Britain - The Official Thread

  • Thread starter Ross
  • 12,481 comments
  • 500,890 views

How will you vote in the 2019 UK General Election?

  • The Brexit Party

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Change UK/The Independent Group

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Conservative Party

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • Green Party

    Votes: 2 5.0%

  • Labour Party

    Votes: 11 27.5%

  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 8 20.0%

  • Other (Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland)

    Votes: 3 7.5%

  • Other Independents

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other Parties

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Spoiled Ballot

    Votes: 2 5.0%

  • Will Not/Cannot Vote

    Votes: 11 27.5%
  • Total voters
    40
  • Poll closed .
Liquid
Straw poll:

In light of "Mother" Theresa May's apparent confirmation on Wednesday, do you:

- Think the current "choose a party, that party chooses its own leader" process is fair?
- Want a general election in light of that at all?

Major and Brown were two other "unelected" Prime Ministers.
Click to expand...

Given her love of Internet surveillance, can we call her "Big Mother"? :nervous:
 
Roger the Horse
It could potentially make a huge difference to a huge number of people's lives, mainly with regards to employment (many businesses may move jobs abroad,WHY? THE COST OF MOVING ABROAD TO GAIN PAYING A SMALLER WAGE TO A DIFFERENT WORKFORCE IS HUGE, THEY MIGHT BUY MATERIALS FROM ABROAD BUT ISN'T THAT WHAT HAPPENS NOW? THE COST OF MATERIALS WON'T CHANGE IF THE SUPPLIER WANTS TO KEEP THE BUSINESS. people may find it harder to come to the UK and get jobs there or move to the EU and get jobs there);NO ONE IS STOPPED FROM LEAVING THE UK OR COMING HERE IF THEY DO IT THROUGH THE CORRECT PROCEDURES. But why should any country accept people who are not going to help said country by working paying taxes etc. but also on many other levels. What happens to British nationals living in the EU, or to EU citizens living in the UK? What happens to British citizens whose partners are EU citizens? Will they be forcibly separated from their families? All of these questions are still wide open at the moment, and many are understandably worried. NO families will be separated and no one will be forced to leave if they have the correct paperwork and have followed the correct procedures on arrival, I am sure brits living abroad will not have to leave the said country unless the eu in their childish ways change the laws to have another kick at Britain for leaving and try get brits deported back to Britain, that I wouldn't put past them.

The drop in the value of the pound will make the cost of living more expensive for many, while the end of EU investment could cut off a lifeline for many of Britain's poorest communities. The economic outcomes will hit everyone to some degree.So in a personal way you or I would have to go shopping at Tesco instead of m&s were brits we manage it's not going to the dark ages over again with sentries over the allotments to stop pillaging. The poorest folk already have to watch every penny so no difference to them apart from they might have to choose not to buy a loaf for a while, I am sure they will manage. If the government used the money it gets in correctly they could help the poorer more whilst there temporarily out of work instead of jumping on people with disabilities and those struggling to get a job by making them feel like criminals and employing companies like Atos to take the pi** out of them. Helping people while there down is correct as long as they don't start extracting the urine. The country should save around 250billion so let the government help the poor with a bit of that instead of giving it away for no return.

And then beyond that, on a cultural level, Britain's stock has been greatly devalued. Where once many saw sophisticated Great Britain, many now see only bigoted Little England. That's not necessarily an accurate viewpoint, but it's one that sticks. Many who voted Remain now feel detached from their national identity, ashamed to be associated with those racist fringes by their country alone.Bigoted for believing in what they think is right? You can thank the remain group for slapping that label on britains people. And to feel detached because they got out voted is crazy it's democracy accept the majority and move on. and to say people only voted on an immigration view racists you called em is ludicrous, yes immigration is a problem the country cannot afford any more people to clog up the health service and housing problem, what is wrong in brits putting brits first in Britain? it is not racist it is exactly the same as you putting your family first before a family you don't know.
I am all for people from other countries coming here if they are going to make a difference to this country in a good way surgeons doctors etc I am just not happy at criminals and spongers who have never paid a penny into the uk pot coming here and milking the system. We do need a different policy on immigration and I am hoping now britain is out a british fair policy can be worked out not a eu one which is completely useless to anyone involved apart from spongers. I would be the first to offer help to refugees from war torn countries and am certainly not racisit but when the services Britain offers are close to breaking point why should we accept immigrants who do nothing but take out of the pot and use all the services. We have enough of our own idle chavs who refuse to work and take take take in this country we don't need them importing too.

