UK General Discussion: 2017 and onwards, Mayhem

[Phony Moderate]

Thus far Corbyn, Khan and the Queen have all met with survivors. A certain someone else has yet to do so.

[Phony Moderate]

in preferred prime minister polling you ought to clarify, which while good for Labour, isn't exactly something particularly important.  It shows how far May has fallen in but a few months though

Though historically the incumbent PM has tended to have an in-built advantage on the question. The most famous example of this was when Callaghan was shown as leading Thatcher by 50-31 on the eve of the 1979 election.

[Phony Moderate]

DUP makes deal with the Conservatives.
The UK is officially f[inks]ed

On the bright side, we now have a terrific excuse to sh**tpost for the next x number of months or years.

[Phony Moderate]

I just realized the UK hasn't had a left wing government in nearly 40 years.
That is all.

Wow, thanks for this blisteringly hot take, random american.

LOL

No but really, when I first realized this I was shocked.

Weak hot take. If you wanted to go further you should have claimed Wilson's and Callaghan's governments were not left either, and a true hot take master would suggest the UK, in fact, has never had a left wing government.

Not even Attlee's government was left wing! He was very, very dedicated to the monarchy!

If I was trolling from the left (which I often do, if people are being particularly ahistorical in their "left wing Old Labour/Right wing NuLabour" screeds) it is very easy to suggest Attlee would today be on the centre-right of the party. He and his allies came to power in the party by defeating Lansbury and his pacifist idealogy, formed a national government with hated Imperialist/arch conservative former Chancellor Churchill, instituted a draft and various war measures that suppressed various freedoms, led a government characterized by austerity and rationing, rejected Bevan's ideas of a broad left coalition, suppressed strikes, developed the atomic bomb, joined the Korean war and the start of the cold war machinations and still had a very suspicious role in the declining Empire.

This is not to say I don't like him - he is almost certainly the best PMs we have ever had and his government one of the most important, and in terms of personality an amazing guy, but True Leftists who want to be honest to the historical record should really be honest with themelves.

New Labour weren't right wing (and I never said they were), but they weren't left wing either, they were Centrists, which is why I didn't count them as left wing.

The Callaghan government was arguably fairly moderate for the context of its time.

[Phony Moderate]

Main news here today (well, other than the tragic events elsewhere) is the death of Sir Bruce Forsyth. 89, so he did well.

[Phony Moderate]

Caroline Flint (former front bencher and fairly high profile figure on the Labour Party's right) abstained on the bill.

[Phony Moderate]

I'm no fan of Anne Marie Waters to say the least, but some of the abuse aimed at her by some of her fellow UKIPers has been utterly hypocritical.

[Phony Moderate]

May currently giving a Churchillian speech to her conference.

[Phony Moderate]

Bolsover turned out to be tighter than I expected after seeing the exit poll; I was expecting maybe an 8,000 majority or so.

[Phony Moderate]

[Phony Moderate]

Sir Michael Fallon has resigned as Defence Secretary.

[Phony Moderate]

Labour is led by Corbyn but it is by no means a Corbynite party as a whole. The manifesto this year was committed to renewing Trident (the classic left/right dividing line issue in the party) for example.

[Phony Moderate]

Well Gove is now the latest to put his foot in the deep stuff...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41960006

[Phony Moderate]

Some typical British upper-class antisemitism right here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/prince-charles-blames-jews-middle-east-turmoil-1986-letter-a8050586.html.

Meanwhile, there's this.

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/15652178.Fresh_anti_Semitism_row_as_Labour_shortlists_woman_who_faced_criticism_for_posts_about_Jews/

Labour is an institutionally anti-semitic party.

Yes, and so are the Lib Dems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ward_(British_politician)

And UKIP: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/us-jewish-lobby-nigel-farage-power-anti-semitism-ukip-leader-a8031191.html

And the Tories: https://antisemitism.uk/conservatives-reinstate-councillor-suspended-in-antisemitism-row-and-provide-full-details-to-caa/

Or, rather, they all have (like Labour) unsavoury individuals who make inexcusable remarks.

[Phony Moderate]

Surely she couldn't plausibly continue if more than about 100 MPs vote against her in a no-confidence ballot.

John Major stated that he would have quit if just four less MPs had backed him against Redwood in 1995 (where his margin was 218-89).

[Phony Moderate]

May may be trying to do a "noble" act. She knows that whatever Tory leader delivers Brexit will be tarnished by the initial economic shock. she'll lead through and let a fresh set of hands (preferably not those of fat c Boris) take over before the next GE.

PM Corbyn is a bigger threat than PM McDonald was (or more accurately, chancellor McDonnell is).

Corbyn and McDonnell will form a National Government with the Tories??

[Phony Moderate]

How ironic it would be if the Lib Dems did get 56 seats under a PR system, as that is around the numbers they got in the noughties (when their complaints about the electoral system were at their loudest).

[Phony Moderate]

Damian Green, the (de facto) Deputy PM, has resigned.