politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Why the next general election will be in 2022
At the end of my session before the House of Lords Committee yesterday the chairman, Lord Lipsey asked for our thoughts on the likely year of the next general election.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
That'll be a hard decision for him. Listening to arseholes talk shit about bollocks in Westminster or being on the line for a CL match in the Nou Camp.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
the absence of Mr Ross suggests that Tory whips have adopted a relaxed approach and could mean the Conservatives repeat the ploy they used to avoid a potential rebellion in previous Labour-led debates in the Commons by abstaining en masse....
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: "There will be many Scottish Conservative representatives in this debate.
"Douglas has held more than 50 surgeries since becoming an MP and has met personally with (Work and Pensions Secretary) David Gauke to discuss local cases which have arisen from those.
"Despite what the SNP thinks, the people of Moray are right behind Douglas and his refereeing, as they showed decisively when they elected him as their MP just a few months ago."
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
That'll be a hard decision for him. Listening to arseholes talk shit about bollocks in Westminster or being on the line for a CL match in the Nou Camp.
It may be this was a hidden factor in GE2017. Patients (and their friends and families) know when they are on a waiting list, regardless of the newspaper headlines.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
What about the argument that parliament needs a wider mix of MPs than just career politicians.
Given a choice this parliament runs to 2022 - I agree with that. But plenty of scenarios where the choice isn't in the government's gift - a disastrous exit from the EU, a transition deal that pulls the Tories apart, the DUP killing the C&S deal over the border issue and making the government do unstable it can't carry on.
In practice though the fixed term parliament act could be the only reason why the election runs to 2022. I can see a period where we have a government in office but the opposition being in power, driving the legislative programme thanks to increased rebellions against a government stupid enough to (for example) insist there is no problem with 6 week waits for Universal Credit. We have a zombie PM- I can see how that extends to a zombie government, held in place by the FTPA because the numbers in the commons don't let it govern but also don't allow a new election or alternate government formed from within it's members.
Final point. It's increasingly clear that a stubborn emotionally stunted politically neutered PM has every intention of lashing her hands to the wheel to maintain a steady course whilst her "colleagues" fight around her. The course is towards the titanic iceberg, and it will sink the Tory party. MPs can and probably will prevent an early election and thus save their own seats for a few years. At the expense of an economic calamity for the country that huggers their party for another generation as Black Wednesday and Maastrict did last time.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
What if he decides their views are best represented by him abstaining?
The legislation is all in place for UC and the decision whether to roll it out or not is one given to Ministers. I suspect this is another opposition day motion that the Tories will feel perfectly entitled to ignore if it doesn't go their way. I can't make up my mind whether this shows a contempt of Parliament or the pointlessness of opposition. Maybe both.
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
Parliamentary Electors: source ONS. 2015 GE register 46 354 197 Dec 2015 register (used for boundary review) 44 722 200 2017 GE register 46 843 896.
That is not a coincidence. The registers were culled. No attempt was made to get people to re-register. They declined most in Labour areas. They rose again in the same areas (by and large), due to registration drives. Therefore, the Register was used for purely Party political purposes. Unless you think the population fell then rose again.
Quite. It's also worth noting that the culling of the December 2015 register was a deliberate political act at the end of the transition to the flawed system of Individual Electoral Registration. The Electoral Commission argued explicitly that the register should not have been culled at that point of names still retained from the old registration system. The Government however knew the political significance of the Dec 2015 register for the boundary review and used their (then) majority to overturn the Electoral Commission's recommendation. What happened subsequently was that a significant segment of the population started to take an interest in voting and woke up to the fact that many of them had been left off the new register in time to get their names back on for the 2016 referendum and 2017 GE. ....
Interesting Idea. The voter turnout in 2016 was higher than expected, which might mean that there were many younger voters had not yet got themselves back on the register.
It is not difficult to imagine that many younger adults who were potential remain voters but not on the register suddenly realised that "voting matters" and got themselves on the register before GE 2017. Do we have the break down in registered voters to see this?
[after allowing the simulated Tory Majority to be destroyed]
Theresa: Permission to speak freely, sir?
TSE: Granted.
Theresa: I do not believe this was a fair test of my Prime Ministerial abilities.
TSE: And why not?
Theresa: Because... there was no way to win.
TSE: A no-win situation is a possibility every PM may face. Has that never occurred to you?
Theresa: No, sir, it has not.
TSE: And how we deal with Brexit is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?
Theresa: As I indicated, Admiral, that thought had not occurred to me.
TSE: Well, now you have something new to think about. Carry on.
Knowing this government, Kobayashi Maru would have been deported for sounding foreign, leaving a disabled veteran unable to care for himself supposedly looking after himself and their children...
One has to seriously wonder about the quality of civil servants in the DWP. The leadership through most of this period under IDS was laughably incompetent (at least you could laugh if if you were not dependent on benefits) but even so. The idea that a majority of the membership once thought that man was the one to lead them into a GE with a view to becoming PM is a deeply depressing one.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
What about the argument that parliament needs a wider mix of MPs than just career politicians.
And not discriminate against parents of small children, etc etc.
Meh. Parliament is tied into a load of formerly sensible, but now ridiculous pre-internet conventions.
Legislation via wiki, parliamentary votes via iphone. Be physically present in parliament once a month and sign to confirm all of your contributions/votes are genuine.
Parliament should be 99% virtual, with avatar MPs.
Isn’t there a case for a Government to have to depend on more than 'just‘ party members when trying to get something of the gravity of Brexit through the House? I know ‘the people’ voted for Brexit but by no means all of us did. And, while the question hasn’t been formally asked, it’s quite likely that, for example, a ‘no deal’ Brexit and WTO rules wouldn’t be the wish of most of us.
