May 2015 UK General Election Campaign.

[Monoriu]

A Chris Patten loyalist hey?

I don't particularly care about Chris Patten.  But Thatcher is my eternal heroine, even though she said no in HK's hour of need, when we begged her to give us UK citizenship.

[Valmy]

That was a freaking disgrace.

[Monoriu]

That was a freaking disgrace.

To be fair, the Labour guys also said no 

[Valmy]

It was the 11th hour and the British Empire couldn't even do the right thing in its dying lurch.  Disappointing.  Hong Kong had been a loyal colony for over a century, it was the least they could do for them.

[Agelastus]

It was the 11th hour and the British Empire couldn't even do the right thing in its dying lurch.  Disappointing.  Hong Kong had been a loyal colony for over a century, it was the least they could do for them.

I agree.

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So Sheilbh, thanks to your article I now understand why our electorate periodically vote Labour in...despite the fact that every time they do so the economy ends up in a total shambles.

[Admittedly, this has been the case with a couple of Tory governments as well...but not ALL of them! And also to be fair the pre-war shambles of 1931 wasn't Labour's fault either.]

[Zanza]

What happens if there is no viable majority after the general election? Does Cameron stay PM by default?

[Jacob]

What happens if there is no viable majority after the general election? Does Cameron stay PM by default?

If no minority government can be formed, I presume a new election would be called.

[Sheilbh]

What happens if there is no viable majority after the general election? Does Cameron stay PM by default?

No-one knows really. Whoever can win a confidence vote of the Commons will be PM of a minority government.

The issue is that as part of the coalition deal the government passed a law that fixed the length of a Parliamentary term to five years. Under that law Cameron and Miliband will have an opportunity to try and form a coalition. If there isn't a viable one (which looks likely) then they can try and form a minority government - if that's the case I think Miliband has a better chance as the SNP are more likely to back him than Cameron.

Prior to the fixed terms act if all that happened and we still didn't really have a viable government we'd have a snap election (February and October 1974 for example). Under the act Parliament needs a two thirds majority vote to dissolve itself. It seems unlikely that that's attainable given that surely, politically, if one side supports it because they think they'll do better chances are the other side would be opposing it.

Alternately they could get rid of the act, but our constitution isn't such that it would just automatically revert to what we previously had so there'd need to be a replacement of some sort and it seems unlikely that there'd be enough votes in returning to the old system and no-one's proposed an alternative.

[Valmy]

Millibrand going in with Cameron would be amazing.  The Labour party would be destroyed for a generation.

Everybody protest votes and ushers in the Green/UKIP coalition.

[Jacob]

No-one knows really. Whoever can win a confidence vote of the Commons will be PM of a minority government.

The issue is that as part of the coalition deal the government passed a law that fixed the length of a Parliamentary term to five years. Under that law Cameron and Miliband will have an opportunity to try and form a coalition. If there isn't a viable one (which looks likely) then they can try and form a minority government - if that's the case I think Miliband has a better chance as the SNP are more likely to back him than Cameron.

Prior to the fixed terms act if all that happened and we still didn't really have a viable government we'd have a snap election (February and October 1974 for example). Under the act Parliament needs a two thirds majority vote to dissolve itself. It seems unlikely that that's attainable given that surely, politically, if one side supports it because they think they'll do better chances are the other side would be opposing it.

Alternately they could get rid of the act, but our constitution isn't such that it would just automatically revert to what we previously had so there'd need to be a replacement of some sort and it seems unlikely that there'd be enough votes in returning to the old system and no-one's proposed an alternative.

So what you're saying is that Cameron's election act is a shoddy piece of work?

[Gups]

So what you're saying is that Cameron's election act is a shoddy piece of work?

Not just Shelf. There's pretty much unanimity that it's an awful Act which needs to be repealed/replace asap.

Quick fix. Just repeal the 2/3 majority provision which is a disgustingly unBritish provision no has absolutely no place in our constitution.

[Agelastus]

So what you're saying is that Cameron's election act is a shoddy piece of work?

Not just Shelf. There's pretty much unanimity that it's an awful Act which needs to be repealed/replace asap.

Quick fix. Just repeal the 2/3 majority provision which is a disgustingly unBritish provision no has absolutely no place in our constitution.

[Admiral Yi]

Why did Hong Kongese deserve UK citizenship and other colonial subjects did not?  Hong Kongese were not the only ones to come under an unpleasant regime after being cut loose.

[Valmy]

Why did Hong Kongese deserve UK citizenship and other colonial subjects did not?  Hong Kongese were not the only ones to come under an unpleasant regime after being cut loose.

I guess I missed where I suggested the others didn't.  But more importantly the Hong Kongers asked for it and the others did not.

[Richard Hakluyt]

So what you're saying is that Cameron's election act is a shoddy piece of work?

Not just Shelf. There's pretty much unanimity that it's an awful Act which needs to be repealed/replace asap.

Quick fix. Just repeal the 2/3 majority provision which is a disgustingly unBritish provision no has absolutely no place in our constitution.

It is so unBritish that I find that I cannot really believe in it. No doubt it will be dispensed with whenever it is convenient.