Mr. Tokyo, to avoid being overlooked by the Americans we should hand sovereignty to Brussels?
You're very far away.
What use is sovereignty if the sovereign doesn't have any power? It's just a steering wheel on the front of a driverless train for kids to turn and pretend they're driving.
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
It's true, the americans want Britain in so they can have more control over the EU. However after the eurozone crisis the americans have shifted to dealing directly with the controller of the EU, Germany, bypassing Britain. Britain is no longer that usefull for the americans to control europe since Germany is controling it now not america.
If the British government had any strategic sense they'd be hustling to get the EU leadership chosen by EU-wide elections so they could still have a voice proportional to their population.
That would make the EU a democratic instrument with more authority that national governments, unacceptable by everyone from eurosceptics to parliaments to government leaders to have someone superior over their heads.
I know it's unacceptable to them, that's because they either have no strategic sense or don't care about the national interest.
Plus voters will still prefer candidates from their own nation so the Germans win because they are the largest single nationality in the EU.
There's not much sign of that happening. Germans knew Schultz pretty well, but they didn't go massively PES. There may be a home-country advantage, but it's not very big, especially for big countries. (IIUC in US presidential there tends to be a reasonable home-state advantage for candidates from small states, but not much for big ones.)
Even if it did, the population difference isn't very big - something like 80 million vs 64 million, so only a 16 million difference in an area with a total population of 500 million.
I suspect because they are voting for German MEPs from any party. If it was an election of a single candidate, I would bet that a large majority of voters would vote for their country's candidate.
I guess you'd have had a bigger home country advantage if it had been a direct presidential election with Martin Schulz on the ballot rather than a parliamentary election with a candidate slightly ambiguously cobbled on top, but a large majority? Nah. Floating voters might float, but conservatives aren't generally going to vote for a socialist, and vice versa.
Maybe interesting to poll Conservatives and Kippers on this thread though.
[ ] Angela Merkel [ ] Ed Miliband [ ] Ebola / Don't vote / spoil ballot paper
I don't like the choice much but on a forced choice I would say Merkel. Ed is really not fit to run anything.
The Tories have a humungous majority and Tories are much more prone to defect to UKIP than they are to Labour. For Labour to win requires them to pick up all kinds of voters from... somewhere,
Well, they could have started with squeezing the 20% LibDems, adding that to their own 22%, and persuading some former Conservative voters to switch to them, whilst leaving some disgruntled Tories to switch to UKIP. On paper such a strategy looks enough to at least be competitive, if not actually to win, in a by-election.
It's what Tony and Mandy/Campbell would have done...
Mr. Jim, I agree entirely. The nations are too different. Mindless moves towards ever closer union ignore reality, even when the evidence (sovereign debt crisis) is staring the federalist airheads in the face.
Is there any info coming from on the ground in Newark - apart from CON MPs desperately trying to get their pics on Twitter showing they are helping with the effort?
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Better than being de-facto led by the victor in one of the other component parts where you never get a vote, no? But in any case if you follow the argument about the EU president the national demos thing people here have been worrying about doesn't seem to be the issue. Nobody's bothered that the winner is from Luxembourg, the Germans will probably veto a German deputy, the French are threatening to veto a French woman, and the British end-game is probably to get them to pick a Finn.
Mr. Jim, I agree entirely. The nations are too different. Mindless moves towards ever closer union ignore reality, even when the evidence (sovereign debt crisis) is staring the federalist airheads in the face.
Is there any info coming from on the ground in Newark - apart from CON MPs desperately trying to get their pics on Twitter showing they are helping with the effort?
Apparently some unfortunate people had Michael Green cold calling at 5:30am this morning....
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Better than being de-facto led by the victor in one of the other component parts where you never get a vote, no? But in any case if you follow the argument about the EU president the national demos thing people here have been worrying about doesn't seem to be the issue. Nobody's bothered that the winner is from Luxembourg, the Germans will probably veto a German deputy, the French are threatening to veto a French woman, and the British end-game is probably to get them to pick a Finn.
