Bye bye Boris

[Parsifal]

Would think being a President of the United States dead or alive would still be linked to Washington. Westminster is not perfect by any measure but Washington DC  the Genesis of abortion banning is not exactly Sesame Street either. Almost anyone from any other country could look at Westminster in horror anyone but an American. As for the blowing up Parliament jibe, Kev already beat you to it equally unsuccessfully.

Neither of the four American presidents who were assassinated were killed by an American politician (past or present).  So their mention is irrelevant in the present context.

Your point is like saying that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 by the Bosnia Serb Gavrilo Princip, which sparked the start of WW1, was an indication of a toxic culture within the Austrian House of Hapsburg-Lorraine.  Maybe that imperial house was toxic, but the two are unrelated.  (You might note the similarity between Gavrilo Princip and Lee Harvey Oswald, although Princip did not act alone. )

[ladsnet]

Meanwhile, back on topic...


Who do we want to win (although it's like picking which one of your limbs you want to lose)

Although he's a dodgy billionaire tax-dodger, I'm thinking Rishi now. Purely because all the most evil Tories, the Mail and GBNews desperately are trying to stop him winning... thus he must be the least-worst option for normal people.

[Duncan]

Rishi is the closest to something worth noticing in this leadership contest. Penny is just the most pointless dullest creature alive how she's allegedly in competition is anyone's guess. Penny herself isn't convinced she can be Prime Minister apart from thinking that her initials is a sign from god.

[Parsifal]

Don't forget the "Special Relationship".
Who will get along best with (lame duck) Biden?  Remember that a UK-US trade deal hinges on maintaining the Good Friday Agreement for as long as Biden is president (he's Irish).  And who will give Donald Trump the greatest misery should he get in in 2024 (I didn't say "win").  That's assuming the next PM will last until January 20 2025.

The euro has just hit parity with the dollar with investors flocking to the greenback as a haven in a time of economic upheaval.  The pound is not far behind, so don't write off the Special Relationship too easily.

And then there's the E.U., the UK's largest trading partner.  (Remember Brussels?  It didn't go away with Brexit.)  The UK is not an insulated "island" anymore (not for the last 100 years).

And yeah, for eye candy I would choose Rishi Sunak or Dominic Raab for next PM.

[Ollie2UK]

I'm hoping we get the worst one possible, someone who could fuck it up even worse than Johnson.

That's the only way we'll get a change of government. With Starmer in charge, Labour needs to be gifted power 'cause he doesn't have any ideas that are gonna win it.

[ladsnet]

So it's increasingly looking like it's going to be Liz Truss next.

It's like a never-ending conveyor belt of shit.

[Parsifal]

So it's increasingly looking like it's going to be Liz Truss next.

It's like a never-ending conveyor belt of shit.

Any wagers on how long she lasts?

[ladsnet]

Difficult bet.

A year ?

I expect she'll be totally incompetent. Will lose a few more by-elections and then her party will turn on her.

[Ollie2UK]

Christ, if it's Truss then we'll have had 3 female PMs and the LEAST horrific of them will have been Theresa "hostile environment" May 

Still, on the plus side she will be another glorious Tory fuck-up.

[Luckydog2020]

I can see he might pop back up in the running these coming weeks

[sbworcs]

I have a feeling we are going to be screwed either way but more screwed when they choose Truss.

My main issue is that they keep talking about mandates, promises etc. and then keep offering new policies to appeal to the approx 160k that can vote (some of which are overseas and not even eligible to vote in the UK). Surely these "promises" have had no madate as they have not appeared in any manifesto that everyone has had the chance to vote on

[jumbler]

Nothing will ever change here because of our voting system. Once it’s over, that’s it (unless your MP gets recalled for some reason). One of the things I noted about the Australian election was the fact it can take days (or even weeks) for the preferences to be known until it can be declared that X has won the seat.

Because everyone has to mark their ballot paper properly for their vote to count, that means you have to put 1, 2, 3 etc. The candidates with the lowest votes are eliminated, and votes redistributed - depending on which order/what their voters put.

Although it’s usual for a candidate to issue a “how to vote” card (with themselves as 1), people can put their preferences as they wish.

So it’s not as simple as the runner-up taking the extra votes, you might have the number 3 that ends up taking the seat.