The Westministenders Hunger Games continues. Hunting for the Opposition.

[RedToothBrush]

THE BREXIT FALLOUT OUT CONTINUES - THREAD EIGHT!

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Each of the parties seem to have a taken a very different style to their leadership contests.

The Tory party have been well documented as doing in the classic style of Hamlet. After the entire Conservative Party have spent two weeks stabbing each in the back and front, May steps forward to take the crown for herself.

But what about the others?

The UKIP leadership contest seems to be in comedy style of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights. In a strange turn of events, that no one predicted and seem quite absurd, they seem to be changing their rules so their new leader must have been a member for 5 years. The punchline is this rules just about everyone out, apart from Neil Hamilton and Steven Woolfe. As BigChocFrenzy points out, we are expecting Arron Banks to hand out the brown envelopes. We are just waiting for the poorly thought out, and badly booked racist band to turn up and make everyone cringe in horror and distract everyone from UKIP's candidates and their manifestos in the process.

Meanwhile Labour Party decide to do what they thought was Star Wars Panto. After spending a week going “She’s Standing”, “Oh No She’s Not” Angela Eagle is declared the Empire Strikes Back candidate by Diane Abbot. Well if she’s the rebel leader, then who is Darth Vader and the Emperor?

Unfortunately, you’d be forgiven for thinking the performance is starting to look more and more like a re-enactment of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, by the minute:

A battle of wills between two forces locked together in a room with ultimately different and opposing self-interests. This is only resolved when the new leader to the dynamic who sought to upset the institution, and give the others their freedom, is lobotomised and subsequently killed in an act of mercy. His murderer manages to escape the prison to the cheers of those still stuck inside.

The Greens of course are a foreign language film, no one has heard of and no one is really that interested in watching.

The Lib Dems are merely sat in the audience. With Tim Farron heckling.

But where is Gandalf?

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At least some sanity has returned and we now have some leaders. May can now get stuck into the job of handing the nightmare that is Brexit whilst making herself at home at Number 10. Rumours are circulating that it’s been left a bit of a pigsty.

We will follow May, on her new adventures to foreign lands to persuade Merkel and Juncker to hand over a mythical unicorn to the UK. Meanwhile will we continue our own hunt for the opposition, whilst we all consult our dictionaries for the meaning of the word ‘Brexit’ in bafflement in the wake of ‘Brexit means Brexit’.

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Sense of humour compulsory. No experience necessary though

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eu_referendum_2016_/2682358-The-Westministenders-Media-Baron-Hunger-Games-continues-Is-it-about-to-all-implode?pg=1 Previous thread 7

*Scientist for labour suspend membership

indy100.independent.co.uk/article/10-moments-david-cameron-will-want-us-to-forget--W1vJGeb3HW

10 Things DC will want you to forget.
You know your legacy isn't good when you get that.

On did-the-SNP-clap-or-not:
Vicki Young ‏@BBCVickiYoung 36m36 minutes ago
Just for the record #SNP supporters would like me to point out they did not applaud the Prime Minister #pmqs

I can not think of any reason why this photo of a powerful man stroking his cat in a high backed chair might be really amusing.

where the fuck is Bond to save the country, when we need him

Owen Smith gave an interview to his local paper back in 2005, which has now returned to stalk him around everyone's twitter:
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/owen-smith-opens-up-by-election-2338066
"The Iraq War
"We are making significant inroads in improving what is happening in Iraq.
"I thought at the time the tradition of the Labour Party and the tradition of left-wing engagement to remove dictators was a noble, valuable tradition, and one that in South Wales, from the Spanish Civil War onwards, we have recognised and played a part in.""

"On PFI (Private Finance Initiative) schemes, etc
"We've had PFI in Wales, we've had a hospital built down in Baglan through PFI. If PFI works, then let's do it. What people want to see are more hospitals, better services.
"City academies in certain parts of inner city Britain, where schools were failing, where children were not being well served, have made great inroads.
"I'm not someone, frankly, who gets terribly wound up about some of the ideological nuances that get read into some of these things, and I think sometimes they are totally overblown.""

