This thread exists to discuss British politics.
Political issues related to Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) are also considered on-topic here if there's no more appropriate OTC thread for them.
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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
Figure of Hourai
Add in that it's not even the Brexit faction in charge of everything and we have a group of people that don't really want to leave because it inconveniences them, but too proud and image-obsessed to compromise; they're sidelining the people who have actual diplomatic experience and every other party despite technically not having a majority.
I'm waiting for them to fuck something up enough the DUP jumps ship and they have to include the other parties. It's almost an inevitability that they're going to screw up the border somehow.
edited 1st Sep '17 7:29:20 AM by RainehDaze
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I think the fun thing is that the Cabinet know it is a disaster as well. I love the fact that Tory grandees are searching for someone from the next generation to take over from Mrs May. So far no takers... despite the fact that if anything the next generation of Tory MPs are more Eurosceptic then the current lot.
Honestly, this whole mess has been ridiculous way longer. I mean, so far the story kind of like this:
UK: Yeah, your stupid little project, we don't want to be part of it.
EG: That's okay, we will do our thing over here and you can do your thing over there.
UK: We have changed our mind, we want to join after all.
France: Not sure if that is a good idea.
UK: Pretty please????
EU: Okay, we kind of convinced France.
UK: Great. Now do what we want or we leave.
EU: What do you want?
UK: We don't want to be in the Euro.
EU: Done.
UK: But we want the right to do Euro clearing in London.
EU: Done.
UK: We want a rebate.
EU: Done.
UK: We don't want to be part of Schengen.
EU: Done.
UK: We want to expand the EU to the eastern European countries.
EU: Done.
UK: And we want Turkey to join.
EU: Eh...not sure about that one...I guess we can talk about this, depending on how Turkey develops....
UK: And we want extra rules for immigration because of all of those Eastern Europeans coming to us.
EU: But you wanted this. And you don't even use the options you already have to control immigration.
UK: Otherwise we leave!
EU: Okay, if you want to. There is nothing more we can give you! Plus, we are kind of busy over here with a refugee crisis. You know, you could help, too? You were the one messing around in the middle east for centuries after all.
UK: You cause too much immigration! And you want Turkey to join! We have voted to leave.
EU: Yes, we noticed. Well, you know the rules, no trade negotiations until you trigger article 50 and then we first need to talk about how we entangle the UK from the EU. Than we can talk about trade.
UK: We need some time to discuss the.
EU: We aren't in any hurry.
UK: We have now triggered article 50.
EU: Great so now we can talk about the divorce.
UK: But we want to talk about trade.
EU: First we need to clear up a number of important issues. So what is your suggestion?
UK: ———
EU: How about this?
UK: No, totally inacceptable. What we want is our cake and eat it too.
EU: That is impossible.
UK: Go whistle.
EU: Ticktock.
UK: We have talked among ourselves. We want a transitional period or we wont get done in time.
EU: Well, we might if you don't delay all the time...but okay, provided that we made some progress. So what is you suggestion.
UK: We want all the advantage of the single market and the customs union while following our own standards and no free movement.
EU: That is impossible.
UK: YOU ARE BLACKMAILING US!!!!!
edited 1st Sep '17 5:06:10 PM by Swanpride
edited 7th Apr '18 11:37:35 AM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Of course, there's only one real reason why the UK even joined the EU in the first place: Fuck everyone over.
edited 1st Sep '17 5:52:54 PM by kkhohoho
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
This clip really keeps showing up constantly, doesn't it? :/
Which goes to show how much a disaster Brexit is. We've managed to do the exact opposite of the foreign policy objective in that video.
We've managed to create a united Europe, working together in ensure that the UK will play second fiddle to the continent.
@Swanpride: It's not often that we agree on something, but I think you've just written a possible Polandball comic.![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
edited 1st Sep '17 6:27:42 PM by Quag15
Gotta agree with that.
(Avatar by Coffee)
If you guys don't mind I'll try make it into one...?
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
I certainly don't. Knock yourself out. You could even make if a "Drama in 3 acts". Act 1: The UK outside the EG sniping that this will never work and then suddenly asking to join. Act 2: The UK inside the EU asking for more and more and then basically leaving for getting what it wanted. Act 3: The whole Brexit negotiation mess - ending open.
Sure. I assume you'll post it on Reddit's polandball sub (I have submission rights there, so, I can help, if you need anything), right?
