Snap General Election called

[Zhivago]

Tories putting party interest before national, as usual

[Sandydragon]

Tories putting party interest before national, as usual

You could argue that. But I don't think that going into the Brexit negotiations with a thin majority is going to help the national interest either.

[Digby]

I would like May to explain why this decision wasn't taken a month back so it could've been wrapped up with the elections on the 4th May. It's not maybe much of a point but we're are paying now for two polling days rather than one, and what really has changed? About the only thing which might have changed is we're triggered article 50 and the EU has been unwilling to discuss a new trade deal until the divorce has been sorted, so is this a concern that EU talks will run much longer than David Davies and his hopes for concurrent talks on leaving and the new trade deal, and not not going into an election in 2020 saddled with delays and a deal emerging which may piss just about everyone off, and too not going into 2020 with the millstone of how much money we pay the EU in the divorce? This way May can campaign on getting Brexit done, and then agree to hand over a large sum of cash without a big election to follow.

Still though even if that last is true, what has changed since a month back that the snap election couldn't have been rolled up into the existing polling plans?

I suspect that the realisation has dawned that the EU will want to play hardball and the resultant negotiations won't end as happily as some suspected. Personally, I think I would have preferred a GE to be called prior to Article 50 being triggered as 2 years is short enough without buggering about with party politics more than normally. May inherited a poor situation and she ideally needs her own mandate, and preferably a larger majority so the right wing can't hold her to ransom too much. A GE might also help to settle the question over what sort of Brexit the public wanted, although I suspect it largely won't.

If they simply didn't realise the EU wouldn't acquiesce and do exactly as they wanted then it's an inept display of politics which will piss many, many millions up the wall, normally one might expect that to come with a cost but Corbyn is the gift which keeps on giving to the Tories

[Zhivago]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

[Digby]

Tories putting party interest before national, as usual

You could argue that. But I don't think that going into the Brexit negotiations with a thin majority is going to help the national interest either.

They probably should extend their lead, but a lot of Labour's seats will prove (or should prove) really hard to take, Scotland is likely to remain as is, Wales isn't going to go Tory, so it's down to who wins out of Lib Dems Vs Tories and Tories Vs Labour.

It's interesting though, will they come out of this with an increased majority, and will they get backed into a corner by the lunatics who will not want to honour previous agreements and hand over £60 billion or so for access to the single market during the course of the election?

[Zhivago]

German elections mean that we're not really wasting time with this election, apart from our own time to organise. This election should be dominated by the question of what Brexit we should have. I expect it will essentially be Hard (Tory/UKIP), Soft (Labour), None (Libdems/SNP)

[Digby]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

That could also be an untenable situation if everyone else does agree to it. Which is what I'd do, and then just stick a tub of lard on the conservative podium

[Zhivago]

Bet we get a hung parliament.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

Or what a quite accountably un-American move it might be.

In the United Kingdom we do not elect party spokespeople on the strength of their ability to show-boat on television; we elect our own local representatives and then let them lose to (hopefully) fight our corner in the House.

[Zhivago]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

Or what a quite accountably un-American move it might be.

In the United Kingdom we do not elect party spokespeople on the strength of their ability to show-boat on television; we elect our own local representatives and then let them lose to (hopefully) fight our corner in the House.

Name me a country that don't do TV debates.

[canta_brian]

Bet we get a hung parliament.

That could be best case scenario. I can't see labour holding enough seats to see this happen. They were sort of pro remain but some of their traditional strongholds were very pro leave. Can't see them reconciling these two positions. I suspect Corbyn will bang on about the nhs and building a society together, forgetting that most British people are only really interested in their own self interest

[Zhivago]

Bet we get a hung parliament.

That could be best case scenario. I can't see labour holding enough seats to see this happen. They were sort of pro remain but some of their traditional strongholds were very pro leave. Can't see them reconciling these two positions. I suspect Corbyn will bang on about the nhs and building a society together, forgetting that most British people are only really interested in their own self interest

If that is the case then they deserve to wallow in the wake of their foolishness.

[OptimisticJock]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

Or what a quite accountably un-American move it might be.

In the United Kingdom we do not elect party spokespeople on the strength of their ability to show-boat on television; we elect our own local representatives and then let them lose to (hopefully) fight our corner in the House.

