British voters have been as dumbed down as the American electorate. They believed Farage's blathering that Brexit would result in more money for the National Health Service. Then Cameron believed he could manipulate the pack to follow him. Then May believed she could twist their minds to follow her. Of course Corbyn believes somebody oh there takes him seriously, like Trump does - he's just good theater. The pound is back to $1.27 in value - at least we Americans are getting cheaper vacations out of all of this. May deserves early retirement just as Cameron did. Scotland should get smart, go independent and abandon a sinking ship of state. And British voters should wise up that London and young people have little in common with the rest of England, just as New York, California and Southeast Florida have nothing to do with the Midwest and South. Old borders just aren't what they used to be.
Brexit was, of course, an insane vote. Hope the British manage to correct that vote and remain in the E.U., before the UK itself breaks up (i.e., Scotland leaves).
2
When Mrs. May maid her maiden voyage to the US to grovel at the feet of Trump my first thought was that was a significant mistake. To show weakness to Trump is like waving raw meat in front of a hungry wild dog. Then she tripled the ill fated trip by offering Trump an official State Visit to meet the Queen.
My initial thoughts of Mrs. May were accurate. She has driven herself into the ditch and I can't see how she gets our of it. I would give her 6 months at best and she will be gone.
My initial thoughts of Mrs. May were accurate. She has driven herself into the ditch and I can't see how she gets our of it. I would give her 6 months at best and she will be gone.
5
First, David Cameron's ill advised referendum call and then Theresa May's ill advised election call. Do these people get out in the real world?
Whatever May is she sure ain't a Thatcher!
3
"...a political outcome that seemed certain and preordained was upset by people actually going to vote." Hopefully Americans will be like the Brits and actually show up to vote this time. Trump and Brexit won because many stayed home or threw their votes away as a "protest".
Like Obama said at the convention - "Don't boo, VOTE!"
Like Obama said at the convention - "Don't boo, VOTE!"
10
The things that the DUP stands for are anathema to Britain. Anti abortion, anti gay marriage, anti climate change. If this alliance proceeds it will be the tail wagging the dog.
The alliance may not last a week as the DUP has some shady financing which once looked into will call into question their probity. This small party will not survive scrutiny.
And Mrs. May will not survive. No doubt Boris and David Davis are busily plotting or making alliances, Where is Michael Gove?
All of this would be far more bearable as the UK House of Cards, not as real life. in real time.
The alliance may not last a week as the DUP has some shady financing which once looked into will call into question their probity. This small party will not survive scrutiny.
And Mrs. May will not survive. No doubt Boris and David Davis are busily plotting or making alliances, Where is Michael Gove?
All of this would be far more bearable as the UK House of Cards, not as real life. in real time.
4
Has it occurred to no one else that the two most bone-headed countries currently on the map are both Anglophone? Perhaps it would be beneficial if they were not so aggressively monoglot. Learn another language!
PM May is certainly stubborn today. Maybe her ears are full of wax. The British voters have told her to stuff Brexit and go away. Now. Immediately.
I would recommend that she team with her soulmate, Donald Trump, to open and manage an exclusive, gawdy golf resort, somewhere in the old British Empire. Drinking Gin and Tonic, served by native waiters.
As for Brexit: let's just stop the silly talk now. Cancel Brexit: and get back to working, growing, and prospering with a healthy EU. Providing a real future for Britain's youth.
Oh!! And cancel that Trump visit with Queen Elizabeth.
I would recommend that she team with her soulmate, Donald Trump, to open and manage an exclusive, gawdy golf resort, somewhere in the old British Empire. Drinking Gin and Tonic, served by native waiters.
As for Brexit: let's just stop the silly talk now. Cancel Brexit: and get back to working, growing, and prospering with a healthy EU. Providing a real future for Britain's youth.
Oh!! And cancel that Trump visit with Queen Elizabeth.
8
Sorry, I suffered an early submission.
"As an admirer of Mrs. May, I wish she had chosen to leave with honor intact ..."
Had she done it, it would have been her honour left intact.
"As an admirer of Mrs. May, I wish she had chosen to leave with honor intact ..."
Had she done it, it would have been her honour left intact.
1
Over the past 6 years the Tories have shredded the police and security services, the National Health Service and public education, and then presided over two catastrophic votes in less than one year. They have destroyed the UK. I continue to be utterly baffled at how they are able to find people to vote for them, just as the Republicans do in the United States. Is there a cure for this derangement???
4
You completely lost me in your paragraph starting 'I have praised much that Mrs May has done as Prime Minister. You forgot 'refused to listen to 48+% of the population who did not want to leave the EU, instead closing her ears and moving to the far right of the spectrum her party ordinarily occupied. 'In her unfairly criticised manifesto'....eer there were no costings in it, yet she had the temerity to accuse the Labour party of relying on a Magic Money Tree. Trying to deal with elderly care - fine - if it didn't also punish the people that usually vote for the tories. Lacklustre, spineless, and incompetent are surely key words to remember Theresa May by. And with your thoughts on the matter you expose yourself as either blinkered or idiotic.
3
Much as I agree that Mrs May is on her way out, the thought of yet another election leaves me (and I suspect most Brits) cold. I really would vote for Lord Buckethead.
3
noone has squared the populist circle as FDR did b/c they didnt do THE fundamental thing required for a true reset; dont baili out Wall St and the lazy class, bail out MAIN STREET. Obama failed at this too but was able to keep economy from falling completely apart. it came back, but far more slowly and LESS efficient than if the 1%'ers would have gotten what they had coming to them. its like a forest fire; sometimes you have to let things burn before the new and improved Phoenix arises. sadly if he had done the right thing, it would have been President Romney due to many things but Citizen United most malignantly. the coal miners were mad b/c yet again, Wall St got the elevator and they got the shaft. same stuff, different day. and new we're all cursed with the orange disaster.
the solution would have been to bail out MAIN St by doing what FDR did and letting Wall St recover on its own. its not like anything they do affects the avg American anyway. its an invitation-only back room game of high stakes poker where invisible money buy real stocks, they are traded, the players suck the profits off the top, pay next to nothing in taxes and they play pass the trash with your and my retirement funds. and when they lose nothing happens.
if bailouts wouold have gone to a serious program of infrastructure, lazy income got taxed same as W-2 income working people's taxes would be cut in half and we'd have recovered sooner. but until Citiens gets repealed you can forget thst happening.
the solution would have been to bail out MAIN St by doing what FDR did and letting Wall St recover on its own. its not like anything they do affects the avg American anyway. its an invitation-only back room game of high stakes poker where invisible money buy real stocks, they are traded, the players suck the profits off the top, pay next to nothing in taxes and they play pass the trash with your and my retirement funds. and when they lose nothing happens.
if bailouts wouold have gone to a serious program of infrastructure, lazy income got taxed same as W-2 income working people's taxes would be cut in half and we'd have recovered sooner. but until Citiens gets repealed you can forget thst happening.
Lets enforce austerity for people like May and her cronies and see how she likes it. May is now partnering with the devil to try and keep power. Brexit was a simple case of cutting your nose off to spite your face. Of ignorant people being played by the billionares. Does Britain have to go down in flames before the the Brexit nut jobs get this? The sun set on the Empire long ago, Theresa.
1
Power is the only thing conservatives care about. Their agenda is always plucked from a past that had the rich in control, with avenues open to become even remotely Cher. In America, conservatives call this "freedom." The stupids believe them cuz, well, they're stupid. I'll wager it's the same over there.
The British people have lost faith in the Tories (Conservatives).
Their poor handling of the economy, their austerity policies, and the very real economic struggles to which they have no answers for ultimately sealed their fate.
Inequality is up in the UK, as is poverty, yet the Tories would make it worse. There is nothing emotional about what happened here. The Conservatives got their well deserved and long overdue comeuppance.
Their poor handling of the economy, their austerity policies, and the very real economic struggles to which they have no answers for ultimately sealed their fate.
Inequality is up in the UK, as is poverty, yet the Tories would make it worse. There is nothing emotional about what happened here. The Conservatives got their well deserved and long overdue comeuppance.
1
I would have voted against her, had I been a Brit.
She, like many politicians before her relied on the polls to call an unnecessary election. This is the current version of auguries, relying on polls instead of the entrails of some hapless animal. Her decision had nothing to do with wanting a strong voice in the Brexit negotiations and everything to do with opportunism.
Further, her cozy relationship with Donald Trump, who, I understand, is pretty much reviled in the UK, didn't help her cause, either, particularly after his tweets after the latest terror attacks.
She, like many politicians before her relied on the polls to call an unnecessary election. This is the current version of auguries, relying on polls instead of the entrails of some hapless animal. Her decision had nothing to do with wanting a strong voice in the Brexit negotiations and everything to do with opportunism.
Further, her cozy relationship with Donald Trump, who, I understand, is pretty much reviled in the UK, didn't help her cause, either, particularly after his tweets after the latest terror attacks.
2
Brexit is tearing the UK apart. it was a very bad idea from the start.
Prior to the referendum, there was no good, rational debate on the subject. Debate was governed by emotion and misinformation. So people ended up voting without knowing the facts.
As a result, the country is divided: younger people tend to be Remainers; older people tend to be Brexiters. Many young people feel they have had their future taken away from them; old people feel that Britain now has a chance to regain sovereignty and take back control.