Do you really think that the Commission President has any real authority when it comes down to it? He - and it's always he - gets as much as the national leaders are collectively prepared to lend him. That's why Jean-Claude Juncker would be well-advised to give way gracefully now, unless he's happy to put up with the humiliations ahead of him as a lame duck in return for a hefty salary.
Imagine a Commission President who has won an EU-wide vote (good question, what voting system would be used? One for TSE, I think). If a highly federalist president is appointed, how the hell is he or she going to command respect in a Britain that is completely out of sympathy with that? Or a president with a free market agenda in a France that adores national champions and the CAP? It's just not yet workable.
Is there any info coming from on the ground in Newark - apart from CON MPs desperately trying to get their pics on Twitter showing they are helping with the effort?
Some unfortunate people had Michael Green cold calling at 5:30pm this morning....
May's comments, on the Queen's Speech day and one day before a by-election, breaking the hitherto rather (weirdly) united Conservative ranks for infighting, does not strike me as terribly clever and seems far more about her trying to position herself as a future leadership contender rather than anything else.
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Better than being de-facto led by the victor in one of the other component parts where you never get a vote, no? But in any case if you follow the argument about the EU president the national demos thing people here have been worrying about doesn't seem to be the issue. Nobody's bothered that the winner is from Luxembourg, the Germans will probably veto a German deputy, the French are threatening to veto a French woman, and the British end-game is probably to get them to pick a Finn.
Jeez... It's like the Eurovision song contest for politics. Every year the UK would treat it with distain, moan about it, and think about pulling out after we keep paying for it.
Is there any info coming from on the ground in Newark - apart from CON MPs desperately trying to get their pics on Twitter showing they are helping with the effort?
Some unfortunate people had Michael Green cold calling at 5:30am this morning....
May's comments, on the Queen's Speech day and one day before a by-election, breaking the hitherto rather (weirdly) united Conservative ranks for infighting, does not strike me as terribly clever and seems far more about her trying to position herself as a future leadership contender rather than anything else.
Oh I agree but the next time a cabinet minister, even one as favoured as Gove, has it mind to criticise some element of Home Office policy I think they will pause and reflect. As are the Police Federation.
For an office that is frequently the destroyer of tory PM ambitions that is quite impressive even if the timing was, well, odd. If the tories lose she is nailed on as next leader. If they win she still holds a poison chalice which just might blow up in her face at some point so it is less predictable.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
But they can't be EU citizens outside the UK/Republic, which would rule out Merkel
France did ask to join the Commonwealth in 1957, Malta and Cyprus are both members of the EU and the Commonwealth and admitting all the members of the EU to the Commonwealth might be one way around Morris Dancer's disdain for "foreigners" governing Britain.
Imagine a Commission President who has won an EU-wide vote (good question, what voting system would be used? One for TSE, I think). If a highly federalist president is appointed, how the hell is he or she going to command respect in a Britain that is completely out of sympathy with that? Or a president with a free market agenda in a France that adores national champions and the CAP? It's just not yet workable.
Since when have the people leading Britain commanded respect? Bear in mind that the people recently occupying this office are David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major, and the next one may well be Ed Miliband.
Thatcher wanted to close down the coal mines. Half the country hated her. A leader with a free market agenda would infuriate French farmers and they'd blockade things with tractors, while of a minority of French voters would support him or her over them. This is how democracy works.
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Better than being de-facto led by the victor in one of the other component parts where you never get a vote, no? But in any case if you follow the argument about the EU president the national demos thing people here have been worrying about doesn't seem to be the issue. Nobody's bothered that the winner is from Luxembourg, the Germans will probably veto a German deputy, the French are threatening to veto a French woman, and the British end-game is probably to get them to pick a Finn.
