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

ah fuck it, there's gonna be some grim satisfaction lulz with peeps who told me "nothing could be worse than Labour" this month.

"They've re-badged it, you fool!"

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/2/10/1265809183944/Alan-Partridge-005.jpg

t/s "nothing could be worse than Labour" vs "something's gotta be better than labour" vs "labour have gotta get better eventually"

Just remember: Things! Can only get better!

Oh god: YES. Thank you, internet. Dave/Nick slash.

http://rhaegal.dreamwidth.org/23404.html

(may not be safe for work, though it is only text based)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1276721/Gordon-Brown-resigns-Pound-plunges-dollar-markets-express-horror-Lib-Lab-coalition-talks.html

It started the day around $1.483, soared above $1.5 as the prospect of a deal with David Cameron grew - but plunged back below $1.5. Tonight, it was trading around $1.4850.
Harry Adams, a senior currency trader from the foreign exchange firm Schneider, said: 'The fall confirms that the market is looking for a Conservative government - and anything else won't do.

― mierda defensa ... no impedir ... espectador (onimo), Monday, 10 May 2010 22:06 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

£1 now = $1.4758 --- seems the market has changed its mind. Expect Daily Mail "POUND PLUNGES!" story any minute...

Speaking of the Pound:

Says one Arsenal regular at the match with his wife and teenage son: ‘Usually, if you are an away supporter in a box, you keep very quiet. We were in front of this executive box and I heard a stream of abuse.

‘Two ladies behind me said they couldn’t believe the language being used, and that they thought it was coming from an MP. I turned round and recognised Stephen Pound.

‘He called out to Sol Campbell ­saying: “You are a big f***ing fairy.” I was so shocked that I wrote what he said down in my programme. It was the language of the gutter.

‘He went on to shout abuse at the ref saying: “What game are you at — you f***ing w****r.” Then I saw him leaning over the box to make an ­offensive gesture. A steward went up to him to remonstrate.’

Lol @ kate's link, especially how innocently it all builds up

It's only a story if the dollar makes gains on the Labour pound, silly.

Kate's link even provides 'frisson' in the 3rd para.

Oh my god, I've discovered the motherlode...

"Don't you see?" gasped Cameron, passionately. "It's destiny. Look at our logos - you're the little yellow bird, frail and defenseless. I'm the big, open oak tree, spreading its boughs, offering respite for your weary, tiny wings. It's perfect - it couldn't be more perfect. And obviously so long as you don't crap on the Bentley, but that goes without saying."

And now I'm going to go and dive head first into some smutty public schoolboy tennis fic action...

::explodes with joy::

LOLLLLLLLLL

Dave knows he's good at this; you don't become leader of the Conservative party without knowing how to suck cock.

smutty public schoolboy tennis fic action

Uhhhhhhhhh, smutty public schoolboy tennis fic action starring Nick Clegg and David Cameron?

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/10/21/article-1079486-00971ED800000259-434_468x390.jpg

^^^LOL@ tube socks/black loafers man in the front.

Dunno if they're better or worse than the beefburgers on the guy on his left. Cameron's in loafers too I think?

Seriously needs animating:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/5/12/1273700169630/David-Cameron-and-Nick-Cl-006.jpg

Theme from Dr. Zhivago playing in the background

His face seems to be morphing into Michael Winner of late.

http://noto55.com/

It's a face only Nick Clegg could love

smutty public schoolboy tennis fic action

Uhhhhhhhhh, smutty public schoolboy tennis fic action starring Nick Clegg and David Cameron?

― Whirlwind Bromance (Tom D.), Thursday, 13 May 2010 13:02 (3 minutes ago)

Yesss! yes yes yes...

::falls off chair::

This has been the ONLY good outcome from this entire election.

We need a sweepstakes on how much weight Cam gains over this year, as it's starting and no more cycling 4U. It will be Boultonesque.

I am only laughing at tennis boi in the spirit of Welcome To 1985, Meet The One Guy Who Still Likes Nik Kershaw.

So apparently it started on the Guardian, rather than Livejournal!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/12/clegg-cameron-steps-downing-street-conversation

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/5/12/1273687801254/Nick-Clegg-and-David-Came-006.jpg

Cameron God, but I love you . . .

