UK Election

[nigel99 143]

I agree I don't like how it is going.

I think it goes to show that Cameron was right on the money when he said "Vote Clegg and get Brown". I know that Brown is stepping down in a few months if he stays in power.

That said a labour/liberal alliance is still short of an absolute majority as they would have 1 more seat than a conservative/DUP alliance. If the liberals do the dirty deed of standing with labour the conservatives and DUP should vote against them at Queens speech.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[shropshire 0]

I wonder what a minority Conservative government will be like [shrug] - or any minority government ... The country will (continue to) stagnate and we'll need yet another General Election by the Autumn.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[kelpdiver 2]

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Looks like the predictions of a hung parliament were accurate.

Wow nobody has anything to say on the UK election - surely JR has some interesting tidbits, now that we are like Somalia without a government in place. Maybe gun crime will go down and sharia law be declared

It's gotten remarkably poor coverage, though this may just be due to competing stories. Tennessee got so badly flooded that a couple dozen people died and it didn't even get substantial airtime, not with Greece and Thursday's market flareup.

At least you guys aren't stuck with a bad government for 4 years. If it doesn't work, you repeat the election fun sooner.

[Erroll 49]

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...now that we are like Somalia....

Well, you could consider starting to hijack a few ships - working from Penzance maybe?

[dreamdancer 0]

looking good for a coalition of the left
(who had by far the popular vote)

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[shropshire 0]

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looking good for a coalition of the left
(who had by far the popular vote)

Depends how you define ' By Far'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[dreamdancer 0]

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looking good for a coalition of the left
(who had by far the popular vote)

Depends how you define ' By Far'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/

a lib/lab coalition has 52% of the popular vote. conservatives have 36%

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[shropshire 0]

So now you are assuming that everyone that voted Lib Dem is Lefty ... which is not the case... I'm certainly not and would not vote Labour and as I didn't - I would feel cheated if my vote returns a labour government.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[dreamdancer 0]

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So now you are assuming that everyone that voted Lib Dem is Lefty ... which is not the case... I'm certainly not and would not vote Labour and as I didn't - I would feel cheated if my vote returns a labour government.

so what we need is a decent proportional representation system where everyone's vote is counted

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[shropshire 0]

Yes

And moreover ... I demand to vote on individual policies that affect me ... Not for a party with a basket of policies that I may generally support but not all of them.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[shropshire 0]

Breaking News : Well it looks like a Conservative/Lib Dem 'alliance' and Gordon is currently packing his bags .....

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[wmw999 2,121]

This morning I heard on the radio that he was trying to sweeten the pot for Labour by promising to step down in a few months if they were a primary alliance partner. I guess that was yesterday's news .

When there isn't a clear winner of the elections, does that mean that more or less tends to happen in Parliament over the next term?

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[shropshire 0]

Good question Wendy .. I don't know but assume less, as it it's more difficult to secure a majority vote for any issue raised... There would need to be more 'Horse Trading' with other parties.

It's going to be very interesting to see how things are worked out over the next few months (at least).. We have some very big problems that need to be resolved and they will take very strong leadership. .... Fingers Crossed

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[dreamdancer 0]

yep, it looks like it's swung back to a libdem/conservative 'coalition'. and we don't need 'strong' leadership we need 'fair' leadership.

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[shropshire 0]

It's politicians that we're talking about ... is 'fair' actually in their vocabulary?

and anyway... one mans' 'fair' is another mans' 'oppression'

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[dreamdancer 0]

same with 'strong'

stay away from moving propellers - they bite
blue skies from thai sky adventures
good solid response-provoking keyboarding

[shropshire 0]

Gordon Brown is currently at Buck House to resign as P.M

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[kallend 1,623]

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Good question Wendy .. I don't know but assume less, as it it's more difficult to secure a majority vote for any issue raised...

"Less is more"; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Wendy,
After an election in Parliamentary systems the PM is still in the driver's seat. If he tells the queen he can maintain the confidence of the house he can proceed. However in this case he would certainly lose the "non-confidence" motion that would be introduced by the opposition. The queen would then ask someone else (the leader of the second largest party usually) to try.
The way a hung Parliament functions is generally one of two ways. A coalition can form where members of the smaller parties are given some cabinet seats (remember cabinet ministers are drawn from the elected members), or the governing party can go it alone. In this case the PM must gain the support of other parties to get things done.
The tradition in UK is coalition while in Canada it is for minority government. The last three governments in Canada have been minority. If the government loses a money bill, a bill they deem to be a confidence motion, or an opposition raised "non-confidence" motion, the government has fallen. The Queen will ask the leader of another party to try or (usually other than right after the election) call another election.
What adds stability is that when one opposition party wants an election (up in the polls) it is often at the expense of the smaller party(ies). At least one party does not want an election unless the governing party is tanking big time and there are gains to be made by all.
In UK the position of the third party idiologically between the two main parties would seem to tend towards moderate policy whereas the position of the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats in Canada to the left end of the spectrum tends to much more slanted policy. This leads to more elections.

[remibond 0]

Cameron new PM

[jakee 1,254]

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When there isn't a clear winner of the elections, does that mean that more or less tends to happen in Parliament over the next term?

It depends on how strong the coalition is.

It will certainly be much, much more difficult for any partisan or contraversial legislation to be passed, and the attempt alone could break up the whole deal.

We may still be facing another election sooner rather than later.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[nigel99 143]

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When there isn't a clear winner of the elections, does that mean that more or less tends to happen in Parliament over the next term?

It depends on how strong the coalition is.

It will certainly be much, much more difficult for any partisan or contraversial legislation to be passed, and the attempt alone could break up the whole deal.

We may still be facing another election sooner rather than later.

What were the odds of Clegg being deputy PM! The thought never crossed my mind, that has got to be a pretty good scoop for the liberals and might be a strong incentive to hold things together. I believe there are 4 liberal cabinet ministers that can't have happened for many decades.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[shropshire 0]

It looks like the Lib Dems have pulled off a massive coup.. 6 seats in the cabinet AND deputy P.M

I don't hold with the 'You're either with us or agen us' approach spouted so much the other year (it's neither constructive nor of any practical use what so ever) and this is going to piss off a lot of people from both parties ... but fuck them. Time to shut the fuck up and get on with putting the country back together.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[nigel99 143]

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It looks like the Lib Dems have pulled off a massive coup.. 6 seats in the cabinet AND deputy P.M

I don't hold with the 'You're either with us or agen us' approach spouted so much the other year (it's neither constructive nor of any practical use what so ever) and this is going to piss off a lot of people from both parties ... but fuck them. Time to shut the fuck up and get on with putting the country back together.

Out of interest other than a nice job title what does the deputy PM do (other than punching people)?

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[pirana 0]

They have elections? Thought they had a Queen. Is she up for election? Hardly a real Queen if she has to run for election. And why don't they have a King? Did he get shit all over himself?

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley