UK has hung Parliament

[DeYaKen]

Following yesterday's election, Britain now has a parliament where no party has an overall majority.

Mrs May went to the polls thinking she would turn her slim majority into a landslide victory. Now she has lost her majority and is having to form what is, to use her own words "a coalition of Chaos."

She gambled on an unnecessary election and lost. Her days must now be numbered. That leaves the world with another question.

Who will hold the Trumpster's hand and guide him down the slope?

 

[oggbashan]

Not just 'no party has an overall majority' but no feasible alliance with minor parties can produce a coalition with an overall majority.

Except Conservative and Labour which is as unthinkable as Trump and Hilary as joint presidents!

 

[domroger]

Hung Parliament sounds like a good idea .

 

[ChloeTzang]

Not just 'no party has an overall majority' but no feasible alliance with minor parties can produce a coalition with an overall majority.

Except Conservative and Labour which is as unthinkable as Trump and Hilary as joint presidents!

What about Conservatives and DUP? That gives May a majority? And the DUP's better as an ally than the Lib Dem's I'd think. Don't know anything about the DUP tho.

 

[Hard_Rom]

If N. Ireland voted remain, how can the Conservatives expect the DUP to support them?

 

[oggbashan]

If N. Ireland voted remain, how can the Conservatives expect the DUP to support them?

They have. The Conservatives and DUP are forming/have formed a government.

It will be very fragile.

 

[oggbashan]

What about Conservatives and DUP? That gives May a majority? And the DUP's better as an ally than the Lib Dem's I'd think. Don't know anything about the DUP tho.

The Lib Dems suffered badly from their last coalition. As one of them put it "The majority party gets the credit; the minority party gets the blame".

 

[Hard_Rom]

Minority governments are never good. Unless closely aligned with opposition hard to get stuff done. We don't go with coalitions here. Biggest party just has to make individual deals with opposition on every bill. No party can trust another to form a real coalition. Lucky if they go the full 4 years. At first hint of being ahead someone pulls the plug either by non-confidence vote or dissolving parliament.

We've had 11 elected minority governments with 3 being from 2004 -11.

 

[handysr]

Except Conservative and Labour which is as unthinkable as Trump and Hilary as joint presidents!

<shudder> omg don't even joke like that. I feel a little sick now.

Hung Parliament sounds like a good idea .

Countries may differ, but usually the citizens of each have a common bond with that feeling.

 

[DeYaKen]

The Lib Dems suffered badly from their last coalition. As one of them put it "The majority party gets the credit; the minority party gets the blame".

The Lib Dems were totally outplayed during that coalition. It was obvious from the beginning. Every time there was bad news to announce it was a Lib Dem minister who made it. Even when it was not in their area of control. when there was glory to be had it went fell to a conservative to make it. However,

That isn't what lost them support though. The mere fact that they helped the conservative take power lost them much of their core support. In some parts of the country the Lib Dems were the only real opposition to the Conservatives. When their supporters saw their representatives jumping into bed with the people they had voted against the Lib Dems lost all credibility.

 

[BiAsianGirl]

They have. The Conservatives and DUP are forming/have formed a government.

It will be very fragile.

I fear a massive mess.

 

[DeYaKen]

They have. The Conservatives and DUP are forming/have formed a government.

It will be very fragile.

There are two things here that I find funny
During the campaign, the Conservatives tried to smear Corbyn. They called him a terrorist sympathiser because he had talks with Sinn Fein during the troubles. They are now depending on the support of the political wing of another Northern Ireland terrorist organisation.

Power sharing in Northern Ireland has broken down and the British government is supposed to be arbitrating between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein. How do they act as an independent arbitrator when they are totally dependent on the support of one of the parties. It's a bit like going to marriage guidance and finding that the counsellor is sleeping with your wife.

 

[CharlieB4]

I must admit I didn't follow this election as closely as the Trump/Clinton sideshow across the Atlantic but my read from a bloody long way away was Labour thought they had no chance so they threw caution to the wind and promised a lot of free stuff that the "rich" would have to pay for.

They were helped by a conservative leader with the charisma of an undertaker and a " born to rule" attitude.

How far off am I?

 

[magicalmoments]

What about Conservatives and DUP? That gives May a majority? And the DUP's better as an ally than the Lib Dem's I'd think. Don't know anything about the DUP tho.

A coalition of the conservatives and DUP will create a Conservative United Negotiating Team. The acronym will give you a fair idea of what the DUP are.

 

[Bramblethorn]

They have. The Conservatives and DUP are forming/have formed a government.

It will be very fragile.

My understanding is that May announced they'd be forming a coalition before she'd actually talked to DUP to find out their conditions. This seems like bad negotiating practice; I certainly hope she's not going to be called on to negotiate anything else important in the next few years. *cough*

The implications for Northern Ireland are concerning. The NI ramifications of Brexit were messy enough even before this election, and having DUP in government is likely to exacerbate it. Sinn Féin have indicated that they'd see this as a breach of the Good Friday accords.