Jeez... It's like the Eurovision song contest for politics. Every year the UK would treat it with distain, moan about it, and think about pulling out after we keep paying for it.
The analogy is good. The Germans would consistently underperform, the Greek entry would be scarily bad and we'd end up with some cheesy novelty act from Scandinavia or eastern Europe.
@Mr Dancer, are you referring to the situation where a promise was made for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty before it was ratified and before an expected general election? And where there was no imminent general election because the PM of the day got frit but who did surreptitiously signed it into law out of the public eye? And when the person who made the promise would not have had the votes in parliament to call a referendum? And where even if a referendum was held and the answer was "no" the Treaty could not be abrogated without a majority in parliament? Some people live in cloud cuckoo land and think things can be don with the stroke of a pen or some purposely distort the fact to fit their prejudices.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
But they can't be EU citizens outside the UK/Republic, which would rule out Merkel
Of course Gisela Stuart was born in Bavaria but must have taken UK citizenship
Lucky for us. Undoubtedly one of the most impressive Labour MPs. I would be looking very carefully at the quality of the tory candidate if I lived in her constituency. I suspect she must have got a fair few blue supporters the last time to hang on.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
What a curious state of affairs. A prospective MP could be debarred by their own country leaving the Commonwealth.
Wow, and any rich person in the world could make themselves eligible to become a British MP by saving up their bitcoins and buying a passport from St Kitts. http://passportsforbitcoin.com/st-kitts-program/
Imagine a Commission President who has won an EU-wide vote (good question, what voting system would be used? One for TSE, I think). If a highly federalist president is appointed, how the hell is he or she going to command respect in a Britain that is completely out of sympathy with that? Or a president with a free market agenda in a France that adores national champions and the CAP? It's just not yet workable.
Since when have the people leading Britain commanded respect? Bear in mind that the people recently occupying this office are David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major, and the next one may well be Ed Miliband.
Thatcher wanted to close down the coal mines. Half the country hated her. A leader with a free market agenda would infuriate French farmers and they'd blockade things with tractors, while of a minority of French voters would support him or her over them. This is how democracy works.
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, including all those you named, command sufficient respect for the populace of the United Kingdom to accept that they speak for them, even if they dislike them or indeed actively oppose them with every fibre of their being. The concept of a loyal Opposition is a useful one.
An elected European Commission President would have no such loyalty in the opposition that they faced.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
But they can't be EU citizens outside the UK/Republic, which would rule out Merkel
France did ask to join the Commonwealth in 1957, Malta and Cyprus are both members of the EU and the Commonwealth and admitting all the members of the EU to the Commonwealth might be one way around Morris Dancer's disdain for "foreigners" governing Britain.
Sorry, forgot about Malta/Cyprus!
Well, I suppose English is an official language of the EU...
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
But they can't be EU citizens outside the UK/Republic, which would rule out Merkel
Of course Gisela Stuart was born in Bavaria but must have taken UK citizenship
Lucky for us. Undoubtedly one of the most impressive Labour MPs. I would be looking very carefully at the quality of the tory candidate if I lived in her constituency. I suspect she must have got a fair few blue supporters the last time to hang on.
Oh absolutely, I quite like her myself. Plus Edgbaston must be unique in being represented by a lady for more than 60 years.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
What a curious state of affairs. A prospective MP could be debarred by their own country leaving the Commonwealth.
Wow, and any rich person in the world could make themselves eligible to become a British MP by saving up their bitcoins and buying a passport from St Kitts. http://passportsforbitcoin.com/st-kitts-program/
Anyone who can afford £500 in this country can make themselves eligible to become an MP.
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, including all those you named, command sufficient respect for the populace of the United Kingdom to accept that they speak for them, even if they dislike them or indeed actively oppose them with every fibre of their being.
I wonder how "Does Margaret Thatcher speak for you?" would have polled in mining communities.
