Snap General Election called

[Tre]

Hilarious fuckwittery from Team May.

Total media support, massive lead in the polls, pant wetting over Corbyn/McDonnell being 'terrorist sympathisers'

End up losing 20 odd seats and getting in to bed with Norn Iron's Taliban

[Stom]

After thought, all this election has done is shown how far down the line of ineptitude our nation has gone.

Britain can truly shed the Great now.

[Mikey Brown]

Britain can truly shed the Great now.

I think we know what the next campaign slogan is going to be.

[Lord Lucan]

Britain is still a great nation of people, just because the politicians are a bunch of clowns there is no need to tar us all with the same brush, the sooner we get MPs with real backbone the better, how have we ended up with this quivering bunch of jellyfish running our country is what I want to know, and there are no real alternatives, at least we escaped the apocalypse of a Jeremy Corbyn led government.

[morepork]

Surely you have a video version of that manly non-PC sweeping statement? Something to rile the pale masses perhaps?

[Banquo]

Conservatives siding with the ulster loyalists then. How utterly hypocritical.

how so, genuinely puzzled there...

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Britain can truly shed the Great now.

I think we know what the next campaign slogan is going to be.

Make British Sheds Great Again?

[Mellsblue]

Conservatives siding with the ulster loyalists then. How utterly hypocritical.

how so, genuinely puzzled there...

Anybody right of centre is an extremist, allegedly.

[Mellsblue]

After thought, all this election has done is shown how far down the line of ineptitude our nation has gone.

Britain can truly shed the Great now.

Glad to see you're keeping perspective.

[morepork]

Philip May has a bit of the old Dennis Thatcher going on.

[Zhivago]

Conservatives siding with the ulster loyalists then. How utterly hypocritical.

how so, genuinely puzzled there...

Anybody right of centre is an extremist, allegedly.

Yeah? Their longest serving MP was Enoch Powell's campaign manager. They have a history intertwined with Loyalist terror... They want to criminalise abortion even for rape victims...

You think that's not extremism?

[Mellsblue]

how so, genuinely puzzled there...

Anybody right of centre is an extremist, allegedly.

Yeah? Their longest serving MP was Enoch Powell's campaign manager. They have a history intertwined with Loyalist terror... They want to criminalise abortion even for rape victims...

You think that's not extremism?

Good job the Labour leadership have no link with terrorists otherwise you'd have to accuse Labour of being extremists. Good job Labour haven't recently allowed Communists into the party otherwise you'd have to call Labour extremists.
As for the abortion issue, which is rank stupidity on the behalf of the DUP at best, you might as well call all fundamental religious groups extremists. The C of E for having a ceiling for female clergy, Sharia courts in which male rights are far superior to female rights. Now, I'll be happy for you to call of them extremists, and I'll be happy to agree with you, but you only seem to say it (on here) about people/parties/organisations to the right of centre.

[Mikey Brown]

Wasn't all that exactly what he was referring to when he initially called it hypocrisy?

[Digby]

always his own position anyway

I think largely down to rules around state ownership, I can't think otherwise he'd want to unwind all the worker's rights and trust a Tory government to uphold similar in future

[Digby]

Anybody right of centre is an extremist, allegedly.

Yeah? Their longest serving MP was Enoch Powell's campaign manager. They have a history intertwined with Loyalist terror... They want to criminalise abortion even for rape victims...

You think that's not extremism?

Good job the Labour leadership have no link with terrorists otherwise you'd have to accuse Labour of being extremists. Good job Labour haven't recently allowed Communists into the party otherwise you'd have to call Labour extremists.
As for the abortion issue, which is rank stupidity on the behalf of the DUP at best, you might as well call all fundamental religious groups extremists. The C of E for having a ceiling for female clergy, Sharia courts in which male rights are far superior to female rights. Now, I'll be happy for you to call of them extremists, and I'll be happy to agree with you, but you only seem to say it (on here) about people/parties/organisations to the right of centre.

It's also not like the IRA Political Party with with JC sympathises doesn't have issues with abortion, so straight out of the blocks the argument put forward for hypocrisy stumbles under the weight of hypocrisy

[Stom]

Jonathan Powell said this about siding with the DUP, a stance I hadn't considered. I'd be interested in hearing thoughts on it, especially from someone who may know a bit more about this than me. Eugene?

I do think it’s a mistake to go into government with the “support of our friends” in the DUP. Even John Major avoided doing that and the reason he avoided that is the peace process is based on a balance that the British government has made it clear it is neutral in Northern Ireland, it doesn’t take sides. Once you have their support you are no longer neutral.

