DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived Cleggeron era

Can't believe people are still doing Frank Spencer in 2010.

Ooooh Betty! The Dems has done a whoopsie on the country!

I think it only applies to the confidence votes which force an election, but yeah, if there's no 50%+1 majority to get anything done then i don't see how cameron can avoid calling one.

I guess this means what we're actually stuck with, give or take by-elections/defections, is five years of 307-258-57-28. How those numbers actually arrange themselves into governing blocs, or who is in charge at the top, can change without the 55% proviso. You just don't get another election.

I'm still not happy.

Hopefully the libdem vote will implode in the Thirsk and Malton election in a fortnight's time and the libdem's get a screaming case of the wobblies.

We understand that Baroness Warsi is to become Conservative Party chairman. She will part of the cabinet - the first Muslim woman ever to hold such a senior political position.

^^^ pickles out.

yeah, if there's no 50%+1 majority to get anything done then i don't see how cameron can avoid calling one.
this is worst of all though, because now he *can't* call one unless he does a German-style dodge.

this is the kind of thing the lords are there to block right?

god bless the house of lords

Pickles is now Communities Secretary iirc xxps

yeah, it's not in any manifesto so surely. xp

5.20pm: Here's an afternoon summary.

• David Cameron has continued to appoint new ministers to his government. Downing Street has not published a full list, but according to reliable reports the new appointments include: Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary; Philip Hammond, transport secretary; Andrew Mitchell, international development secretary; Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister; Eric Pickles, communities secretary; Caroline Spelman, environment secretary; and Lady Warsi, Conservative party chairman.

Con+Lib in Lords 260, Lab+x-bench 356

Just remembered that the Olympics will happen midway through this parliament, am revolted by the idea of David Cameron revelling in any glory from that.

Still am x1000 more annoyed by Boris revelry in same. We know who secured the Olympics.

Ken can be back in time for the olympics though?

or can he?

can I?

im p revolted by the incredible waste of money that is the olympics tbh! what glory?

Let's wait and see if they're actually profitable xposts

has an olympics ever been profitable?

hoping for Broken Even Britain at least

xxxxp

Obviously missing something, but who is that gorgeous women up the page a bit? don't tell me she's Tory

nick clegg's wife

Thought he might have meant Eric Pickles.

If this coalition holds together then it would likely be in the interest of the tories Tories to change their position and support AV. AV as a voting system can institutionalize coalition governments (at least it has in Australia). LDs and Tories can run candidates in the same electorate without disadvantaging either party, provided they exchange preferences.
Of course the coalition or the LDs will probably break apart in the meantime anyway, so...

Ever get the feeling like you just got played?

We know who secured the Olympics.

sebastian coe?

could you vote, tracer?

Nope. Not a citizen.

Funny how they still allow me to pay taxes, though.

Taxation without representation? You gonna stand for that?

bet u cd turn up at a polling station and busk it

xp

Driving from site to site @ work today, I kept getting the rage. Dismal result, + the proprietor-mouthpiece press in this country is a fucking disgrace.

Some knobend from conservativehome had this piece in the guardian with nauseating entitlement dripping from every fucking sentence. Among the bits was something about how the tories had twice as much money to spend as labour, and "was able to afford the most professional marginal seats operation ever seen in british politics". Well, that's a fair system isn't it? I mean, that's really RIGHT, a level playing field for everyone.

I wish I had been born in a smarter, better country than this one.

did the bbc really edit the sound of their OB so that the shouts of "tory scum" were removed? Is there a before/after clip of this somewhere? That's Stalin's Russia shit, fucking outrageous if so.

You could hear it in the live broadcast but come the montage - gone. And described as 'cheers' when on live.

why aren't more people outside of here making a bigger deal of this 55% thing?! It's a pretty fucking big deal - they've just ensured that if the coalition falls and the Lib Dems break away we STILL won't be able to go to the polls and decide if the government is legit. this is so fucking undemocratic.

i know! practically no one mentioning this 55% thing anywhere as far as i can see.

If sitting gov't Queen's Speech is voted down, PM will have to resign and allow another coalition to form?

does anyone know if this will remain the case under 55?

How to get the 55% through the Lords:

In the interim, lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second chamber reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.

From the coalition agreement.

If sitting gov't Queen's Speech is voted down, PM will have to resign and allow another coalition to form?
does anyone know if this will remain the case under 55?

― nakhchivan, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 12:45 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

We can be like belgium.

Dammitall now I want moules frites

Suspect Pickles might've eaten all the frites tho

Hmm:

http://www.globaldashboard.org/2010/05/12/libcon-agreement/

That sounds almost as crazy - I think we're going to see the actual text of what's presented. This, though, would seem to make a mockery of the 'unelected PM' rubbish - if the LibDems switch, then the next Labour leader could be made PM with no election, right?

going to need to see

oh and scary that chris grayling got shafted from home secratary (presumably for the gay b&b remarks) for teresa may who has a WORSE record for voting on lgbt rights (basically consistently against everything) - and she's also the Equality Minister.

The government could still change mid-term (a PM loses confidence of House, Queen asks someone else to see if they form a new government), but the parliament would stay in place.

Could lead to some hellish negotiations though – similar to the ones we saw this week, but without the fresh mandate that leaders enjoyed.

It also makes a full term for this Parliament much more likely than we’d all thought.

this shit -if it passes- will be all time in terms of tory nefariousness

now i wonder how easy it wd be for the lib dems to change their leader(ship)

it's easier than it is for the other parties, but it takes a ton of members

It's just completely illogical and dare I say against the constitution, which requires the PM to command the "confidence of the Commons" (aka more than 50% - exactly why we got a hung parliament and needed a coalition in the first place). The vote of no confidence is simply a vote to demonstrate that the government cannot command a majority and therefore cannot pass laws. It would be pointless for a government to remain "in power" if it could only command the votes of less than 50% of the house - you'd have a government that could pass nothing.

too logical