07 May 10 UK Parliament Hung – What Next?
So, what does happen now?
As no one party has an overall majority (326 seats or more), some wheeling and dealing probably needs to go on.
Gordon Brown and David Cameron are both making overtures to Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats to come to an agreement for support, or even a full coalition.
However, the Liberal Democrats are not the centre party of yesterday; they are politically to the left of the Labour Party, and there may be little real common ground that they can agree on with the Conservatives.
If Gordon Brown cannot get such an agreement with the Liberal Democrats, then he will almost certainly concede to David Cameron in any case, who would be invited by the Queen to form the next Government.
The Conservatives could, in theory, go it alone, as a minority party. However, they are likely to find it very difficult to conduct much business in the House in the way they would wish to.
My own personal view, is that there is likely to be another General Election in the UK within the next twelve months.
Read more on the Hung Parliament at The Guardian
Tags: common ground, conservatives, david cameron, general election, gordon brown, guardian uk, labour party, liberal democrats, minority party, nick clegg, overtures, personal view, queen, twelve months, uk parliament
04 Nov 08 Elections: The Way It Works, Or Doesn’t
The first time I voted was in 1978. I was still the angry young man then. I was still enthusiastic about politics. Years of disappointments with successive administrations hadn’t yet made me cynical of any real change ever happening.
I was in England. It was the General Election when Margaret Thatcher came to power, and the Conservative Party had an eighteen year run in office. I’ve never been what I would call a socialist, but in those days, I did feel that the Government had a responsibility towards the less fortunate in society, before I realized some of the misuse and abuse this creates, so I was very much a campaigning Labour supporter.
After eighteen years of Tory rule, I finally found myself quite excited in 1997 when Tony Blair’s New Labour was elected. My constituency got a Labour MP for the first time since 1951. It was short-lived. New Labour mostly continued the failed policies of the previous Tory administration under John Major. Gordon Brown is about as much use and about as exciting as a wet weekend.
Anyway, I digress. In all the times I voted in the UK, there were, in my experience, ever any long lines. I never waited more than a few minutes.So no-one giving out coffee or food or anything. The polling station was a five minute walk from my house in any case.
There was the opportunity to appoint a proxy, or have a postal ballot, but never any early voting. Polling station opening hours are 7.00am – 10.00pm.
Walk to the returning officer, get a ballot slip, go to a booth, put my cross in the relevant box(es), fold it, walk over to the ballot box (in front of the returning officer) and drop it in. Job done.
The poll watchers aren’t allowed to talk to you on the way in, but I’d give them my name and address on the way out, so they didn’t come knocking on my door later in the evening to get me to go and vote.
It always seemed so simple, and quick.
Tags: angry young man, ballot box, campaigning, conservative party, constituency, disappointments, early voting, gordon brown, john major, labour mp, margaret thatcher, name and address, new labour, poll watchers, polling station, polling stations, returning officer, socialist, tony blair, wet weekend
14 Jul 08 A Right Royal Message
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.
2. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour’, ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise’. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ‘like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell- checker will be adjusted to take account of
the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of -ize.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, >or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler.A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with ketchup but with vinegar.
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be
referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer.Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body Armour like a bunch of nancies). Don’t try Rugby – the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.
13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America . Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God save the Queen.
Meg-Margaret-Mum
The Pritty Place Bed and Breakfast
http://www.PrittyPlace.com
(Note from The Eye – God help America if the above was, in fact, true).
Tags: acceptable levels, british crown dependency, commonwealths, doughnut, elizabeth ii, gordon brown, majesty queen elizabeth, new prime minister, oxford english dictionary, personal issues, president of the usa, prime minister gordon brown, pronunciation guide, queen elizabeth, queen elizabeth ii, revocation, seven words, spell checker, suffix ize, vocabulary
