Britain - The Official Thread

[UKMikey]

Redditors must have been reading this thread.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

The problem is Brexit.

I reckon you could've stopped typing there and it would've been an adequate explanation for the vast majority of this countries current problems. It's ridiculous that no politician can question whether it was the right thing to do without being slaughtered in the polls but that's what happens when the campaign is such a tribalised thing.

 

[Fezzik]

If the Tories were sensible they'd go with Wallace - a neutral sensible figure who doesn't seem to have made enemies like the rest of them.

Of course they are Tories, so it'll be a Boris vs Rishi civil war.

 

[UKMikey]

Gromit for Chancellor?

 

[Touring Mars]

The sheer audacity of some of those already throwing their names into the ring is breathtaking.

 

[Keef]

Can't believe I missed the news over the past two months. Pretty sure I've posted in this thread in that time and still never realized that Boris Johnson resigned, and was replaced by a libertarian of all things. That didn't work and was never going to. I feel like British politics is going through the same phase I was in my early-mid 20s when I realized that weird theoretical classical conservatism was nonsense and was never going to work in a modern globalized world. Frankly, I don't even understand how a "conservative" party still exists in the UK, it damn near resembles a socialist state compared to the US. American Democrats would die for many of the social policies the UK has but they through a libertarian into the pot somehow? What even

He didn't expect it to pass - nobody did

Never underestimate the power of Boomers who believe things they don't talk about in public because they know it's incredibly distasteful.

 

[UKMikey]

I think you may have spelt "librarian" wrongly. Liz wasn't above borrowing money to provide tax cuts for top earners and pay the utilities companies off to limit this winter's colossal fuel bills for the least well off. How is that shrinking the state?

 

[Fezzik]

it damn near resembles a socialist state compared to the US

it's really not that hard to seem more socialist than the Republic of Gilead

 

[Liquid]

That didn't work and was never going to. I feel like British politics is going through the same phase I was in my early-mid 20s when I realized that weird theoretical classical conservatism was nonsense and was never going to work in a modern globalized world.

The UK is run by asset strippers who already stripped the assets 40 years ago. That is the problem.

Free facts:

Boris Johnson is an unflushable nugget of 🤬. In his mind he's still Prime Minister. He's really sorry for what happened.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

She could not.

 

[Touring Mars]

How can it be that the same clueless idiots that voted for Truss as PM are going to get to decide who replaces her??

Nothing, and I mean nothing, Truss has done has been a success. Heck, even her supposed confidence vote last night was a shameful debacle, and her succession also promises to be a sham.

Truss has spent just 45 days in power and becomes the shortest serving PM in UK history - but she might not even keep that record should the Tories decide in their infinite wisdom to install yet another UTTER CRETIN as their new leader... Braverman, Badenoch or Rees-Mogg would be a disaster for the UK, even to the extent that if any of these people were to become PM, I think there will be a riot.

 

[DG_Silva]

Need to hear the other policies. If it's pro Brexit or supports a movement away from over-reliance on meat.

I believe the lettuce is strongly in favour of Brussels (sprouts)...

 

[XJ40]

The leaders of the devolved nations must be having a hard time keeping a straight face just now. No point in campaigning for anything as the UK Government is doing all the work for them. No slogan, soundbite nor scandal can do any more damage than the government is doing to itself.

 

[Liquid]

Don't correct your opponent when they're making a mistake.

 

[Liquid]

What sort of third-rate backwater are you when even Russia is taking the piss?



And in case it goes:

To paraphrase Sir Arnold Robinson from Yes, Prime Minister - good to know that Medvedev reads the Daily Star.

 

[UKMikey]

This is all highly aragula.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

So the correct course of action for the good of the nation would be to hold a general election, correct?

So the conservatives are not going to do that, is that also correct?

 

[PeterJB]

So the correct course of action for the good of the nation would be to hold a general election, correct?

So the conservatives are not going to do that, is that also correct?

It's unlikely they will, as they'll get tanked in it and hand the keys to Downing Street to Labour. The only reason I can think of that they would would be as a concession of their surrender to the Opposition and a way of trying to maintain some dignity by letting the public decide, honouring democracy, and lowering the temperature of the nation instead of thinking abouy their own career aspirations first.

 

[UKMikey]

The truth is that it wouldn't make a lot of difference for the reasons @Famine outlined above but it'd sure make a heck of a lot of us feel better.

The Tories won't do it because terms of government aren't fixed in this country and they'll claw onto power for as long as they can get away with it.

dignity

 

[Jezza819]

She could not.

I just saw one of the posts in the comments, "Truss sunk by an iceberg"

 

[Blitz24]

The truth is that it wouldn't make a lot of difference for the reasons @Famine outlined above but it'd sure make a heck of a lot of us feel better.

The Tories won't do it because terms of government aren't fixed in this country and they'll claw onto power for as long as they can get away with it.

Of course. Better to hold onto power and cause a country to sink than to graciously step aside and let someone else have a try.

 

[Fezzik]

They are headed for an electoral wipeout on the scale of 1997 (even with a BorisBounce), so why bring that forward when they can keep the £80k jobs (plus expenses and consultancy fees) for another couple of years?



Kinda blows up the idea of Johnson as the only possible election winner

 

[PeterJB]

At the moment, the only three candidates appear to be Sunak, Johnson, and Mourdaunt, with Sunak the only one anywhere near 100 votes. I'm not sure what's worse: Johnson thinking he can just waltz back into No. 10 as if the summer never happened, or the people supporting him who only three months ago joined in on the mass exodus of resignations and wanted him out!

