Liz Truss resigns as British PM

[Brian]

So who will replace Ms Truss?  Given the trainwreck of BoJo and Truss this year, can things get worse?  Never, ever say things can't get worse.  See Liz Truss.

Boris is running again!

The Italians are very upset about this artwork. Corriere ran an indignant editorial.

Balls. Nixon resigned, l watched him do so on live TV in August 1974.

That, alas, was almost 50 years ago and a very different era.

[Todd]

The Italians are very upset about this artwork. Corriere ran an indignant editorial.

They'll get over it in less than forty-four days.

Back to the UK:




The Hall of Fame!

[Mandryka]

Is there any mechanism for forcing a general election?

No, not as far as I know.

[Mandryka]

Boris is running again!

And he may well be very popular with the Conservative Party paid up members, the people who will be asked to choose if there are two candidates with more than 100 nominations from conservative MPs.  For this reason, I would be surprised if he gleaned 100 nominations.

[Mandryka]

In my opinion whoever gets chosen will muddle through for a year or even two. But the important thing will be next year, when a new party will emerge to replace the moribund conservatives. Dominic Cummings at the helm quite possibly.

[Scion7]

Well that was quick!   
Wonder if there's a Maggie-in-the-wings?

[Irons]

Somehow even we Americans cannot gloat, since the idea of a leader resigning when they fail is inconceivable in the USA. 

I was thinking that exact thought. You was stuck with Trump. It says something for the unwritten British constitution that if a PM is dishonest (Johnson) or inept (Truss) they are disposed of without delay.

[Irons]

And he may well be very popular with the Conservative Party paid up members, the people who will be asked to choose if there are two candidates with more than 100 nominations from conservative MPs.  For this reason, I would be surprised if he gleaned 100 nominations.

Never write Boris off, but I agree. I think the 1922 committee have attempted to stich it up so he won't win. Not accidental, I wager, that this has blown up and a very short time-scale with Johnson out of the country.   

[Pohjolas Daughter]

In my opinion whoever gets chosen will muddle through for a year or even two. But the important thing will be next year, when a new party will emerge to replace the moribund conservatives. Dominic Cummings at the helm quite possibly.

What is it about next year?

PD

[Mandryka]

What is it about next year?

PD

Well, there will be an election in 2024 at the latest. The establishment of a new party in 2023 would give it time to win the confidence of the public, that's all.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Well, there will be an election in 2024 at the latest. The establishment of a new party in 2023 would give it time to win the confidence of the public, that's all.

Thanks.

PD

[71 dB]

Well, there will be an election in 2024 at the latest.

Well, let's see how much is left of the UK at that point. Next winter will crush the brits (energy crisis etc.) brutally...

[Mandryka]

Well, let's see how much is left of the UK at that point. Next winter will crush the brits (energy crisis etc.) brutally...

No, I think you exaggerate. Stiff upper lip and all that, old chap.

[vers la flamme]

Any Brits here care to explain how all this happened to a completely ignorant but curious American?

[Scion7]

the short answer is, she was unprepared/unqualified for the job  -  her ideas caused the market to go wonky

one of the reasons the American constitution was set up differently from a parliamentary system was to allow the general public to examine and make decisions about their head of executive functions - which hopefully avoids the built-in potential issues from parliamentary democracies - but if all the functionaries are twee, then what have you?

[vers la flamme]

the short answer is, she was unprepared/unqualified for the job  -  her ideas caused the market to go wonky

one of the reasons the American constitution was set up differently from a parliamentary system was to allow the general public to examine and make decisions about their head of executive functions - which hopefully avoids the built-in potential issues from parliamentary democracies - but if all the functionaries are twee, then what have you?

What were these ideas?

[Brian]

What were these ideas?

Tax cuts for the rich and corporations - making the UK more like the US. (More for corporations I think - they had scrapped and then unscrapped a plan to raise corporate tax rates from 19 to 25%.)

In the UK, unlike here, paying your tax is seen as a responsible patriotic duty. The comedian Jimmy Carr was busted for using loopholes to score an effective 1% tax rate a decade ago, and he still gets roasted by other comedians for it regularly. Last week we watched the game show episode he hosted/filmed the day after the scandal broke, where he was forced to apologize on air for avoiding tax, and then everyone insulted him for a half hour. It was funny and also a sign of a very different society.

[Mandryka]

Any Brits here care to explain how all this happened to a completely ignorant but curious American?

The thing you need to know is that The Conservative Party is factional. It is a disparate collection of groups characterised by different post-Brexit policy ideas. She did not have the strength to impose her will. This made it practically impossible for her to work with parliament.

There was also a budget which was badly received. But the real fundamental problem was a leadership one - she was not able to get her party to follow her.


This was the same reason that Boris Johnson left office - he was forced to throw in the towel after almost 60 government ministers had resigned their position, saying they could not work with him. They effectively made him impotent, it was impossible for him to do anything because so much of his party refused to toe the line.

I think the next leader will have the same problems that Boris Johnson and Liz Truss had.

I believe that what we are witnessing in Britain is the death of the governing party, the Conservative Party. This is why I believe that a new party will be formed.

[vandermolen]

The thing you need to know is that The Conservative Party is factional. It is a disparate collection of groups characterised by different post-Brexit policy ideas. She did not have the strength to impose her will. This made it practically impossible for her to work with parliament.

There were also a budget which was badly received. But the real fundamental problem was a leadership one - she was not able to get her party to follow her.


This was the same reason that Boris Johnson left office - he was forced to throw in the towel after almost 60 government ministers had resigned their position, saying they could not work with him. They effectively made him impotent, it was impossible for him to do anything because so much of his party refused to toe the line.

I think the next leader will have the same problems as Boris Johnson and Liz Truss had.

I believe that what we are witnessing in Britain is the death of the governing party, the Conservative Party. This is why I believe that a new party will be formed.

This makes good sense to me although I blame the stupid Brexit Referendum for much of our problems as that, whatever your view, it divided the country, and it remains divided. We elect the government to govern and not to introduce divisive referendums, something I associate more with Nazi Germany.

[Que]

Reactionary conservatives used Brexit as a tool to hijack the Conservative Party and the country. Boris just jumped on for the ride to become prime minster.

Just like the US before Biden, Britain is ruled by a minority within a party supported by a minority of the electorate.

You don't need a new party, you need a new system.... If not, your current system will crack - something that has been in the making for a long time now.

PS What if HM refuses the next Tory candidate as PM to force new elections?