UK General Election 2017

[floo]

I always found him to be rather lovely and charming. He's certainly one of the wittiest people I have known.  Just wrong.

Really? I find he comes across as arrogant and creepy.

[Rhiannon]

Really? I find he comes across as arrogant and creepy.

That's his missus.

[Nearly Sane]

Really? I find he comes across as arrogant and creepy.

Oh, he is undoubtedly arrogant. That was one of of his best qualities. He's also unfailingly polite in person, very clever, and very witty. Politics has been his downfall

[Rhiannon]

Oh, he is undoubtedly arrogant. That was one of of his best qualities. He's also unfailingly polite in person, very clever, and very witty. Politics has been his downfall

Surely even as a politician you retain an option as too whether or not you lie? I mean really, really lie, not just fudge and evade? And whether you shaft your friends and colleagues ruthlessly and publicly?

[Nearly Sane]

Surely even as a politician you retain an option as too whether or not you lie? I mean really, really lie, not just fudge and evade? And whether you shaft your friends and colleagues ruthlessly and publicly?

Didn't suggest you don't. Just find it hard to understand what happened. There was Michael before politics and Michael after. Now obviously we have to be careful about post hoc but....

[Nearly Sane]

I see George Galloway describing this as a Hun Parliament, wanker as ever but that is quite witty.

[Rhiannon]

Didn't suggest you don't. Just find it hard to understand what happened. There was Michael before politics and Michael after. Now obviously we have to be careful about post hoc but....

It still sounds like it was Michael that ruined Michael. But there we are. He had choices.

[Nearly Sane]

Farewell, Tim Farron


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40281300

[floo]

Now you see him, now you don't! Maybe TM should take a leaf out of his book.

[Rhiannon]

Farewell, Tim Farron


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40281300

Faithful Christian equals being a bigot. Ffs. Most faithful Christians I know will want to tut very loudly.

[Nearly Sane]

It still sounds like it was Michael that ruined Michael. But there we are. He had choices.

He did, but we aren't always aware of the effects of choices.

[Rhiannon]

He did, but we aren't always aware of the effects of choices.

Didn't Shakespeare write a play about that?

[ProfessorDavey]

Faithful Christian equals being a bigot. Ffs. Most faithful Christians I know will want to tut very loudly.

I have no issue whatsoever with believers being politicians and see no fundamental conflict of interest.

However Farron seemed to get himself tied on knots and his faith, and specifically his beliefs on gay people, sat ill with being leader of a party with 'liberal' in its name. His attempt to close down the issue during the campaign by claiming he didn't have a problem with homosexual relationships simply didn't seem genuine. And reading his resignation speech it seems pretty clear that it wasn't.

However I suspect that the issues over his leadership went way beyond his faith - frankly he came across as the definition of lightweight and although they did manage to pick up a few seats they made no progress in vote share compared to the carnage of 2015. And that despite being pretty well the only party (in England) actually directly targeting the 48%.

[Shaker]

A nonentity leaves an irrelevance. That's about it, AFAICS.

If that seems harsh ... well yes, I'm like that.

[Nearly Sane]

Didn't Shakespeare write a play about that?

pretty much all of them.

[Rhiannon]

A nonentity leaves an irrelevance. That's about it, AFAICS.

Which is a concern, as it demonstrates that we have returned to two party politics.

[Rhiannon]

pretty much all of them.

Yep. You'd have thought Michael would remember them from school.

[Nearly Sane]

Yep. You'd have thought Michael would remember them from school.

It is his obsession for Dickens and Gradgrind that I find oddest

[Rhiannon]

It is his obsession for Dickens and Gradgrind that I find oddest

Cosplay?

[Nearly Sane]

A nonentity leaves an irrelevance. That's about it, AFAICS.

If that seems harsh ... well yes, I'm like that.

Just disappointed that he didn't resign at four in the morning.

[jakswan]

Soz been away last few days. Penton is tweeting DUP remain comiited to leaving single market.

[ProfessorDavey]

Soz been away last few days. Penton is tweeting DUP remain comiited to leaving single market.

Who or what is Penton.

How can the DUP remain committed to something that they never committed to in the first place.

[jakswan]

Who or what is Penton.

How can the DUP remain committed to something that they never committed to in the first place.

Oops peston, on mobile auto complete.

[ProfessorDavey]

Soz been away last few days. Penton is tweeting DUP remain comiited to leaving single market.

Clearly getting a deal with the DUP is proving much, much harder than anticipated, given that it is now a week since the election and still no announcement.

It is, of course, possible (indeed probably) that the DUP will align with the government's view on brexit (although what that is seems to be changing almost by the hour, with Hammond seemingly now calling the shots). However that would no more prove that the DUP had a manifesto pledge to leaving the single market prior to the election than the LibDems signing up to massive increase in tuition fees after the 2010 election proved that their manifesto for the 2010 election committed them to raising tuition fees.

[ProfessorDavey]

Oops peston, on mobile auto complete.

As I've said the DUP might do a U-turn in order to get a deal, although the lack of an announcement doesn't bode well for that deal.

However that doesn't mean they committed to hard brexit prior to the election. More evidence that they didn't - again a direct quote, this time from DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds:

'It's wrong to say we're not in favour of a soft Brexit'

Kind of scrambled double negatives but translation means 'we favour soft brexit'.