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, including all those you named, command sufficient respect for the populace of the United Kingdom to accept that they speak for them, even if they dislike them or indeed actively oppose them with every fibre of their being.
I wonder how "Does Margaret Thatcher speak for you?" would have polled in mining communities.
That was the closest that the demos came to breaking. You will note that the miners' strike failed.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
What a curious state of affairs. A prospective MP could be debarred by their own country leaving the Commonwealth.
Wow, and any rich person in the world could make themselves eligible to become a British MP by saving up their bitcoins and buying a passport from St Kitts. http://passportsforbitcoin.com/st-kitts-program/
So when Obama reaches his term limit in the US he could move on to a second political career in the UK simply by buying some real estate in the Caribbean?
Move over Chuka Umunna - we're going to get ourselves the real deal!
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
Iirc Andrew Bonar-Law is the only PM not born in the UK.
Julia Gillard is the only ever Welsh born PM (PM of Australia).
Surely LLoyd-George was born in Wales?
As was James Callaghan.
Nope. Callaghan was born in Portsmouth. He did for a welsh seat for many years and lived on a farm near Lewes in East Sussex.
Edit: Nobody thought it odd in those days that a Welsh MP lived in Sussex. Mind you nobody ever seemed to wonder how he ever acquired the cash to buy such an enormous chunk of prime land in the first place. Denis "squeeze the rich" Healey when he was Chancellor had a farm not far up the road from Callaghan's.
BTW I think we may have finally stumbled on a workable definition of "demos". If the majority of voters would vote for someone with their own general political leanings but from another region over someone with different political leanings from their own region, you have one. If they wouldn't, you don't. Ignoring the consequences for the EU for a minute, does that catch what people are trying to say?
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
What a curious state of affairs. A prospective MP could be debarred by their own country leaving the Commonwealth.
Wow, and any rich person in the world could make themselves eligible to become a British MP by saving up their bitcoins and buying a passport from St Kitts. http://passportsforbitcoin.com/st-kitts-program/
So when Obama reaches his term limit in the US he could move on to a second political career in the UK simply by buying some real estate in the Caribbean?
Move over Chuka Umunna - we're going to get ourselves the real deal!
All five main political groupings in the European Parliament (EPP, S&D, ALDE, Green, Left) have now urged that Juncker be nominated.
European Parliament pushes for stitch up that entrenches power in the European Parliament is not a great surprise though. Hopefully the Governments will ignore them.
If we do see tactical voting for the Conservatives against UKIP today, that could be hugely important in quite a few constituencies. It's possibly the single most important thing to look out for tonight.
How will you know who voted for the Conservatives, and who voted for UKIP?
We won't know for definite, but if the Conservative tally holds up surprisingly well and the Labour/Lib Dem share falls surprisingly far, we can draw inferences. I suppose the Conservative share is the primary indicator.
A dangerous game which could bite all the major parties on the arse.
If UKIP are perceived as electable under FPTP, rather than just a protest, then they could make gains against Labour and the LibDems too. (Disaffected "blue collar" Labour + BNP + Tory + Non-Specific Protest voting fot UKIP in a Labour constituency could cause more than one upset)
The idea of directly electing a president of the EU only works if you think that the component parts of the EU share a sufficient demos to enable those who have been outvoted to accept being led by the victor in the various component parts, and the remit of that president is similarly circumscribed.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Better than being de-facto led by the victor in one of the other component parts where you never get a vote, no? But in any case if you follow the argument about the EU president the national demos thing people here have been worrying about doesn't seem to be the issue. Nobody's bothered that the winner is from Luxembourg, the Germans will probably veto a German deputy, the French are threatening to veto a French woman, and the British end-game is probably to get them to pick a Finn.
Do you really think that the Commission President has any real authority when it comes down to it? He - and it's always he - gets as much as the national leaders are collectively prepared to lend him. That's why Jean-Claude Juncker would be well-advised to give way gracefully now, unless he's happy to put up with the humiliations ahead of him as a lame duck in return for a hefty salary.
