General Election 2017 | Cabinet reshuffle: Hunt re-appointed Health Secretary for record third time

How do you intend to vote in the 2017 General Election if eligible?

  • Conservatives

    Votes: 80 14.5%

  • Labour

    Votes: 322 58.4%

  • Lib Dems

    Votes: 57 10.3%

  • Green

    Votes: 20 3.6%

  • SNP

    Votes: 13 2.4%

  • UKIP

    Votes: 29 5.3%

  • Independent

    Votes: 3 0.5%

  • Plaid Cymru

    Votes: 2 0.4%

  • Sinn Fein

    Votes: 11 2.0%

  • Other (UUP, DUP, BNP, and anyone else I have forgotten)

    Votes: 14 2.5%
  • Total voters
    551
  • Poll closed .
Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87 said:
Also the DUP is against Hard Brexit.
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Yeah, because of the border with Ireland which could mean very real consequences.

May has no shame. She lost in every perceivable way. Seats, confidence, stability, all gone down the shitter. She should automatically resign and force a leadership contest. The Tories will have to do a lot of backtracking if they pass the DUP coalition, as they had their knives out last night expecting exactly this result.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Yeah, because of the border with Ireland which could mean very real consequences.

May has no shame. She lost in every perceivable way. Seats, confidence, stability, all gone down the shitter. She should automatically resign and force a leadership contest. The Tories will have to do a lot of backtracking if they pass the DUP coalition, as they had their knives out last night expecting exactly this result.
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Didn't she said she would have resigned if she had only lost few seats? I read a tweet about it this morning.
 
Sherzad said:
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She has to surely be the worst PM Britain has ever had, short as her reign is likely to be. Cameron took that title only last year but dear me, the Tories really do have some stinker politicians in their ranks.
 
Fergies Gum said:
Will reject the queens speech?
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I would hope so but I can't see it. I would hope that there were people in the Conservative party that could not countenance climbing in bed with the DUP but I think that they will do anything to stay in power. It's on the same level as Trump and the Republicans.
 
rcoobc said:
Ish. They are most Eurosceptic party in parliament
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They are, but they also have to mitigate the power sharing relationship in Stormont. Hard Brexit means a hard border, which could mean civil unrest.
 
whatwha said:
Only winter of discontent I ever heard of was from Shakespeare :p What was it?
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its complicated, but basically in the winter of 1978/79 their was lots of problems with strikes causing all kinds of disruption.

You have period where British Industries where struggling to compete becuase it was cheaper to import, while the unions where demanding pay rises, their was also a lot of corruption in the unions at that time, and really the labour party had become really just a voice for the unions.

It all spiraled out of control and you ended up with things like the 3 day week, where large chunks of the country only had electricity for 3 days a week.

the fall out of which is the country, turned to thatcher, who stripped away the powers of the unions, in order to prevent further large scale strikes, she also decimated alot of the industries that where striking and privatised or simply shut down a large chunks of industry and services.

The short term of this was that things like electricity, waste collection where all returned to normal, and general those who worked in the private sectors life improved. However large areas of the country relying on things like coal mining and manufacturing where plunged into high poverty, a lot of these towns have never recovered.

But you speak to people whose industries weren't effected which to be fair was probably 3/4's of the country, and they view is that Thatcher saved the country from the unions, and it was ingrained in them that strong left wing parties and unions cause are a band thing and causes disruption.

I personally think that they way that crisis was handles is at the root of a lot of the problems the country is facing today. yes at the time the unions had too much power, but you can trace the erosion of workers rights and things like zero hour contracts back to those days. it was also the end of Britain having export Surplus and we have been reliant on imports ever since. Since that time the policy of the government (including new labour) has been support big corporations at all costs and hope the wealth trickles down.

Ill let you make your own mind up about whether the winter was of discontent was handled well or not, but i think its very telling that a left wing party has not won a general election since.
 
I've just realised why this is so depressing.

We were 10 seats away from electoral reform (proportional representation, elected house of commons), soft brexit, and legalised weed.
 
Minimalist said:
Fascinating to see what damage this does to the DUP across the U.K. and therefore the image of N.Ireland.

It wouldn't surprise me if the English hated this place by the end of this minority government. Not that I believe it will last very long. The DUP don't even see eye to eye with the Tories despite the narrative - only the hardliners which aren't a majority. And hell the DUP weren't keen on austerity either.
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I don't care what they give the Tory party I don't want them marching down my street and I'm not having a 60 foot bonfire that might set my house on fire outside my front door.
 
I hate how complacent everyone seems to have become over the peace in Northern Ireland. The Tories getting into bed with the DUP is a terrible idea, with far reaching consequences if things go badly.

Tory deal with DUP could jeopardise peace process, says Blair's former chief of staff
On the World at One Jonathan Powell, who as Tony Blair’s chief of staff played a major role in facilitating the Northern Ireland peace process, both before and after the Good Friday agreement, said it would be a mistake for Theresa May to do a deal with the DUP. He explained.

I do think it’s a mistake to go into government with the “support of our friends” in the DUP. Even John Major avoided doing that and the reason he avoided that is the peace process is based on a balance that the British government has made it clear it is neutral in Northern Ireland, it doesn’t take sides. Once you have their support you are no longer neutral.

It matters for two big reasons. First, we haven’t managed to get the executive back up and running in Northern Ireland because of divisions between the two sides. The British government were trying to mediate between the two sides to get an administration up and running again and of course now it can’t possibly have that role of mediating.