Clegg It is the love that dare not speak its name.

Cameron To hell with what anyone may think, I want the whole world to know I would gladly melt into your arms for ever.

Clegg Say you'll never leave me.

Cameron I'm yours and yours alone. At least for a couple of months.

Clegg I've got to have you. Right here, right now.

Cameron That tie goes so well with your hair.

Clegg You feel a-m-a-a-a-a-zing. Your arms are so buff.

Cameron I bet you say that to all the boys.

Clegg Don't tease me. I'm feeling very vulnerable.

Cameron Has anyone ever told me how much you remind me of my fag?

Clegg I would have died to be your fag.

Cameron Your political career just has.

Clegg That's odd, so has yours.

I like the ones where Clegg is the top.

I like the ones where I can stop throwing up within an hour of reading them.

Was too busy thinking the guy in front of DCam in that tube socks pic was Nick Clegg to notice it was actually a DCam pic.

Good piece on the World At One about the 55% thing by a constitutional expert. His main points:

Ppl need to stop saying this is for no confidence, it's for dissolution. He even went as far as calling Jack Straw "stupid" for continuing to claim it was.
It's a consequence of fixed term parliaments and nothing more, to try and hold them together. In his opinion it was set too low, that anything under 60% was still too easy to dissolve at a whim.
An easy way round it, if it were sought, would be to raise a bill to change the date of the next election - this would only require 50%+1 of voting MPs.

The way I would then see it working would be as follows (and this is my interpretation):

In an LD/Con split, LD and Lab could force a motion of no confidence and win at 50%+1. David Cameron would then have to resign as PM. There would then be a vote for dissolution. If >55%in favour then there is an immediate election. If <55% in favour then the sitting parliament could try and raise a new PM - LD/Lab, LD/Con on different/improved terms, Rainbow Coalition) - which presumably has a time limit for formation before an election becomes the default status.

This answers all of stet's points to me earlier this morning I think. Given that complete PR seems still to be the LD gameplan (Simon Hughes on the radio on Tuesday talking about AV+ as a target in the life of this parliament, and STV this decade) it would appear to be consistent with their policies to start putting in building blocks that support it now like making it harder to dissolve a parliament with NOC.

that's at about 26:00 here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00s8k9f

cambridge constitutional dude (30:00 onwards) is a former LD MP btw

Hmm.

Simon Hughes on the radio on Tuesday talking about AV+ as a target in the life of this parliament, and STV this decade

He's unlikely to get re-elected otherwise!

tbf, he also thinks it's a good idea for other reasons.

Good piece on the World At One about the 55% thing by a constitutional expert. His main points:

Ppl need to stop saying this is for no confidence, it's for dissolution. He even went as far as calling Jack Straw "stupid" for continuing to claim it was.
It's a consequence of fixed term parliaments and nothing more, to try and hold them together. In his opinion it was set too low, that anything under 60% was still too easy to dissolve at a whim.
An easy way round it, if it were sought, would be to raise a bill to change the date of the next election - this would only require 50%+1 of voting MPs.

The way I would then see it working would be as follows (and this is my interpretation):

In an LD/Con split, LD and Lab could force a motion of no confidence and win at 50%+1. David Cameron would then have to resign as PM. There would then be a vote for dissolution. If >55%in favour then there is an immediate election. If <55% in favour then the sitting parliament could try and raise a new PM - LD/Lab, LD/Con on different/improved terms, Rainbow Coalition) - which presumably has a time limit for formation before an election becomes the default status.

This answers all of stet's points to me earlier this morning I think. Given that complete PR seems still to be the LD gameplan (Simon Hughes on the radio on Tuesday talking about AV+ as a target in the life of this parliament, and STV this decade) it would appear to be consistent with their policies to start putting in building blocks that support it now like making it harder to dissolve a parliament with NOC.

― BLOODY BOLLOCKS HELL! (aldo), Thursday, May 13, 2010 2:45 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

but we don't need fixed-term parliaments. only a tiny number of disproportionately powerful MPs were elected saying they'd bring it in.

that guy on TWAO says that a vote of no confidence needn't lead to a general election but to a new government. in other words more coalition bullshit no-one wants.

i.e. in practice no-confidence votes DO lead to dissolution, even if they don't "necessarily" (what is this, france?)

