Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Today
- Leadsom quits Tory leadership race
- Osborne to reassure Wall Street post Brexit
- Angela Eagle launches Labour leader bid
- MPs meet in Glasgow on BBC future
- Brexit leaders accused of lying
Front pages
Andy Murray rules supreme on the front pages, with Stewart Fisher of The Herald saying the victory will only add to the legend of a man who is already without peer in the catalogue of Scotland’s greatest sportsmen.
Scottish Pride is The National’s headline, with Hugh MacDonald asking if Murray is the best of the best.
Other paper go with: It’s all mine again (Mail); He’s done it again (Times); At last, something for the whole nation to cheer (Telegraph); New bawls please (Sun); Greet Scot (Record); and Magnificent Murray: how his baby girl helped him win (Express).
Elsewhere, the FT reports that Theresa May plans to put worker representatives on British boards, and the Telegraph has an interview with Andrea Leadsom in which the Tory leadership hopeful says she has been “shattered” by the reaction to her comments about Theresa May not having children.
The Evening Times reports on a surgery backlog in Glasgow caused by building problems at the Institute of Neurological Sciences.
Camley’s cartoon
Camley serves an ace on the Murray victory
Five in five seconds: fair play or just not cricket?
1. What happened? Wimbledon champion Andy Murray was speaking to Sue Barker post-victory, thanking all those who came along to watch him. When he mentioned the Prime Minister, who was in the royal box with his mother, the crowd started booing.
2. Why? Maybe it was a case of TMP (too much politics) lately and people simply wanted a break. Or perhaps, given the well-heeled nature of the SW19 crowd - a pair of Centre Court tickets for Sunday were selling for £32,000 - they were unimpressed with what Mr Cameron’s EU referendum had done for property prices and job prospects in the capital?
3. Reaction? Palpitations among BBC management as mild revolution broke out on live TV, but Murray handled it superbly, saying: “Playing in the final of Wimbledon is tough, but I wouldn’t ever want to be prime minister, it is an impossible job.” Cameron, an old PR hand, nodded and smiled as if to say, “Well played mate.”
4. Unprecedented for politicians to be booed? It’s all the rage. Chancellor George Osborne was given a stinker of a reception when he turned up to the 2012 Paralympics, MEPs regularly booed Nigel Farage, and no English Education Secretary’s speech to teachers is complete without booing. Recently, House Democrats booed Bernie Sanders for being tardy in his backing for Hillary Clinton, and even a journalist has been booed - BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg - by Labour activists simply for doing her job of reporting on the party's leadership travails.
5. In a live question and answer session on Facebook today, Murray was asked about the incident. He said: "Did I mean to embarrass Cameron? No I certainly didn't. I appreciate he came to support yesterday and came to watch and like I said afterwards - it's one of the hardest jobs in the world with lots and lots of responsibility. I don't envy anyone who is in a position like that - it's extremely difficult."
Afore Ye Go
CHAMPION! pic.twitter.com/LZNDZyMCOo
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 10, 2016
if @PeterMurrell doesn't wheech an eu flag out of his handbag at the end of this, i'll be hugely disappointed.
— euan mccolm (@euanmccolm) July 10, 2016
He did not "do a Moira", as it is known, after that flag-waving incident with Mr and Mrs Salmond in 2013 following Murray's first Wimbledon victory.
Get in, my son!!!! Our #LendlFaces are overcome with emotion at Chateau Wilson-Davidson. What a win! Well done Andy. pic.twitter.com/n11y95WssZ
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) July 10, 2016
@DavidMundellDCT is that gonnae be your vote in #indyref2?
— Jeremy Euansson (@WeAreThe59) July 10, 2016
Most members of the Tory party are at Centre Court. Why not just do the leadership vote quickly there now?
— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) July 10, 2016
“I’ve always found the Home Secretary very cold …. Mrs May might as well be made of alabaster.”
Nigel Farage on Tory leadership contender Theresa May. Mail on Sunday. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
“If it [the Scottish Government] can develop a clear and coherent economic strategy ahead of any future referendum, it not only stands a better chance of winning it will also increase the probability that an independent Scotland inside the EU can hit the ground running.”
Sir Nicholas Macpherson, who spoke out against independence while in the civil service, now sees a silver lining for Scotland in the Brexit cloud. Financial Times
“‘You can be prime minister but you have to give up sex,’ I once asked Boris Johnson in a GQ interview. ‘Would you take the deal?’ He looked absolutely horrified. ‘NO!’”
Piers Morgan, Mail on Sunday. Jack Taylor/Getty Images
"He's not a bad man. He's not a leader though.”
Labour MP Angela Eagle on why she will be standing against Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership. ITV’s Peston on Sunday. Rob Stothard/Getty Images
"Why should I time limit a leadership when I've been elected by a very large number of members and supporters in order to lead this party?”
Jeremy Corbyn insists he will be on the ballot, and hints at court action if he is not. BBC Andrew Marr Show.
"I'd like all sides to listen to each other.”
President Obama, visiting Spain, on the turmoil back home caused by the shooting of black citizens, and the killing of police officers in Dallas. Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images.
"This doesn't pre-judge or preclude legal action, either criminal from the authorities or civil from the service families. This is about what parliament does if it believes it was misled over a huge issue or systematically misled over a period of time.”
The SNP’s Alex Salmond (above, with Phil Mickelson at the Scottish Open in Inverness) on a contempt of parliament motion to be put before the Commons on Thursday which will claim Tony Blair deceived MPs over the Iraq invasion.
“In 2004, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right.”
Former Deputy PM John Prescott. Sunday Mirror. Carl Court/Getty Images
£83,930
Tory leadership contender Andrea Leadsom’s income in 2014/15, on which she paid £22,621. She also had a tax free capital gain of £9,270. Mrs Leadsom had promised to publish her tax return if she made it through to the final two. Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Elsewhere, there was much making merry at Mrs Leadsom's comments about the importance of parenthood in a new spoof Twitter account, @LeadsomsTips:
Show your chancellor how proud you are by sticking his budget to the fridge. #MumsKnowBest
— Leadsom's Tips (@LeadsomsTips) July 9, 2016
As a mum who has negotiated vegetable consumption deals with 3 children, I see nothing complex about the situation in Syria.
— Leadsom's Tips (@LeadsomsTips) July 10, 2016
Look out for signs of overtiredness, such as:
— Leadsom's Tips (@LeadsomsTips) July 9, 2016
Fighting with friends
Running away
Being clumsy#MumsKnowBest pic.twitter.com/BelfKuhOSw
Congratulations to Andy Murray's mum on winning Wimbledon #WimbledonFinals
— Leadsom's Tips (@LeadsomsTips) July 10, 2016
Thank you for reading. See you tomorrow
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