General British politics discussion thread

05-09-2022 2:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574383#Comment_119574383

He’s absolutely right. It is astonishing that she has got here. She is utterly unfit to lead

pixelburp · 05-09-2022 2:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574512#Comment_119574512

To be fair, the male presenter looks a bit appalled by the whole conversation; WTF is that dinosaur Currie even flourishing? So can we expect people's houses to burn down now, when they try to heat the house with a bit of tinfoil?

"Most people my age Susannah have lived in houses without central heating". Well that's OK then. I guess we've hit the point where people should just stop being such softy millennials and man up.

And why in the good Christ is there a cardboard cutout of Boris Johnson in the background? Did Currie forget to hide her DIY body pillow? She does seem keen on building her own.

Our resident Bad Faith user often floats in acting superior about why Irish people talk about British politics and British concerns; but JFC it's hard to look at a neighbour who, rightly or wrongly, has been so intrinsically connected with Ireland and the Irish - and not shed a tear that its population are hitting a level of appalling penury for a G7 country.

Spoke to my own sister over in Glasgow over the weekend and, relatively comfortable middle-class they might be, they're going to have to use their life savings to pay bills in the winter. I's so bad here, but it's exponentially worse across the water and its' heart-breaking.

Brussels Sprout · 05-09-2022 2:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574512#Comment_119574512

Nice little dig at the younger generations as well.

ancapailldorcha · 05-09-2022 3:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574422#Comment_119574422

The dark side of being a free-trading, individualistic nation is that if the individual ends up in dire straits, they can go whistle. It's the strongest form of this ideology that was exported en masse to the thirteen colonies and we can see the results today.

It always amuses me that the NHS exists but moreso that it's the closest thing the UK has to a universal religion. Nobody knows how it was founded and few when. It's tied to Attlee and the Labour party and, were it not an inheritance of the postwar period, the idea of it today would be seen as pure Stalinism.

Meanwhile, people continuously vote for a party that ideologically opposed the existence of the state as a whole, particularly the NHS where various insurance-based equivalents exist in other countries.

I think they're assuming that people will just take it and carry on. I doubt the French would take it that way but I'm not one to opine on that sort of thing. The UK has a long established class system whereas the French seem much more prone to demonstrations when things go awry or may do so.

To conclude with a pic:

https://twitter.com/BestForBritain/status/1566776040122466309

Larbre34 · 05-09-2022 3:13pm

Its really the worst outcome for all of Britain

She has no mandate.
She couldn't even beat the Asian fella by a cricket score, and the Tories would elect a store mannequin before an Asian.
Boris loyalists are going to be aiming for her Achilles tendons with sharp blades from moment one.
She won't hold an election to affirm her Government and her position.
She doesn't have the experience or the balls to do anything decisive against anyone.
She is going to be up against potentially the greatest peacetime civil disorder since the 1930s, which which even a good PM would struggle (yes including the NI civil rights era)
She is talentless, clueless and rudderless.

Spanish Eyes · 05-09-2022 3:55pm

She will be a surprise to everyone and be a brilliant success.

Sam Russell · 05-09-2022 4:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574934#Comment_119574934

She must be that promised unicorn grazing in the sunny uplands promised by the Brexiteers in that case.

blackcard · 05-09-2022 6:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574934#Comment_119574934

A different ringmaster but essentially it will be the same circus with mostly the same clowns as before

growleaves · 05-09-2022 6:15pm

"She has no mandate."

Prime Ministers receive a mandate from Parliament. It's not the United States.

ancapailldorcha · 05-09-2022 6:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575636#Comment_119575636

Yes and no. It's not but the flavour of the past few GE's, especially 2019 has been... presidential. The contest was focused on Corbyn v Johnson and their beliefs and ideologies. The only time anyone else got a look in was on radio and TV interviews but main focus was always on the two main men.

05-09-2022 6:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575636#Comment_119575636

you’re right in academic terms. In real life, it is effectively a presidential process now. So I don’t think it’s wrong in practice to say she has no mandate, even if technically an incorrect statement

and in this case it’s even more convoluted. She received her mandate from members of the party, who had been given that power by a ridiculous rule. Not directly from members of parliament.

Sam Russell · 05-09-2022 6:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575669#Comment_119575669

Well she got a poor vote from the Tory MPs and certainly not a majority.

So not a majority of the Tory MPs voted for her to be PM - preferring Rishak, and the Tories were elected by a minority of the electorate in 2019 GE.

Well that is how democracy is practised in the UK.

05-09-2022 6:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575686#Comment_119575686

Your first point is correct. She did not receive a mandate directly from her MPs.