Imagine a Commission President who has won an EU-wide vote (good question, what voting system would be used? One for TSE, I think). If a highly federalist president is appointed, how the hell is he or she going to command respect in a Britain that is completely out of sympathy with that? Or a president with a free market agenda in a France that adores national champions and the CAP? It's just not yet workable.
Two stage election.
First election, need one nomination from a Prime Minister or President to be able to stand.
Europe wide vote.
Top two vote winners, go into the next stage. If anyone gets over 50% then that person wins, then no second stage.
Second stage, conducted under first past the post.The Winner Takes It All.
BTW I think we may have finally stumbled on a workable definition of "demos". If the majority of voters would vote for someone with their own general political leanings but from another region over someone with the same general political leanings from their own region, you have one. If they wouldn't, you don't. Ignoring the consequences for the EU for a minute, does that catch what people are trying to say?
It doesn't capture what I'm trying to say.
My definition of a demos would be an acceptance by most of those voting for the losing candidate that the winning candidate had a mandate to speak for them on the matters for which they were elected.
Just checking please - you do mean the haemorrhagic virus?
Yeah - I thought I should provide a third choice for people who didn't like either of the first two. (The idea of putting it on the ballot comes from Nate Silver talking about political pundits, who said that if he had a choice between pundits and ebola, he'd vote either ebola or third-party.)
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
But they can't be EU citizens outside the UK/Republic, which would rule out Merkel
Of course Gisela Stuart was born in Bavaria but must have taken UK citizenship
Lucky for us. Undoubtedly one of the most impressive Labour MPs. I would be looking very carefully at the quality of the tory candidate if I lived in her constituency. I suspect she must have got a fair few blue supporters the last time to hang on.
She certainly does. The Conservatives regularly come first in local elections in the seat.
Word has it that Frank Dobson is about to announce that he will not fight Holborn and St Pancras for Labour at the next general election. Given where the seat is located and how safe it is expect a scramble to succeed him. The person chosen will be EdM's MP, as well as SeanT's and my Mum's. There'll be a lot of big names looking to get the nod, but keep a look out for Patrick French. Born and bred in the constituency, he still lives there and is a hospital consultant (specialising in STDs!). He probably won't get it because he lacks any in-depth political experience outside of working extremely hard as a volunteer for the local party, but he would be an excellent choice and may appeal to the anti-establishment vote. Obviously, if it's an all-woman list he's buggered!
BTW I think we may have finally stumbled on a workable definition of "demos". If the majority of voters would vote for someone with their own general political leanings but from another region over someone with the same general political leanings from their own region, you have one. If they wouldn't, you don't. Ignoring the consequences for the EU for a minute, does that catch what people are trying to say?
It doesn't capture what I'm trying to say.
My definition of a demos would be an acceptance by most of those voting for the losing candidate that the winning candidate had a mandate to speak for them on the matters for which they were elected.
I'm not sure the US had that, especially at the height of the Tea Party crazy.
"The leader of the House of Commons has said he would accept the job of becoming Britain's next European Commissioner.
Andrew Lansley, the former health secretary, indicated that he has already been asked by the Prime Minister to take up the role as he burnished his Eurosceptic credentials.
Asked whether he will serve as commissioner by Andrew Neil on BBC Two's Daily Politics, he replied: "If the prime minister asks me, I want to say yes.""
"The leader of the House of Commons has said he would accept the job of becoming Britain's next European Commissioner.
Andrew Lansley, the former health secretary, indicated that he has already been asked by the Prime Minister to take up the role as he burnished his Eurosceptic credentials.
Asked whether he will serve as commissioner by Andrew Neil on BBC Two's Daily Politics, he replied: "If the prime minister asks me, I want to say yes.""
