May seeks snap election

[DBlow]

The Tories, believing themselves unassailable at this point (despite the fact their poll lead has halved in two weeks) have unveiled a very unpopular policy, labelled the 'Dementia Tax' - basically everyone with assets in the UK exceeding 100K (basically any homeowner outside of a council estate) will now be losing that should they need (the horribly unregulated, rip-off) elderly care. Housing is in crisis in the UK, so most families look to leave their house to their children as the only way they can realistically get on the property ladder. Early reports are it has gone down like a cup of cold sick. Interesting to see how this plays out. 

[-TSS-]

I really hope the election turns out to be bacwards for the Tories; not a defeat but backwards compared to the 2015 totally good majority which PM May in her greed tries to expand.

Even though the new election is not against the rule of the fixed term-parliament but it is against its spirit; This election is totally unnecessary.

[-TSS-]

The campaigning has resumed after a couple of days pause following the terrorist-attack in Manchester.

I'm beginning to wonder if Corbyn is a mole designed to destroy the Labour-party from within. he seems so batshit insane.

However, as the party will face a crushing defeat in two weeks time, he will be gone, whether he wants it or doesn't.

[SpankyMcFarland]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/31/the-hand-is-left-to-do-the-heavy-lifting-while-maybot-reboots

Elections always carry a few surprises. May has run a terrible campaign, chopping and changing policy and she looks like an empty vessel ill-prepared for negotiating Brexit on Britain's behalf. Avoiding a debate with Corbyn and Co. was a weird mistake because old Corby is a reasonable debater and got a chance to draw attention to her absence. His ideas on preventing future terrorist breeding grounds like Iraq and Libya are not so barking mad as some of his opinions and go down quite well with most voters. The economy is not delivering for the less well off. May needed to defend her and Cameron's record and she ran way instead. 

[-TSS-]

The gamble to call an unnecessary early election seems to be failing. The Tories majority may be lost but they should remain the top-party but hence dependant on the support of the N-Ireland fringe-parties.

[DBlow]

Corbyn's made his first real fuck-up of this campaign in tonight's debates. Despite his earlier Paxman appearance where he acquiesced and concluded with assurances if ever called to do so he'd write the appropriate letters, in tonight's debate he got himself in a bit of a hole by refusing to dispel the notion he'd never use our nuclear weapons in any situation. He failed to answer the audiences concerns nor employed the charm and humour he is normally capable of, and was left on the back foot ever since then. Important since this was his best opportunity to gain on the Tories weakness. Instead the Tories now have an attack angle and the non too favourable clips will be disseminated through the public. We'll have to see how this effects the polls (these programmes tend to have low salience, but clips and soundbites from them are seen far and wide). 

Sounds like a non-issue but continuation of Labour's unilateral disarmament policy in 1987 was used effectively to again defeat Labour, and was consequently dropped by Kinnock before 1992.

[-TSS-]

Actually it would be fun to see an old deluded socialist like Corbyn as PM in the UK. Those people who hate Trump are consoling themselves by saying that watching Trump as President is the best comedy ever.

Corbyn as PM would not be far behind in terms of comedy-value.

[-TSS-]

If Corbyn were PM last night's terrorist-attack in London wouldn't have ended by the terrorists being shot as Corbyn has said he wouldn't allow it.

[-TSS-]

In the wake of these recent terrorist-attacks and in the forthcoming election the most powerful weapon labour has against the Tories is to remind the voters how Theresa May when she was Home Secretary she sacked 20000 policemen.

It has been said that as there are about 3500 radical jihadists under 24/7-surveillance it takes about 20-30 policemen to carry out that surveillance. Do the maths how many terrorists could be monitored with 20000 policemen.

20000 policemen is a considerable number of policemen even in a country the size of Britain.

[-TSS-]

According to the earliest exit-polls the Tories remain the largest party but lose their absolute majority.

Therefore PM May's gamble has failed. She couldn't increase the majority and crush the Labour-party. A deserved setback for calling a totally unnecessarily early election.