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
The 1979 election was probably at the worst possible time, and in the worst possible circumstances for the Callagham government. If Maguire had turned up and voted as promised the election could have been postponed until after the summer, when things qwere improving. Although of course if Callaghan had called it in the auumn of ’78 the Tories would probably have had a small majority and the Winter of Discontent, which would have meant a seond electiopn in 79 and Callaghan’s return.,
I broadly agree (though five years for tight odds isn't to my taste). It's worth remembering that the mistake was not the election call. It was the worst approach to winning since Julius Caesar charged Gergovia before realising scaling a wall was easier if you brought ladders.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I think either of these are credible reasons for an earlier election, but the question is how many Tory MPs would put country ahead of party? Not many, I think.
On the other hand, those in marginals may see Brexit as ending their political careers, so jumping ship not suicidal.
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
Brown was heading to defeat after the crash no matter when he went. He missed his opportunity in the early months of his Premiership although May's experience shows that that was perhaps not the no brainer that people thought at the time. The majority he inherited was substantially greater than May and it is possible, if not certain, that he would have held on with a much reduced majority if he had gone before the crash.
My recollection of 78/9 was that even before the Winter of Discontent there was a strong perception of drift and chaos in the government. Inflation was rising out of control, the public finances and services were perceived to be a mess and the Unions were thought to have way too much power. Only the divisive nature of Mrs T gave Labour any hope.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
I don't think the Tories would have lost so many seats had the GE been in 1995. John Smith died in May 2014. I think the abolition of Clause 4 was the topic of 2015,which was a bitter row in the Labour Party. From about 2015 on the Labour Party with Blair's very positive media presence really started to control the agenda; the government was having to defend itself at every step against the confident proposals from the Labour camp.
It was this that turned a hypothetical Labour majority in 1995 to an actual Labour landslide in 1997.
I'm still puzzled about the tactics behind Labour wanting a final vote on the deal. If May comes back with a deal that Labour dislike, they will vote against.
Now, it's a certainty that will happen because there's no way we'll be offered single market membership without an unacceptable humungous price tag. So Labour will vote against. May will have no time to negotiate a change, and it won't matter because the EU won't listen.
So Labour and a few Conservatives vote against and we are out with no deal at all.
Why then are Labour suggesting it? And why haven't the political commentators put this to the Labour spokesmen?
I do have a cynical view. It's called party before country (and that's the kind version) And no, as I've said before, I don't believe Juncker or Barnier are gagging to give us a good deal, if only they were asked nicely.
Politics has always been a child's playground, but it does seem to have worsened lately.
I broadly agree (though five years for tight odds isn't to my taste). It's worth remembering that the mistake was not the election call. It was the worst approach to winning since Julius Caesar charged Gergovia before realising scaling a wall was easier if you brought ladders.
Just wondering why that metaphor isn't used more widely.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
MPs voting down a deal would be madness as that would amount to a positive vote for a no-deal WTO exit. Remainers' task would be much more difficult if they wanted to stop a hard Brexit. As I see it they would have to contrive a change of government without a GE, and for that new government to aim at least to extend A50 rather than face a crash out. Thoughts on how to achieve that??
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
MPs voting down a deal would be madness as that would amount to a positive vote for a no-deal WTO exit. Remainers' task would be much more difficult if they wanted to stop a hard Brexit. As I see it they would have to contrive a change of government without a GE, and for that new government to aim at least to extend A50 rather than face a crash out. Thoughts on how to achieve that??
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
Brown was heading to defeat after the crash no matter when he went. He missed his opportunity in the early months of his Premiership although May's experience shows that that was perhaps not the no brainer that people thought at the time. The majority he inherited was substantially greater than May and it is possible, if not certain, that he would have held on with a much reduced majority if he had gone before the crash.
My recollection of 78/9 was that even before the Winter of Discontent there was a strong perception of drift and chaos in the government. Inflation was rising out of control, the public finances and services were perceived to be a mess and the Unions were thought to have way too much power. Only the divisive nature of Mrs T gave Labour any hope.
There is something odd about people's memories of the Callaghan government. You say inflation was rising out of control, yet it was higher under the preceding and following Conservative governments. Yesterday's Telegraph piece by Kemi attributed the 3-day week to Labour (and tbh it was several hours before this struck me). It is as if our collective consciousness has become distorted, perhaps by the reputation of the Thatcher governments.
Yes it was. Someone should do one of those Facebook quiz things where you answer questions to find out which group you belong to.
Incidentally I posted on here that in my experience working class leavers were very unlikely to vote Conservative. It is one of the conclusions the survey draws too.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I'm starting to think that the risk of 'No Deal' is receding, almost to nothing. And also, 'No Deal' isn't synonymous with no FTA, which is where some seem to be heading.
From a British perspective, it is politically impossible for a UK govt to be on the hook for continuing aid to prop up the EZ, improve roads in Spain or Romania, etc, BEYOND 2022.
For the EU, it is improbable that they could continue to fund the level of spending that they currently enjoy unless they replace UK current financial input. Almost certainly, there will be a fudge, which involves us entering into agreements to 'run' joint projects for which we will simply 'pay too much' - thereby creating some surplus that will be used to soften the blow.
Secondly, each nation will have pinch points. The Spanish/Portuguese - Tourism. Germany - manufactured exports. France - Agriculture & tourism. EU Hauliers across the 27. EU Air Carriers across the 27. France/Spain/ Netherlands - Fishing. The wailing will be tremendous, not just from British companies, but from EU based companies.