I once had a work colleague who was Australian, interested in politics and voted here in the UK under the commonwealth citizenship rules. He was only able to work in the UK because his wife, who was German, was working in the UK under EU freedom on movement rules. She did not have a vote in the UK general election, but he did.
BTW I think we may have finally stumbled on a workable definition of "demos". If the majority of voters would vote for someone with their own general political leanings but from another region over someone with the same general political leanings from their own region, you have one. If they wouldn't, you don't. Ignoring the consequences for the EU for a minute, does that catch what people are trying to say?
It doesn't capture what I'm trying to say.
My definition of a demos would be an acceptance by most of those voting for the losing candidate that the winning candidate had a mandate to speak for them on the matters for which they were elected.
I'm not sure the US had that, especially at the height of the Tea Party crazy.
The word "most" was included to cater for a minority of nutters. And it is possible for a demos to disintegrate. A number of our north British posters would assert that strongly.
I thought you meant he was going to extend the network to something more useful now we have the core up and running, and the council know what mistakes not to make (the money squandered by the Unionist parties has been lost, but we may as well use what we have).
Instead I find you complaining about a public inquiry into why that squandering happened!!
As they used to say at school, cmpare and contrast ...
Mr Salmond has friends round to tea (Mr and Mrs Weir, SNP party members) - Labour waste public money on an inquiry which only ends up proving that Mr S paid for his own teabags and bikkies. [for Southron PBers, this is not a joke - it did happen].
Labour and LD MSPs, with Tory connivance, hand a huge wodge of cash to a Labour-LD Edinburgh Council who misspend it with the most unbelievable incmpetence on the trams, and in so doing wreck the national budget for road and tramsport improvements elsewhere - including the A9. I can't imagine why you would want to sweep it under the carpet.
Comments
http://news.sky.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2649429/Some-guys-prefer-blondes-brunettes-I-like-old-ladies-Extreme-toyboy-31-takes-91-year-old-girlfriend-home-meet-mother.html
Before I open the link, It isn't to do with the "Future Conservatives" in Newark is it?
Mr. Tokyo, observe the difference between the UK and eurozone economies. If anyone lacks a steering wheel and is driving off a cliff, it's euroland.
Neither of those propositions looks remotely convincing as of today's date.
Astonishing!
See, we've only been talking about it for a few minutes, and you're weighing up the choice and voting foreign...
Considering the bookies' odds, there are a surprising number predicting a UKIP win.
http://beestonia.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/froch-vs-groves-pah-bring-on-lord-biro-v-david-watts-a-newark-by-election-special/
I can confirm there is no UKIP in the list of primary options.
It also has Ant & Dec on the list of Greatest living English Person.
It is interesting how more and more Mrs May is coming across as someone not to cross. The next iron lady?
Merkel would be far more competent, but the principle of a foreigner governing Britain is unacceptable.
Imagine a Commission President who has won an EU-wide vote (good question, what voting system would be used? One for TSE, I think). If a highly federalist president is appointed, how the hell is he or she going to command respect in a Britain that is completely out of sympathy with that? Or a president with a free market agenda in a France that adores national champions and the CAP? It's just not yet workable.
May's comments, on the Queen's Speech day and one day before a by-election, breaking the hitherto rather (weirdly) united Conservative ranks for infighting, does not strike me as terribly clever and seems far more about her trying to position herself as a future leadership contender rather than anything else.
"People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland"
This is not the US you know. The PM could already be a "foreigner", and indeed the leader of the Green Party was born in Australia.
That's the correct reference Gin.
Okay people,
I'm going to search twitter - wish me luck.
I'm back!
That was scary.
For an office that is frequently the destroyer of tory PM ambitions that is quite impressive even if the timing was, well, odd. If the tories lose she is nailed on as next leader. If they win she still holds a poison chalice which just might blow up in her face at some point so it is less predictable.