We are living, however, in an increasingly globalized world; so how much true sovereignty can we expect to regain by leaving the EU? Moreover, what is it going to cost us?
The problem for the Tories is simple to understand. Ever since the UK entered the EU, the Party has been split – split between Europhobes and Europhiles. It seems that no leader has been able to heal the rift between these two groups. Thatcher couldn’t do it; and nor could Cameron. That’s why Cameron called the Brexit referendum: to try and bring his Party together. The mess we have now is the result. So now, instead of just the Tories being divided, the nation is divided too.
May had been herself a Remainer. She’d have been better off sticking to her principles.
Prior to the referendum, there was no good, rational debate on the subject. Debate was governed by emotion and misinformation. So people ended up voting without knowing the facts.
As a result, the country is divided: younger people tend to be Remainers; older people tend to be Brexiters. Many young people feel they have had their future taken away from them; old people feel that Britain now has a chance to regain sovereignty and take back control.
We are living, however, in an increasingly globalized world; so how much true sovereignty can we expect to regain by leaving the EU? Moreover, what is it going to cost us?
The problem for the Tories is simple to understand. Ever since the UK entered the EU, the Party has been split – split between Europhobes and Europhiles. It seems that no leader has been able to heal the rift between these two groups. Thatcher couldn’t do it; and nor could Cameron. That’s why Cameron called the Brexit referendum: to try and bring his Party together. The mess we have now is the result. So now, instead of just the Tories being divided, the nation is divided too.
May had been herself a Remainer. She’d have been better off sticking to her principles.
9
It doesn't take a genius to see that Brits are showing clear signs of rejecting Brexit. It was clear to anyone the day after the referendum that they wished they could take a mulligan. Like the US, those that didn't vote assumed that those that did would at least use common sense. Both countries would have had next day votes that righted those wrongs. May was stupid enough to ask for an election. What Britain should do based on that ambiguity is re-issue the referendum to settle it, and they would find it soundly defeated. Now that there is some ambiguity, there is an opening to do so. It should have been a 60%-required-to-leave vote the first time, but Brexit would soundly lose even a 50% vote now.
1
Austerity is bankrupt both morally and as an approach to running an economy.
It's hard to know if Corbyn is one of the unthinking left who supports anything or anyone who is anti-US. It doesn't detract from the fact that the return to true Labour values is appealing to people crushed and excluded by thirty years of Thatcherism and pandering New Labour.
This trajectory simply entrenches inequality and destroys most people's aspirations. The reality is that Theresa May and her ilk do not care. And that is the problem.
It's hard to know if Corbyn is one of the unthinking left who supports anything or anyone who is anti-US. It doesn't detract from the fact that the return to true Labour values is appealing to people crushed and excluded by thirty years of Thatcherism and pandering New Labour.
This trajectory simply entrenches inequality and destroys most people's aspirations. The reality is that Theresa May and her ilk do not care. And that is the problem.
We are all wedded to a certain set of beliefs, ideas, and practices that frame our identity and how we make sense out of the world. The most difficult task in life is changing this framework when it doesn't fit the world we live in anymore. You essentially have two choices when these economic, social, and political shifts occur : 1) you go into denial and pretend they are not happening and/or try to turn the clock back or 2) you closely examine your personal intellectual frameworks in light of what the data is showing you. Great leaders, a Lincoln for example, was able to brilliantly execute number 2. Less than great leaders, like Mrs. May, try to execute number 1 more competently. Poor leaders, like Trump, incompetently execute number 1.
2
Yes but what next? Very occasionally in Britain there is a re-alignment of parties: is this to be one of them? Probably not but the locus of decision is now with the Labor Party as it was in 1940, the last time the traditional governing party, The Tories, had put the State in peril.
In 1940 the Tories (just) suggested an outsider Churchill but he was carried to No 10 by the Labor Party which 5 years later won a really smashing victory at the polls.
Then as now it was Britain's relationship with Continental Europe that dominated the political agenda. This is a continuing saga that will never go away but it needs managing politically.
Corbyn is not unelectable and he should now proclaim a manifesto based on a Soft Brexit policy, social justice and participation in International and European trans-national organizations, while distancing the country away from Trump's America.He would also be well advised to find a younger and electorally attractive "successor in waiting". Then he just has to wait!
In 1940 the Tories (just) suggested an outsider Churchill but he was carried to No 10 by the Labor Party which 5 years later won a really smashing victory at the polls.
Then as now it was Britain's relationship with Continental Europe that dominated the political agenda. This is a continuing saga that will never go away but it needs managing politically.
Corbyn is not unelectable and he should now proclaim a manifesto based on a Soft Brexit policy, social justice and participation in International and European trans-national organizations, while distancing the country away from Trump's America.He would also be well advised to find a younger and electorally attractive "successor in waiting". Then he just has to wait!
1
Mrs. May has formed a coalition with "homophobes, zealots, and creationists" in order retain power while ignoring principles. Sounds like the Republican Party's embrace of Tea Party extremism. The GOP has proven incapable of governing. My guess is that May will also be unable to effectively lead.
5
The Guardian has been mostly pro May during the last elections, deviating from its classic left wing orientation. But saying that Corbyn's succes is 'populism in a left-wing form' is quite a feat.I see this in France as well, where normal left wing demands on society are now renamed 'populism' by a mostly elite oriented press crowd. What is happening is that the last versions of European social democracy have slowly integrated into a the neo liberal world view,causing other parties to pick up leftish political desires.d'Ancona can not see this; for him asking for free Universities or a functioning health care system is 'populism'.
4
Actually the Guardian endorsed Labour the week before the election.
4
May turns to the DUP for gawd sake.
The DUP.
*Favors Brexit while the majority of voters in N Ireland voted against it
*During The Troubles rejected attempts to involve the Republic of Ireland
*Campaigned against proposals to end The Troubles three times
*Was involved in creating Ulster Resistance
*Anti-abortion and same-sex marriage, campaigned against "homosexuality"
*Founded by Ian Paisley in 1971
*Rejects Irish nationalism
*Reduced loyalist influence only to attempt to enlist conservative Catholics
Mr. d'Ancona is welcome to Ms. May. Her decision to form a coalition with the DUP is as disrespectful of the people of Ireland as her intent to passionately pursue Brexit with utter disregard for the adverse effects it will bring to Scotland, N Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
She's apparently decided that in losing this election by not winning she'll just stick the knife into Brexit opponents a little further and twist a little more.
The DUP.
*Favors Brexit while the majority of voters in N Ireland voted against it
*During The Troubles rejected attempts to involve the Republic of Ireland
*Campaigned against proposals to end The Troubles three times
*Was involved in creating Ulster Resistance
*Anti-abortion and same-sex marriage, campaigned against "homosexuality"
*Founded by Ian Paisley in 1971
*Rejects Irish nationalism
*Reduced loyalist influence only to attempt to enlist conservative Catholics
Mr. d'Ancona is welcome to Ms. May. Her decision to form a coalition with the DUP is as disrespectful of the people of Ireland as her intent to passionately pursue Brexit with utter disregard for the adverse effects it will bring to Scotland, N Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
She's apparently decided that in losing this election by not winning she'll just stick the knife into Brexit opponents a little further and twist a little more.
7
Nowadays, politicians who has no vision nor courage call themselves "conservatives."
7
It still boggles my mind that Brexit is a done deal after one simple majority vote. Brittan needs more checks and balances. One simple majority vote is insufficient for such a large change.
11
Thank goodness the rules of the game are finally changing, after years of austerity and belt-tightening for all but the "haves". Growing income inequality is bound to have a reaction, sooner or later, for people whose only voice is at the polls.
Jeremy Corbyn almost pulled it off. Here's hoping he does so next time around.
Jeremy Corbyn almost pulled it off. Here's hoping he does so next time around.
7
Mr. Blair and the "high-finance socialism" of his peers (Schroeder, Clinton, etc.) are to blame for the erratic behavior of the lower middle class. They left them out in the cold with the ultra-right as their only defense from wage dumping etc. Bernie and Corbyn started to credibly fight for these people. Let's see how far they get. Mrs. May does not lack positions, but ideas, her "movement" is intellectually underpowered.
This is the only "certainty": both Ms. May and her predecessor Mr. Cameron made impulsive bets that were too clever by half, in order, they thought, to enhance their political power. Just like a counterpart on this side of the pond, they confused their own fate with that of their nation and, as Hardy used to say to Laurel, a fine mess of both.
4
The Brits and the Americans seem to be doing their best to discredit democracy.
20
Maybe what we need is a more robust combination of socialism and capitalism--a strong safety net freeing people to be self-reliant/self-sufficient in pursuing success in a capitalistic structure. Neither one of these systems works alone. A health care system for example that provides excellent coverage at a reasonable cost that is not tied to an employer would be a good start.
24
let all the poisons that lurk in the mud, hatch out.
4
It's funny (maybe sad is a better word) how the description of the DUP sounds like a description of the GOP. People in the UK are aghast at a coalition in which the DUP are junior partners? Trying living in a county/state/country over which the DUP has firm, total and seemingly unending control. That's the reality for many, like me, here in the US of A under the GOP.
38
@ Robert. Hit the nail on the head!! The DUP is the foreign political party that is closest to the American Republican Party, out and away. (Steven Harper's Conservative Party in Canada is a distant second.)