Meanwhile, Britain, as of Wednesday, the UK will have a Prime Minister with very little accountability. Theresa May quietly opposed brexit, giving her an immediate scapegoat for anything which goes wrong under her leadership. Meanwhile, her apparent belief that the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights is absolutely terrifying. There you have it another mp covering their own backside. The human rights is a very debatable one with many pros and many cons it does need tweaking a lot but maybe she has got a fair human rights act up her sleeve to put forward to Britain we don't know so until we do lets not dwell on scaremongering and pessimism lets wait and see if our government who supposed to do there best for us comes up trumps.

Overall, the UK has a completely dysfunctional political system propped up by a barely democratic electoral system and a horribly misinformed public. If that weren't the case leaving the EU wouldn't necessarily be a particularly bad thing (although I'd personally struggle to argue in favour of it), but with that being the case, it seems a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...
No arguing with that but when the blind lead the blind it is usually disaster . I agree the political system is dysfunctional to say the least but I don't know the answer to correcting it, maybe employing a fine set of auditors and accountants to have an input at governing instead of any buffoon who can soft talk and lie through their teeth to get votes. The british public is misinformed and on that they can only vote on what info they do have to make up their minds.

Please accept my quoting and inserting skills are not the best so expand it all to read, cheers.
 
UKMikey
Although I understand what you're getting at regarding her apparent saintliness this might be a rather unfortunate choice of nickname given recent events surrounding her and her husband's inability to have children.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I'd never read of that. The intention didn't lie on her being a mother but more on her namesake's holy appellation, which happens to be a coincidence. There aren't many famous Theresas out there.

As DK points out, she's one for Orwellian snooping and there's every chance some type of nickname will stick because...

DK
Given her love of Internet surveillance, can we call her "Big Mother"? :nervous:
Click to expand...

...the next Prime Minister is the Home Secretary who brought in the Snoopers Charter. And she brokered a deal in secret with Saudi Arabia regarding Britain help run Saudi prisons. Even the Justice Secretary himself Michael freaking Gove was against that.

Hooray.
 
Liquid
To be honest, I'd never read of that. The intention didn't lie on her being a mother but more on her namesake's holy appellation, which happens to be a coincidence. There aren't many famous Theresas out there.
Click to expand...
Probably it's only big news in the UK since her rival pulled out after making remarks which could (remotely) have been construed as derogatory to May.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36760986
 
I saw the headline 'Eagle tries to carry off Australian boy' and thought this would surely spell the end of her challenge for the Labour leadership: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-36771205

Meanwhile, Theresa May will enter 10 Downing Street tomorrow as the UK's Prime Minister and, according to BBC News, will "assemble her new cabinet". You would think the Prime Minister wouldn't have to build her own furniture!
 
PeterJB
No.

Yes.
Click to expand...
But won't that just generate a new Prime Minister, who would again be the leader of the party we voted with the largest representation but who was voted for by their own party and not by the electorate?

We never vote for a PM. They're just the person the party has voted to lead them.

Besides, we didn't have a snap general election when Brown replaced Blair. Although the incredible damage he did to the economy in that time is a good argument for not allowing it to happen again.
 
I think a general election right now would be pointless, with labour in the state they are the Tories would probably just win by a bigger margin, and Theresa May would still be PM.
 
Spurgy 777
I think a general election right now would be pointless, with labour in the state they are the Tories would probably just win by a bigger margin, and Theresa May would still be PM.
Click to expand...
I agree but I think some people were looking to hoist Mrs May upon her own petard after she called for a general election when Gordon Brown became prime minister in 2007.

Meanwhile satirical magazine Private Eye had some interesting things to say about Mrs Leadsom's record - sounds like we may have dodged a bullet.
 
Last edited:
Famine
But won't that just generate a new Prime Minister, who would again be the leader of the party we voted with the largest representation but who was voted for by their own party and not by the electorate?

We never vote for a PM. They're just the person the party has voted to lead them.

Besides, we didn't have a snap general election when Brown replaced Blair. Although the incredible damage he did to the economy in that time is a good argument for not allowing it to happen again.
Click to expand...

It might to good for us to have a system more similar the American one where we have more of a say in who is actually head of government. I can see why party members can vote for their leader when they're not the party in power, but I feel that when it comes to choosing a new leader of the party who is also going to lead the country, that the people that they're serving should have a say in that too.
 
PeterJB
No.



Yes.
Click to expand...

What's the point of a general election? Labour are in a state to stand for an election as much as Del boy Trotter is likely to replace Obama. Tories would win by a landslide larger than before.
To elect the leader of the tories is a job best left to the tory party then at least when it goes tits up they can't blame the misinformed racist public again.
She will fill her pockets and in a few years when it all goes wrong she will be replaced by someone else to not learn from the mistakes and do it all again que sera sera.
 