Your second point is exactly how democracy works….substantially more people voted for the tories than any other party. They got 44% of the vote. The people who didn’t vote have no say in the matter

breezy1985 · 05-09-2022 6:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575708#Comment_119575708

Its not the people who didn't vote are the problem in the UK. You can win an election with a minority of the counted votes because they have no PR.

hotmail.com · 05-09-2022 7:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574346#Comment_119574346

Can Irish people enter that competition? It's likely it will do well here too.

hotmail.com · 05-09-2022 7:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575659#Comment_119575659

Presumably you don't bother with local media in Britain which was more focused on local candidates and local issues.

quokula · 05-09-2022 7:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575708#Comment_119575708

That’s not how democracy works - if it was then Sinn Fein would be single-handedly running the Irish government right now.

Fortunately we have a proper electoral system in this country where parliament make up is pretty much proportional to voting.

In the UK you have a party who won a minority of the vote in government with a huge majority, having gained that mandate largely through a cult of personality for their leader, now being led by an entirely different leader that neither parliament, a majority of Conservative MPs, or the public at large wanted.

Brussels Sprout · 05-09-2022 7:28pm

Anyone know who's like to get the big jobs tomorrow?

I heard rumours that Kwasi Kwarteng will likely be Chancellor but that's all.

Will Dorries and JRM be rewarded for their early loyalty with cabinet seats?

Will Priti Patel keep her job?

Will an olive branch offer be made to Sunak?

Larbre34 · 05-09-2022 7:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575636#Comment_119575636

Then why didn't Parliament choose the successor, not 80,000 old folk?

Besides, even Parliamentary democracies understand the difference between being elected and having a mandate. Just look at Boris himself, he called an election based on the Brexit deal he had negotiated and was returned handsomely. Thats a mandate. Anything Truss does at variance with the last Tory manifesto, she has no mandate for and neither have the Tory MPs who may back her policies.

Larbre34 · 05-09-2022 7:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575941#Comment_119575941

Patel just resigned from her job.

A Truss enemy to the core, who I will imagine join the Boris plotters immediately.

That said, if you think Patel was bad, Sturmbannführer Suella Braverman is being tipped for the Home Office, so that'll be fruity quick enough.

Nody · 05-09-2022 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575941#Comment_119575941

Posted by @Strazdas two pages back here. In short yes; and makes Boris cabinet look capable which is scary...

Capt'n Midnight · 05-09-2022 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575636#Comment_119575636

50 out of 357 Tory MPs gave her a vote in the first round.

50 out of 650 MPs is a 7.7% mandate from Parliament.

Shelga · 05-09-2022 8:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575957#Comment_119575957

Yeah, I think it’ll be Suella Braverman for Home Secretary. Horrifying.

tinytobe · 05-09-2022 8:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575942#Comment_119575942

It'll be interesting to see Truss risking a trade war with the EU whilst facing a recession at home. Truss is what I would call "available". Back in the days, she was an ardent Remainer, now she's a Brexiteer.

Beechwoodspark · 05-09-2022 8:49pm

Patel has packed off to the backbenches. I doubt she’ll be missed by many.

Beechwoodspark · 05-09-2022 8:49pm

Truss is a woeful speaker. Awful.

Larbre34 · 05-09-2022 9:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576299#Comment_119576299

Only gone for now. She's regrouping for her own tilt at the top job, maybe as leader of the opposition in time. Mark my words.

Furze99 · 05-09-2022 9:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576304#Comment_119576304

I wouldn't be so quick to write her off. She clearly has several Boris traits - the ability to chop & change and take whatever policy seems expedient in the moment. She hasn't got his charisma and charm but if that means she avoids the worst excesses that the charming rogue engaged in, there could be little to trip her up. She's clearly also ambitious and cares little for what the public or press say of her.

Events and cost of living protests could crash her but if she manages those adroitly, she might be round for quite a while. Had to double take when I see she's only 47, looks a deal older - so has age on her side as well...

Might not be great for wee little Ireland here, as that's all we need.

breezy1985 · 05-09-2022 10:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576610#Comment_119576610

If she doesn't care what the public say why does she keep changing her stance on key issues ?

ArmaniJeanss · 05-09-2022 11:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575941#Comment_119575941

Dorries quits according to 'source close to Dorries' in The Independent. Nadine Dorries to quit as culture secretary and return to backbenches | The Independent

'To return to the backbenches' according to the story, although there is a rumoured peerage on the way in Johnsons exit honours list.

Tom Mann Centuria · 06-09-2022 8:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577022#Comment_119577022

To keep the media on side I expect. Uncle Rupert and his buddies run the show after all. Talking of which, Dennis Potter saw the way the country was going before he died. He nails it I think, we're consumers now, not citizens.

https://twitter.com/MichaelWarbur17/status/1566478666787422215?t=M97Z1tvuvGl3zXsWW7k48Q&s=19

tinytobe · 06-09-2022 8:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119576299#Comment_119576299

Patel will be sent back to Africa. Uganda, is that where she's from?

