When launching her Tory leadership bid today, Penny Mordaunt jumped into the transgender rights camp by asserting that women cannot have penises.
The commerce minister spoke up in an effort to counter criticism from her opponents for prior remarks in support of transgender rights.
Her prior statement that “trans guys are men and trans women are women” has come under scrutiny.
The 49-year-old made reference to her experience as a Royal Navy reservist and pledged to return to classic Conservative values of “low tax, limited state, and personal responsibility” at a packed campaign kickoff in Westminster where seats were decked out with leaflets displaying her portrait.
She also made an effort to win over MPs by giving them “social capital pots” to use in their districts.
She received the biggest acclaim, however, for her attempts to outsmart competitors who wanted to turn the culture war into a major conflict area.
I believe Margaret Thatcher coined the phrase “Every prime minister needs a Willie.” I, as a woman, don’t have one,” she remarked.
About her devoted admirer William Whitelaw, Mrs. Thatcher made the original double-entendre remark.
He was once a candidate for the Tory leadership and remained her devoted deputy until being given a peerage in 1983. Age 81, he passed away in 1999.
Ms. Mordaunt promised to give a “relentless focus” on cost-of-living concerns, slashing fuel duty and hiking tax thresholds, during the inaugural event, which was attended by a large number of supporters and journalists.
With a “tighter” cabinet, she promised to repair a “broken” Whitehall machine through the “white heat of modernization.”
I am the candidate that Labour fear the most, she said, dismissing suggestions that she was less well-known than other contenders.
According to Ms. Mordaunt, her main economic strategy would be to “over time” reduce the debt as a percentage of GDP.
The trade minister said at her launch event that the government’s supply-side changes will result in a “Brexit dividend” in terms of investment, infrastructure, and innovation.
By implementing personal budgets that give every child access to their right to subsidized child care at any moment before they attend school, she promised to “put power back in the hands of parents.”
Ms. Mordaunt declared that while she remained committed to the Conservative Party’s pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence, she would also establish a new civil defence force to support the armed forces.
She praised the Prime Minister for implementing Brexit and praised Boris Johnson in relation to him.
“I am extremely different from Boris Johnson, but I think we both believe in the same things,” the speaker said. “We are still on the same manifesto.”