Westminstenders: Long live liberalism

[RedToothBrush]

Talk of its demise are premature.

(Sorry up to eyeballs this weekend)

I meant 😄 about the cat!

It sounds like Hammond, who knows he's going to be out on his ear soon, is getting himself lined up with his excuses already, so that when it goes pear shaped for Johnson/Hunt he will legitimately be able to say it wasn't him.

But sometimes I dream about an election that somehow produces a government of national unity: LD, SNP, Greens, Plaid, maybe Change and Independents

Yes, me too. But apart from being a dream for some of us, is it not starting to look, objectively, like the ONLY possible way out?!?!

You are all right though about labour probably not being able to win a GE with Corbyn as leader, I didn't think of that

I wish Labour would realise that and ditch Corbyn. The only reason people have given me for continuing to vote Tory is that it will be awful to have a Corbyn lead government (to be fair they’re not wrong).

That Sun story on BJ is shocking - our next PM, unless the HoC rescue us with a VoNC first:

"The nerves were sparked by at least two instances when Boris was accused of revealing classified information by mistake.

The order to cut him out came directly from PM Theresa May"

< she should have sacked him immediately for that and said why - then we might have avoided him as PM
Or sacked him for Nazanin
And for his disgracefully rude gaffes >

A dig by Hunt, but it will pass over the heads of most Tory members

Tom Newton Dunnn@tnewtondunn*

Hunt refuses to comment on Boris intelligence row, but makes a subtle dig at him anyway:

"We have the finest intelligence services in the world, but that does depend on some discretion by the Foreign Secretary"

TheABC - it's Lidl you need for the Flammkuchen!

{"We have the finest intelligence services in the world, but that does depend on some discretion by the Foreign Secretary"}

Can we move on to the mud wrestling round please.
Then we can have the swimsuit and 'party frock' rounds afterwards.

Thanks, @BlueEyeshadow. One of those forren supermarket types, anyway. How dare they come into the UK with tasty treats!

@1tisILeClerc - when the mud wrestling starts, how will we tell the difference?

One of the few things I am grateful for is that both candidates remain fully clothed for these hustings.

The only reason people have given me for continuing to vote Tory is that it will be awful to have a Corbyn lead government

I agree I'd hate for the vulnerable to be supported, I hate how kids are expected to eat in summer holidays even though their parents work, the cheek of elderly people expecting decent social care, and how dare the NHS and the police expect funding I mean come on

I agree I'd hate for the vulnerable to be supported, I hate how kids are expected to eat in summer holidays even though their parents work, the cheek of elderly people expecting decent social care, and how dare the NHS and the police expect funding I mean come on

I support all those things you’ve listed but I still don’t support Corbyn. Because I don’t think he’s actually capable of delivering anything he promises. He’s a shit leader of the Labour Party, which gives me very little confidence he’d make a good PM.

Oh Leclerc now you've given me visions of Johnson in an evening gown - aaaaargh!

Oh Leclerc now you've given me visions of Johnson in an evening gown - aaaaargh!

I have a vision of them in bathing suits [shudder]. Going out to pick weeds in the garden ...

I know BJ invents a lot of his claims, like Trump, but even BJ would have avoided
this glorious historical clanger: 😂😂😂

Flight of fancy: Trump claims 1775 revolutionary army 'took over airports' ✈️ ✈️ 😂😂

I wonder if he had another brainfart / senior moment, as surely White House script-writers can't be that ignorant

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/05/flight-of-fancy-trump-claims-1775-revolutionary-army-took-over-airports

Ew

Does Lidl sell brain bleach as well as flammkuchen?

{surely White House script-writers can't be that ignorant }

I can almost see it as having been put in deliberately to catch Trump out, especially if it was an electronic 'autocue' which they could 'correct' immediately afterwards.

So the leadership of the Labour Party is a hopeless mess because of the democratic right of the party members who voted in Corbyn.

The leadership of the Conservative Party is about to be an even more hopeless mess than it already is because of the democratic right of the party members who are likely to vote in Johnson.

I know that, in the not so distant past, (1965) the Tory leader "emerged" (a bit like the election of the pontiff) which sounds the antithesis of democracy.

What do people think should be the way to vote for leaders? Or is just best for the leaders to be voted for by members but then a general election happens so normal human beings the rest of the electorate get to decide who actually leads the country?

In the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister still has to be voted for by the Parliament itself. In a Parliament designed not to have majorities, that means that it is usual but not a given that it is the leader of the largest party. Other MSPs can be nominated. Iirc, Ruth Davidson was nominated at the relevant point at start of the last Scottish Parliament - but of course only got the votes of her own party

Taking the airports 😂😂😂😂 you can't make this shit up.

Philip Hammond leads 30 Tory MPs in plot to stop no-deal Brexit in October

https://news.sky.com/story/philip-hammond-leads-30-tory-mps-in-plot-to-stop-no-deal-brexit-in-october-11757279

Thirty Tory MPs led by Chancellor Philip Hammond are plotting to stop a no-deal Brexit in October
in a move which would raise the chance of a second referendum
.....
The informal group of rebels, mostly serving ministers, have held three meetings since Theresa May announced her departure a month ago,
about how to prevent the UK crashing out on 31 October.

Whether political parties choose to be democratic or not is IMO up to their membership.

The problem both Tories and Labour have is that by giving power to their members they can end up with a Leader who doesn't enjoy the confidence of the Parliamentary Party.

It's further compounded in the Tories case because they are not only the Government, but a minority one at that. If May had got her stonking majority I suspect that Tory opinion would either be a cross section of what the general public thought, or would be representative enough of what people thought.

I basically think the Scottish System sounds OK and we could adopt it. All the MPs have been elected and since they are representatives and not delegates it's up to them to use their judgement as to who they think is best.

In the case now, let the Tories have their Leadership contest and then let members from all parties throw their hats into the ring and see who has the Confidence of the whole house.

If a non Government candidate won then it would I think effectively lead to a form of Coalition.

bellini The problem is, he did ! 😂

Sadly, it doesn't seem to matter to his voters 🤦🏻‍♀️

If a VoNC is passed. only then will other party leaders / MPs be able to seek a majority to support their own bid to lead the country

And they only have 14 days to try, before a GE is automatically called and Parliament dissolved

The LibDems could also end up with the same problem having thrown open their Leadership election to the members. However, I don't think we are likely to be providing a PM or Leader of the Opposition in the near future.