UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Conservatopia]

A new dawn has broken, has it not?

[Conservatopia]

I do find it odd that the showrunners would choose to have the Queen die just as the "PM Truss" story arc gets going. I wonder if it is a sign that they don't expect Liz Truss to improve ratings and so have opted for something "bigger" to improve viewership.

The story arcs and angles have been becoming increasingly far-fetched and confusing since the debut of Tory Time in 2010 but this takes the cake. Hopes were high after the 2019 season that programming would return to normality but that clearly didn't happen.

The showrunners have indicated that the show will remain on the air until at least 2024, which leaves two more seasons, but after the 2024 season with its general election storyline, there will be calls to cancel the show. A sequel named Labour Land could then potentially take its place and boost viewership.

[Conservatopia]

Tim Farron, also very on brand, takes the non-religious affirmation, quoting Matthew 5:37 ("let your yes be yes, and your no be no...") as his explanation. [/li][/list]

This is what I would do if I were an MP too. It's ironic that taking the oath is supposedly the "religious" option but that those of us who are more fundamentalist don't do so and instead affirm along with the irreligious.

[Conservatopia]

What happens if a Tory MP votes against budget or parts of it.  I've heard scrapping the additional rate is unpopular with some Tory MPs.  Probably not enough to stop it but if one voted it down, do they get booted out of party.

Almost certainly they get booted out, yes.

Oh I forgot MPs can literally be kicked out of the party/disciplined for going against the leadership on one vote.

It depends on what the vote is. In general however UK MPs are a lot more rebellious than US Reps and Senators.

[Conservatopia]

The reaction has been broadly negative, though not viscerally so. Everyone knows it's a tax cut for the rich but those one the lower bands do also benefit of course. The stamp duty cut will be beneficial to a certain demographic (of which I happen to be a part) who are trying to buy a house in an expensive area like the South West.

Labour indicated today that they would reinstate the top tax rate (45%) whilst leaving in place the Tory tax cut to the lower bands.

This is smart politics and I think the average British person would agree with Starmer's stance here.

[Conservatopia]

Why are the showrunners releasing a new crazy plot angle every week now?

This week we had "Spice Girl attends Tory confidence and gets harassed by gay minister". Next week will be something like, "Tory MP caught burgling Harry Kane, claimed he needed money to buy Snickers".

The showrunners are going to run out of storylines to throw at us.

[Conservatopia]

Unlike the Prime Minister, I'm not into being humiliated or dominated.

That being said, everybody can feel free to mock me for supporting Liz for Leader.

[Conservatopia]

Here's how Truss can still win.

[Conservatopia]

Reports that a column of tanks is entering London, military coup underway, BBC Broadcasting Housr occupied by marines around four this afternoon. Interim Government of National Salvation to be announced this evening, 10pm curfew and suspension of constitution to be announced too.

[Conservatopia]

It's official. She's resigning.

Don't forget this all started with Pippa Crerar unearthing Partygate.

[Conservatopia]

If everyone is happy, I propose to keep this thread going as the UK General Discussion thread after the new PM is chosen. Otherwise we will clog the board with new threads each week we change PM.

[Conservatopia]

Those that know, know.

Why are you always like this?

[Conservatopia]

BREAKING NEWS

Liz Truss to replace Steven Gerrard as Aston Villa manager.

Villa: "We will finish the season with more points than than the Tories will have MPs."

[Conservatopia]

Those that know, know.

Why are you always like this?

What, correct?

No. See if you knew, you would know, but you don't know what you don't know. I know that you don't know, and I know that you know that I know.  You're not in the know, so you cannot know what is known, which is that you don't know what I know.

Know what I mean?

[Conservatopia]

The butthurt continues: Johnson backer comes out in favour of a general election, citing Sunak's lack of a "mandate" (as per BBC liveblog).

There have been a couple of claims like this from Johnson loyalists. The only MPs to come out so far are Chope and Dorries - who both have majorities so large they’d probably survive if we went to the polls tomorrow. Johnson’s supporters in seats with less than a 20,000 vote majority have notably stayed silent.

The other calls come from members of the Lords (like Johnson ally Zac Goldsmith), who don’t have to face reelection.

Notably - any Johnson loyalist who could realistically hold ministerial office again has instead rallied behind Sunak.

Goldsmith would have been a good PM choice, tbh.

Genuinely laughed aloud at this post.

[Conservatopia]

Lol removing the whip from Hancock seems awfully harsh, but he won't be missed if this really is the end. I wonder if his book provides any useful information, he'll be distorting a ton of facts to self-congratulate and blame-shift.

I think Hancock is losing the whip they're worried his actions could reflect poorly on a beloved British institution - I'm a Celeb that is, not the Tories.

