Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Valmy]

And the Greens have announced they won't stand. So either Farage wins and the investigation continues which will likely end in a recall petition, or he loses to a man wearing a bin.

Meanwhile he will be trying to get attention in a very local election in Clacton, caused by and about him while a new Labour PM with actual communication skills will basically get a clean run at making a first impression.

Here you go Sheilbh:

[crazy canuck]

The time has come for Binface.
The time has come for a more sanitary UK!

[Razgovory]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

[Sheilbh]

Basically and going by memory: A member of the House of Commons cannot have a position appointed by the Monarch, like be in the Monarchy's employ. So they resign by being given a fake job by the Monarchy, thus being ineligible to sit in the House of Commons.

I think it is slightly more technical and finicky than that, but that is the basic idea.

Yeah - that's basically it. Basically historically it was formally impossible for MPs to resign - partly because it was seen as a duty they'd been charged with by their constituents. But also because parliaments weren't at a regular fixed period and didn't necessarily sit for a fixed period either. So allowing MPs to resign could be a way for the monarch to basically fiddle with parliament to get their way, engineer enough resignations (especially before by-elections had developed). So that becomes a fixed principle early on (no longer necessary now that parliaments are regular and will sit for longer periods of time).

Then in the restoration period and with the Glorious Revolution Parliament bans MPs from accepting an "office for profit" from the crown. Again the same basic principle of trying to prevent the crown from being able to interfere in the operation of parliament (once elected and sitting) at a time when they had a far more active role and when sinecures and pensions and the like were basically used as bribes by the crown (the Stuarts, inevitably, were repeat offenders). I think there are a few fights over this in the 18th century that basically always end with Parliament expelling an MP if they accept something from the crown.

So as parliaments become more fixed and being an MP is more like a job for a period people start to need to resign, because they might not be able to serve for 5, 6, 7 years. So these two traditions that were about asserting the independence of parliament merge. And two offices (office of steward or bailiff of His Majesty's three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, or of the Manor of Northstead) which have fallen into abeyance anyway and are unpaid become a legal fiction of how MPs resign ("taking the Chiltern Hundreds"). And now most of those "offices for profit" or sinecures from the crown have been long abolished, except these two which exist purely as legal fictions - and in a further sign of parliament's total victory the appointments aren't even made or approved by the monarch anymore but the Chancellor. Hence Rachel Reeves accepting Farage's resignation and "appointing" him to one of these roles means he's locked in.

[Valmy]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

This just shows Count Binface is pro-Europe.

[crazy canuck]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

This just shows Count Binface is pro-Europe.

And, much to his credit, he watched Sesame Street when he was growing up.

[HVC]

I'm more disturbed that this binface is obviosuly a dalek plant. Has no one watched Doctor Who?

[crazy canuck]

I'm more disturbed that this binface is obviosuly a dalek plant. Has no one watched Doctor Who?

And still the better candidate

[Richard Hakluyt]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

He's an immigrant Raz, originally from Sigma IX.

[Valmy]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

He's an immigrant Raz, originally from Sigma IX.

Wow I didn't realize all the Count Binface lore.

[Sheilbh]

One of Starmer's main arguments from blocking Burnham from running as an MP was that it would create a vacancy in the mayoralty that Labour couldn't afford and might lose to Reform - which would be significant.

It looks less likely given Burnham's boost and likely to be a bit of a holiday. Plus he's strongly behind the candidate to replace him who has been leader of Manchester Council for a while and I'd very close to him. Looks even better now.

Reform may have chosen a better candidate this time - but the Guardian are reporting that Reform are directing all their activists to focus not on the mayoralty of the second city, but fighting a bin in one of their safest seats in a by-election of choice

[Josquius]

You cannot view this attachment.


Sorry but in French it just sounds so grand 

[The Minsky Moment]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

He's an immigrant Raz, originally from Sigma IX.

He's obviously a fake.  As the true builders of the pyramids, Sigma IXians employ only ancient Egyptian titles; the genuine article would be Haty-a Binface.

[Jacob]

I thought Britain had earls, not counts.

He's an immigrant Raz, originally from Sigma IX.

He's obviously a fake.  As the true builders of the pyramids, Sigma IXians employ only ancient Egyptian titles; the genuine article would be Haty-a Binface.

Pretty sure Bin Face is Arabic

[Sheilbh]

Interesting article in the Telegraph reporting that a major Reform donor, Mohamed Amersi, has said he won't contribute again until the issues around Farage and dodgy finances are resolved. He's spoken about it but apparently a move among donors over this more broadly.