When it comes down to it, all politics is local - and that applies to the 27 as much as it does us, and the national govts won't be able to ignore damaged sectors. There will be a deal, nuts and bolts maybe (i.e no FTA), but there will be a deal, however long it takes.
I'm starting to think that the risk of 'No Deal' is receding, almost to nothing. And also, 'No Deal' isn't synonymous with no FTA, which is where some seem to be heading.
Any sensible view of our position in the current negotiations with the EU is that we have a weak BATNA. A very weak one. The alternative of leaving with no deal is so bad that even those who appear to advocate it, aren’t really advocating it.
What most advocates mean by “no deal” is a negotiated arrangement to leave the EU without a free trade arrangement. In other words, get this, a deal to have no deal. That’s because they appreciate that actually having no deal at all, no negotiated agreement of any kind, promises so much chaos and economic damage to Britain as to be utterly unacceptable.
When Philip Hammond posited, for instance, that no deal might involve the grounding of aircraft after Brexit he was ridiculed by those claiming no one would ever allow this to happen. But this ridicule expresses confidence that no deal would be accompanied by….a deal.
Yes it was. Someone should do one of those Facebook quiz things where you answer questions to find out which group you belong to.
Incidentally I posted on here that in my experience working class leavers were very unlikely to vote Conservative. It is one of the conclusions the survey draws too.
Yougov's perspective on those groupings would be useful.
aiui, of all the pollsters, their panel is the biggest and they have the most complete demographic picture.
One thing is clear though, the ABC1C2DE categories are useless.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I'm starting to think that the risk of 'No Deal' is receding, almost to nothing. And also, 'No Deal' isn't synonymous with no FTA, which is where some seem to be heading.
From a British perspective, it is politically impossible for a UK govt to be on the hook for continuing aid to prop up the EZ, improve roads in Spain or Romania, etc, BEYOND 2022.
For the EU, it is improbable that they could continue to fund the level of spending that they currently enjoy unless they replace UK current financial input. Almost certainly, there will be a fudge, which involves us entering into agreements to 'run' joint projects for which we will simply 'pay too much' - thereby creating some surplus that will be used to soften the blow.
Secondly, each nation will have pinch points. The Spanish/Portuguese - Tourism. Germany - manufactured exports. France - Agriculture & tourism. EU Hauliers across the 27. EU Air Carriers across the 27. France/Spain/ Netherlands - Fishing. The wailing will be tremendous, not just from British companies, but from EU based companies.
When it comes down to it, all politics is local - and that applies to the 27 as much as it does us, and the national govts won't be able to ignore damaged sectors. There will be a deal, nuts and bolts maybe (i.e no FTA), but there will be a deal, however long it takes.
I am sure you are right. But the 'flavour' of the deal will be important to the politics. If it looks like the UK government are supplicants accepting whatever the EU deigns to offer, it will reflect badly on the negotiators.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I think either of these are credible reasons for an earlier election, but the question is how many Tory MPs would put country ahead of party? Not many, I think.
On the other hand, those in marginals may see Brexit as ending their political careers, so jumping ship not suicidal.
Let me make this very clear for you: in any one of an infinite number of parallel universes it will never be in this country's interests to put Corbyn in power, or anywhere near it.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
What about the argument that parliament needs a wider mix of MPs than just career politicians.
Sure, but the voters of Moray deserve to be represented in a discussion on an important topic.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
Brown was heading to defeat after the crash no matter when he went. He missed his opportunity in the early months of his Premiership although May's experience shows that that was perhaps not the no brainer that people thought at the time. The majority he inherited was substantially greater than May and it is possible, if not certain, that he would have held on with a much reduced majority if he had gone before the crash.
My recollection of 78/9 was that even before the Winter of Discontent there was a strong perception of drift and chaos in the government. Inflation was rising out of control, the public finances and services were perceived to be a mess and the Unions were thought to have way too much power. Only the divisive nature of Mrs T gave Labour any hope.
There is something odd about people's memories of the Callaghan government. You say inflation was rising out of control, yet it was higher under the preceding and following Conservative governments. Yesterday's Telegraph piece by Kemi attributed the 3-day week to Labour (and tbh it was several hours before this struck me). It is as if our collective consciousness has become distorted, perhaps by the reputation of the Thatcher governments.
As with the Thatcher government there are collective myths with that of Labour of 1974-79.
Inflation is always mentioned although that was in many ways an inheritence from the Barber boom and the oil shock of 1973 whereas the recession of 1975, when unemployment first became endemic in Britain (hence the 'Labour isn't Working' posters), rarely is.
From 1977q3 to 1978q4 there was actually strong economic growth:
May will certainly try to go on until June 2022, however if she is replaced as Tory leader before then, probably after Brexit is completed in March 2019, any new Tory leader may want to try and get a renewed mandate and at least a small majority although that depends on them getting a polling bounce.
By 2022 we will also have had the 2020 US presidential election, which on current US polling will be comfortably won by Bernie Sanders, while the next French presidential election is due to be in April and May 2022 and in which Melenchon is likely to be perhaps Macron's main rival. So by June 2022 a PM Corbyn may not seem so outlandish after all but in line with the international trend.
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
The 1979 election was probably at the worst possible time, and in the worst possible circumstances for the Callagham government. If Maguire had turned up and voted as promised the election could have been postponed until after the summer, when things qwere improving. Although of course if Callaghan had called it in the auumn of ’78 the Tories would probably have had a small majority and the Winter of Discontent, which would have meant a seond electiopn in 79 and Callaghan’s return.,
Well, if we can't even predict the past then not much chance with the future
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I think either of these are credible reasons for an earlier election, but the question is how many Tory MPs would put country ahead of party? Not many, I think.
