If Music Could Talk

RIP Labour.

God help us.

I'd obviously love it if, Trump style, Labour surprise everybody and fuck the polls. I give it 10%.

Silent Majority wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 6:30am

I'd obviously love it if, Trump style, Labour surprise everybody and fuck the polls. I give it 10%.

One can only hope that conventional wisdom is still too in flux and that some kind of populist swell is still possible. Run left, Jeremy, be bold.

Do you guys just have elections whenever you feel like?

matedog wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 10:20am

Do you guys just have elections whenever you feel like?

In a parliamentary system, the head of govt (the PM) can, at any time, tell the head of state (the queen) that circumstances have changed significantly since the last election that it requires that the people elect a new government to ensure a proper mandate. That's it officially, anyway. The head of state doesn't have to call an election—she could ask the leader of the opposition if he could try to form a government based on the current make up of parliament—but it's normally not done. Governments manipulate the system all the time to call elections when they're most beneficial. Not too long ago, Canada put in place fixed election dates to prevent that, but the fear is that it's going to result in the American style of permanent campaigning between elections.

I believe the UK is supposed to be on fixed term parliaments too now. But May does like acting like a medieval king.

Silent Majority wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 11:39am

I believe the UK is supposed to be on fixed term parliaments too now. But May does like acting like a medieval king.

Harper was the one who passed that and was the first one to break it, turning his minority into a majority. The run up to the last election, knowing the date so in advance, resulted in a long, ugly campaign.

They can bypass the fixed date legislation with the support of 2/3rds of the house. You cannot bypass the fixed date legislation with a 52-48 vote...

Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 10:39am

matedog wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 10:20am

Do you guys just have elections whenever you feel like?

In a parliamentary system, the head of govt (the PM) can, at any time, tell the head of state (the queen) that circumstances have changed significantly since the last election that it requires that the people elect a new government to ensure a proper mandate. That's it officially, anyway. The head of state doesn't have to call an election—she could ask the leader of the opposition if he could try to form a government based on the current make up of parliament—but it's normally not done. Governments manipulate the system all the time to call elections when they're most beneficial. Not too long ago, Canada put in place fixed election dates to prevent that, but the fear is that it's going to result in the American style of permanent campaigning between elections.

That seems remarkably arbitrary.

matedog wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 1:36pm

Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 10:39am

matedog wrote: ↑

18 Apr 2017, 10:20am

Do you guys just have elections whenever you feel like?

In a parliamentary system, the head of govt (the PM) can, at any time, tell the head of state (the queen) that circumstances have changed significantly since the last election that it requires that the people elect a new government to ensure a proper mandate. That's it officially, anyway. The head of state doesn't have to call an election—she could ask the leader of the opposition if he could try to form a government based on the current make up of parliament—but it's normally not done. Governments manipulate the system all the time to call elections when they're most beneficial. Not too long ago, Canada put in place fixed election dates to prevent that, but the fear is that it's going to result in the American style of permanent campaigning between elections.

That seems remarkably arbitrary.

Buried in there is the belief that only the finest of character rise to the level of serving in Parliament, and the best of those as prime minister, so surely such a system would never be abused for partisan advantage, wot wot!

It really is as simple as this...

* Note: Applies to any nation, province, state, or territory.

Would love it if the SNP/Labour/Lib Dems would coalition together. Just get the fucking Tories out. Even if the Lib Dem leader is a pro-choice fundamentalist homophobe who I want to see be forced to admit his earlier comments about gayness being a sin. That's literally a better alternative.

Sick to my heart to hear we're going to have the army on the streets. It's all fucked. It's all an opportunity in the eternal campaign.