Our local DUP, called the Republican Party, wields strong, ruthlessly exercised majority control over all three branches of the federal government as well as most state governments. Ask Britons to try that on for change!
Our local DUP, called the Republican Party, wields strong, ruthlessly exercised majority control over all three branches of the federal government as well as most state governments. Ask Britons to try that on for change!
I've heard she is interested in becoming a Lady, which happens if she is an elected PM for even a short while
This article is nonsense. May at the Home Office was obsessed with managing immigration numbers, no matter what the cost. After Brexit, she showed her true colours with her jibe about "citizens of the world." She craved Hard Brexit. She is wooden and uninspiring, lacking in emollient qualities. Many of us voted for Labour just to spite this awful hard-right leader. For us, in the circumstances, a hung parliament is a fantastic result-- we don't actually get a hard left Corbyn government, but we don't get the equally incompetent hard right to which May is in thrall. She will now find it hard to do Hard Brexit, and she will find it hard to ignore the revulsion that many of us feel at the sight and sound of her wooing Trump. At the very minimum, it should now be much easier for us to demand that the government tell us what it means by Brexit and what it's doing to prepare for Brexit.
28
Couldn't agree more. In the circumstances the least worst outcome possible. Neither ideological extreme is acceptable and the big plus for Scotland is that it has likely silenced the independence movement for the foreseeable future. Now let's see what can be done to arrange a much less harsh Brexit and, who knows, pehaps with time to see the catastrophe reversed.
1
"Many of us voted for Labour just to spite this awful hard-right leader".
Interesting how you admit that you and many others in Britain nowadays vote out of a gut feeling, not out of reason anymore. Same with Brexit, many just wanted to show Europe (and those evil evil Germans i suppose) that Britain does not need them. Well, as a European i have to thank you, thank you for finally leaving something you never believed in, thank you for showing the world what kind of childish behaviour we had to deal with for decades! You even admit in your post that you don't know the meaning of Brexit. Shocking but not surprising. It looks like the english speaking world is going crazy. Trump in the U.S.A. and Brexit are prove of a decay of knowledge, democratic values and reason.
Interesting how you admit that you and many others in Britain nowadays vote out of a gut feeling, not out of reason anymore. Same with Brexit, many just wanted to show Europe (and those evil evil Germans i suppose) that Britain does not need them. Well, as a European i have to thank you, thank you for finally leaving something you never believed in, thank you for showing the world what kind of childish behaviour we had to deal with for decades! You even admit in your post that you don't know the meaning of Brexit. Shocking but not surprising. It looks like the english speaking world is going crazy. Trump in the U.S.A. and Brexit are prove of a decay of knowledge, democratic values and reason.
2
It makes no sense for the Tories to be for Brexit. What is happening in the UK right now is the after effects of the most cynical ploy in generations of politics in the United Kingdom.
No one in power in the Conservative Party wanted Brexit to pass. They were sure it would be defeated, so why not throw the extremists on the right a bone? Now that it did, they have no clue what to do. All they know is that they are going to lose a lot of money thanks to their own hubris, but that they can never, publicly, admit that they screwed up.
Corbyn has every reason to want to leave the EU. He is ardently opposed to globalization and international business. However, the Tories took that position, and it makes it very hard for him to occupy the same ground as them on this the most consequential issue of the day.
So what we end up with is an election about who will be the 'tooughest' negotiator when everyone knows that the UK is in no position to negotiate. An election based on who will be toughest on terrorism when both sides have no clue how to solve that issue. Basically, an election about nothing when everything is on the line.
I really don't think any conclusion can be drawn from these results simply because there were fundamentally no issues of any consequence being debated. It was all style, and no substance. The only thing you can say about this outcome is that Theresa May lost.
No one in power in the Conservative Party wanted Brexit to pass. They were sure it would be defeated, so why not throw the extremists on the right a bone? Now that it did, they have no clue what to do. All they know is that they are going to lose a lot of money thanks to their own hubris, but that they can never, publicly, admit that they screwed up.
Corbyn has every reason to want to leave the EU. He is ardently opposed to globalization and international business. However, the Tories took that position, and it makes it very hard for him to occupy the same ground as them on this the most consequential issue of the day.
So what we end up with is an election about who will be the 'tooughest' negotiator when everyone knows that the UK is in no position to negotiate. An election based on who will be toughest on terrorism when both sides have no clue how to solve that issue. Basically, an election about nothing when everything is on the line.
I really don't think any conclusion can be drawn from these results simply because there were fundamentally no issues of any consequence being debated. It was all style, and no substance. The only thing you can say about this outcome is that Theresa May lost.
5
What a hatchet job! The part I agree with most is that "the pundits once again got it all wrong"
4
"May will not make it to December."
Who knows if any of us will make it to December? May didn't do as well as she expected, but the Conservatives did get a bigger share of the vote than last time. The overall popular vote doesn't matter in the UK, of course, just as it doesn't matter here. But if it did, May's party did even better than last time.
The prospect of a coalition government might imply instability if the Conservatives were obliged to seek out a left-leaning minority party. But they're not. Any party would prefer not to form a coalition at all, but the Conservatives aren't likely to have to compromise much at all.
Who knows if any of us will make it to December? May didn't do as well as she expected, but the Conservatives did get a bigger share of the vote than last time. The overall popular vote doesn't matter in the UK, of course, just as it doesn't matter here. But if it did, May's party did even better than last time.
The prospect of a coalition government might imply instability if the Conservatives were obliged to seek out a left-leaning minority party. But they're not. Any party would prefer not to form a coalition at all, but the Conservatives aren't likely to have to compromise much at all.
A rather different tone in this article from the one you wrote earlier today for the Guardian, in which you edited out all the snide anti-Corbyn digs.
10
Matthew d'Ancona,
You clearly just did tell Theresa May
to step down.
You clearly just did tell Theresa May
to step down.
5
Increasingly, the Conservatives resemble an analog party lost in a digital age. The Tory campaign depended heavily on the almost Goebbels-like excesses of the right wing press, notably the Daily Mail (which supported Hitler in the 1930s) and the Murdoch titles. Their hysterical monstering of Corbyn was so ludicrously over the top it wasn't taken seriously. In contrast, Labour ran a more nimble but low-key campaign which focused on social media, which was far more persuasive when it came to targeting young voters. And it was the decision of young voters to turn out in numbers that above all swung this election away from the hapless Mrs May.
11
You've got to give pundits these day's for their chutzpah. Like here and now in Britain, the more they're wrong somehow they take that as a sign that if they only talk louder that will somehow start making them right for a change. Silence is golden, they used to say, but not anymore unfortunately.
1
This appalling op-ed mischaracterises Mr Corbyn. Mr d'Ancona choses to quote the accusation of Mr Corbyn's non existent past links with the IRA, and supposed sympathy with terrorists. He well knows the British tabloid press's scurrilous accusations carry as much truth as Fox News, also orchestrated by Murdoch. Corbyn won an increase in the vote because Britain is tiring of a heartless incompetent government, and because young people turned out, knowing the quality of their future depended on their decision at the ballot box. It is also true that many Britons who voted Brexit are having 'buyers remorse', especially because May chose to interpret a rather narrow referendum majority as a mandate for hard Brexit, without any deal from the Europeans if necessary--utter folly. May's political demise will be no loss whatsoever.
14
She lost the election for Tories. Good for Britain, but not so good for the party. So the most honorable thing what she can do is:
- to undertake the Brexit and
- declare her retirement after those negotiations.
That way she will protect her progenies (why not the rascal Boris Johnson too?)
What is the use of T. May to the party apart from being a sacrificial lamb who executed Brexit? Better is she recognizes that and declares it so.
- to undertake the Brexit and
- declare her retirement after those negotiations.
That way she will protect her progenies (why not the rascal Boris Johnson too?)
What is the use of T. May to the party apart from being a sacrificial lamb who executed Brexit? Better is she recognizes that and declares it so.
"Mr. Corbyn never really looked like a prime minister-in-waiting." Fortunately, however, the voters, unlike too many voters elsewhere, decided to vote on his policies instead of his looks.
12
"...his Castro-loving, Chávez-friendly brand of socialism..."
This is a lie. Nothing could be further from the Labour Party Manifesto than this kind of 75 years old red-baiting clap-trap. Jeremy Corbin and the Labour Party are a center-left party, in close alignment with many scandinavian social democratic governments or the policies of Senator Sanders. To try and imply he was taking Britain down the South American Way is so absurd and insulting to the readers intelligence.
This is a lie. Nothing could be further from the Labour Party Manifesto than this kind of 75 years old red-baiting clap-trap. Jeremy Corbin and the Labour Party are a center-left party, in close alignment with many scandinavian social democratic governments or the policies of Senator Sanders. To try and imply he was taking Britain down the South American Way is so absurd and insulting to the readers intelligence.
16
May is fond of alliteration. "Strong and stable, coalition of chaos" and all the rest of the brain-arresting verbal short circuits. OK. With the DUP she's now in the clown car of climate cranks, at the wheel.
Nasty, truly.
Nasty, truly.
2
Theresa May represented as Home Secretary, and even before, a nasty, mean-spirited, lying, anti-immigrant demagogy. Since she became PM in the crisis after the Brexit referendum, she has showed a singular incapacity to understand the basic inevitable inherent trade-off or present the true consequences, as she pretends she can strike deals with various partners outside the EU, and maintain Britain's status while negotiating a hard exit. She promised not to call an election and broke that promise. She said she would resign if her party lost six seats. It has lost twelve. There is neither honesty nor decency in Theresa May: If it's any consolation to the British, Donald Trump is an even more despicable and lying leader unfit for office.