On the other hand, those in marginals may see Brexit as ending their political careers, so jumping ship not suicidal.
Let me make this very clear for you: in any one of an infinite number of parallel universes it will never be in this country's interests to put Corbyn in power, or anywhere near it.
You misunderstand the country's interests.
You also misunderstand your fellow countrymen.
Look at the polls. Trust the voters.
They are not misunderstood, and do not require educating.
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
He needs to decide which is more important: representing his constituents or pursuing his football career
What about the argument that parliament needs a wider mix of MPs than just career politicians.
Sure, but the voters of Moray deserve to be represented in a discussion on an important topic.
A difficult one, but it’s an Opposition day motion rather than government legislation. I think the whips are going to have a hard enough time getting people in for the key votes in this Parliament, that they’re prepared to let this one slide.
I’m still hoping that at some point during one of the Brexit votes, we’ll see a photo of Ken Clarke and Kate Hoey join each other for a glass of something strong on the Terrace, their own unofficial pairing for the evening.
you also daid she didnt have a reputation, so how could she trash it ?
She had the perception of a good reputation with the voters, I was one of the few to see through her from the start.
Though to be honest, I thought the public would see the real her in 2018 when Brexit started going mammary glands up.
lol
no you sulked becasue she sacked Osborne
I have a statue of her in my garden
She doomed the party and the country when she did that.
To be honest it wasn’t the sacking of Osborne that pissed me off, it was the manner she and her team sacked the little people when she took power.
Was proof that she was a flat truck bully and not very good.
She lacked class.
Sadly for all of us her ineptness has made Corbyn as PM likely.
guffaw
yeh because Osborne did so much for the little people, leprachauns have a shrine to him
the sad thing is maybe she should have left him in place since most the current shit was caused by him and he could have been made clean up his own messes
One has to seriously wonder about the quality of civil servants in the DWP. The leadership through most of this period under IDS was laughably incompetent (at least you could laugh if if you were not dependent on benefits) but even so. The idea that a majority of the membership once thought that man was the one to lead them into a GE with a view to becoming PM is a deeply depressing one.
It was Osborne who insisted on the lengthy delay for UC payment Not IDS
Isn’t there a case for a Government to have to depend on more than 'just‘ party members when trying to get something of the gravity of Brexit through the House? I know ‘the people’ voted for Brexit but by no means all of us did. And, while the question hasn’t been formally asked, it’s quite likely that, for example, a ‘no deal’ Brexit and WTO rules wouldn’t be the wish of most of us.
The working class voters who won it for Leave did so largely to reduce immigration, they will be furious if their victory leads to no new immigration controls, even if only on a short term basis we have to end free movement
That is not an error at all, it is simply a reality. If we cannot get an FTA agreed soon the country will be damaged by entering a transition period without a destination. It is the uncertainty that is going to damage the economy far more than a no deal exit.
There is plenty of time to agree the concept of an FTA during the A50 process, with the details (and more relevantly the EU ratification) being worked out in due course.
If we can't agree an FTA now, what makes anyone think it could be agreed during an extension?
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
This is what I wrote.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
On topic if the government can maintain their arrangement with the DUP I think Mike is undoubtedly right. Fag end governments tend to hang on to the last in the hope something turns up anyway, see Labour 1974-9, 2005-2010 and the Tories 1992-7. So even without the FTPA I would expect that.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
In the first two examples, that nearly worked. Callaghan might have won had he gone in 1978 (he was somewhat unlucky with the Winter of Discontent) and Labour got their act together in the last 6 months of the 2005 Parliament, denying Cameron a majority.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
Brown was heading to defeat after the crash no matter when he went. He missed his opportunity in the early months of his Premiership although May's experience shows that that was perhaps not the no brainer that people thought at the time. The majority he inherited was substantially greater than May and it is possible, if not certain, that he would have held on with a much reduced majority if he had gone before the crash.
My recollection of 78/9 was that even before the Winter of Discontent there was a strong perception of drift and chaos in the government. Inflation was rising out of control, the public finances and services were perceived to be a mess and the Unions were thought to have way too much power. Only the divisive nature of Mrs T gave Labour any hope.
There is something odd about people's memories of the Callaghan government. You say inflation was rising out of control, yet it was higher under the preceding and following Conservative governments. Yesterday's Telegraph piece by Kemi attributed the 3-day week to Labour (and tbh it was several hours before this struck me). It is as if our collective consciousness has become distorted, perhaps by the reputation of the Thatcher governments.
I think it's because some of these matters were caused by industrial action by the unions and they were seen at the time and perhaps later as one and the same as Labour. But you're right that the 3-day week happened under Heath because he was unable to govern effectively. Labour thought at the time that working with the unions would bring industrial peace. Callaghan was to find that that wasn't the case. Hence Thatcher etc.....
One has to seriously wonder about the quality of civil servants in the DWP. The leadership through most of this period under IDS was laughably incompetent (at least you could laugh if if you were not dependent on benefits) but even so. The idea that a majority of the membership once thought that man was the one to lead them into a GE with a view to becoming PM is a deeply depressing one.
It was Osborne who insisted on the lengthy delay for UC payment Not IDS
I took one look at Verify, and decided to stick with my Government Gateway passcode until that closes down. The Verify system involves a set of six private companies.
The argument is six different databases are less hackable than one central one.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
This is what I wrote.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
Brown did not call a snap election in 2007 though unlike May in 2017 but waited until 2010 hence Brown will go down in the history books as having got just 29% of the vote to May's 42% and 258 seats to May's 318.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
There's a clear path to a 2021 GE - the Transition Period is strictly two years and ends on March 31st 2021.
