UK General Election cheat sheet:

[tzor]

Didn't Tom Jones move to California because Labour won back in the day?

I had to pull Tom Jones record to verify this ...

It wasn't pretty.

[waauw]

I'm going to laugh my ass off if May wins without a majority.

[mrswdk]

Obviously a conspiracy. Theresa May was against leaving the EU and has now run a totally underwhelming campaign, trashing her majority in Parliament and thereby allowing her to soften her position on Brexit by using the excuse of a coalition with the DUP.

Establishment - 1
Democracy - 0

[Dukasaur]

48 Hours until we have another friend in power!



Gooooood mornnninnnngg Estonia!

You lose.


Estonia forever!

[jonesthecurl]

I'm going to laugh my ass off if May wins without a majority.

clunk! [sound of ass hitting floor]

[jonesthecurl]

Didn't Tom Jones move to California because Labour won back in the day?

No relation.

Really, how many people called Jones can there be from Wales?

Your profile pic looks a bit like the guy too actually.

He changed his name to Jones from Woodward. Probably to sound more Welsh. Or maybe because he was a fan of Henry Fielding.

[mrswdk]

[mrswdk]

I've left off the political parties in Northern Ireland because that's more complicated than a cheat sheet needs to go into. Only Corbyn and May have a real chance of being the next PM, but the other parties might have a role in how decisions are passed.

Ironic.

[Symmetry]

I've left off the political parties in Northern Ireland because that's more complicated than a cheat sheet needs to go into. Only Corbyn and May have a real chance of being the next PM, but the other parties might have a role in how decisions are passed.

Ironic.

Kinda- the DUP aren't forming a coalition with the Conservatives, but they are playing a role in how decisions will be passed.

[mrswdk]

For those unaware (due to Symmetry omitting them from his OP as he deemed them too irrelevant to British politics) the DUP are a Northern Irish political party the UK's governing Conservative Party are now relying on to enable them to stay in office.

[Symmetry]

For those unaware (due to Symmetry omitting them from his OP as he deemed them too irrelevant to British politics) the DUP are a Northern Irish political party the UK's governing Conservative Party are now relying on to enable them to stay in office.

Meh- not entirely correct- the Conservatives have formed a minority government. They have the tacit support of the DUP, but the DUP are not part of the government.

The DUP has ten votes in parliament that the Conservatives can rely on to push any vote in favour of Conservative policy, but that assumes no Tory rebels, and no DUP rebels, plus of course every opposing party member voting against.

The DUP are a bit toxic outside of NI politics, and pretty toxic within (They're very homophobic, and the Conservative leader in Scotland is gay), so it's a bit complicated.

[waauw]

The DUP are a bit toxic outside of NI politics, and pretty toxic within (They're very homophobic, and the Conservative leader in Scotland is gay), so it's a bit complicated.

Aaah, I see. It's all about homophobia after all.

[mrswdk]

For those unaware (due to Symmetry omitting them from his OP as he deemed them too irrelevant to British politics) the DUP are a Northern Irish political party the UK's governing Conservative Party are now relying on to enable them to stay in office.

Meh- not entirely correct- the Conservatives have formed a minority government. They have the tacit support of the DUP, but the DUP are not part of the government.

I didn't say DUP were going to be part of the government.

The DUP has ten votes in parliament that the Conservatives can rely on to push any vote in favour of Conservative policy

Only big votes on things like the budget. The DUP aren't agreeing to prop up the entire Conservative manifesto.

Not really sure what the relevance of their views on gay marriage is. Not like the DUP are going to be able to start unilaterally rolling back gay rights in the rest of the UK.

[Dukasaur]

Sometimes minority governments collapse very quickly. Other times they can be surprisingly stable.

In Canada we've had minority governments last for two years or more on five occasions: twice under Pearson, twice under Harper, and once way back in the Depression under William Lyon Mackenzie King. None of those involved the formation of an actual coalition. They all involved governing carefully enough that one didn't create a mood in the populace sufficient for anyone to want a new election.

[mrswdk]

In theory it's possible but given how contentious Brexit is and the fact the DUP don't see eye-to-eye with the Conservatives on Brexit I can't see this arrangement lasting.

[Symmetry]

Sometimes minority governments collapse very quickly. Other times they can be surprisingly stable.

In Canada we've had minority governments last for two years or more on five occasions: twice under Pearson, twice under Harper, and once way back in the Depression under William Lyon Mackenzie King. None of those involved the formation of an actual coalition. They all involved governing carefully enough that one didn't create a mood in the populace sufficient for anyone to want a new election.

This is true, but May is kinda vulnerable as PM. She had a shaky mandate to begin with- she only became PM because Cameron resigned, and she never really bothered with the electorate. The election made her seem even weaker. The Conservatives are now the party with knives out.

Having said that, their are a lot of things that surprised people about this election...

[saxitoxin]

their are a lot of things that surprised people about this election...

[riskllama]

[Symmetry]

their are a lot of things that surprised people about this election...

Mate, the Tories ran a campaign saying that Corbyn was basically a terrorist. I'm not sure that accidentally touching a boob is quite as shocking as you might think.

[saxitoxin]

their are a lot of things that surprised people about this election...

Mate, the Tories ran a campaign saying that Corbyn was basically a terrorist. I'm not sure that accidentally touching a boob is quite as shocking as you might think.

Que? I'm a Russophile, ergo, I'm a big time Corbyn supporter. I'm not shocked he's a bit grabby, I'm delighted!

Also, I like it when you call me mate.

[mrswdk]

Mate, their were a lot of surprises in the election.

[mrswdk]

Looks like the UK Government is doing a solid job of staying on message in the wake of their failed election campaign:

Theresa May signals austerity is over

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 87001.html

Austerity is NOT over, says Michael Gove

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/a ... a-10613800

Someone hire saxi on a retainer to do the Conservative Party's PR for them, they clearly need the help.

[Symmetry]

their are a lot of things that surprised people about this election...

Mate, the Tories ran a campaign saying that Corbyn was basically a terrorist. I'm not sure that accidentally touching a boob is quite as shocking as you might think.

Que? I'm a Russophile, ergo, I'm a big time Corbyn supporter. I'm not shocked he's a bit grabby, I'm delighted!

Also, I like it when you call me mate.

It's an affectionate, or at least argument-defusing term when I use it, so I'm glad you took it as meant. One of the reasons that Corbyn did so well is that the Tories threw such a lot mud at him that it kinda seemed a bit silly.

The weird thing is that by portraying him as a monster, the Conservatives got the DUP on board, and they're pretty weird.