 

[oggbashan]

I must admit I didn't follow this election as closely as the Trump/Clinton sideshow across the Atlantic but my read from a bloody long way away was Labour thought they had no chance so they threw caution to the wind and promised a lot of free stuff that the "rich" would have to pay for.

They were helped by a conservative leader with the charisma of an undertaker and a " born to rule" attitude.

How far off am I?

You need to add in the worst Conservative Party manifesto in decades. It annoyed and worried their traditional older and/or rural supporters without attracting new ones. It identified problems but the solutions were stupidly painful. They promised doom, gloom, and much more austerity when austerity is already hurting. They didn't promise anything good - unlike the Labour Party who promised jam, cream and cakes for everyone with the rich paying for it.

Until the Conservative manifesto was published the predictions of a large majority were probably achievable. Once it was launched it was an obvious disaster and May's U-turn (that wasn't) didn't actually convince anyone that the Conservatives were listening.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Until the Conservative manifesto was published the predictions of a large majority were probably achievable. Once it was launched it was an obvious disaster and May's U-turn (that wasn't) didn't actually convince anyone that the Conservatives were listening.

Speaking of manifestos, I thought Lord Buckethead had some good ideas here:

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2017/06/09/all-hail-lord-buckethead-our-new-king/

 

[oggbashan]

Speaking of manifestos, I thought Lord Buckethead had some good ideas here:

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2017/06/09/all-hail-lord-buckethead-our-new-king/

The Monster Raving Loony Party (an official UK political party) had good ideas too:

http://www.loonyparty.com/about/elections

http://www.loonyparty.com/about/policy-proposals/

They put up twelve candidates to be Members of Parliament. As usual they all lost (and lost their deposits).

 

[torchthebitch]

Don't worry. Everything the DUP touch fails.

 

[Sweetsweatymango]

I'm glad the DUP will have a hand in power. Hopefully it spells an end to the horrible good friday agreement, and the government can hunt down those IRA/Sinn Fein terrorist bastards.

 

[Hard_Rom]

I'm glad the DUP will have a hand in power. Hopefully it spells an end to the horrible good friday agreement, and the government can hunt down those IRA/Sinn Fein terrorist bastards.

You are living not only in the past but in a fantasy land. Far more chance of security forces moving against radical protties.

Has N. Ireland had a version of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Or is the peace process still not complete and behind everyone?

 

[ChloeTzang]

A coalition of the conservatives and DUP will create a Conservative United Negotiating Team. The acronym will give you a fair idea of what the DUP are.

Whichever way you're looking at it, it's a mess, pure and simple. I have to agree with Ogg. I really hadn't paid that much attention to the actual campaigning but now that I've gone back and read some of it, what was May smoking? That's just incompetent. I might even have voted for Corbyn given that insane dementia tax platform.

Elections 101 - How to throw one away. Should be a course for wannabe politicians. She managed to make Corbyn look good and what can I say, that was a tough challenge to face up to by May managed it.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm glad the DUP will have a hand in power. Hopefully it spells an end to the horrible good friday agreement, and the government can hunt down those IRA/Sinn Fein terrorist bastards.

Are we talking about the "horrible" agreement that achieved the near-miraculous feat of pretty much ending decades of sectarian violence? I doubt many who actually live in the British Isles would share your eagerness for a return to the bad old days.

And while we're talking "terrorist bastards", let's not forget the UDA, who murdered hundreds and still have connections in the DUP.

 

[Sweetsweatymango]

Are we talking about the "horrible" agreement that achieved the near-miraculous feat of pretty much ending decades of sectarian violence? I doubt many who actually live in the British Isles would share your eagerness for a return to the bad old days.

And while we're talking "terrorist bastards", let's not forget the UDA, who murdered hundreds and still have connections in the DUP.

The UDA was formed as a self defence force to fight against IRA terrorists. Violence has always been started by the republican side, leaving it up to the loyalists to crush Sinn Fein scum. The good friday agreement gave a free hand to the Sinn Fein bastards to fuck everything up in Northern Ireland. God bless the DUP.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The UDA was formed as a self defence force to fight against IRA terrorists. Violence has always been started by the republican side, leaving it up to the loyalists to crush Sinn Fein scum.

False. UDA routinely targeted civilians with no link to militant groups, whose only crime was being Catholic (or, sometimes, mistaken for Catholic, or standing too close to a Catholic). The vast majority of the hundreds killed by UDA were civilians.

Along the way, the UDA also killed quite a few Protestants, either because they didn't care who they killed as long as at least some of them were Catholics, or in internal infighting. They killed one of their own just last month.

The good friday agreement gave a free hand to the Sinn Fein bastards to fuck everything up in Northern Ireland. God bless the DUP.

I happen to believe that the near-eradication of terrorism in Northern Ireland makes it less "fucked up" than it was before Good Friday, but I'm aware that not everybody shares my "terrorism bad" viewpoint.