since when has it been a crime to be proud about your children?”

British tennis star Andy Murray, Loughton said, told reporters earlier this week that he was prioritising his family. “So is he criticising other tennis players who don’t have children? Would we be having this conversation if this was two men?”

Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary who is one of Leadsom’s most high-profile supporters, said she was “genuinely mortified” despite her defiance on Saturday over the Times story.



“But she is really passionate about children in general and her children,” he told ITV’s Peston on Sunday. “But it is easy for her to let her guard down and slip into talking about this because it is a big issue for her and really talking about your family shouldn’t be a crime in politics. And if you talk about your family it shouldn’t be that you are juxtaposing it against somebody else.”

Loughton denied Leadsom’s support base among MPs was the traditional party attempting to undo some of the more socially liberal reforms of Cameron’s leadership.

“There’s nothing traditional about Andrea. This is not about trying to take back control of the Conservative party,” he said. “This is a fresh candidate in Andrea Leadsom, who has much more experience outside of politics than other candidates. She is a fresh face, who made a virtue out of absolutely passionately believing in our future outside the EU and she wants to make that work.”

Duncan-Smith also dismissed suggestions that pro-EU Tory MPs could seek to form a new party were Leadsom elected leader. “I have a simple message to them, which is, calm down for God’s sake, this is a leadership election and people come to regret the silly things they say during a leadership election. I’ve seen this all before,” he said.

“If Andrea was so unqualified, and we’ve had a real black operation to denigrate her, what was the prime minister doing making her a senior government minister?”

Part of May’s “clean campaign” pledge, which she has urged Leadsom to sign, also commits the candidates “not to co-operate in any way with other political parties”.

Leadsom has denied any links with Ukip, despite being vocally backed by Leave.EU’s funder Arron Banks. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Nigel Farage said Leadsom had the “guts” to take on Brussels. But he acknowledge her success could take away support from his own party.

“Like most of the rest of the country, I hardly knew anything of Andrea Leadsom before she signed up for Leave,” Farage said. “The first time I observed her was at a debate way back in March. There were flashes of a keen mind and an honest and pragmatic belief in Brexit.”

In contrast, he said the home secretary was “very cold”, adding: “I’ve never met anyone, no matter how long or how closely they have worked with her, who can claim to know her, or what makes her tick.

“I believe that it is important that the country can get a feel for the character of their leader. Mrs May might as well be made of alabaster.”

Loughton also distanced the campaign from the support of the far-right extremist group Britain First, calling them “vile, toxic, loathsome people”.

The group has released a video supporting Leadsom, saying she was “a patriot, a Christian, pro-British, an opponent of political correctness and a fierce opponent of the bankrupt, failing EU superstate”.

“We want absolutely nothing to do with them, if anyone needs to be deported it’s people with those sorts of dangerous, poisonous views,” Loughton said,a adding that the support for Leadsom was because she was a Brexit candidate.