General Chat

The Tory win in 2015 should have given Cameron the authority to do what he wantrd to do which was to accept the EU and "get on with it" ie more useful matters. He was unable to so because the "Torys" were in reality two distinct parties. Thus Redmond Rees-Mogg et al got their referendum exploiting a slender majority and cynical opposition. In no way does it count as a normal win.

Both Tory and Labour remain deeply divided more suspicious of the others than the other party. The hatred is such that but for Fptp big tectonic shifts would already be under way.

In any case à house so divided would be well advised to pause Brexit.

I don't think anyone can be said to have had a fair go when stepping into someone's shoes. Now she has been elected (and she did better than anyone else) she ought to be able to get on with it without marches for this that and the other.

I agree, though, the extreme wings of the two major parties are unpalatable to most people.


Just done the compass test again. Still left and libertarian but only just under the authoritarian/libertarian line now.

TM was given a fair go but she blew it by calling an election. Rollo is wrong to say that the Tories haven't won an election since 1992 as they won in 2015.

The big problem is that the two major parties have been hijacked by the extreme wings and the prospect of either with a big majority is unpalatable to much of the electorate.

Strict PR would not make things any easier as it would almost certainly ensure minority governments, but it might be a good thing if parties realised they would have to compromise.

One of the iron laws of politics is that those with little money and no great expectations are more than ready to listen to messages of hope whatever the supposed risk.

There is no upside to brexit and never has been. The EU has only hard biscuit on offer even though many suppose the UK has options. As cold reality dawns on the electorate who have been sold a pup anger will be visited on whoever isvthe current tenant of no.10.

T May's doctor's recipe of more of the same is failing miserably. She needs to return to the wheatfields of her youth.

Nyx, many years ago I did the political compass test and came out as liberal left .

I did it again early this year and came out in practically the same position.

I wonder what difference Corbyn would make to my attitude if I did it now? :-| :-0

The argy-bargy I can put up with but I feel that TM is not being given a fair go.

It's odd isn't it, I have always considered myself to be centre-left politically.. my friend thought I was left-left until she became less right-right herself and shifted to the centre-ish ...now I am so far left I have fallen off the edge it seems :-) ...or is that just because there are so many who are so far right that THEY have fallen off the opposite edge? ;-)

I am constantly re-assured that those whom I have always thought to be right-right continue to prove to me that my initial impression of them was correct ;-)

Always go with your gut :-)

Osborne thinks DD is a lightweight - ironic, that.

Do you think that we would not be in a back-and-forth spat if, instead of the FPTP system, PR was introduced? I believe it would not matter a jot under the present circumstances.

All I would say is that it would be a huge error to introduce compulsory voting as that would lead to a donkey vote.

Corbyn is, I believe, a dangerous man to have in politics, not least because of his leanings, the attitudes of his fellow Corbynistas and his willingness to lie down in the face of terrorism.

David Davis biggest problem is T May.
You may recall that the Tory party rejected DD as leader in favor of D Cameron.
You may also recall that DD sacked himself from brave Dave's govt.
It is Osbourne who first assessed DD as being a bit lightweight but since then his actions tend to bear it out. he seems to be a fully paid up member of the fairies at the end of the garden is true society.
Mrs May's govt will not endure if past experience is anything to go by. Just how why and when it collapses is as clear as mud but like any house built on sand collapse it will. It will be messy and will push brexit into a state of utter confusion.
The Torys have not won an election since John Major in 1992. Labour cannot win without demolishing the SNP, impossible. Thus we will have messy minority unstable govts for a long time. Perhaps some form of P.R. will re emerge.
Fwiw I have met DD twice. He is an extremely charming man. He is also one of those people who bend facts to fit his strongly held convictions. Brexit will break him if he persists with it. The UK has nobody remotely able to take on Barnier. You can only throw all the toys out of the pram once.
If Lab became the largest party on a 2018 election it would be another minority govt. The SNP would never go into coalition with euro sceptic Corbyn esp as they are themselves centre right.
So there you go a forest of unkown unknowns. No wonder that inward investment to the UK has fallen off a cliff. We are sailing merrily along to the mother and father of a sterling crisis. Other than a few sotto voce comments from Mark Carney nobody says anything for fear of frightening the horses.

