The first General Election since Tony Blair.

Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by diamanthian, Sep 23, 2007.

  1. #1
    Looks like Gordon Brown might be about to call a snap election but you've got to feel sorry for the poor sod.
    He's only been in the job a few months and already he's had to deal with the worst floods in the UK for 200 years, A new outbreak of Foot and Mouth and the banks have stopped loaning money to each other.

    He's got as much charisma as a metal-work teacher and makes David Cameron look like Roger Moore in a brothel.

    Without that loveable rougue Tony Blair in the saddle it looks like the Tories could get back in, So if you were Gordon what would you do to improve your image in the UK and on the world stage to help secure your premiership?
     
    diamanthian, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  2. judetheobscure

    judetheobscure Peon

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    #2
    no way should gordon hold a general election now, for though he is supposing that cameron, despite his raffish good looks, is a bit short of the prerequisite brain cells needed to render him fit for office, if the public do what the public have done in the past and surprise us all by doing the unexpected, not to mention inadvisable, and vote in the dummy rather than the dour scot, he will go down in history as the shortest serving PM. think he defo should wait this one out.
     
    judetheobscure, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  3. AGS

    AGS Notable Member

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    #3
    LOL that's a great line. :D

    I think he might be forced into calling the snap very soon as this is his best chance, if he leaves it a couple of years god only knows what could crawl out of the woodwork. I think he'll go for it.
     
    AGS, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  4. britishguy

    britishguy Prominent Member

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    #4
    Brown was like a ferret looking through a lavatory brush, then he got a makeover went from gay, to marriage, to kids, to new hair style, to new teeth, and now he wants a new election :eek:

    Gee this man is enterprising ;)
     
    britishguy, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  5. lorien1973

    lorien1973 Notable Member

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    #5
    I dont get it. How does this work in the UK? Arent the elections every 2 or 4 years like here? The party in control has to allow a vote?
     
    lorien1973, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  6. omgitsfletch

    omgitsfletch Well-Known Member

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    #6
    I second that. I'm curious to get a bit more insight into how the UK system works.
     
    omgitsfletch, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  7. AGS

    AGS Notable Member

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    #7
    Nah mate, over here the party in power can call an election at any time it wishes.

    The new PM Brown as you will know has only just come in, he could still wait 2 years before calling an election but the pressure is on him to call it now, whilst his support is at a reasonably high level, instead of waiting until the last minute.

    It's a hell of a gamble but all the signs are right, the Tories (Conservative Party) are in total disarray, the Liberal Democrat party are a bit-piece 3rd party outfit that never have a hope in hell lol and if Brown arses about and waits for a couple of years he might not have the backing of the people by that time.

    Both party leaders will be a lapdog to the USA like all our Prime Ministers so it doesn't really matter which of the scumbags win, both Cameron and Brown will back Bush and his latest pending disaster which will be an attack on Iran so you can relax in your carpet slippers in the knowledge that at least one country will support your terrorist hero Bush and the rest of the neocons. :)

    I think that you know that France, the most lame ass country in the world when it comes to fighting is going to support an attack on Iran so that gives your carpet slippers an even more furry lining. :p

    If Brown fooks it up and loses he will go down in history as the shortest duration for a PM in history and he will feel a bit foolish, a bit like if you're trying to have a wank on your girlfriends tits but fail to come, but on a larger scale. :)
     
    AGS, Sep 23, 2007 IP
  8. judetheobscure

    judetheobscure Peon

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    #8
    yur comments are a bit harsh to say the least AGS. obviously you didn't live through the thatcher years or your memory isn't that good. whereas my husband and i did live - though i would rather use the word 'exist' -through some of the worst years of our lives thanks to a government that killed off most the manuacturing industries in northern england, destroyed the unions, and privatised most national industries, whilst furthering the 'i'm all right jack' mentality of the eighties which widened the ever increasing gulf between rich and poor. however, thanks to blair's labour government, a little too right of centre but still better than the tories, this country has now managed to recover sufficiently enough for all classes rich and poor to benefit from our booming economy. it is true that our foreign policy is questionable and mistakes have been made but looking at how things are today and how things were back in the early eighties, there really is no comparison. and at least gordon brown has been there from the start and initiated the economic changes needed to get this country where is is today as chancellor, so i think he is more than qualified to be PM, and i will certainly vote for him if there is a general election, he may not have the charisma of blair but no election should be based on personalities, we've seen how that has panned out in the US, and it really isn't the way to go with politics.
     
    judetheobscure, Sep 24, 2007 IP
  9. diamanthian

    diamanthian Active Member

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    #9

    HAHAHA!
    I'll be waiting to see if Paxman uses that on Newsnight!
     
    diamanthian, Sep 24, 2007 IP
  10. MattUK

    MattUK Notable Member

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    #10
    I'm pretty sure that Labour would win if we saw an election before then end of the year - Simply because the Tories have made a right mess of their opportunity.

