This thread exists to discuss British politics.
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Recent political stuff:
- The vote to see if Britain should adopt Alternative Voting has failed.
- Lib Dems lose lots of councils and councillors, whilst Labour make the majority of the gains in England.
- The Scottish National Party do really well in the elections.
A link to the BBC politics page containing relevant information.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 3rd 2023 at 11:15:30 AM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
It's there because there's significant support for it. You can hardly have a definitive referendum with the majority position not on the ballot paper, can you?
edited 2nd Apr '12 6:38:06 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)
You can if that's not what the referendum is actually about. If I recall the point of a referendum is that because you have a single proposal based around a simple point or principle that then has massive impact, it is appropriate to put to a direct vote. If none of those things is true, probably not a good idea is it?
And it's not actually the majority opinion.
Sneering Imperialist
Ultimately I think Devo-Max is my preferred option - Scotland gets near complete autonomy while the Union remains intact, a situation I think I'd be more-or-less happy with. Obviously it's up to the people of Scotland to choose, though...
<giggle>
With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
Imagine a government calling for an option on the ballot even though it disagrees with it. Truly we'd be better off with a Westminster that's shown complete contempt in the same circumstances! Ihe idea that the two extremes (independence or not) were going to be the only options discussed during all this is silly - the idea that we'd discuss an alternative and not put it on the ballot is just ridiculous.
Anyway: Scotland has the right to stand on the same pedestal, eat from the same table and all round be shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of Europe and the Commonwealth. I don't see why we should have to be of a lesser status than even a Crown Dependency.
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)
Dreams of Revenge
@Pagad:
Oh, tee-hee. I'll try to pretend I didn't grin like a loon after getting it, though. 
I simply couldn't think of a descriptor that would work without making me sound like some sort of crazy fascist nutjob.
But yes, I'd be all for devo-max. It seems to be the best of both worlds.
Locking you up on radar since '09
As someone has probably already pointed out, the problem with putting devo-max on the ballet is that it splits the unionist vote. Of course, that's only a problem if you're a unionist, but it helps explain why Westminster is so against it.
edited 2nd Apr '12 4:45:57 PM by CottonWolf
So that's what this does
Devo-max is no option at all. Do you want:
1) independence 2) continuation of the transfer of powers that is going on now 3) draw the line arbitrarily right where we are and claim that this is the right amount of powers to be transferred.
Devo-max is, essentially, the do-nothing option dressed as the third option.
V
...but if that's what the people want?
edited 3rd Apr '12 12:19:42 AM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
Decemberist
If that is what the people want then the SNP should offer the choice of Devo-max vs the Status Quo.
The problem with a multi question ballot poll is simply, what if the option that wins has less than the votes of the other options combined.
There was an interesting Question time once when Paddy Ashdown was talking about his experiences in the Balkans when there were multi question referenda and he said that they all were pretty useless and all required a second vote with a 2 option ballot anyway.
Dutch Lesbian
So last week was the hottest March on record, today it was snowing (11 inches of snow where the record was broken in Aberdeen) and now it's really sunny again even though the sky is blanketed in really thick, grey clouds.
What the hell are you playing at, God?
edited 3rd Apr '12 9:31:47 AM by TheBatPencil
And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)
Prince of Dorne
Meh: it could be worse. We could be stuck in the early Victorian mini-ice age.
Decemberist
Its also time-consuming and expensive.
Dutch Lesbian
Prince of Dorne
So? After all, it would be the people's decision about the very existance of their country. Surely that's worth spending some money on.
Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic
I think it's time for some threadsurrection.
Anon hackers target Home Office Website
It was targeted as a protest against the the government's planned surveillance bill. In fact, it's like an extension of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) to internet media.
The thing is though, sadly, this is not a new thing. Germany has similar laws, as do France, IIRC.
Hmmm... if it does become law, it could be taken to the European Court of Justice. I swear it breaches EU law.
Or the European Court of Human Rights. It seems to defy the right to expression...
edited 8th Apr '12 3:13:13 AM by Inhopelessguy
Decemberist
Yeah because only GDP is important
Dutch Lesbian
Yep. Totally giving the country days off is not good for productivity at all.
Nope. No siree.
The Shadows Devour You.
Naturally, if you don't let your workforce take breaks, you tend to get more done... at least until one of them goes mad with a shotgun.
The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.
Besides, we're only talking about eight/nine/ten days (in England and Wales/Scotland/NI)! That's practically nothing compared to the entire working calendar!
Sneering Imperialist
To which my response is "fuck off and get your grubby mitts off my bank holidays".
House Lewis: Sanity is Relative
To quote one of my friends in regard to this, from now on, sleep will be known as "stealing from the economy".
My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.
What about lunch-breaks? Wouldn't it be more productive if we just scrapped those, too? Oh, right: the whole keeling over of low blood-sugar thing...
I know! Drink energy drinks instead!
Do Not Go Gentle
Isn't our total GDP something around the trillion pound mark? I mean, the Government gets about £350 billion in taxes. That's a rough guestimate, anyone with better info should correct me.
Either way, £19 billion probably makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things.
It's your God, they're your rules, you go to hell." - Mark Twain
Decemberist
Our GDP is £1.4 trillion actually
Dutch Lesbian
If it devolves into "You're either with us or with the criminals" then I'm going to scream.
"Yup. That tasted purple."