I gather you don't like David Davis .do you know him personally ? I tend to have an opinion about many things .but will not say derogatory remarks unless I am 100% sure of my facts .The labour Party have not got a leader with any plausible answers to run our Country .Corbyn is a joke .no I don't know him .he has money to spend but were will it come from ? people should contribute to prescription charges any age creed or faith .also I would put one penny on income tax every working person ..how much would that create .not much to ask come on Mrs May do our country proud ..let your MP,s do their job IE David Davis !!

It is Labour's job to oppose not to make the life of the govt easy. Street marchés have always been part of the socialist movement in the UK and Europe. In part that has been a response to the right wing stranglehold on the media. Marchés are effective on social media.

In any case May's biggest problem is not Labour but her own parliamentary party. She has neither authority nor support. As a result she is retreating again into her no.10 bunker. Despite her weakness nobody wants to bear the poisoned chalice so she is left to run through her fiery wheat fields to inevitable doom.

I would rate the chances of David Davidson resigning at 50-50.

Sic transit gloria mundi

Agree IGP.

Isn't today the day that yet another march was planned?

I have got fed up with people having a dig at May. It's been constant harassment, accusations and blame for everything going on at the moment but she has had enough nous to withstand it all - no doubt to Corbyn's chagrin.

I think it's known that I am a swinging voter but I do wish Labour would have the good grace to let her get on with it.

None of this is ideal but anything that keeps Corbyn and his idiots out of power is the best of the bad job.

Well, I've given up politics and it's all because of what I saw in Parliament the other day with the younger version of D Abbot sitting next to Corbyn who could not keep her mouth shut as Corbyn rose to speak.

Corbyn had the brass neck to ask what someone was doing over the week-end, meaning helping those who were affected by the fire. He was the ageing would-be rock star, along with McConnell, at Glastonbury.

I know this has occurred before but have we really been so bad that we deserve this calibre of politician?

The election result amounted to "none of these" which was about right.
At least the leader of the LibDems had the decency to resign.
The DUP was on nobody's shopping list. Pushing through brexit and budgets with them is wildly undemocratic and will destroy the Tories.
So we continue to continue with both major English parties an inchoate rabble divided amongst themselves.
David Davis is as thick as a plank. He will continue to demonsrate this in the brexit "negotiations". Pride cometh before a fall.
A u turn each day keeps elections away.
Ps: UK passport holders wishing to remain resident in the EU as of right post Brexit will still have the option of Eire where they speak English (after a fashion), drive on the left and like tea and bacon sarnies. emigrants from the UK can get some practice at using the euro which has a 50% chance of being adopted by the UK on current trends.

No decision till Monday now with DUP is it going to work ? our country needs stability .just seems to me a sham .Corbyn not much better sacking his party members & one resigning ..who could do a better job David Davis he should be our PM .sorry I don't think Mrs May is up for the job .off out now Bye

These are the people TM has crawled into bed with.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/who-are-the-dup_uk_593cfbd9e4b0c5a35ca03d84

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/who-are-the-dup_uk_593a79c7e4b0b13f2c697d36

Utterly shameful.

Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.

(Donald Rumsfeld 2002).

# May be appropriate for these latest political shenanigans.

Well Mrs M what have you done ? will she keep her job? please please keep Mr Corbyn out of no 10 what a plonker .did you see him at Glastonbury rallying young voters .I will emigrate if he ever gets in Barbara :-|

:-D :-D :-D :-D

Jeremy, Ed Balls & Yvette Cooper all at Glastonbury - would this be classed as "grooming" :-D