To think Liz Truss MUST call a general election to make “unpopular” and “difficult” decisions that deviate from the last GE manifesto?

[CurseOfBigness]

I get that Liz Truss is a keen new prime minister full of beans and ideas. I just don’t think she has the mandate to push through decisions that are “unpopular” and “difficult” if it deviates from the last general election’s manifesto.

Liz Truss plans radical shift in economic policy: New UK prime minister readies tax-cutting mini-Budget and says she is prepared to be unpopular.

This new prime minister has not gained her position by winning a general election. If she wants to radically change things and be “unpopular” then she needs to put the vote to the people.

Truss talked the talk about promoting “freedom” and not being dictated by “instructions”. But Freedom is not for free. The rule of law applies as “instructions” to help keep society civilised. Checks and balances.

Removing the cap on bankers’ bonuses is a poor PR move. Trickle down economics is problematic and already being criticised as ineffective.

Truss thinks she can do what she wants because she’s party leader and by default became prime minister. But Truss can’t afford to be “unpopular” because she needs to win a general election in her own right first.

AIBU to think Liz Truss must call a general election to make “unpopular” and “difficult” decisions that deviate from the last GE manifesto? Isn’t that how democracy works?!

I know a few people who are happy she is the new leader because they didn't want Mr Sunak.
I think the party will go along with it because they know a GE might / could be brutal
Again, only my opinion ( and from talking to other people , most of whom are not keen on Mr Starmer either )
I think we will be stuck with her for a year or more maybe?

Conservatives won last election so not until 2024 will there be a new general election. Conservatives can appoint any leader they like for those 5 years.

Looks like I’m coming at this from a moral position. Don't ethics matter in political law?

Looking for ethics in anything in politics is pretty futile imo. And while there's a lot of law about how elections are conducted, there's not a huge amount around when you have to have them, except for the maximum interval between them. I don't even think a government has to call an election after losing a VONC, but it would be pretty impossible for them to govern if their own side was regularly voting against them.

This is the difficulty of not having a written constitution imo. It's exactly the sort of thing that would be in a half-decent constitution.

There are loads of other approaches to democracy. Not just Italy (still don’t understand why you’ve picked on that one).

More Britons want to scrap first-past-the-post elections than keep the status quo
For the first time ever there is a majority in favour of electoral reform, while there is also growing support for breaking up the United Kingdom

Change is needed. Within that change a reformation of the monarchy to elect a Head of State can be considered too.

If the UK became a republic then a written constitution would become the foundation.

Constitution sounds like the way forwards did a principled and democratic future.

They could actually hang on till early 2025. Elections have to be held no longer than 5 years and a few days (25?) from the date of the dissolution of the previous parliament, ie when the previous election was called.

The Tories changed the rules when they repealed the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

If the UK became a republic then a written constitution would become the foundation.

The UK has a written constitution - but it’s spread across a number of documents rather than codified into a single one.

That has its advantages too - flexibility being a significant one.

No government has for over a century!

Most reputable economists think her plans are batshit crazy and will bankrupt the country. Brexshit and the cost of living crisis haven't even kicked in fully either. Levelling up has been kicked into the long grass if it ever existed. Once the tories start losing a few by elections the MPs will get antsy. Former red and blue walls will crumble. Hopefully the free market obsessed disaster capitalist ERG types backing Truss will have the opportunity to completely burn their bridges and we can get back to having a traditional sensible Tory party not a pitiful reincarnation of Thatcher...

What's the point in a GE when the muppets that live in this country will vote for the corrupt bastards yet again.

"Constitution sounds like the way forwards did a principled and democratic future."

Like America you mean, where unelected judges decide what the constitution means. See the recent furore over abortion.

I think the House of Lords could become a significant obstacle for plans which require legislation; if it's not in the manifesto the Salisbury-Addison convention won't apply (the convention means the Lords don't block legislation that implements manifesto commitments).

I agree she should.

She won't.

But yes - she should.

The worst about all this the refusal they have to publish any research documents or evidence for their/ her decisions.

They seem to totally have forgotten that government work for us - not the other way around.

Imagine trying to tell your boss you're doing things your own way - and you aren't willing to discuss why you think that's better

Truss doesn't.

Johnson had a huge a,modify on a different mandate.

She's inherited that majority and with it the mandate.

She's only willing to inherit the bits she wants and stuff those she thinks should not be helped.

The Lords can chuck out anything not in the manifesto though, and hopefully will. That will hopefully slow things down until we do get to a general election.

But this is the British way, we don't have a president, we have a PM.

Morally Truss is wrong, constitutionally it is what it is.

Reputable economists? Who? The Marxists at the LSE? Those whose policies have overseen economic disasters exported to every country their gullible students have gone to?

Yes the US has some serious soul-searching now over their constitution but actually it has served them quite well in many ways.

I think the abortion situation is not something we should allow to deter us from a written constitution.

Not a chance she will call an election. They are too far behind Labour in the polls to risk it.

I think the abortion situation is not something we should allow to deter us from a written constitution.

The UK has a written constitution. It’s just not codified.

Brown pretty much carried on Blairs policies, he didn't rubbish Labours previous 11 years in Govt.

Labour are well ahead in the polls and Starmer is ahead in the Who would make the best PM question too.

I think the people are tired of a shockingly poor nhs and a terrible economy/inflation, they can blame it on World events but why is inflation in France 5.8% and ours is 10% ?

As I say to my kids, no one likes a pedant

Ah, I see what you did there 🤔🤣

Reputable economists? Who? The Marxists at the LSE? Those whose policies have overseen economic disasters exported to every country their gullible students have gone to?

The LSE is world class, 27th out of 1600 global institutions.... so you ve no evidence for your piss poor allegations.

Calling someone a Marxist or a Putin stooge seems to be the Tories only response nowadays.

Governments have to make tough decisions that shall be unpopular and that isn’t a reason to call a GE

most people won’t care about fracking they are far more concerned with being able to feed their families, keeping them warm and keeping a roof over their heads environmental concerns will take a back seat

they won a large majority because of Brexit, Johnson has always been a vote winner that why we left the EU in the first place (I wouldn’t write his political career off yet) and Corbyn wasn’t popular enough but neither is Starmer …

so not a GE isn’t the best idea now

Fracking won't benefit normal people anyway
If only the press would shout this from the rooftops instead of sucking up to them all.
Won't hold my breath.