Global Britain is launched with much fanfare, a couple of FTAs (Canada and NZ perhaps ?) and the Chancellor shows his largesse (ooer) with some tax cuts and big spending plans to spread a large dollop of "feel good" and an election is called for May 6th.
Some on here seems to think with the jolly old optimist Boris at the helm zip-wiring his way across the land and the steady hand of Gove on the financial tiller and a strong tailwind of unaffordable tax cuts to steer the mighty "HMS Global Britain" on its way, everyone will forget the past, focus on the future and return the Conservatives (re-branded for the fourth or fifth time).
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
This is what I wrote.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
Brown did not call a snap election in 2007 though unlike May in 2017 but waited until 2010 hence Brown will go down in the history books as having got just 29% of the vote to May's 42% and 258 seats to May's 318.
I didn’t say he called a snap election merely speculation about it trashed his reputation just like Mrs May did by calling one.
But you still wouldn't want to invite a Leaver home to tea.
How many young actors are advised dont go home for tea with Roger ?
Early in my career I was invited to the home of a well known producer anxious to secure my services as a director. I was warned by colleagues that she would come and sit next to me on her sofa and put her hand on my leg. You can't imagine the humiliation I felt when she not only didn't put her hand on my leg she didn't even sit next to me on her sofa.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
This is what I wrote.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
Brown did not call a snap election in 2007 though unlike May in 2017 but waited until 2010 hence Brown will go down in the history books as having got just 29% of the vote to May's 42% and 258 seats to May's 318.
That leaves out the effect of the smaller parties collapsing.
May will certainly try to go on until June 2022, however if she is replaced as Tory leader before then, probably after Brexit is completed in March 2019, any new Tory leader may want to try and get a renewed mandate and at least a small majority although that depends on them getting a polling bounce.
By 2022 we will also have had the 2020 US presidential election, which on current US polling will be comfortably won by Bernie Sanders, while the next French presidential election is due to be in April and May 2022 and in which Melenchon is likely to be perhaps Macron's main rival. So by June 2022 a PM Corbyn may not seem so outlandish after all but in line with the international trend.
I think on balance that OGH is correct, this will run five years. But it is very hard to say that is other than a reasoned guess.
A lot, indeed, perhaps all, will rest on the personality of the new Tory leader in 2019. A Boris type figure with a decent sized ego may take the risk in order to have a mandate.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
Yes he did but that was the effect of the global economic meltdown, not of domestic policy. Interestingly, there were reports last week that Osborne had conceded that Labour's response was right, though I've not seen any details.
you also daid she didnt have a reputation, so how could she trash it ?
She had the perception of a good reputation with the voters, I was one of the few to see through her from the start.
Though to be honest, I thought the public would see the real her in 2018 when Brexit started going mammary glands up.
I was worse than that.
I suspected she was like that all along, I had a bad experience with her wayback in 2002, convinced myself it was an outlier and I'd got her wrong - because I wanted to believe that - and then my original view was vindicated.
There will not be no deal. If senior cabinet ministers are confident enough (who isn't vs TMay right now?) to dismiss the idea of no deal as ludicrous, then we can be pretty sure that there won't be no deal.
In any case all other issues aside, it would be absolutely suicidal for the Cons to pursue a no deal which would destroy their reputation (such that it still exists) for economic competence.
People often point to the difference between the deficit, or inflation, or some other economic aggregate under Lab vs Cons usually noting that under Lab it was worse. Which as has been pointed out on this thread already was often not the case. It is simply the perception that the Cons run the economy better than Lab and if this perception goes, the Cons have precious little left.
I think there is a huge difference between the SNP voting against the 2017 election that they knew would happen anyway and them genuinely being instrumental in propping up an unpopular Tory government no matter where they are in the polls.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
This is what I wrote.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
Brown did not call a snap election in 2007 though unlike May in 2017 but waited until 2010 hence Brown will go down in the history books as having got just 29% of the vote to May's 42% and 258 seats to May's 318.
His reputation still got trashed by a snap election (an election he didn't call and which didn't happen). You can't deny surely that his dithering over whether to call a snap election or not did him a lot of harm. TSE's point in his last post is logically accurate.
you also daid she didnt have a reputation, so how could she trash it ?
She had the perception of a good reputation with the voters, I was one of the few to see through her from the start.
Though to be honest, I thought the public would see the real her in 2018 when Brexit started going mammary glands up.
I was worse than that.
I suspected she was like that all along, I had a bad experience with her wayback in 2002, convinced myself it was an outlier and I'd got her wrong - because I wanted to believe that - and then my original view was vindicated.
There wasn't a great deal she had to do in order to steer the ship uneventfully.
Keep her head down, not rock the boat, quietly keep on keeping on: not too much to ask.
And OK, the polls tell you you are going to get a stonking majority, sure, let's go for it, try to realise that landslide. But don't all of a sudden think you are Boadicea when you have hitherto been, well, Theresa May.
On topic, great article by OGH. Nice to talk about the betting once more.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
I think either of these are credible reasons for an earlier election, but the question is how many Tory MPs would put country ahead of party? Not many, I think.
On the other hand, those in marginals may see Brexit as ending their political careers, so jumping ship not suicidal.
Let me make this very clear for you: in any one of an infinite number of parallel universes it will never be in this country's interests to put Corbyn in power, or anywhere near it.
You misunderstand the country's interests.
You also misunderstand your fellow countrymen.
Look at the polls. Trust the voters.
They are not misunderstood, and do not require educating.
I don't misunderstand the country's interests at all.
I understand the frustrations of some of those who voted for Corbyn, but he offers no solutions.