    Instead of focusing on,

    - Rising inflation, spiraling personal debt
    - Housing shortages
    - Banking crisis
    - Pensions - what pensions?
    - Wasted government money on the NHS and education
    - Unchecked immigration
    - Rise in violent crime while the police crack down on speeding motorists

    Gordon Browns only strong point was the economy when he came to power, while the last few months have shown us that it was all a smokescreen based on massive borrowing and personal debt to keep people spending.

    In the meantime, what has David Cameron focused on? Hugging hoodies, riding bikes and taxing plasma TVs and dildos.

    Neither deserve to be elected, Brown is a fraud and Cameron is an idiot for not taking advantage of the best opportunity that he'll ever have.

    As far as I can see the UK needs a new political pary, centrist libertarian, with common sense values.
     
    MattUK, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  11. CountryBoy

    CountryBoy Prominent Member

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    #11
    Substitute lovable rogue with 'piece of shit'. And no, the Tories won't get in, speaking as an ardent supporter and member of that Party. We have one major weakness - David Cameron (I'm glad to say I never voted for him). Brown isn't likely to loosen his grip on the trainset when he's only been playing with it for 3 months.

     
    CountryBoy, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  12. Pauline

    Pauline Peon

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    #12
    Could someone explain to me how UK elections work? Thanks.
     
    Pauline, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  13. MattUK

    MattUK Notable Member

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    #13
    It's not really like the US system. Over here the party that gets the most votes wins. ;)
     
    MattUK, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  14. CountryBoy

    CountryBoy Prominent Member

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    #14
    Yes. The below notes refer to the Westminster Parliament - not to be confused with its poor relations in Edinburgh (the Scottish Parliament) and Cardiff (the Welsh Assembly).

    There are 646 Members of Parliament (MPs) who sit in the House of Commons and each represent a different geographic area of the UK called a constituency. Most of these MPs are aligned with a political party - the three main parties being Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrats.

    The party with the most MPs forms a government and the leader of that party becomes prime minister. At least every 5 years, usually at a time of the prime minister's choosing (although not always), there is a General Election where MPs are re-elected (or not).

    We also have a second chamber of government called the House of Lords. The Lords are mostly appointed rather than elected - up until very recently there were creatures called Hereditary Peers who inherited their right to sit in the House of Lords from their deceased parent. The Lords don't represent any particular geographic area, but rather represent their political party. It is the Lords' role to scrutinise government proposed legislation before it is sent for 'Royal Assent' and becomes law. If the Lords think the legislation is flawed they can send it back to the House of Commons for amendments to be made - laws quite often bounce backwards and forwards between the two chambers until a final agreement (compromise) is reached. In extreme cases, if the overwhelming majority of the House of Commons think that the Lords are being pedantic over a particular piece of legislation, they can enact legislation called the Parliament Act which allows them to cut the House of Lords out of the legislative process altogether.

    I think that's probably all you need to know.

     
    CountryBoy, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  15. forumrating

    forumrating Notable Member

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    #15
    would be interesting to see who comes up this time, by any chance Tony Blair can be there again ?
     
    forumrating, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  16. CountryBoy

    CountryBoy Prominent Member

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    #16
    No, he won't be. Another MP has already been re-elected to Blair's Sedgefield constituency.

     
    CountryBoy, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  17. forumrating

    forumrating Notable Member

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    #17
    just wondering hows the economy gonna react with the new government coming in, stock markets, manufacturing and service sectors etc.
     
    forumrating, Sep 25, 2007 IP
  18. AGS

    AGS Notable Member

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    #18
    LMAO superb one liner Matt. :D
     
    AGS, Sep 25, 2007 IP