9
In other words, Labour faces exactly the same dilemma now faced by the Democratic Party here:
"Labour needs to get rid of Corbyn and return to nearer the center. Until then, they will not win an election..."
Do the Democrats (Labour) move toward the center, possibly picking up some centrist voters otherwise lost to the Republicans, or will moving toward the center alienate left-leaning Democrats, causing them to vote third-party or stay home?
"Labour needs to get rid of Corbyn and return to nearer the center. Until then, they will not win an election..."
Do the Democrats (Labour) move toward the center, possibly picking up some centrist voters otherwise lost to the Republicans, or will moving toward the center alienate left-leaning Democrats, causing them to vote third-party or stay home?
"...I fear she will now have to capitulate on Brexit. Good for the UK..."
Not sure how you reach that conclusion. Brexit wasn't on the ballot, and May has said she'll support the voters' wishes even though she was personally opposed to Brexit.
Polls show Brexit would still win. US pundits oppose it, for the UK, but UK voters get to decide, not US pundits.
Not sure how you reach that conclusion. Brexit wasn't on the ballot, and May has said she'll support the voters' wishes even though she was personally opposed to Brexit.
Polls show Brexit would still win. US pundits oppose it, for the UK, but UK voters get to decide, not US pundits.
May will not make it to December.
2
Madison's folly?
"Madison's folly of an electoral college handed the presidency to a populist sociopath ... who had lost the popular vote by three million."
HRC knew the rules, and campaigned accordingly. She didn't complain when her husband took advantage of "Madison's folly," getting 69% of the electoral college votes with only 43% of the popular vote.
Was that "then," and this is "now?"
"Madison's folly of an electoral college handed the presidency to a populist sociopath ... who had lost the popular vote by three million."
HRC knew the rules, and campaigned accordingly. She didn't complain when her husband took advantage of "Madison's folly," getting 69% of the electoral college votes with only 43% of the popular vote.
Was that "then," and this is "now?"
Well, of course, a correspondent for the Guardian would support a left wing looney like Corbyn. The fact of the matter is that May ran a poor campaign and was especially hurt by the last terrorist attack, even though it is Corbyn who has historically supported the IRA and other terrorist foes of Britain. He is basically a traitor!
If he had taken over, we would have had a leader in the UK who is just as incompetent as Trump, but from the left, as opposed to the right. Labour needs to get rid of Corbyn and return to nearer the center. Until then, they will not win an election, just as they lost this one. And by the way, I am a British citizen why happens to live in the USA.
If he had taken over, we would have had a leader in the UK who is just as incompetent as Trump, but from the left, as opposed to the right. Labour needs to get rid of Corbyn and return to nearer the center. Until then, they will not win an election, just as they lost this one. And by the way, I am a British citizen why happens to live in the USA.
1
Doesn't this imply that any coalition government is unstable?
"... now Mrs. May has to figure out what to do after a net loss of seats ... that deprives her of the overall majority required for stable government."
Many governments are "coalition" governments (Israel's, for example). Sometimes the coalition partners are odd bedfellows, and that can produce instability, but instability is unlikely where the partners' positions aren't remarkably different.
The Conservatives did OK, actually increasing their share of the overall vote, though "popular vote" doesn't matter in the UK any more than it does here. They count votes district by district, much as we here count them state by state.
"... now Mrs. May has to figure out what to do after a net loss of seats ... that deprives her of the overall majority required for stable government."
Many governments are "coalition" governments (Israel's, for example). Sometimes the coalition partners are odd bedfellows, and that can produce instability, but instability is unlikely where the partners' positions aren't remarkably different.
The Conservatives did OK, actually increasing their share of the overall vote, though "popular vote" doesn't matter in the UK any more than it does here. They count votes district by district, much as we here count them state by state.
Who knew conservatives everywhere could lose their minds and gain control of governments?
1
During the recent years of U.S. legislative gridlock I have been lamenting the inflexibility of our two-party system and pining for the suppleness of a multi-party parliament. My conviction only deepened when Madison's folly of an electoral college handed the presidency to a populist sociopath, exactly the kind of danger the founders feared, who had lost the popular vote by three million. Now that I see the UK floundering leaderless in the ocean, without a raft, and American checks and limits entangling and penning in Trump to an extent, I am beginning to have second thoughts.
As an outsider looking in, I saw Mrs. May as a humorless wannabe queen/royalty in speech, mannerisms, invisible mingle with the poor classes and of course hubris. That someone like Corbyn could nearly topple her if not for the her gains in Scotland is testimony to how the electorate (specially the young) thought of her. I fear she will now have to capitulate on Brexit. Good for the UK...they need to remain close to Europe.
The Tories self inflicted 2 absolutely profound political errors in the space of a year...the poorly run referendum and of course an election not needed. Good luck.
The Tories self inflicted 2 absolutely profound political errors in the space of a year...the poorly run referendum and of course an election not needed. Good luck.
1
The Republican party has been the "nasty party" here for years and survived, in effect, by incorporating the "really nasty party". Then the real nasties found a populist leader and took over. Theresa May made the mistake of equating the pro-Brexit populists (many of whom are also in the "nasty" camp) with their US brethren and thought she could increase her majority with their support.
1
Nice piece except that the bit about pollsters getting it wrong is not accurate. The polls during the final days showed a very tight race and even the possibility of a Labour win. It is May who got it wrong by assuming she would do well.
7
Right, and John Curtice -- whose work is the gold standard of UK polling -- yet again had an exit poll that essentially got the result exactly right --
1
Yes, blame the pundits et al. But instead, blame the roiled world of politics that few people understand and fewer try to analyze. Poland and Hungary are ripe for fascism. Large minorities in Germany, Holland, France, and Italy likewise. And the USA too, of course. It's not fashionable to be content with the status quo; demagogues are like an infestation of rats; and irritants abound in the world today. UK pols like to refer to "Britain" and use the term interchangeably with "UK." Not the same! They refer to Britons! Who are they? The Gaels of Derry? The Gaels of the Scottish isles? It's easier to see problems in the USA: there, post-WWII economic growth was accompanied by population growth. The population doubled in a couple of generations, adding 150 million people. This softened whatever glue might have been keeping the Union together. In the past, when newcomers arrived and muscled their way to a water-hole and a bit of land, things settled down. Not yet, not here. We await a solution to the big problems while the disgruntled blame other people for their irritations.
1
From across the Pond, I think of how Ms May held the hand of Trump. And I cringe, on your behalf, at the thought of trump making a state visit to Britain, trailing his cloud, as May limps and Brexit looms.
Were she to resign, hopefully the next PM could rescind that trump visit. Because while May might have viewed cozying up to Trump as somehow boosting her standing, I simply cannot wish upon you Brits the unpredictability of our own "national horror" infecting your politics at this frought moment.
Were she to resign, hopefully the next PM could rescind that trump visit. Because while May might have viewed cozying up to Trump as somehow boosting her standing, I simply cannot wish upon you Brits the unpredictability of our own "national horror" infecting your politics at this frought moment.
8
"[T]his shabby deal...which will only confirm the suspicion that all the Conservatives truly care about is power."
Umm... did you ever really doubt that?
Umm... did you ever really doubt that?
9
Funny how pre-election polls were accurate (since "Dewey beats Truman") until Russia decided to get involved in international politics.
1
"foreign elections", not "international politics"
1
"As an admirer of Mrs. May" is not a promising beginning to any sentence.
16
Ever since Trumputin was elected, the electoral and political landscape got a lot more hospitable for progressives and anti-isolationists in Europe.
Watching the disaster that is unfolding across the Atlantic knocked a dose of sanity and reality in democratic Europe's electorate. You could almost hear a whole continent softly mutter "There, but for the grace of God, go we."
Watching the disaster that is unfolding across the Atlantic knocked a dose of sanity and reality in democratic Europe's electorate. You could almost hear a whole continent softly mutter "There, but for the grace of God, go we."
3
without the recent terror attacks (from which the conservatives have benefitted a lot, ) Corbyn might have won a majority. Anyways, the trump-brexit bubble has been popped so quickly.
6
The emotional vote was for the Conservatives rather than for Labour. They ran on Grammar schools and fox-hunting, a back-to-the-Fifties plan to appeal to the nostalgia of the old; and on hatred of immigrants, the only possible benefit for anyone apart from billionaires from a "Hard Brexit". In effect they told their most right wing voters that their hatred and anger were righteous, as a substitute for offering anything of real value.
The rational vote was on the Left. Austerity has failed, as it slows down the flow of money around the economy, and thereby chokes growth.
I only hope the Conservatives can cease to be emotional about Brexit. It would only work for the billionaires if it had been a death-blow to the EU, but France and the Netherlands have not followed in electing extremist Right-wing governments hostile to Europe, and nor will Germany. Brexit is therefore only a disaster for absolutely everyone. The sooner they can get over their anger and resentment, calm down and admit that, the better for the World.
The rational vote was on the Left. Austerity has failed, as it slows down the flow of money around the economy, and thereby chokes growth.
