UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Tintrlvr]

By-election imminent in Lagan Valley?

[LabourJersey]

By-election imminent in Lagan Valley?

If that happens, really curious how the Alliance and UUP may do there.

[afleitch]

How damaging will this scandal be for the DUP?

The DUP are the worst party in the British political scene by a country mile; shameless nativist anti-Catholic religious cultists.

('but SNP same hur dur'-yeah go f-inks yourselves)

[EastAnglianLefty]

By-election imminent in Lagan Valley?

Probably not. You can continue to serve as an MP whilst charged with a criminal offence and the seat is only considered to be vacated if a sentence of more than 12 months imprisonment is passed. In practice, if the case proceeds to trial there is no way it will be held before the end of the year.

So the only reasons to resign would be if Donaldson chose to or if the DUP pressured him to do so. I do not think a by-election which would probably focus on the reasons for the resignation would be somethingthe DUP would look forward to, so they're probably not going to pressure him to do so.

However, given the likelihood that criminal proceedings will be in preparation at the next general election, it's probable that the DUP will select a new candidate for the seat.

[Joe Republic]

UK General Discussion: The Good Friday Arraignment

[Torrain]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

I see anyone who phones Samaritans being met with the message "if you would like to end your own life, please press hash for further information".

[CumbrianLefty]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

Parris has produced a fair amount of fairly ghoulish stuff recently.

[Torrain]

Parris has produced a fair amount of fairly ghoulish stuff recently.

Wasn't it him who wrote a full column stating that neither autism or ADHD existed, and it was all the fault of bad parenting... in 2024? There's so much guff in the opinion pages these days, that it's hard to keep track.

[Silent Hunter]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

I've seen Logan's Run myself. The Senate chamber full of cats is a definite improvement.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Parris has always hidden some quite unpleasant views behind that shit-eating grin.

[LabourJersey]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

I truly cannot imagine someone looking at the MAID debacle in Canada and thinking, "sure, let's do *that* here,"

[JimJamUK]

Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

The Canadian overreach was significantly influenced by the courts first ruling that it was a constitutional right for the terminally ill, and then expanding this ruling to include those who aren’t even terminally ill. We thankfully don’t have such judicial overreach here, and as a supporter of assisted dying for the genuinely terminally ill, the reticence of our politicians to legalise it despite widespread public support suggests they wouldn’t rush towards a Canadian style system anytime soon.

FWIW, I’m not sure legalising it for the terminally ill would lead to a slippery slope. It would normalise it which could lead to further liberalisation, but at the same time keeping things as they are risks a more sweeping bill in the future getting support from people who mainly want it just for the terminally ill. See the Northern Ireland abortion law for an example of this (the law was so restrictive that MPs overwhelmingly voted for a bill more liberal than the one we have in GB).

[CumbrianLefty]

Parris has always hidden some quite unpleasant views behind that shit-eating grin.

But has recently got a free pass from many because he opposed Brexit.

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

Parris has always hidden some quite unpleasant views behind that shit-eating grin.

But has recently got a free pass from many because he opposed Brexit.

There's a long list of genuinely unpleasant Tories (certainly unpleasant in terms of views) who in recent years have been counted as fluffy moderates in certain circles due to not being staunch Brexiteers. One such example is Phillip Hammond - staunchly on the dry side of the Tory Party from what I can gather, and seemingly isn't too keen on LGBT rights either.

Boris Johnson, whatever else you might say about him, isn't as bad as a good 100 or more current Tory MPs in an ideological sense. Mostly because he doesn't have much of an ideology. 

[CumbrianLefty]

Boris Johnson, whatever else you might say about him, isn't as bad as a good 100 or more current Tory MPs in an ideological sense. Mostly because he doesn't have much of an ideology. 

Agreed, though that's not entirely a good thing either - it explains how he can mix so easily with the Bannon/Orban types as well.

[YL]

Boris Johnson, whatever else you might say about him, isn't as bad as a good 100 or more current Tory MPs in an ideological sense. Mostly because he doesn't have much of an ideology. 

Agreed, though that's not entirely a good thing either - it explains how he can mix so easily with the Bannon/Orban types as well.

Indeed, I think the combination of unscrupulousness and ideological flexibility can be pretty dangerous.

[ingemann]

Parris has always hidden some quite unpleasant views behind that shit-eating grin.