One of my key basic criteria for any candidate for PM from any party is that they must be a patriot. Corbyn has demonstrated time and time again he is anything but and would rather side with our enemies.
You wouldn't get Blair, Brown, Callaghan or Wilson doing that. Labour in the 1930s to Hitler and Atlee post war to communism were also very brave and patriotic, and stood up for the UK's interests, as well as those of the wider world.
The silly and irrelevant jibe about overseas aid undermines what ought to have been a serious point. Though I expect Richard Littlejohn was asking the same question in the Mail a decade ago, and in the Sun ten years before that.
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
Gordon Brown bailed out the depositors of those retail banks. He bailed out the guy who had his savings in Northern Rock. He bailed out the small business who had banked with RBS. He bailed out the family who used Lloyds for their current account.
Lehman Brothers was an investment bank. It did provide banking services to millions of people.
Do you really think the British economy would have performed better if millions of peoples' bank accounts were frozen, and tens of thousands of businesses were unable to function as their bank had gone bust?
On topic: I feel the main risk of an early election is the government being constrained, by parliament or by circumstance, to a Brexit course that is totally unpalatable for a large number of them to enact, triggering large scale ministerial resignations. It would be a crisis in rebuilding an executive, rather than loss of parliamentary numbers that might lead to an election.
Think an early Corbyn reshuffle with no recognised interim leader to undertake it, nobody wanting to take jobs and the clock ticking to midnight.
One thing that has surprised me is I don't think there has been a written Ministerial Direction on universal credit. If the civil servants really think it is going to be a train wreck - they should surely have asked for one by now?
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
Gordon Brown bailed out the depositors of those retail banks. He bailed out the guy who had his savings in Northern Rock. He bailed out the small business who had banked with RBS. He bailed out the family who used Lloyds for their current account.
Lehman Brothers was an investment bank. It did provide banking services to millions of people.
Do you really think the British economy would have performed better if millions of peoples' bank accounts were frozen, and tens of thousands of businesses were unable to function as their bank had gone bust?
Here's a quick thought - now that there are means to transfer bank accounts between banks would it be possible / practical to allow a bank to be shut down with all accounts transferred to the remaining banks....
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
Gordon Brown bailed out the depositors of those retail banks. He bailed out the guy who had his savings in Northern Rock. He bailed out the small business who had banked with RBS. He bailed out the family who used Lloyds for their current account.
Lehman Brothers was an investment bank. It did provide banking services to millions of people.
Do you really think the British economy would have performed better if millions of peoples' bank accounts were frozen, and tens of thousands of businesses were unable to function as their bank had gone bust?
I have long said he should have let Northern Rock at least go bust, though with some compensation scheme for savers even if by 2008 he had to pursue the bailout
Brown got 29% and 258 seats, May 42% and 318 seats
Missing the point once again.
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Your point was she was Gordon Brown, in terms of her 1 election result she was actually closer to Major 1992 or Wilson 1974 or Cameron 2010 than Brown. Brown got a result closer to Heath's results in 1974
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Brown inherited a tired party after 10yrs of majority rule. Not much he could do really.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Brown left 9% unemployment, massive debt and bailed out every bank that asked, even Bush let Lehmans go bust
Gordon Brown bailed out the depositors of those retail banks. He bailed out the guy who had his savings in Northern Rock. He bailed out the small business who had banked with RBS. He bailed out the family who used Lloyds for their current account.
Lehman Brothers was an investment bank. It did provide banking services to millions of people.
Do you really think the British economy would have performed better if millions of peoples' bank accounts were frozen, and tens of thousands of businesses were unable to function as their bank had gone bust?
I'd have preferred an Icelandic solution personally.
Comments
https://tinyurl.com/yb6sclbm
A Tory MP is set to miss a debate and vote on welfare policy because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona.
Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos.
The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time – 45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/17/uk-most-severe-terror-threat-ever-mi5-islamist
Should listen to this;
https://www.lrb.co.uk/2017/10/17/adam-shatz/absolute-revolt
Especially ~24-29 min
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: "There will be many Scottish Conservative representatives in this debate.
"Douglas has held more than 50 surgeries since becoming an MP and has met personally with (Work and Pensions Secretary) David Gauke to discuss local cases which have arisen from those.
"Despite what the SNP thinks, the people of Moray are right behind Douglas and his refereeing, as they showed decisively when they elected him as their MP just a few months ago."
Certainly more reliable than the previous thread discussing boundary changes for NI that haven't actually been published.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41656667
It may be this was a hidden factor in GE2017. Patients (and their friends and families) know when they are on a waiting list, regardless of the newspaper headlines.
In practice though the fixed term parliament act could be the only reason why the election runs to 2022. I can see a period where we have a government in office but the opposition being in power, driving the legislative programme thanks to increased rebellions against a government stupid enough to (for example) insist there is no problem with 6 week waits for Universal Credit. We have a zombie PM- I can see how that extends to a zombie government, held in place by the FTPA because the numbers in the commons don't let it govern but also don't allow a new election or alternate government formed from within it's members.
Final point. It's increasingly clear that a stubborn emotionally stunted politically neutered PM has every intention of lashing her hands to the wheel to maintain a steady course whilst her "colleagues" fight around her. The course is towards the titanic iceberg, and it will sink the Tory party. MPs can and probably will prevent an early election and thus save their own seats for a few years. At the expense of an economic calamity for the country that huggers their party for another generation as Black Wednesday and Maastrict did last time.
The only question is whether the arrangement with the DUP can be maintained. That may well bring us back to the last thread.
It is not difficult to imagine that many younger adults who were potential remain voters but not on the register suddenly realised that "voting matters" and got themselves on the register before GE 2017. Do we have the break down in registered voters to see this?