I only hope the Conservatives can cease to be emotional about Brexit. It would only work for the billionaires if it had been a death-blow to the EU, but France and the Netherlands have not followed in electing extremist Right-wing governments hostile to Europe, and nor will Germany. Brexit is therefore only a disaster for absolutely everyone. The sooner they can get over their anger and resentment, calm down and admit that, the better for the World.
9
Bring back the Queen.
Well, anyway, the mess in Britain doesn't even compare to the mess in the United States. We've got a real minority President who lost the last election by 3 million votes. We've got a healthcare system now in complete disarray. And a foreign policy which will create more uncertainty in the world (let's hope it doesn't create a war).
Well, anyway, the mess in Britain doesn't even compare to the mess in the United States. We've got a real minority President who lost the last election by 3 million votes. We've got a healthcare system now in complete disarray. And a foreign policy which will create more uncertainty in the world (let's hope it doesn't create a war).
10
To: Heads of All Center and Left of Center British Political Parties
Re: Seizing a Marvelous Opportunity
Seize the day. Please do all within your power to bring down P.M. May and obstruct her efforts to forge a Conservative-Democratic Union coalition. Energetically oppose all parties "Conservative." As you know from harsh experience, over the long term, rightward turn after rightward turn can only make your social, economic and international situation worse.
Please profit from your former colony's recent yuuge mistake.
"Conservatives" are seldom humane or concerned with the general welfare. They only undo whatever progressive policies they find in place. They promise law and order, but, as time goes by, they demonstrate a disregard for constitutional safeguards and the rule of law which is essential to a democratic republic.
Granted, the Trump-Ryan political tag-team here in the U.S. may be an extreme case. I do not believe your parliamentary system would ever permit someone like Trump to assume national leadership. You Brits have far less tolerance for the buffoonish, ignorant and psychologically unfit than we Yanks.
Be forewarned, wakeful and watchful: "Conservative" now means "government over the people, by the plutocrats, for the plutocrats."
Re: Seizing a Marvelous Opportunity
Seize the day. Please do all within your power to bring down P.M. May and obstruct her efforts to forge a Conservative-Democratic Union coalition. Energetically oppose all parties "Conservative." As you know from harsh experience, over the long term, rightward turn after rightward turn can only make your social, economic and international situation worse.
Please profit from your former colony's recent yuuge mistake.
"Conservatives" are seldom humane or concerned with the general welfare. They only undo whatever progressive policies they find in place. They promise law and order, but, as time goes by, they demonstrate a disregard for constitutional safeguards and the rule of law which is essential to a democratic republic.
Granted, the Trump-Ryan political tag-team here in the U.S. may be an extreme case. I do not believe your parliamentary system would ever permit someone like Trump to assume national leadership. You Brits have far less tolerance for the buffoonish, ignorant and psychologically unfit than we Yanks.
Be forewarned, wakeful and watchful: "Conservative" now means "government over the people, by the plutocrats, for the plutocrats."
4
The terms "conservative", "liberal", and also "progressive" have all be so widely applied, diluted, and misused as to have lost any predictable meaning during discourse. They cannot be reliably used to convey meaning, as they are more often likely to elicit misunderstanding instead. Those words are now best used as part of the toolkit of those who speak loudly in buzzwords and slogans and who promote tribalism, distrust, and paranoia. These words promote confusion.
Hubris is a funny thing.
3
The terror attacks "shone an unflattering light" on the hideous failure of anti-terrorism policy as supported by the Tories.
The British born Libyan terrorist who did the most damage is a product of Tory policy. Tory policy allowed him to move freely and encouraged him to train with radical Islamist to advance British interest in Libya.
You are not telling the truth about Mr. Corbyn precisely to cover this very pertinent fact.
The British born Libyan terrorist who did the most damage is a product of Tory policy. Tory policy allowed him to move freely and encouraged him to train with radical Islamist to advance British interest in Libya.
You are not telling the truth about Mr. Corbyn precisely to cover this very pertinent fact.
6
I have no idea what 21st century British Socialism will look like. Here in Canada our democratic socialists form the government in our richest province and are locked in a struggle for parliamentary control of another one of what we call have provinces. The last federal election saw the liberals run to the left of our socialists as our socialists ran on a platform of very conservative fiscal responsibility.
It is 2017 and socialists and many understanding business leaders are committed to public welfare and exercising joint fiduciary responsibility in assuring the welfare of society. Medicare for all, making sure that everyone especially the best and the brightest have access to the best education possible and welfare system that assures good nutrition and shelter for all our children is as important to enlightened leaders of industry as well as socialists.
Theresa May's willingness to maintain power by cozying up to Britain's version of the John Birch Society is alarming. An antiCatholic nationalist, racist Christianist party as a part of government should frighten everyone who believes in democracy.
The readers of Haaretz were not surprised by the UK election results despite the apparent shock everywhere else. The absolute necessity of knowing the truth for 70 years has allowed Israel to survive in a world where the propaganda and the news are indistinguishable.
In the US professional liars from right wing propaganda factories like the AEI are considered journalists. Sad!
It is 2017 and socialists and many understanding business leaders are committed to public welfare and exercising joint fiduciary responsibility in assuring the welfare of society. Medicare for all, making sure that everyone especially the best and the brightest have access to the best education possible and welfare system that assures good nutrition and shelter for all our children is as important to enlightened leaders of industry as well as socialists.
Theresa May's willingness to maintain power by cozying up to Britain's version of the John Birch Society is alarming. An antiCatholic nationalist, racist Christianist party as a part of government should frighten everyone who believes in democracy.
The readers of Haaretz were not surprised by the UK election results despite the apparent shock everywhere else. The absolute necessity of knowing the truth for 70 years has allowed Israel to survive in a world where the propaganda and the news are indistinguishable.
In the US professional liars from right wing propaganda factories like the AEI are considered journalists. Sad!
6
"The Democratic Unionist Party, in contrast, is a hard-line reactionary
party, . . ."
It is also an anti-gay, anti-evolution, pro-creationist party.
Gee, Brits--An establishment Conservative Party joins hands with a regressive Party that has strong Christian fundamentalist appeal and was founded by the fundamentalist Protestant Ian Paisley.
What could possibly go wrong?
party, . . ."
It is also an anti-gay, anti-evolution, pro-creationist party.
Gee, Brits--An establishment Conservative Party joins hands with a regressive Party that has strong Christian fundamentalist appeal and was founded by the fundamentalist Protestant Ian Paisley.
What could possibly go wrong?
12
World tax on corporations.
5
Maybe the most frightening thing about the crisis facing Britain and other liberal democracies, is the cluelessness of the leaders or the elites. One shudders to think what they will do when faced with a crisis not of their own making.
1
The result Corbyn achieved was incredible considering the array of media and press attacks against him from the day he took charge. I also think that your political bias seems to have made you incapable of acknowledging that 13+ million voters in the UK thought he was more acceptable as a PM than May. To dismiss that simply because he's not someone you would like to see in office is to ignore the whole point of democracy.
5
Perhaps we can blame it all on that canard for all seasons - sexism.
That does seem to be the fall-back position when women do not succeed in perfectly fair competitions.
That does seem to be the fall-back position when women do not succeed in perfectly fair competitions.
If there is one country that doesn't need Putin's hacking and interfering with in order to make a mess of things, it's Britain.
Their deepest wounds were entirely self-inflicted: Cameron didn't have to call for the Brexit referendum, May didn't have to call for snap elections.
Then the rabidly partisan British tabloids aided and abetted in Cameron's and May's follies with their own fake news, famously, that Brexit will save £350 million per week, all of which to fund the national health system.
Today's Britain would be very different if Cameron had never made that ill fated call for a referendum. He'd still be prime minister, the Brits would still gripe about Europe and Brussels, but Britain would not be in the existential crisis it finds itself for no other reason than the auto-destructive hubris of its prime ministers.
Their deepest wounds were entirely self-inflicted: Cameron didn't have to call for the Brexit referendum, May didn't have to call for snap elections.
Then the rabidly partisan British tabloids aided and abetted in Cameron's and May's follies with their own fake news, famously, that Brexit will save £350 million per week, all of which to fund the national health system.
Today's Britain would be very different if Cameron had never made that ill fated call for a referendum. He'd still be prime minister, the Brits would still gripe about Europe and Brussels, but Britain would not be in the existential crisis it finds itself for no other reason than the auto-destructive hubris of its prime ministers.
7
The Conservative Party are about privilege and self-interest. She became its leader by default. Even though the Brexit vote was won by a small majority she still insisted in a "hard" Brexit. She has no idea about the expertise and dominance of the EU block when it comes to negotiation, the need for the Uk to have access to the vast EU market as well as its richness of economic, political and cultural integration, she has been living in fantasy.
She called an unnecessary and cynical election, ran a terrible campaign and her policies were designed to punish the weak and vulnerable in society. She is the very embodiment of an atavism that pervades the UK at the moment, one that screams "we are the British Empire we can go it alone." They were never doing it alone, the Empire was built on the backs of colonies, built on the misery and exploitation of others. Now she and her cohorts will taste the real extent of Britain's isolation.
What arrogance and hubris!
She called an unnecessary and cynical election, ran a terrible campaign and her policies were designed to punish the weak and vulnerable in society. She is the very embodiment of an atavism that pervades the UK at the moment, one that screams "we are the British Empire we can go it alone." They were never doing it alone, the Empire was built on the backs of colonies, built on the misery and exploitation of others. Now she and her cohorts will taste the real extent of Britain's isolation.