I think Bond quit, just before every fucker else did.

(((Dan Hodges))) ‏@DPJHodges 7m7 minutes ago
Rosie Winterton saw Corbyn this AM. Told him whips office were resigning to endorse other candidates. He told her they could stay.

(((Dan Hodges))) ‏@DPJHodges 6m6 minutes ago
Now have unbelievable situation where whips office openly defying the leader.

More chaos.

Apparently a labour source has told the media that there will '100%' only be one opposition candidate to Corbyn by Friday.

This source could in theory be a Corbyn, Eagle or Owen supporter!

At this point, I'd happily out money on the challenger being Larry The Cat. He's doing a better job of getting the media's attention.

Anyway, you know how we've been saying nice things about the Lib Dems, and how they've managed to keep it together and pretend to be some sort of opposition instead of trying to kill each other off? Apparently we are wrong, because according to Private Eye (yes, I only now have time to read it!) they have been trying to get together a plot to replace Tim Farron with Nick Clegg.

Ex-Liberal Democrat leader Lord Campbell says the Lib Dems will "unreservedly and unashamedly" continue to argue the case for the European Union. He offers presenter Edward Stourton a bet that Brexit won't happen.

An unwise bet.
Didn't Paddy Ashdown say that he would eat his hat if the exit polls were correct in predicting that the Lib Dems would be reduced to 10 MPs?

I don't think many will be satisfied with the Brexit deal negotiated. If it's EEA/EFTA most Remainers would be reasonably happy; but how many of the Leave camp would be? Daniel Hannan and BoJo aside because that appeared to be the type of Brexit they wanted.

I think Bond quit, just before every fucker else did

Hahaha, that's for when the Lib Dems decide they are going to pack it in and start the new party obviously!!

Brilliant.

Their leadership contest last year was dreadfully uneventful. I think they need to have a meaty punch-up to get some much needed column inches.

Wasn't Larry the Cat the first one to show his face on the steps of Number 10, on 24th June? A good two hours before our ex-PM, I seem to recall.

Did Ashdown ever eat that hat? Does he need to be held to account for false promises?

(((Dan Hodges))) ‏@DPJHodges 7m7 minutes ago
If chaos in Labour continues I think Bercow is going to have to intervene. Can't see how he sits back and lets business grind to a halt.

This could get very interesting. In the Chinese sense, of course.

I originally had some sympathy with JC but I now think he's shamelessly betraying our parliamentary democracy by refusing to behave like a leader of the opposition.

I have never in my life voted conservative but I would actually consider it if he is still labour leader at a GE:-(

Ashdown - sort of. QT gave him a hat-shaped cake: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11594442/General-election-2015-Paddy-Ashdown-eats-hat-following-Conservative-win.html

woofle - this is the thing isn't it? I can cope with an ideological scrap over the soul of the Labour Party, but they have another job as well, they get public funding for it, and it is pretty fucking important, especially when everything else is falling down around them.

Well put bathroomsink.

I wonder if the Libd

Yes, I listened to his speech with Andrew Marr and it just seems blindingly obvious he primarily sees himself as leader of the LP and its incidental that that makes him leader of the opposition. That stance alone makes him unsuitable as L of the O imo as he has a crucial role to play in holding the Govt to account.
He should never have stood as leader but should have set up another political party imp.

Sorry, fat fingers!

I wonder, if the Libdems run on a platform of getting us back into the EU, could the supplant Labour as the main opposition?

I wonder, if the Libdems run on a platform of getting us back into the EU, could the supplant Labour as the main opposition?

The LibDems have a long long way to go to regain the trust of their supporters. Going into Coalition with the Tories and then reneging on their promises about tuition fees have done them enormous damage.

Has anyone seen this article by Caroline Criado-Perez in The Pool?

It's about the threats being experienced by female MPs - specifically Labour MPs.

www.the-pool.com/news-views/politics/2016/28/caroline-criado-perez-on-labour-women-abuse-and-death-threats

I'm so, so angry at this. In the Labour Party of all places (not that it should be happening anywhere of courese)