Seth Brundle · 06-09-2022 8:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577653#Comment_119577653

She was born and raised in London.

tinytobe · 06-09-2022 8:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577670#Comment_119577670

I thought she was from East Africa?

ancapailldorcha · 06-09-2022 8:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577671#Comment_119577671

She's English but her family are Ugandan and Bengali.

pixelburp · 06-09-2022 8:26am

"We're not citizens, we're consumers". if Potter thought that was true back in 1994, imagine how he'd perceive today. Every facet of our Western lives has become commodified, monetised and abstracted into something for us to merely consume; Christ, Potter wouldn't even be writing scripts anymore - but "content". His Netflix mini-series buried by the Netflix algorithm after a couple of days released.

Seth Brundle · 06-09-2022 8:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577671#Comment_119577671

You thought wrong.

Now serious posts, please!

tinytobe · 06-09-2022 8:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577681#Comment_119577681

What's the case with the conservative party and the current UK government is they wanted more ministers with a background from various commonwealth countries. The Johnson government was notable of that. However, they wanted those who opposed the EU as well.

VinLieger · 06-09-2022 8:32am

Laura K is having to reset her show thanks to the reaction from team truss to Joe Lycetts fantastic performance

https://inews.co.uk/news/media/bbc-reset-laura-kuenssberg-show-joe-lycetts-live-tv-ambush-truss-incandescent-1833395

Honestly if shes this thin skinned about some fairly simple and hilarious satire then shes gonna be eaten alive by whats to come. It is pretty hilarious that they claim the BBC is lefty after the cake walk interview Laura K gave her. At this rate anything less than GB news worship seems to be deemed as harsh unforgivable criticism.

Seth Brundle · 06-09-2022 8:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577697#Comment_119577697

Johnson appointed people who would parrot his nonsense whilst making him look good. Can you think of anyone with any talent in Johnson's cabinet? They were not chosen because of background but were chosen because they weren't vocal in their opposition to him (anyone who opposed him was dealt with).

Dont forget, the Tories don't care what people think. They've made this abundantly clear over recent years. The cabinet wasnt chosen to make them look as if they cared about ethnicity.

Seth Brundle · 06-09-2022 8:55am

As we had been discussing Patel, it is noteworthy that she stepped down (rather than was sacked) on the first day of the High Court legal challenge to her (as Home Sec) Rwandan deportation policy.

However before jumping ship, she committed tens of millions more to the cause...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/05/priti-patel-commits-funding-rwanda-migrant-plan-three-years/

tinytobe · 06-09-2022 9:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577714#Comment_119577714

At least Johnson had entertainment value. I could imagine an evening out in the pub with Johnson must have been fun, but that's all.

Politically the UK is finished anyway. Who would take them serious anymore? The Tories were probably a good choice in the John Major years, but not anymore.

The problem is Brexit and economic isolation, together with constantly deviating from agreements and contracts they themselves negotiated ( Northern Ireland ).

Makes one wonder what's the point of negotiating? Truss is just the female form of Johnson, without the entertainment value.

Tom Mann Centuria · 06-09-2022 9:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577836#Comment_119577836

You think Johnson would waste the steam off his piss on someone not from his class? Not a chance, unless you're serving him drinks you wouldn't even register.

Brussels Sprout · 06-09-2022 10:31am

It's great that Patel and Dorries are gone. They should have been nowhere near the cabinet. Dorries for being a moron and Patel for being a sadistic, corrupt bully.

Suella Braverman as Home Secretary is absolutely mind boggling. I remember seeing her on Question Time a few years ago, on some Brexit debate, and I couldn't believe the nonsense she was coming up with. She was like a Daily Express Headline come to life playing to the lowest common denominator. I was horrified when she subsequently became AG. God only knows what kind of damage she's going to do as Home Secretary. The UK seems about two more Tory governments away from bringing back hanging.

pixelburp · 06-09-2022 7:04pm

Well, Reese-Mogg is unfortunately still around, and now in charge of UK Energy.

And, yup, he's one of those Climate Change Deniers; the idiots who can't tell the difference between weather and climate. Lord save us from the overeducated academics pontificating on affairs beyond their century.

Rees-Mogg has claimed that “climate alarmism” is responsible for high energy prices and that it is unrealistic for scientists to project future changes to the climate because meteorologists struggle to correctly predict the weather.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/06/jacob-rees-mogg-climate-alarmism-uk-energy-brief

Brussels Sprout · 06-09-2022 7:07pm

A few interesting asides on the diversity of the new cabinet:

Liz Truss becomes the third female Tory leader and PM.
It's going to be the first time that none of the top 4 jobs have been held by a white man.
Also it'll be 4 Chancellors in a row now who are the sons of emigrants.

The Tories are a lot of things but at least they don't seem to have an internal ceiling when it comes to these things