It matters for two big reasons. First, we haven’t managed to get the executive back up and running in Northern Ireland because of divisions between the two sides. The British government were trying to mediate between the two sides to get an administration up and running again and of course now it can’t possibly have that role of mediating.

And secondly I think it’s a mistake because one of the big issues in the Brexit negotiations is the border between north and south. Now the DUP is a minority in its view about Brexit, it’s in favour of Brexit. This is going to be a very real problem.

Whatever you put on a piece of paper, you’re living there with a minority government, that’s dependant on the DUP, you get to a crucial issue and then they say, ‘Remember what we want in terms of talks in Northern Ireland’, and the government has a choice: do they say, ‘We’re not giving you let, we’ll let the government collapse’, or do they just bend a little on that issue, it’s just one small issue it doesn’t matter. But beyond that the government can’t possibly be seen as neutral on Northern Ireland now if it puts itself at the mercy of the DUP.

[canta_brian]

There were some interesting articles in the press yesterday concerning a softer brexit. Im not convinced that May, with a big majority, would not have gone for some kind of compromise. However, thats all speculation now. Will the EU be a bit more bullish now, knowing that she is hugely weakened? Can she get a vote through parliament? I don't think she can.

But what if she can't? My understanding is that if we don't agree a deal, we are still leaving anyway. A second referendum in the UK doesn't mean much if there is no offer on the table to offer the electorate if the PM can't get something through parliament.

What a complete mess.

Raises a good point. Now that article 50 is triggered can we stay in? If we don't like the deal offered and vote against it,is the only option no deal and leave or can we stay in?

[Digby]

A partnership with the DUP seems fraught with issues, but unless Labour want to confirm they wouldn't seek support from Plaid Cymru and the SNP in any minority government then it'd perhaps be better not to throw stones in glass houses

[Stom]

A partnership with the DUP seems fraught with issues, but unless Labour want to confirm they wouldn't seek support from Plaid Cymru and the SNP in any minority government then it'd perhaps be better not to throw stones in glass houses

Oh, fwck off with the partisan nonsense when it's a real and valid question on something that has real meaning. Both Scotland and Wales are very different circumstances to NI, and you know it.

[Mikey Brown]

I think she just managed to answer 10 questions in a row with the phrase "forming a government in the national interest".

[Mellsblue]

I think she just managed to answer 10 questions in a row with the phrase "forming a government in the national interest".

Another 62 and she'll break her 'strong and stable' record.

[Banquo]

always his own position anyway

I think largely down to rules around state ownership, I can't think otherwise he'd want to unwind all the worker's rights and trust a Tory government to uphold similar in future

No. like Tony Benn, it was an anti-elite thing.

[Banquo]

A partnership with the DUP seems fraught with issues, but unless Labour want to confirm they wouldn't seek support from Plaid Cymru and the SNP in any minority government then it'd perhaps be better not to throw stones in glass houses

Oh, fwck off with the partisan nonsense when it's a real and valid question on something that has real meaning. Both Scotland and Wales are very different circumstances to NI, and you know it.

er, suspect its a different point being addressed (and Digby isn't a conservative) - Labour has been making noises that an alliance with the DUP isn't legitimate because English punters didn't have an opportunity to scrutinise a DUP candidate/manifesto so couldn't know what they were voting for, unlike a tory/libdem alliance. A tad tenuous, and you'd have the same issue with SNP/PC/(SF) in a 'progressive' alliance...which would be too short of votes anyway.

[Digby]

A partnership with the DUP seems fraught with issues, but unless Labour want to confirm they wouldn't seek support from Plaid Cymru and the SNP in any minority government then it'd perhaps be better not to throw stones in glass houses

Oh, fwck off with the partisan nonsense when it's a real and valid question on something that has real meaning. Both Scotland and Wales are very different circumstances to NI, and you know it.

But all will come with the valid concern that the national parties will seek to gouge terms in their interests. Also I'm not sure how I'm partisan in this, yes I don't like Corbyn, but I don't like the Tories either, I'd like to like the Lib Dems but sadly their policies get in the way of that.

[Digby]

always his own position anyway

I think largely down to rules around state ownership, I can't think otherwise he'd want to unwind all the worker's rights and trust a Tory government to uphold similar in future

No. like Tony Benn, it was an anti-elite thing.

Not sure how they arrived at that nonsense. Okay the CAP was set up to stop the 'threat' of communism in France, but that's a long time back, CAP serves a very different purpose now, and the EU has been good for worker rights.