I fucking detest them. Then the media going mad for who "won" the debate. They were like Britain's got talent crossed with question time.

Now if it was like ninja warrior or maybe even the UFC I'd be for it.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Name me a country that don't do TV debates.

Somalia.

Or South Sudan - I don't think they've got TVs in South Sudan.

TV debates do not add to our democratic process. If May were televised alongside the other candidates for the Maidenhead seat, then it might add to the democratic process in Maidenhead (As long as it didn't clash with Eastenders or TOWIE), but its feck all use in exposing the relative merits or deficiencies of the candidates in the other 649 constituencies of the UK.

We'll be stuck with this shower for another 5 years so it can't all be about fecking BREXIT.

[Stones of granite]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

Or what a quite accountably un-American move it might be.

In the United Kingdom we do not elect party spokespeople on the strength of their ability to show-boat on television; we elect our own local representatives and then let them lose to (hopefully) fight our corner in the House.

But that doesn't matter as PMTM is clearly a string puppet as evidenced by the weird way she moves and the stilted way she talks. Sometimes when the light is just right I imagine I can see the strings.

[Digby]

Apparently May won't be taking part in TV debates. What an unaccountable cowardly move that would be.

Or what a quite accountably un-American move it might be.

In the United Kingdom we do not elect party spokespeople on the strength of their ability to show-boat on television; we elect our own local representatives and then let them lose to (hopefully) fight our corner in the House.

In theory perhaps, in practice huge swathes couldn't come close to telling you who their MP is, and certainly not who their rivals at the local level are, and they simply vote a party or perhaps a party leader.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

But that doesn't matter as PMTM is clearly a string puppet as evidenced by the weird way she moves and the stilted way she talks. Sometimes when the light is just right I imagine I can see the strings.

The way she carries her head reminds me of one of those rhino costumes you see the true fecking lunatics wearing on the London marathon.

In theory perhaps, in practice huge swathes couldn't come close to telling you who their MP is, and certainly not who their rivals at the local level are, and they simply vote a party or perhaps a party leader.

Perhaps if more prospective MPs dressed up in rhino costumes like Justin, then the electorate would know who they were and our democracy would be enriched?

[OptimisticJock]

i3uyf.jpg

[Stones of granite]

I'm becoming more convinced that this announcement was made so that Gatland can get his out tomorrow under cover.

[Digby]

Perhaps if more prospective MPs dressed up in rhino costumes like Justin, then the electorate would know who they were and our democracy would be enriched?

A republican in name only eh, that'll never stand to electoral scrutiny

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Perhaps if more prospective MPs dressed up in rhino costumes like Justin, then the electorate would know who they were and our democracy would be enriched?

A republican in name only eh, that'll never stand to electoral scrutiny

... so that government of the mad feckers in rhino costumes, by the mad feckers in rhino costumes, for the mad feckers in rhino costumes, shall not perish from the earth

[Mellsblue]

I can't abide the leaders debates. Everyone agreed with Nick in 2010, except they didn't as the 2015 results showed. Being the pious, 'I'm above it all saint' in the debates is a difficult position to maintain when you actually have to make some tough decisions. The realities of actually governing a country bear no resemblance to winning a debate. Debates are about taking politics down to the lowest common denominator, about petty points scoring and about skewing the debate back to the issue on which you are strongest. If people actually took the hours they waste watching debates and instead read manifestos, checked voting records, checked candidates' declared positions on various policies etc etc we'd all be better for it.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Rhino costumes would be cheaper!

[switchskier]

Name me a country that don't do TV debates.

Somalia.

Or South Sudan - I don't think they've got TVs in South Sudan.

TV debates do not add to our democratic process. If May were televised alongside the other candidates for the Maidenhead seat, then it might add to the democratic process in Maidenhead (As long as it didn't clash with Eastenders or TOWIE), but its feck all use in exposing the relative merits or deficiencies of the candidates in the other 649 constituencies of the UK.

We'll be stuck with this shower for another 5 years so it can't all be about fecking BREXIT.

I hate to break it to you but

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.voanew ... 09072.html

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Well I am man enough to admit when I am bettered so lets follow the example of that bastion of peaceful, progressive, secular democracy - Somalia!