Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Zanza]

Video from FT that explains some of the issues around the Brexit negotiations:
https://www.ft.com/content/da0e3d5d-ccf0-3b40-b865-f648189fb849

[Razgovory]

I do feel very sorry for Tamas in this.  I hope he will be able to stay in the UK.

[Tamas]

I do feel very sorry for Tamas in this.  I hope he will be able to stay in the UK.

Of course I will.

[Tamas]

Also it is worth noting that main Brexit guy of the government, David "Arrogant Cunt" Davis recently admitted the government had made no calculations regarding the economic effects of a hard Brexit.

They are, apparently, just pursuing it because peopleswillstopscaremongeringredbluewhitebrexit

[Josquius]

Yup. Even putting aside that it is ideologically disgusting, it's an absolute cluster fuck.

[garbon]

So no early election. Is this because Labour is so weak she feels she doesn't need to establish her credentials by having voter mandate to be in power?

[Josquius]

Amazing how the pound dropped like a rock almost the very instance brexit was mentioned today.

[Gups]

Amazing how the pound dropped like a rock almost the very instance brexit was mentioned today.

Down 0.05% against the dollar and 0.01% against the Euro. Run for the hills!!!

[Josquius]

Amazing how the pound dropped like a rock almost the very instance brexit was mentioned today.

Down 0.05% against the dollar and 0.01% against the Euro. Run for the hills!!!

On the grand scale its nothing. But these micro moves matching up with politicians saying stupid things amuse me nonetheless.

[Agelastus]

So no early election. Is this because Labour is so weak she feels she doesn't need to establish her credentials by having voter mandate to be in power?

Or maybe she remembers that before all the nonsense brought up since 2010 it was not normal for a new prime-minister to go straight to the electorate for a "mandate".

See Brown, Major, Callaghan, MacMillan, Chamberlain, Lloyd George, Asquith and Balfour since 1900, for example.

In fact, I can only think of the 2 1910 elections and the 1923 election as ones since 1900 where parliament was dissolved early specifically to get a mandate on an issue, rather than because the timing was right for the ruling party/coalition.

[garbon]

So no early election. Is this because Labour is so weak she feels she doesn't need to establish her credentials by having voter mandate to be in power?

Or maybe she remembers that before all the nonsense brought up since 2010 it was not normal for a new prime-minister to go straight to the electorate for a "mandate".

See Brown, Major, Callaghan, MacMillan, Chamberlain, Lloyd George, Asquith and Balfour since 1900, for example.

In fact, I can only think of the 2 1910 elections and the 1923 election as ones since 1900 where parliament was dissolved early specifically to get a mandate on an issue, rather than because the timing was right for the ruling party/coalition.

That seems a bit naive. You deal with your political realities as they are now, not how they once were.

[Agelastus]

So no early election. Is this because Labour is so weak she feels she doesn't need to establish her credentials by having voter mandate to be in power?

Or maybe she remembers that before all the nonsense brought up since 2010 it was not normal for a new prime-minister to go straight to the electorate for a "mandate".

See Brown, Major, Callaghan, MacMillan, Chamberlain, Lloyd George, Asquith and Balfour since 1900, for example.

In fact, I can only think of the 2 1910 elections and the 1923 election as ones since 1900 where parliament was dissolved early specifically to get a mandate on an issue, rather than because the timing was right for the ruling party/coalition.

That seems a bit naive. You deal with your political realities as they are now, not how they once were.

This is Britain.

Emasculated and diluted as it is, we still have a House of Lords.

I think "Issue" elections pretty much went out of business because the party calling the election always seemed to fail to get the clear mandate they'd been after, or any mandate at all even.

All three post 1900 "issue" elections I can think of resulted in hung parliaments. Even with the smaller electorate of the post 1832 Reform Act 19th Century "issue" elections rarely worked.

Admittedly for the post 1900 elections this was partly due to the other issues of the time as well - in 1910 the Irish nationalists and in 1923 the rise of Labour and the legacy of the papered over Liberal split. But the "I need a mandate" issue hadn't been particularly resonant either time, with in two of the three cases the ruling party suffering serious losses.

There's an argument that 1905 could be called an "issue" election as well, despite occurring roughly 5 years into the parliament (a fairly normal election time.) The side with the "issue", the Tory/Liberal Unionist coalition, was hammered in that election as well.

[Richard Hakluyt]

I'm glad that she has kicked the Scottish referendum into the long grass as well. We need fewer elections not more, excessive voting and electioneering just creates mess.

[celedhring]

Amazing how the pound dropped like a rock almost the very instance brexit was mentioned today.

Down 0.05% against the dollar and 0.01% against the Euro. Run for the hills!!!

Yeah, it's not like the market didn't know that UK triggering Article 50 was coming up this month. Whatever effect on the value of the pound, it's already been accounted for.

[Richard Hakluyt]

There was a substantive drop of 10% or so against the $ and the euro just after the referendum result. Since then the £ has held steady against the euro but dropped a further 5% against the $.