One has to seriously wonder about the quality of civil servants in the DWP. The leadership through most of this period under IDS was laughably incompetent (at least you could laugh if if you were not dependent on benefits) but even so. The idea that a majority of the membership once thought that man was the one to lead them into a GE with a view to becoming PM is a deeply depressing one.
Meh. Parliament is tied into a load of formerly sensible, but now ridiculous pre-internet conventions.
Legislation via wiki, parliamentary votes via iphone. Be physically present in parliament once a month and sign to confirm all of your contributions/votes are genuine.
Parliament should be 99% virtual, with avatar MPs.
I know ‘the people’ voted for Brexit but by no means all of us did. And, while the question hasn’t been formally asked, it’s quite likely that, for example, a ‘no deal’ Brexit and WTO rules wouldn’t be the wish of most of us.
The 1992-1997 Parliament is the obvious outlier as the Tories were cruising for a bruising post Black Wednesday/Maastricht but waiting for the (very good) economic performance to become apparent was the right tactic.
God knows what would have happened to them had they gone to the country in 1995.
The biggest risk for this Government is "no deal" which is a still a strong possibility and I think could bring it down. A further risk is if Parliament votes down Theresa's deal resulting in no deal, which I think could be take as a loss of confidence.
So, it's no bet for me until aroundabout this time next year, when the shape of the deal and its politics are much clearer.
Although of course if Callaghan had called it in the auumn of ’78 the Tories would probably have had a small majority and the Winter of Discontent, which would have meant a seond electiopn in 79 and Callaghan’s return.,
I broadly agree (though five years for tight odds isn't to my taste). It's worth remembering that the mistake was not the election call. It was the worst approach to winning since Julius Caesar charged Gergovia before realising scaling a wall was easier if you brought ladders.
On the other hand, those in marginals may see Brexit as ending their political careers, so jumping ship not suicidal.
Brown was heading to defeat after the crash no matter when he went. He missed his opportunity in the early months of his Premiership although May's experience shows that that was perhaps not the no brainer that people thought at the time. The majority he inherited was substantially greater than May and it is possible, if not certain, that he would have held on with a much reduced majority if he had gone before the crash.
My recollection of 78/9 was that even before the Winter of Discontent there was a strong perception of drift and chaos in the government. Inflation was rising out of control, the public finances and services were perceived to be a mess and the Unions were thought to have way too much power. Only the divisive nature of Mrs T gave Labour any hope.
John Smith died in May 2014. I think the abolition of Clause 4 was the topic of 2015,which was a bitter row in the Labour Party. From about 2015 on the Labour Party with Blair's very positive media presence really started to control the agenda; the government was having to defend itself at every step against the confident proposals from the Labour camp.
It was this that turned a hypothetical Labour majority in 1995 to an actual Labour landslide in 1997.
Now, it's a certainty that will happen because there's no way we'll be offered single market membership without an unacceptable humungous price tag. So Labour will vote against. May will have no time to negotiate a change, and it won't matter because the EU won't listen.
So Labour and a few Conservatives vote against and we are out with no deal at all.
Why then are Labour suggesting it? And why haven't the political commentators put this to the Labour spokesmen?
I do have a cynical view. It's called party before country (and that's the kind version) And no, as I've said before, I don't believe Juncker or Barnier are gagging to give us a good deal, if only they were asked nicely.
Politics has always been a child's playground, but it does seem to have worsened lately.
Incidentally I posted on here that in my experience working class leavers were very unlikely to vote Conservative. It is one of the conclusions the survey draws too.
From a British perspective, it is politically impossible for a UK govt to be on the hook for continuing aid to prop up the EZ, improve roads in Spain or Romania, etc, BEYOND 2022.
For the EU, it is improbable that they could continue to fund the level of spending that they currently enjoy unless they replace UK current financial input. Almost certainly, there will be a fudge, which involves us entering into agreements to 'run' joint projects for which we will simply 'pay too much' - thereby creating some surplus that will be used to soften the blow.
Secondly, each nation will have pinch points. The Spanish/Portuguese - Tourism. Germany - manufactured exports. France - Agriculture & tourism. EU Hauliers across the 27. EU Air Carriers across the 27. France/Spain/ Netherlands - Fishing. The wailing will be tremendous, not just from British companies, but from EU based companies.
When it comes down to it, all politics is local - and that applies to the 27 as much as it does us, and the national govts won't be able to ignore damaged sectors. There will be a deal, nuts and bolts maybe (i.e no FTA), but there will be a deal, however long it takes.
What most advocates mean by “no deal” is a negotiated arrangement to leave the EU without a free trade arrangement. In other words, get this, a deal to have no deal. That’s because they appreciate that actually having no deal at all, no negotiated agreement of any kind, promises so much chaos and economic damage to Britain as to be utterly unacceptable.
When Philip Hammond posited, for instance, that no deal might involve the grounding of aircraft after Brexit he was ridiculed by those claiming no one would ever allow this to happen. But this ridicule expresses confidence that no deal would be accompanied by….a deal.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/we-need-to-play-for-time-on-brexit-gh5xktcnb
But you still wouldn't want to invite a Leaver home to tea.
aiui, of all the pollsters, their panel is the biggest and they have the most complete demographic picture.
One thing is clear though, the ABC1C2DE categories are useless.
Possibly even worse than useless.