[Guest]

There have been some remarkable failures to read the public mood in recent years. 

[bush_cheney2004]

Drudge:   "Hard May's Night"

Clever !!

[Wilber]

6 minutes ago, bcsapper said:

There have been some remarkable failures to read the public mood in recent years. 

Looks like UKIP is toast, wonder how many pro Brexit Tory MP's paid the price.

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Wilber said:

Looks like UKIP is toast, wonder how many pro Brexit Tory MP's paid the price.

Yep, I imagine Brexit was on a lot of minds tonight.  

[-TSS-]

The Tories will remain in power but weakened by losing their majority. If May had succeeded in her attempt to increase the majority she would be seen as a shrewd tactician but now she appears like a fool who has needlessly squandered a valuable majority.

Despite theTories remaining in power the PM could be forced out. May may have to go. The newspapers will be having fun inventing headlines. May be, May be not.

[SpankyMcFarland]

A night of surprises: hung parliament; Labour wins in Canterbury and other strange places; Amber Rudd hanging on by the skin of her teeth; and a sound rejection of another referendum vote in Scotland. I loved the Monster Raving Loony candidate for Islington, Knigel Knapp, resplendent in his somewhat military regalia standing behind Corbyn and nodding sagely as the leader spoke at the announcement of the count. Ignore the other loony in the background:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3759703/moment-ukip-candidate-keith-fraser-mouthed-terrorist-sympathiser-about-jeremy-corbyn-during-islington-count/

One depressing note was that the two most extreme parties in Northern Ireland won all but one of the seats. The Conservatives may now have to depend on one of these, the DUP, to govern the U.K. and they will be pushing for a softer Brexit to protect their farmers.

Edited June 9, 2017 by SpankyMcFarland

[-TSS-]

The result is totally inconclusive; no thinkable combination to form a majority. Therefore May caused a lot of harm by creating a situation of political instability when there was no need to even have an election for three years.

I wouldn't be surprised if she drew the conclusions and quit. However, who is there to replace her?

[-TSS-]

All this hassle only because May wanted a mandate of her own even though she had three years to do as she would have wanted.

In the UK you dont need to win elections to become PM. You only need to be the leader of the largest party and the largest party can change its leader and therefore PM every week if it wishes to do so.

[SpankyMcFarland]

These are the strange people keeping May in office:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dup-hung-parliament-results-policies-manifesto-abortion-gay-marriage-climate-change-who-are-they-a7781656.html

 

 

 

[-TSS-]

I guess that despite N-Ireland being part of the UK for the vast majority of "mainland" British people N-Ireland appears just as foreign as the Republic of Ireland does.

 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, -TSS- said:

All this hassle only because May wanted a mandate of her own even though she had three years to do as she would have wanted.

In the UK you dont need to win elections to become PM. You only need to be the leader of the largest party and the largest party can change its leader and therefore PM every week if it wishes to do so.

True.  I imagine the knives are out.

[Boges]

It's a pretty healthy Minority. You'd need the full opposition to topple them. And there is some significant difference of opinion there. 

[-TSS-]

Despite attempts to make the election a Brexit-vote 2.0 that failed as the Liberal Democrats, the most vehement anti-Brexiteers, did not perform too well.

Had this been the end of a normal 5-year election term the result wouldnt be too bad for May. However, as she foolishly and greedily called this unnecessarily early election the outcome was a disaster.

This election was winnerless. Why does the media portray the Labour-party as some sort of a winner? Yes, they performed better than expected but still finished second.

[SpankyMcFarland]

Today the DUP are being googled in Britain by many people who have never heard of them:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/09/suddenly-become-important-democratic-unionist-party-could-hold/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Boges]

6 minutes ago, -TSS- said:

Why does the media portray the Labour-party as some sort of a winner? Yes, they performed better than expected but still finished second.

You'd assume that with the Anti-Brexit sentiment. Perhaps May just wanted her own Mandate regardless of health. So now she knows that the Backlash over Brexit wasn't "That Bad".

Edited June 9, 2017 by Boges