Useful cribsheet on just how rich our new overlords are

http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/10/oxford-universitywealth-school

Election Winning leader Alma mater
1945 Clement Attlee University of Oxford
1950 Clement Attlee University of Oxford
1951 Winston Churchill Non graduate
1955 Anthony Eden University of Oxford
1959 Harold Macmillan University of Oxford
1964 Harold Wilson University of Oxford
1966 Harold Wilson University of Oxford
1970 Edward Heath University of Oxford
1974 Feb Harold Wilson University of Oxford
1974 Oct Harold Wilson University of Oxford
1979 Margaret Thatcher University of Oxford
1983 Margaret Thatcher University of Oxford
1987 Margaret Thatcher University of Oxford
1992 John Major Non graduate
1997 Tony Blair University of Oxford
2001 Tony Blair University of Oxford
2005 Tony Blair University of Oxford
2010 David Cameron University of Oxford

LOL Chris Grayling

fuck if that were boatrace results cambridge would prob just have taken up kites or some shit by now

1992 John Major Nonentity

churchill, major

try to find a pattern there

Missing a few there

Gordon Edinburgh
Callaghan got into oxford, couldn't afford to go went into the civil service instead

that's election winners, not pms

ah

basically, the public love us.

Even under rampant PR you don't need power to vote to dissolve. Fixed terms are fine without it.

What I can't see is any justification *for* it, but that's because it hasn't been debated, just announced.

Chris Grayling owns four houses in London but is only worth £500,000?

Think Churchill's educational career of posh school followed by Sandhurst may be a little different from Major's, but by all accounts he did pretty terribly at school and I always like to point and laugh at Sandhurst, so

55% is totally becoming a thing. From the Guardian liveblog:

4.07pm: The 55% threshold required for an early dissolution is turning into an issue for the new coalition government with PA reporting a "backbench rebellion":

The newly formed Cameron-Clegg coalition government is facing its first threatened backbench rebellion, over a controversial plan to reduce the risk of it being voted out of office before the end of its planned five-year term.

As the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat cabinet met for the first time today, some senior Tory and Labour MPs voiced concern over a proposal in the coalition agreement that dissolution would need to be approved by 55% or more of MPs.

It would represent a radical shift away from the Commons tradition that a simple majority of one would be enough on a no confidence vote to force an unpopular government to resign.

The 55% threshold means that Mr Cameron could survive at the head of a minority Conservative government even if the Lib Dems pulled out of the coalition deal.

It would need a significant rebellion by disaffected Tories joining force with all the opposition MPs to force him to call another election ... Labour MPs are already alarmed by what they see as an attempt to change long-standing Commons rules in the new government's favour.

They have been joined by several senior Conservatives on the libertarian wing of the party who are lobbying behind-the-scenes for the 55% threshold to be removed before the legislation is introduced in the Commons.

The last time a government fell on a no confidence vote was in March 1979, when the minority Labour administration led by James Callaghan was defeated by 311 votes to 310."

David Blunkett, the former Labour home secretary, described it as "a profoundly anti-democratic move".

He said: "The numbers mean that it would be impossible, even if every opposition MP united against this coalition, for the house to express its lack of confidence in it.

"This is nothing less than a stitch-up by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to overturn historic precedents for their own advantage. If Labour had attempted something like this in government, the Lib Dems in particular would have been incandescent," he said.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, defended the move on BBC Radio 4's The World at One:

"Once you agree that there should be a fixed-term parliament, it is only fixed-term if there is some provision to really give it credibility to make it hard to dissolve parliament, other than exceptional circumstances, part way through its five-year term.

"We thought about it carefully in the negotiations, and we do intend that to happen."

He said: "The numbers mean that it would be impossible, even if every opposition MP united against this coalition, for the house to express its lack of confidence in it.

This is always true.

(I agree with his conclusion tho)

http://twitter.com/vincecable/status/9588118738
http://twitter.com/vincecable/status/11418243066
http://twitter.com/vincecable/status/11245928535