What arrogance and hubris!
6
I disagree with this article.
Why does this article have to make a remark about the way she looks, saying: "Like a stumbling figure from “The Walking Dead,” ? I found that unnecessary.
It was clearly meant figuratively, not literally. Um, the first sentence ends with "she is a political zombie". Note *political*. Not actually walking around stiffly with arms partially raised.
2
It's dangerous to assume a Brexit mandate when that referendum won by a slim margin -- and there are people who feel they were lied to in order to garner the votes needed to pass it. Ignoring the large percentage of the population who do not really approve of the Brexit is shortsighted at best. Theresa May got what she deserved.
The Republicans may also want to think about this lesson, for they are also assuming a mandate for Trump and the Republican platform where it doesn't exist. They ignore the rest of the population at their peril, for there are elections in the future where the chickens may come home to roost.
The Republicans may also want to think about this lesson, for they are also assuming a mandate for Trump and the Republican platform where it doesn't exist. They ignore the rest of the population at their peril, for there are elections in the future where the chickens may come home to roost.
37
May called the election to put her on firm footing in Brexit negotiations. How did she let that clear goal slip into obscurity in her campaign?
1
It is amazing the amount of vitriol used to describe Mr Corbyn in this supposed bastion of the "liberal media" and in this case the writer also works for The Guardian - also supposedly liberal.
Mr Corbyn is not far left or radical any more than Senator Bernie Sanders was last year or is today. These men stood where the Democrats in the US and Labor in the U.K. stood for years- for the many and not the few.
I think the high water mark for the Clintonites and Blairites that have damaged the Democratic Party in the US and Labor in the U.K. Have passed. Mr Corbyn has shown Labor the way forward and the Sanders Movement is still fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party. Many of us are more than tired of austerity and the rule by a cabal or Center Right "Liberals" and Radical Right "Conservatives".
The traditional left wing parties in the U.K. and U.S. have a chance to return to their roots and remember who they are supposed to be fighting for if those who led them into decline and disarray will step aside and let others lead. Mr Corbyn-like Mr Sanders- have tapped into something developing that will upend the status quo over time.
The Reagan and Thatcherite counter-revolutions are over, they are just not buried yet. Progress always comes from the political left, regression from the political right.
Mr Corbyn is not far left or radical any more than Senator Bernie Sanders was last year or is today. These men stood where the Democrats in the US and Labor in the U.K. stood for years- for the many and not the few.
I think the high water mark for the Clintonites and Blairites that have damaged the Democratic Party in the US and Labor in the U.K. Have passed. Mr Corbyn has shown Labor the way forward and the Sanders Movement is still fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party. Many of us are more than tired of austerity and the rule by a cabal or Center Right "Liberals" and Radical Right "Conservatives".
The traditional left wing parties in the U.K. and U.S. have a chance to return to their roots and remember who they are supposed to be fighting for if those who led them into decline and disarray will step aside and let others lead. Mr Corbyn-like Mr Sanders- have tapped into something developing that will upend the status quo over time.
The Reagan and Thatcherite counter-revolutions are over, they are just not buried yet. Progress always comes from the political left, regression from the political right.
26
What an extraordinary string of events. The parallel of May-Corbyn to Hilary-Sanders is overwhelming. An out of touch centrist sneering at an old-school leftist opponent who actually is in tune with the popular sentiment. The sense of entitlement and hubris radiated by the two ladies ensured their downfall.
And, of course, there's the ongoing story of the confounding of the experts. Look: statistics made you lazy. You pour a bunch of data into a pot and stir and out comes predictions. Time to throw all that away and get out there and talk to people.
And, of course, there's the ongoing story of the confounding of the experts. Look: statistics made you lazy. You pour a bunch of data into a pot and stir and out comes predictions. Time to throw all that away and get out there and talk to people.
8
How many people do we need to talk to so that we can properly stir the magic dust into our non-math pot and predict the future?
Theresa May did the right thing by calling this snap election. It shows that she does not have the support she claimed, nor the Tories the support they arrogantly presume to enjoy whenever in power, whether placed there by coincidentally acquired margins (in this case), or by the most generous of pollsters' estimations / or by real (but become irrelevant) election results (David Cameron's inexplicable 2015 victory, as he drove his bound-over-the-edge-of-a-cliff, scandal-tainted jalopy forward with empty promises to, to paraphrase, "...set Brussells straight!").
So in calling for, arranging and even campaigning in this election she has been "fair enough".
Merely for causing the false pretence of her "solid mandate" (20 percentage points of advance, over "dangerous" Jeremy's Labour candidates!) to be revealed as the malarkey it was and is, she should be commended! Told: "Thanks for your hapless honesty, showing up the truth," and not taxed with making a big mistake, failing, etc.
She did the right thing and should be thanked for that.
Just as many British pundits, after the 23 June 2016 fact ("Leave!" won), realised that a referendum nominally about Brexit had in fact been decided on the basis of local political disgruntlements and satisfactions, not on rational decisions about the United Kingdom's role in the E.U.; so too they will quickly come to see that the (non-) reaffirmation of confidence in the Tories-in-power was not about that at all!
It was about Brexit.
So in calling for, arranging and even campaigning in this election she has been "fair enough".
Merely for causing the false pretence of her "solid mandate" (20 percentage points of advance, over "dangerous" Jeremy's Labour candidates!) to be revealed as the malarkey it was and is, she should be commended! Told: "Thanks for your hapless honesty, showing up the truth," and not taxed with making a big mistake, failing, etc.
She did the right thing and should be thanked for that.
Just as many British pundits, after the 23 June 2016 fact ("Leave!" won), realised that a referendum nominally about Brexit had in fact been decided on the basis of local political disgruntlements and satisfactions, not on rational decisions about the United Kingdom's role in the E.U.; so too they will quickly come to see that the (non-) reaffirmation of confidence in the Tories-in-power was not about that at all!
It was about Brexit.
3
The cost of May's political gamble could still be minimised if the hard Brexit is substituted by a soft one avoiding a complete break with Europe and the common market, pragmatic policy course is adopted on the immigration and trade issues, and domestic policy is reoriented to a lesser painful fiscal and the people centric benign social policy stance.
6
This hope depends upon the EU adopting a soft stance, and not taking the view that retaining members within the EU requires making Britain an example of the dire consequences of leaving.
2
Sounds nice but the DUP will be having none of it.......watch this space!
1
strange idea to thing that UK will pay because of the may's election gamble. I believe that EU will be a good mother, (ue is not the usa) and the very powerful and efficient UE administration will find a complex techno-administrative solution to help UK to leave UE. The UE always said that the EU citizen living in UK were on the top priority. So UE won't push for a chaos which could born in case of a lack of agreement because of the political weakness of the UK.
2
"EU" not "UE" (Union Européenne). It's swings and roundabouts, Pierre. This is good news for Technocratic Europe, good news to the overpaid and patriarchal civil servants of the Commission.
BUT the core issue of "Democratic Deficit" & "Brussels Bubble" has not gone away and if it is not addressed Marine Le Pen et al will one day tear everything down.
How is Juncker still in power? And Timmermans... where do they get these people from?
Bon week-end!!
BUT the core issue of "Democratic Deficit" & "Brussels Bubble" has not gone away and if it is not addressed Marine Le Pen et al will one day tear everything down.
How is Juncker still in power? And Timmermans... where do they get these people from?
Bon week-end!!
Go left Dems, go left. The next Democratic presidential candidate ought to also go for the Green Party nomination and have his or her name on two lines.
Remember, if Green Party voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin had voted for Hillary Clinton, she would be president today.
Remember, if Green Party voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin had voted for Hillary Clinton, she would be president today.
19
also go for the Green Party nomination and have his or her name on two lines.
This is an idea well worth pursuing, with the right candidate, and one which I have heretofore never heard expressed. It isn't just a matter of who would have won what last year, since that election cannot be rerun. It's a matter of convincing people you and your party are authentic. Who would have thought that Donald Trump could have been perceived as more authentic than any other human being on the planet, but he was and apparently still is by his 2016 supporters.
This is an idea well worth pursuing, with the right candidate, and one which I have heretofore never heard expressed. It isn't just a matter of who would have won what last year, since that election cannot be rerun. It's a matter of convincing people you and your party are authentic. Who would have thought that Donald Trump could have been perceived as more authentic than any other human being on the planet, but he was and apparently still is by his 2016 supporters.
3
Let's look at Trump's support, which he is managing to erode. Even with Russian interference in the election including targeting vote tabulation software (one of many strategies), systematic GOP suppression of the vote, and insecure voting machines--rump only got 26% of the eligible vote. But the real clincher as another poster noted, is that with 306 E.C. votes, technically it only took .000051% of the nation to actually put Trump into office. As our friends over the Pond would say, "Bloudly hell!"
3
This, I hope, will inspire the Democrats in the U.S. to tack to the left--and maybe nominate Bernie Sanders or some one in his mold who can a offer and sell new inspiration, new vision and a new program that benefits all people, not just those at the top. It's quite telling that centrist timidity has gotten labour nothing in Britain, while a bold left wing vision has, just as centrist timidity has gotten the Democrats nothing here--except the loss of all branches of government.
24
No more Bernie, no more Hillary! We need young blood and a new energy. Let Bernie work the Senate.