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2017/07/13/if-or-when-theresa-may-is-replaced-her-successor-shouldnt-hold-a-snap-election/
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/politics/event/28265958/market?marketId=1.132100025
Though to be honest, I thought the public would see the real her in 2018 when Brexit started going mammary glands up.
no you sulked becasue she sacked Osborne
I have a statue of her in my garden
Inflation is always mentioned although that was in many ways an inheritence from the Barber boom and the oil shock of 1973 whereas the recession of 1975, when unemployment first became endemic in Britain (hence the 'Labour isn't Working' posters), rarely is.
From 1977q3 to 1978q4 there was actually strong economic growth:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/ihyq/qna
It was this growth that led to both Labour's recovery in the polls in 1978 and the pay claims and strikes of the winter of discontent.
By 2022 we will also have had the 2020 US presidential election, which on current US polling will be comfortably won by Bernie Sanders, while the next French presidential election is due to be in April and May 2022 and in which Melenchon is likely to be perhaps Macron's main rival. So by June 2022 a PM Corbyn may not seem so outlandish after all but in line with the international trend.
To be honest it wasn’t the sacking of Osborne that pissed me off, it was the manner she and her team sacked the little people when she took power.
Was proof that she was a flat truck bully and not very good.
She lacked class.
Sadly for all of us her ineptness has made Corbyn as PM likely.
You also misunderstand your fellow countrymen.
Look at the polls. Trust the voters.
They are not misunderstood, and do not require educating.
I’m still hoping that at some point during one of the Brexit votes, we’ll see a photo of Ken Clarke and Kate Hoey join each other for a glass of something strong on the Terrace, their own unofficial pairing for the evening.
Because the issues which were damaging the Conservatives in 2017 would only have increased in effect by 2020.
Although if Corbyn had been replaced by a wishy-washy EdM type then Labour might have struggled to exploit the Conservative weaknesses.
yeh because Osborne did so much for the little people, leprachauns have a shrine to him
the sad thing is maybe she should have left him in place since most the current shit was caused by him and he could have been made clean up his own messes
Or do you think Mrs May was enhanced by June’s result.
Another rinsing for Labour outside of London next year might have been a tipping point.
There is plenty of time to agree the concept of an FTA during the A50 process, with the details (and more relevantly the EU ratification) being worked out in due course.
If we can't agree an FTA now, what makes anyone think it could be agreed during an extension?
That is still the case even if the result was below expectations
Like Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister she most resembles, Mrs May trashed her reputation over a snap election too.
Fuck’s sake man. Do you think she wasn’t damaged by it?
The argument is six different databases are less hackable than one central one.
May took a party that had just 2yrs ago won it's first majority, pull off a spectacular 180 and lost it.
Good question:
"What would you rather the police do: investigate Twitter trolls or your ransacked home?
Philip Johnston"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/17/would-rather-police-do-investigate-twitter-trolls-ransacked/
There's a clear path to a 2021 GE - the Transition Period is strictly two years and ends on March 31st 2021.
Global Britain is launched with much fanfare, a couple of FTAs (Canada and NZ perhaps ?) and the Chancellor shows his largesse (ooer) with some tax cuts and big spending plans to spread a large dollop of "feel good" and an election is called for May 6th.
Some on here seems to think with the jolly old optimist Boris at the helm zip-wiring his way across the land and the steady hand of Gove on the financial tiller and a strong tailwind of unaffordable tax cuts to steer the mighty "HMS Global Britain" on its way, everyone will forget the past, focus on the future and return the Conservatives (re-branded for the fourth or fifth time).
Hint:
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1006F/production/_90474656_police_numbers3_624.png
Britain is just, well, better under labour.
Sorting out this tory mess is going to be a 2 term job.
A lot, indeed, perhaps all, will rest on the personality of the new Tory leader in 2019. A Boris type figure with a decent sized ego may take the risk in order to have a mandate.
I suspected she was like that all along, I had a bad experience with her wayback in 2002, convinced myself it was an outlier and I'd got her wrong - because I wanted to believe that - and then my original view was vindicated.
In any case all other issues aside, it would be absolutely suicidal for the Cons to pursue a no deal which would destroy their reputation (such that it still exists) for economic competence.
People often point to the difference between the deficit, or inflation, or some other economic aggregate under Lab vs Cons usually noting that under Lab it was worse. Which as has been pointed out on this thread already was often not the case. It is simply the perception that the Cons run the economy better than Lab and if this perception goes, the Cons have precious little left.
Keep her head down, not rock the boat, quietly keep on keeping on: not too much to ask.
And OK, the polls tell you you are going to get a stonking majority, sure, let's go for it, try to realise that landslide. But don't all of a sudden think you are Boadicea when you have hitherto been, well, Theresa May.
I see no evidence that Labour are willing to accept that any more than the Conservatives are.
But whichever government it is finally forced upon will not enjoy the experience.
I understand the frustrations of some of those who voted for Corbyn, but he offers no solutions.
One of my key basic criteria for any candidate for PM from any party is that they must be a patriot. Corbyn has demonstrated time and time again he is anything but and would rather side with our enemies.
You wouldn't get Blair, Brown, Callaghan or Wilson doing that. Labour in the 1930s to Hitler and Atlee post war to communism were also very brave and patriotic, and stood up for the UK's interests, as well as those of the wider world.
Lehman Brothers was an investment bank. It did provide banking services to millions of people.
Do you really think the British economy would have performed better if millions of peoples' bank accounts were frozen, and tens of thousands of businesses were unable to function as their bank had gone bust?
She and her team got high on their own product.
Think an early Corbyn reshuffle with no recognised interim leader to undertake it, nobody wanting to take jobs and the clock ticking to midnight.
One thing that has surprised me is I don't think there has been a written Ministerial Direction on universal credit. If the civil servants really think it is going to be a train wreck - they should surely have asked for one by now?