Thatcher wanted to close down the coal mines. Half the country hated her. A leader with a free market agenda would infuriate French farmers and they'd blockade things with tractors, while of a minority of French voters would support him or her over them. This is how democracy works.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-27714679
Julia Gillard is the only ever Welsh born PM (PM of Australia).
Some people live in cloud cuckoo land and think things can be don with the stroke of a pen or some purposely distort the fact to fit their prejudices.
http://passportsforbitcoin.com/st-kitts-program/
An elected European Commission President would have no such loyalty in the opposition that they faced.
Well, I suppose English is an official language of the EU...
https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/david-lloyd-george
Move over Chuka Umunna - we're going to get ourselves the real deal!
Edit
I'm wrong.
Edit: Nobody thought it odd in those days that a Welsh MP lived in Sussex. Mind you nobody ever seemed to wonder how he ever acquired the cash to buy such an enormous chunk of prime land in the first place. Denis "squeeze the rich" Healey when he was Chancellor had a farm not far up the road from Callaghan's.
(Rwanda was Belgian territory, but they recently started using English officially)
If UKIP are perceived as electable under FPTP, rather than just a protest, then they could make gains against Labour and the LibDems too. (Disaffected "blue collar" Labour + BNP + Tory + Non-Specific Protest voting fot UKIP in a Labour constituency could cause more than one upset)
First election, need one nomination from a Prime Minister or President to be able to stand.
Europe wide vote.
Top two vote winners, go into the next stage. If anyone gets over 50% then that person wins, then no second stage.
Second stage, conducted under first past the post.The Winner Takes It All.
Only in Labour mythology.
http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2014/06/05/new-analysis-of-post-election-plp-erodes-yvettes-leadership-front-runner-status/#more-18364
My definition of a demos would be an acceptance by most of those voting for the losing candidate that the winning candidate had a mandate to speak for them on the matters for which they were elected.
(It's knowing these kinds of facts that make me cool).
[Obviously using wikipedia as a source makes me slow and uncool...]
Word has it that Frank Dobson is about to announce that he will not fight Holborn and St Pancras for Labour at the next general election. Given where the seat is located and how safe it is expect a scramble to succeed him. The person chosen will be EdM's MP, as well as SeanT's and my Mum's. There'll be a lot of big names looking to get the nod, but keep a look out for Patrick French. Born and bred in the constituency, he still lives there and is a hospital consultant (specialising in STDs!). He probably won't get it because he lacks any in-depth political experience outside of working extremely hard as a volunteer for the local party, but he would be an excellent choice and may appeal to the anti-establishment vote. Obviously, if it's an all-woman list he's buggered!
You get the same disease a few times and they act like its my fault.
"The leader of the House of Commons has said he would accept the job of becoming Britain's next European Commissioner.
Andrew Lansley, the former health secretary, indicated that he has already been asked by the Prime Minister to take up the role as he burnished his Eurosceptic credentials.
Asked whether he will serve as commissioner by Andrew Neil on BBC Two's Daily Politics, he replied: "If the prime minister asks me, I want to say yes.""
Did anyone get any money on him?
Impiety has made a feast of thee, you know.
So did I, but I didn't put too much on.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/06/05/UKIP-needs-an-ideology-Otherwise-why-should-we-bother
Instead I find you complaining about a public inquiry into why that squandering happened!!
As they used to say at school, cmpare and contrast ...
Mr Salmond has friends round to tea (Mr and Mrs Weir, SNP party members) - Labour waste public money on an inquiry which only ends up proving that Mr S paid for his own teabags and bikkies. [for Southron PBers, this is not a joke - it did happen].
Labour and LD MSPs, with Tory connivance, hand a huge wodge of cash to a Labour-LD Edinburgh Council who misspend it with the most unbelievable incmpetence on the trams, and in so doing wreck the national budget for road and tramsport improvements elsewhere - including the A9. I can't imagine why you would want to sweep it under the carpet.
"You need a stud in your life, I've got the STD all I need is u."