It just isn't going well in England these days. Possibly the Tories have not been paying attention to the economic and cultural life of its people, and with Brexit on the horizon, and the recent election, a lot of unrest in the conservative approach to running the country is finally coming to head. And the Labor party is not the way to go. If PM May can make some good, fast calls, I think the people are going to come back to her. If not, then she will resign in the near future. But she is not out of it yet. I have more faith in the English people, and the Tories than what we have today in the White House.
1
See is so disliked, that will never happen.
Look this election was in one way similar to Clinton - Trump, both Candidates were extremely disliked.
Look this election was in one way similar to Clinton - Trump, both Candidates were extremely disliked.
1
There have been a lot of talk and accusation that Russia interfered in the US election; The UK has been hit with 3 terror attacks in as many months, 2 of which occurred after the snap election was called. Has it not occurred to anyone that the 2 most recent attacks could have been timed in an attempt to interfere with the UK election? The attacks did not help May's chances. In this light, Russia looks infinitely more benign than the jihadists.
The terror attacks underscore that the UK has to control and strengthen their own anti-terrorism laws and also borders, and not outsource this critical task to the EU, with the soft-on-terrorism EU Court of Human Rights & EU Court of Appeals. The people voted for BREXIT last year, and this recently election does not change that, even if the the negotiations with the EU will now be more challenging.
The terror attacks underscore that the UK has to control and strengthen their own anti-terrorism laws and also borders, and not outsource this critical task to the EU, with the soft-on-terrorism EU Court of Human Rights & EU Court of Appeals. The people voted for BREXIT last year, and this recently election does not change that, even if the the negotiations with the EU will now be more challenging.
4
Maybe instead of focusing on the convention on human rights you should question if the Tory cuts to policing and the security services, not to mention the failed foreign policies, were more of an issue in the terrible attacks?
16
Mrs May was the minister in charge of national security for six years until she became prime minister last summer. If there have been failings in the way the UK has countered the terrorist threat, they are her failings. She has nowhere to hide on this issue.
Putting more Police on the streets won't make a difference if there are laws to be enforced. It is impossible to watch everyone all the time.
Case in point is the attack last weekend, none of the attackers were considered "high risk". Yet in a Channel 4 documentary in 2016, one of the terrorists can be seen waltzing into a park in central London with his Jihadi buddies, rolling out an ISIS flag and then praying. Police were helpless to do anything.
None of the attackers were EU citizens, never mind British nationals. And the Police still could not act.
That's why the law needs to change.
Case in point is the attack last weekend, none of the attackers were considered "high risk". Yet in a Channel 4 documentary in 2016, one of the terrorists can be seen waltzing into a park in central London with his Jihadi buddies, rolling out an ISIS flag and then praying. Police were helpless to do anything.
None of the attackers were EU citizens, never mind British nationals. And the Police still could not act.
That's why the law needs to change.
2
You managed to flub it Ms May
Your debate turndowns did dismay,
With Donald Trump, footsie,
Made you a cooked tootsie,
Repeating cliches didn't pay.
Your bargaining talents appear
No assets that any would cheer,
Your North Ireland buddies
Tromp down fuddy duddies,
The quid pro quo may be severe!
Your debate turndowns did dismay,
With Donald Trump, footsie,
Made you a cooked tootsie,
Repeating cliches didn't pay.
Your bargaining talents appear
No assets that any would cheer,
Your North Ireland buddies
Tromp down fuddy duddies,
The quid pro quo may be severe!
31
...and will she have the grace to leave gracefully? Why is governing Britain held hostage to ego and personal ambition? Once again as Brexit proved, the governing elites are out of touch with middle england voters---both the Brexit vote and this vote have been produced by a silent populist majority who feel (rightly) that Whitehall is out of touch with the rest of the country. There are indeed 2 Britains--metro London and the rest, and these results reflect different voices in different parts of the country.
One thing I am very curious about---in the aftermath of the Manchester and London terrorist attacks, were there any parties running on an anti-immigrant, Britain for the Brits platform?
One thing I am very puzzled
One thing I am very curious about---in the aftermath of the Manchester and London terrorist attacks, were there any parties running on an anti-immigrant, Britain for the Brits platform?
One thing I am very puzzled
2
"There are indeed 2 Britains--metro London and the rest, and these results reflect different voices in different parts of the country.'
That's not quite right. Many of the larger cities voted Remain: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Newcastle, Leicester; the North of Ireland voted Remain; in Scotland, 62% voted to stay in.
"were there any parties running on an anti-immigrant, Britain for the Brits platform"
Yes, UKIP. They didn't win a single seat.
That's not quite right. Many of the larger cities voted Remain: Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Newcastle, Leicester; the North of Ireland voted Remain; in Scotland, 62% voted to stay in.
"were there any parties running on an anti-immigrant, Britain for the Brits platform"
Yes, UKIP. They didn't win a single seat.
8
Yes, UKIP, but they lost badly.
2
An "emotional pick" seems somewhat condescending, doesn't it? Perhaps voters reviewed the party platforms and voted for the candidates that best expressed their perspective and hopes for the future of the UK. Certainly Labour has been vindicated, at least a little bit. It's a big win for those who've had enough of Tory austerity. Whatever Ms. May's hopes for making Tory policies more humane, the proof of her commitment will be in the execution; and good luck with that if she makes a deal with the DUP to form a government. Listening to Jeremy Corbyn's remarks after the election, I found him less a "hard-left", "Chavez-friendly" ideologue than a spokesperson for policies and values that were once considered standard in the UK, before Tony Blair asked everyone to forget themselves and drift toward a British version of triangulation. Perhaps all those kids who came out listened to what Labour had to say and liked what they heard. Some of us ex-pats hope so.
43
I think that Britain needs a government more than it needs a Tory leadership election right now. I'm sure that Mrs May knows that she is a zombie PM, but she is trying to do her best for Britain. Labour simply doesn't have the numbers to form a government at this point.
The socialists are back in town, and Corbyn's stature has gown enormously following his election success. If he his given another chance, he might well win. I expect the Tories will cling to power as long as they possibly can. The prospect of Corbyn as Prime Minister might help to keep the new coalition in power longer than people think.
After two votes in favor of Christmas, the turkeys have probably learned their lesson.
The socialists are back in town, and Corbyn's stature has gown enormously following his election success. If he his given another chance, he might well win. I expect the Tories will cling to power as long as they possibly can. The prospect of Corbyn as Prime Minister might help to keep the new coalition in power longer than people think.
After two votes in favor of Christmas, the turkeys have probably learned their lesson.
8
It's a testament to the utter failure of the economically milquetoast, quick to war Blairite Labour that the Conservatives have been able to hold sway for so long. The Tories have nothing to offer but economy-killing austerity, income inequality, and some rather ghoulish characters (although they don't compare to ours). A move left seems to be a winning proposition. Take note DNC.
3
The Brexit vote result did not represent the will of the majority of the UK's people because many pro-EC voters blundered by failing to vote -- in short, the election failed to measure the desire of the majority. That blunder may result in the sundering of the UK. Yesterday's election was also a blunder, this time by the leader of the party in power, leaving the government unable to effectively deal with the Brexit process. Neither blunder is irremediable yet, so long as the Conservatives can swallow their pride and ask for a re-do on Brexit, doing so as the price of saving their Union. If they fail, well, good-bye UK, good-bye Great Britain, hello England.
24
I agree that the Brexit vote did not represent the will of the majority of U.K people. One reason is that the vote resulted from a referendum -- not an election. A referendum, which asks an overly simplistic question that allows only a "yes or no" answer, is a very flawed mechanism for making a decision on a complex, nuanced subject. This is especially true when, instead of educating people about the benefits of remaining versus leaving the EU before the vote, partisan politicians on both sides, were deliberately lying to them about the facts. Not only did many people just not vote, but some people who voted were admitting the next day that they didn't even know what the E.U. was.
3
Of course "as an admirer of Mrs. May," d'Ancona needs to label Corbyn as a proponent of "Castro-loving, Chávez-friendly brand of socialism." Good smear but hardly accurate. Yes, Corbyn will fight the neo-liberal privatization mania of British industries (water, mail, etc.) but he will manage a far better Brexit deal, trying to retain a single market and customs union with the EU, than Mays will. Helping pensioners with their incomes and students with tuition is hardly Cuban style socialism, even if taxes for high income earner would rise.
110
The thing to understand about Corbyn is that he is first and foremost an "ideologue". Always has been, Blair used to use him as an example of how the Labour party needed to change "How could we ever get into power with Corbyn?". Ultimately he was/is right, this vote was an emotional one for those who feel Brexit is not the solution and are upset at the social policies of the Tories.
In the end, it is damaging to the UK and will make Brexit harder.
In the end, it is damaging to the UK and will make Brexit harder.
1
One Labour politician was quoted yesterday as saying, "Whatever Corbyn has, I'd like to bottle it and have some for myself!" What Corbyn has is sincerity...in contrast to May, who stood for Remain during the Brexit campaign, then switched to hard Brexit after the referendum, and has since been endlessly parroting her inane mantras 'Brexit means Brexit' and 'strong and stable leadership', as fed to her by her equally clueless advisers. Corbyn on the other hand is championing policies that resonate: a properly funded NHS; better subsidized education; improved care for the elderly; an end to military adventurism; and of course a close and cooperative relationship with the EU. His stance on most of these issues has remained consistent over the past five decades, in spite of his being consistently attacked and smeared by the predominantly right wing British media, and the British people have recognized and respected him for it.