Famine
We never vote for a PM. They're just the person the party has voted to lead them.
Click to expand...

I understand that, that's what the process is and has been since 1911, but many people seemingly don't know this or disagree with it on the principle that the head of the executive/government should not be decided by what is essentially a closed ballot, on the principle that the Prime Minister should only be decided in tandem with a nationwide election.

The Prime Minister changing without a general election has become a rarity. Of the 28 different Prime Ministerial terms in the 20th century, and excluding resignations due to ill health, it has only happened 6 times since 1900 (Law 1922, Baldwin 1935, Churchill 1940) but 3 of those times have been in the last 25 years (Major 1990, Brown 2007, May 2016). Two of them in the last 10.

Living memory obviously takes precedence over history books and perhaps people think it's been happening too much. Especially when, as people have pointed out, May wanted Gordon Brown to call an election in 2007.

I brought this up kind of away from any current politicking, although it's obviously a major factor, and wanted to think more about what the system and the process is in the United Kingdom. I think most of the "Great Officers Of State" are redundant sinecures from a more royalist time. And as the last two elections demonstrated, no-one can agree on how elections should be conducted but a lot of people think they should change.
 
Last edited:
Should May be totally trusted to carry out the Brexit mandated by the referendum? Or could she be excused for reneging on the whole thing because so many think it may bring on economic doom and pan-European political disaster?
 
Dotini
Should May be totally trusted to carry out the Brexit mandated by the referendum?
Click to expand...

It's rather telling that none of the Exit leaders have pounced upon the position of Prime Minister. They seemingly don't have the stones to do it, don't have a plan to do it, or are politickers who are waiting for someone else to do their dirty work. On that last point some would say clever politickers. I'd call them cowards.

Dotini
Or could she be excused for reneging on the whole thing because so many think it may bring on economic doom and pan-European political disaster?
Click to expand...

The referendum was dipping the elbow in the bathwater. An open question with no legal or executive ramifications. As far as I am aware, the Prime Minister is under no obligation to take Britain out of Europe. May was nominally a member of the Remain campaign but didn't actively canvas. She stayed out of the limelight and avoided any of the fan-hitting matter to further her chances of usurpering the party leadership and with it, the Prime Ministership. Whether she will actually do it is another matter.

Sure, our continental counterparts will be cross at us for umming and ahhing (again) but free exercise of opinion is surely a pillar of EU membership. If other countries are scared of letting their populations say whether they like the EU or not, the question is... why?
 
Liquid
I If other countries are scared of letting their populations say whether they like the EU or not, the question is... why?
Click to expand...
It's not entirely sure that the people can be trusted all the time. Supposedly this is why democracy exists as an aspirational or transitory experience, and not as a ruling political paradigm.
 
Liquid
It's rather telling that none of the Exit leaders have pounced upon the position of Prime Minister. They seemingly don't have the stones to do it, don't have a plan to do it, or are politickers who are waiting for someone else to do their dirty work. On that last point some would say clever politickers. I'd call them cowards.



The referendum was dipping the elbow in the bathwater. An open question with no legal or executive ramifications. As far as I am aware, the Prime Minister is under no obligation to take Britain out of Europe. May was nominally a member of the Remain campaign but didn't actively canvas. She stayed out of the limelight and avoided any of the fan-hitting matter to further her chances of usurpering the party leadership and with it, the Prime Ministership. Whether she will actually do it is another matter.

Sure, our continental counterparts will be cross at us for umming and ahhing (again) but free exercise of opinion is surely a pillar of EU membership. If other countries are scared of letting their populations say whether they like the EU or not, the question is... why?
Click to expand...
What are you talking about? Gove ran. Stabbing the Toff in back apparently in the process. Who else did you expect? Farange?

If I was to guess, I'd say May will "negotiate" a less than acceptable deal and then, with regret, choose to keep us in the EU. I would pay money to be near Farange at that point.
 
Why is Theresa May wearing a chromed bike chain around her neck? Blinging! :lol:

upload_2016-7-13_18-6-14.png
 
Lookalike Theresa May.jpg
lookalike darth sidious.jpg


May... the force be with you? Some wags have been commenting on our beloved new leader's passing resemblance to Senator "Darth Sidious" Palpatine of the Star Wars movies but I thnk they're way way off.

She isn't even wearing a hoodie.
 
Now he'll be able to clinch all those dozens of trade deals we desperately need. Hurrah! :(

(Looking on the brightside, at least it wasn't Nigel Farage...)
 
David Davis has been appointed Secretary For Exiting The European Union.

It looks like it could well be happening.
 

Latest Posts

Back