I can't view whoever wins this as anything other than an interim PM, such is their legitimacy, and I'm beginning to wonder, if they won't do it, if the King is within his constitutional rights to interfere and demand a general election.

 

[Famine]

'Member when Labour imploded and everyone went to Lib Dem and got them into government in coalition?

I 'member.

11%

 

[NotThePrez]

So, I haven't really been able to keep up with all the happenings after Liz Truss' resignation. What's this I'm hearing about Boris Johnson potentially returning as PM?

 

[PeterJB]

So, I haven't really been able to keep up with all the happenings after Liz Truss' resignation. What's this I'm hearing about Boris Johnson potentially returning as PM?

He's believed to be running again but hasn't officially said so yet. Any Conservative MPs that want to run for PM have until Monday to get the vote of at least 100 other MPs. If three candidates do this, a second vote is held and the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, and then Conservative Party members can vote online between the two remaining candidates. If by Monday only one candidate has at least 100 votes, they automatically become PM. In the summer they made this take six needless weeks, but apparently it can be done quickly and expeditiously when necessary.

As it stands Rishi Sunak (former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who finished 2nd to Truss in the last leadership contest) has 77 votes, Boris Johnson somehow has 45 votes, and Penny Mordaunt (Leader of the House of Commons, who finished 3rd in the last leadership contest) has 22 votes, with 215 MPs still undeclared. Though bear in mind Mordaunt is the only one who has officially declared she is running, but the others have had people declare their support for them.

 

[Famine]

So, I haven't really been able to keep up with all the happenings after Liz Truss' resignation. What's this I'm hearing about Boris Johnson potentially returning as PM?

The accelerated selection process basically means any MP who garners support from at least 100 other MPs before 2pm on Monday will be nominated (so, as the Conservatives have 357 MPs right now, a maximum of three candidates).

If only one potential candidate secures the 100 vote minimum, they're the new leader/PM. If two do, there'll be an "indicative" vote among Conservative MPs with some threshold I don't know about that will either pick a new leader/PM or send two candidates to a general vote among members to select the new leader/PM. If they do reach three, the "indicative" ballot will eliminate one and send two candidates to the general vote among members to select the new leader/PM.

Only one candidate has actually declared at this point: Penny Mordaunt. She has 22 nominations. Over 140 other MPs have "endorsed" Rishi Sunak (92) or Boris Johnson (52), though neither has declared that they are running yet. Johnson is in fact on a "business trip" (holiday/fundraiser) in the USA right now and would probably need to return to campaign... before 2pm on Monday. There are signs he will in fact do that.

 

[NotThePrez]

He's believed to be running again but hasn't officially said so yet. Any Conservative MPs that want to run for PM have until Monday to get the vote of at least 100 other MPs. If three candidates do this, a second vote is held and the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, and then Conservative Party members can vote online between the two remaining candidates. If by Monday only one candidate has at least 100 votes, they automatically become PM. In the summer they made this take six needless weeks, but apparently it can be done quickly and expeditiously when necessary.

As it stands Rishi Sunak (former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who finished 2nd to Truss in the last leadership contest) has 77 votes, Boris Johnson somehow has 45 votes, and Penny Mordaunt (Leader of the House of Commons, who finished 3rd in the last leadership contest) has 22 votes, with 215 MPs still undeclared. Though bear in mind Mordaunt who has officially declared she is running, but the other have had people declare their support for them.

The accelerated selection process basically means any MP who garners support from at least 100 other MPs before 2pm on Monday will be nominated (so as the Conservatives have 357 MPs right now, a maximum of three candidates).

If only one potential candidate secures the 100 vote minimum, they're the new leader/PM. If two do, there'll be an "indicative" vote among Conservative MPs with some threshold I don't know about that will either pick a new leader/PM or send two candidates to a general vote among members to select the new leader/PM. If they do reach three, the "indicative" ballot will eliminate one and send two candidates to the general vote among members to select the new leader/PM.

Only one candidate has actually declared at this point: Penny Mordaunt. She has 22 nominations. Over 140 other MPs have "endorsed" Rishi Sunak (92) or Boris Johnson (52), though neither has declared that they are running yet. Johnson is in fact on a "business trip" (holiday/fundraiser) in the USA right now and would probably need to return to campaign... before 2pm on Monday. There are signs he will in fact do that.

Thanks for the answers. Is this accelerated selection process the established "norm," so to speak, for situations like this? Because, to me at least, it kinda sounds like this process was thrown together at the last minute otherwise.

 

[Famine]

Is this accelerated selection process the established "norm," so to speak, for situations like this? Because, to me at least, it kinda sounds like this process was thrown together at the last minute otherwise.

Nope, and yep, in that order.

The previous one ran for weeks, but this one has a higher nomination threshold to generate far fewer nominees to make it all go quicker. It was determined by the party oversight body - the "1922 Committee" - on... like, Wednesday.

 

[PeterJB]

Thanks for the answers. Is this accelerated selection process the established "norm," so to speak, for situations like this? Because, to me at least, it kinda sounds like this process was thrown together at the last minute otherwise.

In normal circumstances it would run as it did only a few months ago, but possibly the only part of the room they have read is that the nation does not want another six-week leadership contest, barely six weeks after the last one. The leadership contest that got Boris into Downing Street in 2019 lasted six weeks, the majority of which was the four-week period in which party members cast their votes by post, but the leadership contest that got Thatcher out of office 32 years ago lasted only a week, though mostly because only four candidates ran, and by the third ballot only one was left: John Major. Bear in mind as well that each party has their own way of running leadership contests, it just so happens that because the Conservatives have a majority in parliament, when that person is elected leader, they become Prime Minister by default.