And secondly I think it’s a mistake because one of the big issues in the Brexit negotiations is the border between north and south. Now the DUP is a minority in its view about Brexit, it’s in favour of Brexit. This is going to be a very real problem.

Whatever you put on a piece of paper, you’re living there with a minority government, that’s dependant on the DUP, you get to a crucial issue and then they say, ‘Remember what we want in terms of talks in Northern Ireland’, and the government has a choice: do they say, ‘We’re not giving you let, we’ll let the government collapse’, or do they just bend a little on that issue, it’s just one small issue it doesn’t matter. But beyond that the government can’t possibly be seen as neutral on Northern Ireland now if it puts itself at the mercy of the DUP.
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Fingeredmouse said:
It wasn't.
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Disagree. Theresa May is clearly an idiot who doesn't understand how to placate her own voter base, whilst having no personality whatsoever and dangerous views in terms of civil liberties. Not to mention her all round terrible judgment across the board.

Corbyn and McDonnell on the other hand fundamentally misunderstand basic economics, which in my view is the main requirement to run the Country.
 
MikeUpNorth said:
I hate how complacent everyone seems to have become over the peace in Northern Ireland. The Tories getting into bed with the DUP is a terrible idea, with far reaching consequences if things go badly.
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Aye, was thinking how it had real potential for disaster. Any power-sharing agreement is inherently undermined if one of the two main parties has major power in Westminster.
 
rcoobc said:
I've just realised why this is so depressing.

We were 10 seats away from electoral reform (proportional representation, elected house of commons), soft brexit, and legalised weed.
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You need to brighten up a bit. We were (supposedly) staring down the barrel of a stonking Tory majority and instead Corbyn presides over the greatest increase in Labour's vote share since 1945

Miliband's defeat left Labour two elections away from power. Corbyn was supposed to take us even further back. Instead he has us perfectly positioned to win next time.
 
Badunk said:
The loyalist terrorists also have historical links to the likes of Combat 18.
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Terrorists in being scumbags shocker, they also sell drugs and run protection rackets.

The labels getting thrown about here for the DUP are a tad harsh, they might be backwards, hyper religious, corrupt feckwits but the terrorism links over played. They were a necessary evil at the time but have long since ceased to be the political wing or mouthpiece of loyalist paramilitaries, because they weren't hardcore enough/ wanted peace.

The more moderate Unionist and Nationalist parties also have terrorist links, it's impossible not to have them.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
You say that but the prospect of Alastair Cambell, despicable cnut that he is, savaging the Tories (with aid of Iannucci) is salivating.
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True, but it basically looks like three labour voices in a panel of five! Was hoping for a few big faces, but Campbell's the only one.
 
MikeUpNorth said:
I hate how complacent everyone seems to have become over the peace in Northern Ireland. The Tories getting into bed with the DUP is a terrible idea, with far reaching consequences if things go badly.
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It'll be hard for it not to go terribly,
The UK government cant claim impartiality and neutrality if its in government with the DUP.
It can't and won't work.
Your starting all the various negotiations with a mountain to climb

Thats leaving aside that they're going into government with the political wing of the UDA,
which ... is kind of fecking mad with the rhetoric on terrorism
 
MikeUpNorth said:
I hate how complacent everyone seems to have become over the peace in Northern Ireland. The Tories getting into bed with the DUP is a terrible idea, with far reaching consequences if things go badly.
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Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire has said there is "no appetite for another election" after the deadline to form a new devolved power-sharing executive at Stormont passed.

With a deadline for forming a new ruling executive following this month's snap election having elapsed on Monday without agreement, the UK government now either has to call yet another poll or potentially reintroduce direct rule from Westminster.
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This is my biggest fear. If a coalition between the Tories and the DUP returns Northern Ireland to direct rule that could have far reaching and long lasting consequences for peace in the region and across the UK.
 
May's released a statement now. I'll say it again and again and again, I struggle to believe how poor her body language is. She looks uncomfortable and unconfident, and completely unconvincing. The longer she stays on in the next five years the better for Labour now.
 
Untied said:
You need to brighten up a bit. We were (supposedly) staring down the barrel of a stonking Tory majority and instead Corbyn presides over the greatest increase in Labour's vote share since 1945

Miliband's defeat left Labour two elections away from power. Corbyn was supposed to take us even further back. Instead he has us perfectly positioned to win next time.
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Agree with this, but also need to think about the other side - Tories managed to increase their vote share by a lot as well, to a level they've not seen since Thatcher, with a truly abominable leader and campaign. Their bottom level now looks very high and tough to overcome.
 
QuackQuack said:
What is direct rule?
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In practice it would involve the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly and instead of that power sharing the UK government would rule directly.

The Unionists have a long record of spiking or trying to spike the Assembly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_rule

The DUP are pretty despicable. They deny evolution, climate change, want abortion banned and are the strongest Brexiters about. And fundamentalist Christian fanatics. What's not to like.
 
As a prod living in N.Ireland let's be clear - the DUP are cnuts of the highest order, backwards as feck and they do have links (providing support and sympathy) to loyalist terrorists. But they themselves are not terrorists. They're not the RA. Sinn Fein were literally the political wing of the IRA and have gotten over that.

It's a bit silly to make them out to be worse than they actually are. There's plenty to destroy the DUP over without calling them terrorists.

Although feel free to call them 'Irish' just to wind them up.
 
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