[Conservatopia]

HRH the Prince of Wales presented the England team with the squad numbers for the World Cup yesterday and made the comments along the lines of how the whole country was rooting for them. Unless he's doing the same thing with the Wales team (who are not only also in the World Cup but in England's group) this seems a bit odd.

He's addressed this in a rather interesting way. Or at least, I find it interesting because I am in a similar situation, as an Englishman who was born and brought up in Wales.

He says that he has supported England (and chaired the FA) for a long time and thus to drop them suddenly would not be right.

However, he goes on to say that he has always supported Wales over England in the rugby.

This is smart actually: Wales are awful at football, but regularly defeat the girly-men from the other nations in the rugby. 

[Conservatopia]

Today a Lord's Private Member Bill backed by both major parties passed one of its final hurdles. It aims to combat so-called "family voting", whereby the patriarch of a family stands over the females in a household amd instructs them on how they should vote. The bill effectively closes a loophole which will allow presiding officers to intervene if they believe family voting is going on.

Family voting took place in 25% of observed polling stations at the last election and disproportionately affects Bangladeshi families, though it of course takes place across many demographics.

I wouldn't expect any change to election results but it's interesting nonetheless, not least because private members bills becoming law is rare.

[Conservatopia]

It doesn't really need to ve said but the private schools are a very nuanced issue. There's all sorts of different kinds and people attend for all sorts of different reasons.

My job means I see behind the curtain on a lot of these institutions and frankly without their charitable status many of them will close down. This is particularly the case for the schools in older, larger buildings. Suddenly having to pay rates would destroy their already tight budgets. Private school budgets were hammered by the pandemic as many parents stopped paying fees whilst the expense of keeping the building maintenained and teachers paid remained.

Private schools closing would not be a positive development for anybody.
It would increase pressure on the public system and restrict choice for parents (eg Muslims) with legitimate concerns about the curriculum.

[Conservatopia]

https://twitter.com/lara_spirit/status/1595833918523056128

Wait... BoJo and Truss are trying to outflank Rishi on environmentalism? After the thing that finally brought down Truss was forcing her MPs to vote in favor of fracking???

Just. Wild. You can't make this sh*t up.

TIL Britain has a ban on on-shore wind.

Foreign tourists unaware of our laws should avoid eating baked beans and other flatulence-inducing foods.

[Conservatopia]

It's possible that a suspension in either case, before any charges, may have been advised against on legal grounds due to the risk of identifying the victim.

It's always frustrating when the usual suspects start screaming about an accused MP not being named and suspended. There's no good reason to identify the MP in the mainstream press and plenty of reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea such as the risk that the accusation is false and the possibility of identifying the victim. Besides, suspension makes little difference anyway.

But seriously to quote my fellow south-westerner Brenda: "Not anotheRR one?!"
This Parliament has so many bad eggs it's unreal.

[Conservatopia]

Will King Charles open Parliament at the House of Commons instead?  And if so, will the throne chairs at the back of the room of the House of Lords be moved over?  Or are they going to do away with all that altogether?

As mentioned elsewhere, the King just doesn’t enter the Commons - and none have since the English Civil War (it’s become a whole convention in its own right). Besides, there’s no space for the throne apparatus in the Commons, (not to mention it’s all bolted to the ground).

My guess is that in the event of Lords abolition, the Lords Chamber would still host the Kings Speech, with the Commons and the members of the new Upper House all in attendance. I’ve been in that room, and the whole thing is built around the throne, and seems tailor-made to host the monarch. You could rework things and hold the speech in Westminster Hall, away from all the gilding if you really wanted to be radical, but I doubt the powers-that-be would be all that happy about such a suggestion.

There’s a chance some noteworthy peers could still be invited, especially under Conservative governments (because old habits die hard) - given no government has the time/energy to abolish the peerage system entirely.

TLDR; short of an actual, bloody revolution - pageantry never dies, it just evolves

Of course if Starmer felt he had political capital to burn he could propose permanently vacating the Palace of Westminster and moving to a new purpose built legislature* in York.

* please no hemicycles

[Conservatopia]

The Scottish independence movement is fairly unique in the world:
- The Scots are not and never have been an oppressed minority (eg Kurds)
- Scotland is not ethnically different to the UK (eg Kosovo)
- Scotland does not speak a different language to the UK (eg Quebec)
- Scotland is not geographically separated from the UK (eg Bougainville)

It's analogous to Minnesotan headbanging nationalists deciding to separate from the US for no good reason.

[Conservatopia]

I hang out with people you might call "rightwing headbangers" both old and young and the economy (+strikes, energy) is definitely a bigger issue than the boats.

[Conservatopia]

If you follow things closely enough you can always guess which MPs will jump up during parliamentary questions to defend certain countries.

I was explaining this to someone the other day, using the not-so-Honourable Member for Sri Lanka as an example. They didn't believe me but it really is that stark. You can basically take all the bribes you want as long as you declare them all.