But has recently got a free pass from many because he opposed Brexit.

There's a long list of genuinely unpleasant Tories (certainly unpleasant in terms of views) who in recent years have been counted as fluffy moderates in certain circles due to not being staunch Brexiteers. One such example is Phillip Hammond - staunchly on the dry side of the Tory Party from what I can gather, and seemingly isn't too keen on LGBT rights either.

Boris Johnson, whatever else you might say about him, isn't as bad as a good 100 or more current Tory MPs in an ideological sense. Mostly because he doesn't have much of an ideology.  

I think politicians without an ideology are worse than politicians with terrible ideologies. If you go into politics only for yourself, you don’t have any limits for what you will do, which I think Boris Johnson is a great example of.

[CumbrianLefty]

Parris has produced a fair amount of fairly ghoulish stuff recently.

Wasn't it him who wrote a full column stating that neither autism or ADHD existed, and it was all the fault of bad parenting... in 2024? There's so much guff in the opinion pages these days, that it's hard to keep track.

Also some "wHy Oh WhY CaN'T wE tAlK aBoUt ImMiGrAtIoN??!!!!!??!!!??!!111!!!" pieces.

[Torrain]

Parris has produced a fair amount of fairly ghoulish stuff recently.

Wasn't it him who wrote a full column stating that neither autism or ADHD existed, and it was all the fault of bad parenting... in 2024? There's so much guff in the opinion pages these days, that it's hard to keep track.

Also some "wHy Oh WhY CaN'T wE tAlK aBoUt ImMiGrAtIoN??!!!!!??!!!??!!111!!!" pieces.

Him too - seriously? I remember the Matthew Syed piece running that line, that literally came in the break between the Rwanda Bill being considered by the Commons and the Lords. Starting to wonder whether the Times writes more articles about how they *can't* talk about immigration than they actually have pieces on the subject itself.

But it's not like we don't focus on that issue enough. Without going back to Elledge's theory *again*, the determination to raise the saliency of immigration, on the part of the papers and government alike helped get them into the CON: 20%, REFORM: 16% hole in the first place...

[oldtimer]

Parris has always hidden some quite unpleasant views behind that shit-eating grin.

He's the poster boy for the "Far Center".

Living proof that there are 3 extremes, not just left and right.

[Storr]

"Brexiteers running away from Brexit is fast becoming the new normal. You want to know the most amazing--the Conservative Party itself. I just read through its website--trying to see what they are saying about Brexit. Short answer--almost nothing.

Lets start with what the Conservative Party is calling its most important "Achievements". Some talk of economics, crime, NHS and education--not one mention of Brexit in the entire discussion of achievements. This is most telling

Then the Conservatives Priorities. You might think that if Brexit was not an achievement worth boasting about--then at least taking advantage of supposed Brexit benefits would be a priority. But you would be mistaken--again no Brexit

Indeed, searching on the entire main page of the Conservative Party you will not find Brexit anywhere in anyway. Its like its never happened.

In the entire website, Brexit is only mentioned in the parts for party members (where you can renew your membership or volunteer). However its not mentioned at all in the policy or achievements, or main page. If the Conservatives are now running away from Brexit, its toxic"

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1774892068646629433?s=20

[Property Representative of the Harold Holt Swimming Centre]

Previous governments didn't point to increased European integration as one of their major achievements either. Some argue that that (the lack of a positive defense of EU membership) was a contributing factor to the 2016 referendum result.

[Conservatopia]

It might be hard for foreigners to understand this but literally people don't talk about Brexit any more. It's not popular, but no-one really cares and it definitely isn't hurting the Tories - they do that well enough themselves.

[Oryxslayer]

Reviving the Brexit issue is IMO one of the few ways Labour can blow up their massive lead now, and perhaps lose if they are doing it after entering government.  Yes, the country overall seems to have a majority now in favor of some nebulous type of reintegration, so Labour do have a justification.

 However,  as noted, it's just a dead and done issue to many, and the cost of living is now the order of the day. This change in voter behavior is why Labour are going to win (and already have in some By-Elections) many seats where the electorate is still going to defend Brexit, sometimes fiercely. Digging the issue back up is just going to reopen the polarized divides within the Labour vote, and give the Tories ways to easily win back the electorate.