A short journey into the debacle that is the current UK government

Liz Truss and the UK’s economic and political crises, explained​

Vox.com22 hours ago

UK PM Truss defiantly states 'I am a fighter' after calls for her resignation​

Fox News4 hours ago

Might be another name for it on your side of the puddle, but when there's tangled wreckage by side of the highway not uncommon for passing drivers to slow, and gawk.
In NYC my cab driver did that, I think I kicked him in the back through his driver's seat back.
I'd told him I was in a hurry.

Anyway, I'm not much of a gawker.
And so I'm averting my gaze on this PM deal. Doesn't mean I don't care. It just means: "Those that like sausages or laws shouldn't watch either being made."
 
getting worse by the hour!
there was a Fracking bill (fracking is generally unpopular) the government said it was a "confidence issue" meaning that any conservative who voted against it was politically finished as far as the conservative party goes.
This is extremely unusual pretty much unprecedented other than for budgets and affairs of state.
the Conservative whips were openly bullying members into the voting lobby and in some cases manhandling them in. The chief whip was reported has having resigned her position but within the hour this seems to have been retracted

I realise that this may as well be some curious east African click language for all people will understand of it but it is incredibly serious



incidentally one of the ones that didnt vote with the conservative party was the party leader and PM Liz Truss!
 
I'm not trying to stampede the horses, but I do get an odd 6th sense perception of the end times about this. If the next time you glance out the window you see mushroom clouds flourishing across the horizon, it wasn't really my idea.
 
the out going home secretary had the shortest time in office of any home secretary in about 70 years!

Remember that Truss appointed these people chancellor and home secretary) as being the best she had to advance her aims for the country

The talk is that if she doesnt pull something out of the bag today she is finished
 
Wanna know what the television culture does to the human psyche? M #28 is one of the most well-told half-a-storyies I've read this week. I realize we don't have an answer yet, but the as yet untold half is, who is the replacement?

me #28
I presume here that the actual impact of this is, as measured in how high the human corpses are stacked, is minimal. CERTAINLY it grabs headlines. But I hope and believe in terms of consequence, it's only a few shades above gossip. If the Martians invade, it's a problem. I'm hoping the biggest casualty here is printer's ink.

None the less: o_O
 
Boris is being tipped for return!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any one know how you apply for asylum in Russia?
 
multiple calls now for a general election - but one current Conservative MP says that his party wouldnt get enough seats to form the opposition!
 
mark mywords said:
one current Conservative MP says that his party wouldnt get enough seats to form the opposition!
Click to expand...
OK
I'm a little slow here, trying to parse this (perhaps context makes it clearer) -

There's the leadership, the majority (50% + 1), and then there's "The opposition"? Meaning the minority? It's a numbers joke?

If that's the intended point then his larger point (well made in this case) is that the political maelstrom there at the moment isn't stable enough for conventional politics.
 
There's the leadership, the majority (50% + 1), and then there's "The opposition"? Meaning the minority? It's a numbers joke?

the largest party is the government the second largest party is the opposition
Unlike the US we have multiple parties
https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons?partyid=44
 
But in a parliamentary system, aren't there coalitions? Particularly when one party can't muster 50% + 1 ?

The radio report I heard this AM was that the big wheel party, whatever it is, is essentially "ungovernable".

BTW
Not as a "gotcha", but fyi, there are lots of parties in the U.S. too:
- conservative
- greens
- right to life
- libertarian
- marijuana (not sure if they're still around)
- several or many others.

Not uncommon for a candidate to get endorsement from more than one party, and thus run on more than one ticket. BUT !! One ballot can only vote for that candidate once per election.
This multiplicity is a well kept secret, as the Democins / Republicrats comprise a political duopoly, and have an effective lock on congress. There may be an independent here or there, Bernie Sanders?
Never amounts to much.
Indys can and sometime do caucus with the dominant party of their choice, either Dem or Rep. But that mainly matters when the balance can be changed by one additional member, as in shifting a 49:50 split to 50:50.
 
Not as a "gotcha", but fyi, there are lots of parties in the U.S. too:
Click to expand...

yes but they tend not to get elected - at least not to anything that matters

But in a parliamentary system, aren't there coalitions?
Click to expand...
They tend not to happen ( Cameron–Clegg coalition was the first coalition since WWII)
certainly parties will group together on an ad hoc basis to push for or against certain legislation but they are not true coalitions

The rules say that the party or coalition with the greater number of seats gets invited to form a government the second biggest party/coalition gets to form the opposition

On the basis of a TV poll today in an election tomorrow the Conservatives would get a similar number of seats to the Lib Dems and SNP. It would be interesting indeed if the SNP (Scottish nationalist party) were the official opposition
 
"The rules say that the party or coalition with the greater number of seats gets invited to form a government the second biggest party/coalition gets to form the opposition" m #36
Click to expand...
The questions that waft into my mind on this are probably at about level age 12. Not sure I want to put you through the ordeal of teaching grade school.

So "party with the greater number of seats" even if not a majority? Interesting.
I'm not sure Israel's Knesset works that way. Perhaps it's they that need a majority (50% + 1), even if by coalition. Seems to me I recall Netanyahu working himself into a lather to slap together any coalition he could.

Upside?
It's getting lots of free publicity.
 
So "party with the greater number of seats" even if not a majority?
Click to expand...

Just like in an election the candidate with the greatest number of votes gets elected

Conservative 39%
Labour 30%
LibDem 25%
Greens 6%
Conservatives elected even though more people voted against him than for him
The vagaries of the first passed the post system its not really fit for purpose in multi party elections, Some years ago there was a referendum to bring in a form of Proportional Representation but it was soundly defeated

Of course here in NI our elecions work differently we get to vote for all the candidates in order of preference, a "quota" is calculated based on the total number of votes cast reach the quota and you are elected and your surplus votes get reassigned. parties with good strategists can really maximise their vote and get two or even three candidates elected when a less well organised party may only get one elected
 
Upside?
It's getting lots of free publicity
Click to expand...

telling the world how crap, disorganised and incompetent our government is?
this free publicity has already seriously increased the cost of government borrowing and mortgages whilst at the same time driving down the value of the pound

a month ago you could get a mortgage at about 2.25% its now over 6% this increases the monthly payment for the average mortgage by over £275
 
mark mywords said:
Just like in an election the candidate with the greatest number of votes gets elected
Click to expand...
That turns a candidate into an MP, or extends his tenure.
But I thought the PM was elevated from Parliament itself, not the broader nation's population. Kind of like a popularity contest. Right?
"Of course here in NI our elecions work differently we get to vote for all the candidates in order of preference" m #38
Click to expand...
OK
That would see more likely in a primary, when there would be more candidates. But you're referring to the general election. So you can not only vote on the same ballot for candidates from opposing parties, but rank your preference? Excellent !! I'd like to see that in the U.S.
Do they call it "instant run-off" voting?

Bummer about the economics *. I'm wondering how long it will take to simmer things down once a calm steady hand is at the helm.
In the U.S.there's an expression: "No such thing as bad publicity." It obviously doesn't cross the ocean very well.
* On this evening's news, Lebanon's lira is crashing. Bank depositors are lucky to get 20% value of what they deposited. Mark Twain said he complained about not having shoes until he met a man without feet.
 
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