UK Politics VI

[Chaldanya]

According to the BBC, Mandy has arrived at Downing Street to be with Gordon 'at the end'. From this I can assume that your wish will be answered in the near future

Are they putting Gordon down? No wonder he didn't want to leave and superglued himself to the walls of No10

N

[Blue Roses]

He couldn't help himself....he had to mention the global financial meltdown one last time :rolleyes:

[Arataniello]

Are they putting Gordon down? No wonder he didn't want to leave and superglued himself to the walls of No10

N

He has put himself out of his misery by resigning just now. So he will go down in history (perhaps) as the only British PM to resign twice from the same premiership, even if the speech yesterday wasn't truly him resigning as PM.

[Night Watchman]

Well, that's it then. It's over.

[Werthead]

All hail the dawn of the LibCon Era.

Amusingly the BBC indicated that the Tories had no idea this was going on, so Brown's last act was to mildly screw over the timing of the Tories and LibDems in their discussions. It also forces their hands because Cameron basically gets invited to go and become PM right now, rather than in accordance with their preferred timescale.

Or to put it another way, Brown's just said, "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

[mormont]

All hail the dawn of the LibCon Era.

A friend of mine titled it the ConDem Era. Because you know someone's going to get screwed. ;)

[slim da reaper]

I don't know wert, it was an impossibility for Brown to become PM again, if he had gone before the election and there had been a new labour leader we'd be looking at a lib/lab coalition right now. But since when did any leader leave right before an election? I think we will see another election next year.

mormont, haha nice one.

[Deedles]

I see that Cameron is now officially PM. I find the Queens appointment amusing (as opposed to a vote in Parliment).

Good luck guys.

[williamjm]

Gaha. I wonder how the Guardian feels now, having endorsed the lib dems. I really hope the Con-LibDem alliance, if it indeed comes through, mandates NO snap election.

If the LibDems are sensible then I think they should include a demand for a full four-year term (or something like that) as part of any coalition deal, because they won't want to irritate much of their base by forming a coalition with the Conservatives without getting at least a few years worth of government out of it.

A lot of people have been predicting another election in the next year or so, but I'm not sure that would really benefit Cameron. Labour are likely to recover at least some of their support after they get rid of the divisive figure of Gordon Brown and once the Conservatives have to start making tough choices on spending it would seem to be likely that their popularity would drop a bit, so the chances of them gaining enough votes in a second election to form a majorty would seem to be slim.

[Werthead]

Yup, Labour figures have very blatantly said they think the way forward is to let the Tories and LibDems get on with dealing with the deficit, probably severely pissing off the public in the process, and they then have a strong chance of getting in in 4-5 years time. That's why a lot of the Labour big-hitters seem to be lining up for the job of Labour leader (and potential PM) now rather than waiting out the next Parliament (the "Hilary Clinton not standing in 2004," tactic) with an interim leader.

If, somehow, the LibDems and Tories deal with the crisis spectacularly successfully, this tactic could backfire on the Labour Party, but then a lot of politics is timing and gambling.

[Deedles]

So, is Ed Milliband as much as a shoo in as the bookies appear to be labelling him - 2 to 1 on?

[Maltaran]

So, is Ed Milliband as much as a shoo in as the bookies appear to be labelling him - 2 to 1 on?

Wrong Milliband - the site I'm looking at (Paddy Power) has David at 4/6 and Ed at 6/1 along with Ed Balls.

[williamjm]

So, is Ed Milliband as much as a shoo in as the bookies appear to be labelling him - 2 to 1 on?

I thought it was David Millband that was the favourite, although Ed is also sometimes mentioned as a potential contender?

[Dharma]

I have intently been following all the "fun" during and since the election, hoping out for a result which could lead to serious electoral reform. Not a.v., but a proper p.r. system. Living in Denmark which has such a system, and knowing how well it usually works... I can't help but feel that most people in Britain have no idea how much more democratic such a system is. Having reflected over it the last few days, I'm pretty sure I would feel considerably repressed in my political possibilities if I lived in the U.K.

A p.r. system allows the varying interests of all the citizens to be represented in parliament, not just two major centre-left and centre-right blocks. I know you all know this, and I am aware that I cannot appreciate the the economic element of the election or its consequences because I don't live in Britain, but from my own pov true electoral reform is by far the most important political subject of the election. It would have immeasurable democratizing effects on the country for generations to come.

Under all circumstances, good luck to you all under the coalition.

[Werthead]

If I had to guess it would be David Miliband. He's on the Blairite side of the party, IIRC, and the Blairites seem to feel buoyant at the apparent failure of the Brownian Motion. Plus Miliband is (relatively) young and has a reasonable amount of experience, qualities which would be in his favour as much as they were in Blair's.

I think it's unlikely that Ed or Balls could get the job, if for no other reason that Balls' majority was slashed massively and he could lose his seat at the next election pretty easily.

[Maltaran]

So - now that the coalition is more or less a done deal, what Cabinet posts do we think the Lib Dems will get? I saw a suggestion somewhere of Vince Cable as Business Secretary - anyone want to speculate what post Clegg would get, or which other Lib Dems can expect to be on the front bench?

[Werthead]

My first thought was Clegg as Deputy PM/First Secretary of State, being a pretty toothless position but possibly symbolic of the new alliance. But that might come over as a bit of a piss-take, so maybe he'll get something else. David Laws is rumoured to be getting Education, which is fair enough (Tory and LibDem education plans seem pretty compatible, and Laws effortlessly won the education debate at the headteacher's conference before the election). Cable as Business Secretary to keep an eye on Osborne (whose position even with other Tories seems to be shakier than a few months ago) is a no-brainer.

[The Iceman of the North]

The natural position for Clegg would be either Foreign Secretary or Finance Secretary, or whatever is considered the most important position behind the PM. But I'm not sure if Cameron will follow this practise.

[ljkeane]

The natural position for Clegg would be either Foreign Secretary or Finance Secretary, or whatever is considered the most important position behind the PM. But I'm not sure if Cameron will follow this practise.

Since foreign policy is one of the stumbling blocks for a coalition I think it would be difficult for the Tories to make Clegg Foreign Secretary, although it does seem to be a role he would be suited for.

[Werthead]

The natural position for Clegg would be either Foreign Secretary or Finance Secretary, or whatever is considered the most important position behind the PM. But I'm not sure if Cameron will follow this practise.

Foreign Secretary might be out, as that's William Hague's potential job, and Hague has emerged as a powerful figure of the new Tory regime. If he didn't get that, he'd have to get something else to make up for it. Finance - Chancellor - is unlikely. If Osborne (Cameron's oldest friend and political ally) doesn't get it, the most popular and logical choice is Vince Cable (another LibDem)