Tag: Parliament Politics

Across The Pond

While the US was debating who did what over some sinner in the Oval Office…..the UK was having an election….I am not sure how important it is bur I am sure that there are many that will fill me in on the  nuances of UK politics…..but until then I have a breakdown from the media…..

Theresa May appears set to stay on as prime minister despite the spectacular failure of her attempt to increase the Conservative Party’s majority with an early election in the UK. The BBC reports that May, whose party lost 12 seats in Parliament, leaving it without the majority needed to govern alone, is planning to form a government with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party. With 326 seats needed to form a majority, the DUP’s 12 seats would give 330 or 331 votes on legislation, depending on how the final undeclared race turns out. The opposition Labour Party says it is also ready to form a minority government, though there is little chance of it forming a coalition with 326 seats. The latest:

  • Sources tell the Guardian that May has cut a deal with the DUP and will meet with the Queen Friday afternoon to confirm her plan for a new government. “We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable,” a DUP source says, adding that the party will try to ensure there is a Conservative prime minister as long as leftist Jeremy Corbyn leads the Labour Party. Other sources, however, tell the BBC that the DUP is still examining the “messy” situation and talk of a coalition is premature.
  • Corbyn’s Labour Party came second, but vastly outperformed expectations by picking up dozens of seats and denying May a majority, reports the Washington Post. “The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate,” Corbyn told supporters, urging May to step down. “Well, the mandate she’s got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support, and lost confidence.”
  • The surprise result cast doubt both on the Brexit negotiations, which are scheduled to start in just 10 days, and on plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence, the AP reports. The pro-independence Scottish National Party lost 20 of its 54 seats. Paul Nuttall, leader of the pro-Brexit UKIP party, resigned after losing the party’s only seat in Parliament. He told supporters the party has a “great future” as the “guard dogs of Brexit.”
  • The results in full can be shown here. UKIP’s share of the vote is down more than 10% since the 2015 election, which resulted in gains for both Labour and the Conservatives.
  • The Independent looks at the DUP and the implications of the small party holding the balance of power. In Northern Ireland, the party has fought hard to block same-sex marriage and the lifting of the ban on abortion.

One more in the election……

Source: 5 takeaways from the UK election – POLITICO

This is the best I could do on short notice…..but if there is any adjustments that need to be made I hope my Brit friends will set the story straight….thanx…..

Now Here Is An Idea!

Inkwell Institute

European Desk

Every now and then I read something from across the pond and think that it would be a good way to conduct politics in this country….maybe not exactly the same but some of the ideas are worth considering……

The main party leaders have hit the campaign trail following Gordon Brown’s announcement that he has asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament, triggering a general election on May 6.

Parliament will not be formally dissolved until Monday, with MPs spending the next three days rushing legislation through the Commons during what is known as the “wash up”.

Two polls today gave the Tories a 10-point lead, enough to form a narrow majority, while a third suggested that Labour would emerge as the largest party in a hung Parliament.

Now there is an idea I can back with all my support (as little as that may be)…….dissolve Congress and send them all home to try again…..about a month or so of campaigning….that could eliminate all the crap we get for a year or more before an election…..to be honest I have not paid a great deal of attention to the politics in Europe….that is my failing…but I am trying to rectify my lack of knowledge….

I remember back in the days of the “evil empire”, the USSR, whenever there were elections for the Duma, Russian style Congress, and 85% of the members were re-elected…the news would be about what a sham the election were in the Communists country…..but yet in the “democracy” in the US the percentage of those re-elected is somewhere close to 90….does that mean that it is also a sham?

The point I am trying desperately trying to make is that it is a good idea to dissolve Congress if they are getting NOTHING done but petty bickering…….and a month of campaigning would be money well spent and eliminate some, not all, of the campaign bullsh*t.

While I am not sure if the whole Parliament has to campaign or not (hopefully Quin of Quintessential Havoc will weigh in)….but all in all sounds like a Helluva idea….this could make the ass wads in Washington more responsible for their actions or in the case of today….inaction….