Keep in mind that you'll only be able to post it (or get approved, if you don't have submission rights) after Lesser Known September is over.
edited 2nd Sep '17 9:05:13 AM by Quag15
Teachers ‘£5,000 a year worse off under Tories’
In 2010, the school workforce figures show the mean wage paid to teachers in state-funded schools was £34,800. By 2016 this had risen to £35,100 as the government clamped down on public spending. Assuming the level rises by the 1% maximum permitted under the government’s pay policy, it will hit £35,451 this year. But had the mean salary risen at – but by no more than – the rate of inflation (as measured by the consumer price index) every year since 2010 it would now be well above £40,000 a year.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said many teachers were now enduring financial hardship for the first time in decades. “The latest statistics indicate that more than a quarter of teachers are having to rely on credit cards, overdrafts and payday loans to make ends meet every month, and many new and recently qualified teachers are unable to afford to rent or buy a home,” he said.
“To continue to provide high-quality public education for every child, we need a teacher workforce which is competitively remunerated and to restore teaching as the profession of choice for UK graduates.”
edited 2nd Sep '17 9:08:48 AM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
(Avatar by Coffee)
I'll keep it in mind.
Michel Barnier said he would never resort to blackmail but saw it as his job to "educate" the UK about the price it would pay for leaving the EU "club".
The UK has hit back, saying the EU does "not want to talk about the future".
Brexit Secretary David Davis said it was "frightened" and the UK would not be bounced into a divorce bill deal.
The latest salvos come after a week of talks in Brussels about the UK's withdrawal from the EU - scheduled to take place in March 2019 - which increased tensions between the two sides.
The EU suggested little substantive progress had been made on three key "separation" issues, the size of the UK's financial liabilities to the EU, the future of the Irish border and citizens' rights after Brexit.
Mr Barnier accused the UK of "nostalgia" and cast doubt on whether enough progress had been made to broaden the discussions, in the autumn, to consider the UK's post-Brexit trading relationship with the EU.
This led to a frosty response from British ministers, one of whom, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, said the UK would not be blackmailed into doing a deal on money in order to open discussions on trade.
On the issue of finance, he said the UK must accept some key principles, such as honouring the commitment it made in 2014 to pay 14% of the EU budget until 2020
He said that a future free trade deal would be different to all others in the past and there had to be assurances there would be no unfair competition in the form of social, environmental or fiscal dumping, or state aid.
But speaking to BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Davis insisted the UK would not be pressured into agreeing an EU divorce bill until it is sure the sums being demanded are fair.
He dismissed newspaper reports the UK had secretly agreed to pay a figure of up to £50bn as "nonsense".
The UK was assessing the EU's financial demands on an item-by-item basis in a "very British and pragmatic fashion" - which he said the EU found difficult.
edited 7th Apr '18 11:34:17 AM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Visiting from the Hoag Galaxy
A "very British and pragmatic fashion". That probably means that the Brits in the equation are squabbling about minor details while ignoring the big problems while bluntly insulting each other. Because when I think Pragmatic, I don't think British, I think Dutch.
Not Three Laws compliant.
I think that Barnier is very aware of the propaganda problem, but the only thing he can currently do is standing firm.
United Earth
It's a great Teachable Moment for all the EU, and any further future additions.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
edited 7th Apr '18 11:37:57 AM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Thing is, Barnier doesn't have to reach the UK population. He is negotiating for the EU citizens and they have to be satisfied with his work.
edited 7th Apr '18 11:38:10 AM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Not the British Public, he wants above all push the politicians to wake up.
Oh, bother.
Jonathan Pie on the Brexit Problem, in which he points out that nobody in the UK government seems to have any idea how to handle Brexit even now. Not Davis, whose negotiating strategy seems to be behaving like an ass; not Labour, who seem to have embraced the "have cake and eat it" mentality by wanting single-market and customs union access and no actual plan to make it happen; and not the Liberal Democrats, who want to stop Brexit, which is just not going to happen.
Disgusted, but not surprised
Figure of Hourai
Labour isn't exactly in the government and it doesn't matter what they do because the Tories are determined to act like they got a majority in the election.
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This whole thing pretty much completely shreds the idea that British politics (somehow) operates on a level above everyone else. Because the Cabinet clearly knows nothing about anything and can't deal with people who are better prepared. Because you can bet that the EU has had a playbook on what happens if someone invokes Article 50 for decades now, but the Brexit group in the UK has done nothing but whine, ignoring the part that comes after leaving.
edited 1st Sep '17 7:23:30 AM by Zendervai
Not Three Laws compliant.