Off Topic Thread 3.0

https://twitter.com/TheSportsman/status/872877390116016128

swiwi_ wrote: »

The worse thing she did IMO was obsequiously running off to lick Trump's boots the minute he was into the halls of power.

It's a torrid time to be British at the moment. I could actually see Britain remin in the EU, and I don't think the EU would mind a volte-face at all.

That's receiving very little comment in terms of the rationale behind the defeat but I'm convinced her cosying up to Trump damaged her credibility in the eyes of many. Her extreme reluctance to criticise Trump's Twitter attack on Khan was embarrassing.

There have been some very quiet murmurs of another referendum for Brexit but I don't see it happening. I mean, can anyone really see a country going back to the polls for a second referendum just because the powers that be want a different result?! Only a shambolic administration would attempt such a thing!

Bazzo

Favourite line of the morning:

"This has been the biggest political backfire for a Tory PM since David Cameron."

Dave_The_Sheep

Didn't take that long to top it, did it?

[Deleted User]

Looks like Theresa is off to meet the queen with Arlene's blessing.

Obviously the British media will leap to action now pointing out the hypocrisy of this given their criticisms of Corbyn.

swiwi_

The other interesting thing is that I think the Scottish Independence party fared poorly. At least that's what I heard on Swiss radio this morning.

swiwi_ wrote: »

The other interesting thing is that I think the Scottish Independence party fared poorly. At least that's what I heard on Swiss radio this morning.

Yeah, the SNP were down a bit. Supposedly the idea of a referendum is not popular up there currently, one of the commentators on BBC this morning was saying that young people were turning away from SNP because the referendum was quite divisive and they don't have the appetite for another yet.

Bazzo

swiwi_ wrote: »

The other interesting thing is that I think the Scottish Independence party fared poorly. At least that's what I heard on Swiss radio this morning.

They lost 21 seats, mostly to the Tories. Their previous votes ended up being split between themselves and Labour(because they're ideologically similar) letting the Tories sneak in, they still have a majority and nearly 3 times as many seats as the Tories in second place though.

We'll now see the mettle of the DUP. Will they stick to their guns and demand a soft border with Ireland?

They negotiated that incredibly quickly. Oddly so, to be honest. Did someone cave almost immediately?

DGRulz

The DUP’s ‘price’ for propping up a new Conservative government will include a promise that there would be no post-Brexit special status for Northern Ireland, the party’s leader in Westminster has confirmed.
Nigel Dodds, re-elected as North Belfast MP, said that among their preconditions would be an insistence that there was no separate deal that would effectively keep the region with one foot still inside the EU
The DUP fears that special status after Brexit – a key demand of Sinn Féin – would de-couple Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

They're genuinely incompetent.

DGRulz wrote: »

They're genuinely incompetent.

That's no surprise though, really. The DUP would never agree to anything that could separate links with the rest of the UK and thereby weaken their unionist position. It's a bit of rhetoric for their supporters.

Their desired Brexit position in relation to the south is of much more importance/interest than their Brexit position in relation to the rest of the UK.

Rigor Mortis

Buer wrote: »

We'll now see the mettle of the DUP. Will they stick to their guns and demand a soft border with Ireland?

They negotiated that incredibly quickly. Oddly so, to be honest. Did someone cave almost immediately?

I am astonished by this. The DUP either completely undersold themselves or the Tories were so desperate not to have to negotiate with the DUP in public that they effectively caved. I have to imagine it is the latter. Given the expected size of the majority it seems very unlikely that this deal was already prepared and ready to go.

Allowing the DUP a greater say in UK govt is bad news. leaving aside any differences on border issues, their views are too close to theocratic for a modern democracy.

Supposedly there's no coalition, just an agreement to get the Tories into power and support them on economic issues where needed

Teferi

The delicious, delicious irony of calling Corbyn a terrorist sympathiser for the last 2 years and then going into a coalition (or confidence and supply arrangement but that is just semantics) with the DUP.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Supposedly there's no coalition, just an agreement to get the Tories into power and support them on economic issues where needed

Some commentators have suggested that, if they did go into a coalition, it would jeopardise the NI Assembly and Sinn Féin would withdraw from power sharing.

[Deleted User]

Buer wrote: »

Some commentators have suggested that, if they did go into a coalition, it would jeopardise the NI Assembly and Sinn Féin would withdraw from power sharing.

If that's the case the DUP should really go and have a chat with the Lib Dems before they accept any promises...

awec

They should invite Lord Buckethead to their coalition. Guess which one he is:

DB2Gs7SXcAAOp5F.jpg:small

Lord buckethead is a legend. His manifesto was better than the Tories'

thomond2006

Still better than Lowry.

pickarooney

Number 14 is completely insane.

#ImWithTheBucket

molloyjh

pickarooney wrote: »

Number 14 is completely insane.

Number 12 just makes sense.

[Deleted User]

pickarooney wrote: »

Number 14 is completely insane.

sounds like his own 5 year residency rule

Podge_irl

I'm in a Whatsapp group with a bunch of British (english/scottish) people. We tend to get boringly political a lot of the time in our chats.

They are all desperately googling the DUP to find out who on earth they are and what they stand for. They're in for a nice surprise. I'm glad the rest of the UK will get to experience the "hilarity" of NI politics.

How on earth are the DUP so popular in NI? Or I suppose more relevant: how on earth are the SDLP and UUP failing so miserably to offer a plausible moderate option?

Neil3030 wrote: »

How on earth are the DUP so popular in NI? Or I suppose more relevant: how on earth are the SDLP and UUP failing so miserably to offer a plausible moderate option?

Have you ever heard of a dry wedding?

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Have you ever heard of a dry wedding?

Like... where it doesn't rain?

Neil3030 wrote: »

Like... where it doesn't rain?

Much much worse

Neil3030 wrote: »

How on earth are the DUP so popular in NI? Or I suppose more relevant: how on earth are the SDLP and UUP failing so miserably to offer a plausible moderate option?

The DUP are right wing conservatives. Taking away the sectarian elements, large areas of NI are extremely religious and the DUP would represent many of the views held by people. I think it was awec who described areas of NI as the bible belt of the UK and that's a pretty good description.