Funny thing, a whole new generation of voters share his ideals.
5
As someone profoundly political moderate, I was happy to support Corbyn as far from peddling some far left Castro-loving agenda, his Manifesto offered a real possibility, if Labour were elected, my children could obtain an education without crippling debt; a chance of employment and a roof over
we their heads when they stride out into adult life. Here we perceive Mrs May as spectacularly conceited and motivated by self interest - why else would she, with such speed, announce her partnership with the DUP . Mrs May is at risk of being held to ransom, in order to stay in power, by the DUP, a Party not celebrated for moderation or tolerance, who have also been unhappy about the power sharing with Sinn Fein. The consequence of which could be the end of the Good Friday Agreement and a return to sectarianism in Northern Ireland, which would be a tragedy indeed. Political cynicism at its` worse.
we their heads when they stride out into adult life. Here we perceive Mrs May as spectacularly conceited and motivated by self interest - why else would she, with such speed, announce her partnership with the DUP . Mrs May is at risk of being held to ransom, in order to stay in power, by the DUP, a Party not celebrated for moderation or tolerance, who have also been unhappy about the power sharing with Sinn Fein. The consequence of which could be the end of the Good Friday Agreement and a return to sectarianism in Northern Ireland, which would be a tragedy indeed. Political cynicism at its` worse.
101
Yes, you could get all that... and the country would be bankrupt in 5 years.
1
Have you not considered the impact of last month's momentous French elections??? Not only did France manage to oust the stuffy old guard - such as the likes of T. May represents in Britain - but provided a much needed clear path forward simultaneously propping up pride at home and abroad.
Me think the Brits are feeling the need for a morale boost too. And rightfully so!
Me think the Brits are feeling the need for a morale boost too. And rightfully so!
38
Matthew d'Ancona omits to mention the fact that during Mrs May's long tenure as Home Secretary she presided over, and insisted upon, large reductions in the numbers of police officers in the name of austerity.
By contrast, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, had protested against the loss of police officers, noting that it put us at risk. Sadly, terrorists have not taken to heart the need for austerity, and have, instead, taken advantage of the cuts in police officers to slaughter and mutilate people. The electorate recognised this fact; perhaps Matthew d'Ancona should get around to noticing it before he next opines on why we British voted as we did...
By contrast, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, had protested against the loss of police officers, noting that it put us at risk. Sadly, terrorists have not taken to heart the need for austerity, and have, instead, taken advantage of the cuts in police officers to slaughter and mutilate people. The electorate recognised this fact; perhaps Matthew d'Ancona should get around to noticing it before he next opines on why we British voted as we did...
121
More Police no doubt would help reacting to an emergency, but they would not help stopping incidents in the first place.
There are over 3,000 known Jihadis in the UK who cannot be watched day & night. Last Saturday's attackers were known to Police, non-EU citizens (never mind British nationals), were well known for their extremist views to the point were one of them featured in a Channel 4 documentary praying to the ISIS flag in a London park.
Despite all that, the Police were helpless to do anything, the government helpless to deport these non-citizens... because they were protected by law.
There are over 3,000 known Jihadis in the UK who cannot be watched day & night. Last Saturday's attackers were known to Police, non-EU citizens (never mind British nationals), were well known for their extremist views to the point were one of them featured in a Channel 4 documentary praying to the ISIS flag in a London park.
Despite all that, the Police were helpless to do anything, the government helpless to deport these non-citizens... because they were protected by law.
1
We have lost almost 20,000 police officers since 2010; plenty of scope there to cover the 3,000 known jihadis you cite. It's downright silly to suggest otherwise.
You also claim that 'they were protected by law'; please identify the law you think did this.
You also claim that 'they were protected by law'; please identify the law you think did this.
3
The 20,000 police officers May cut could have kept an eye on a lot more of those 3000 potential jihadists.
5
Alas you British still have the entertaining pomp and circumstance spectacle of the royal House of Windsor along with the mythology of 'Masterpiece Theater'.
When Donald Trump arrives for his state visit at the invitation of Theresa May hopefully he will refrain from his breath mints infused frenzy to try to grab Mrs. May's or Queen Elizabeth II 'lady parts'.
Forgive my dismissive cynicism regarding your quaint issues. Britain is not the leader of Europe nor the free nor English speaking world.
We Americans have a few problems of our own. No one ever accused Mrs. May of being a pathological liar bent on personally profiting from her service while beholden to a hostile foreign power and married to her third spouse.
But if you all can arrange to have Trump arrested and sent to the Tower of London for the justice that would help mend things. Or even better still withdraw the invitation for his crude bigoted stupid attacks on the Mayor of London. Trump is a looming political pestilence on par with the Black Death and the London Blitz.
I love 'Trooping the Colors'.
When Donald Trump arrives for his state visit at the invitation of Theresa May hopefully he will refrain from his breath mints infused frenzy to try to grab Mrs. May's or Queen Elizabeth II 'lady parts'.
Forgive my dismissive cynicism regarding your quaint issues. Britain is not the leader of Europe nor the free nor English speaking world.
We Americans have a few problems of our own. No one ever accused Mrs. May of being a pathological liar bent on personally profiting from her service while beholden to a hostile foreign power and married to her third spouse.
But if you all can arrange to have Trump arrested and sent to the Tower of London for the justice that would help mend things. Or even better still withdraw the invitation for his crude bigoted stupid attacks on the Mayor of London. Trump is a looming political pestilence on par with the Black Death and the London Blitz.
I love 'Trooping the Colors'.
49
In reply to blackmamba IL
Your provincial attitude permeates your whole post.
Your provincial attitude permeates your whole post.
2
Right-wingers never concede power easily or graciously. That is not what their patrons have paid for.
116
Power is addictive and all consuming. Like a gambler that feels they cannot lose, the leaders of the free world are betting all of their credibility and power on hubris. Those countries willing to stay the course will win in the long run. Look for Germany and China to take the lead for the rest of this century.
24
Stay what course?
2
Wrong read. The election was distorted by terrorism which Labor converted successfully to a personality attack on May. Their boost is temporary. In less than 12 hours, May has not just correctly assessed her slim margin as nothing to do with Brexit and everything to do with slander, but also forging forward to resume her PMship.
The only lesson Mrs. May needs to learn is one she's probably already mastered: a tougher approach to terrorism and immigration. Brexit will continue full speed ahead under PM May, mud-injured, but shaking it off, and getting stronger and wiser by the minute. More than ever today, and under May's firm leadership, Brexit means Brexit. Goodbye.
The only lesson Mrs. May needs to learn is one she's probably already mastered: a tougher approach to terrorism and immigration. Brexit will continue full speed ahead under PM May, mud-injured, but shaking it off, and getting stronger and wiser by the minute. More than ever today, and under May's firm leadership, Brexit means Brexit. Goodbye.
4
"The election was distorted by terrorism which Labor converted successfully to a personality attack on May."
No, Labour pointed out that while she was Home Secretary, she cut the numbers of police drastically in the interests of austerity.
If you are troubled (rightly) by the superficiality of personality attacks, you should check the Tory press. Take a look, for example, at almost any issue of the Mail, Sun, Express, and Telegraph.
No, Labour pointed out that while she was Home Secretary, she cut the numbers of police drastically in the interests of austerity.
If you are troubled (rightly) by the superficiality of personality attacks, you should check the Tory press. Take a look, for example, at almost any issue of the Mail, Sun, Express, and Telegraph.
7
I'd wait and see how low she has to go to appease the DUP to form a government. They're pretty unacceptable to even the Tory mainstream.
1
@Laurence
They didn't point anything out until the terrorists hit. Deny all you want but it's a fact: Labor would have got pummeled without the recent terror attacks.
They didn't point anything out until the terrorists hit. Deny all you want but it's a fact: Labor would have got pummeled without the recent terror attacks.
1
She has done some ridiculous posturing about how she was going (presumably through the force of her personality) get the best "deal" out of the EU. Her arrogant posture was patently absurd, the EU was not about to let the UK have all the benefits of being in the EU without paying -- which was basically what she told voters she would get. Most of those in the EU have politely but firmly pointed out that this would never happen (I say most only because some were not polite, not the other possibility). Perhaps the message has reached enough of the voters to make a difference.
49
Much of the accusations against Corbyn (like IRA support) have gone out the window the moment the Conservatives became partners with the DUP, which was every bit as bad as the IRA in the past.
Unless things change radically before the next election a few months from now Labour may do even better.
Unless things change radically before the next election a few months from now Labour may do even better.
71
Ah, nice combination of two stellar doctrines: Those being Two Wrongs Make a Right and False Equivalency. Very nice. Super many thumbs up, comrade.
right--DUP are ultra loyalist, anti-Catholic, super-conservative, so it is true that politics makes strange bedfellows
The DUP is still connected to the UDA & the UVF (& had to be persuaded to reject their endorsement in this election), while Sinn Fein is not still connected to the IRA--in fact, they persuaded the IRA to put down their weapons. The DUP is much worse than Sinn Fein.
Thatcher initiated the demise of the UK.
Blair accelerated it, massively.
Every Prime Minister since has simply been incompetent, and the opportunity cost of their inaction will prove to be staggering.
And now Theresa May somehow found a way to make the EU actually look good, compared to her catastrophically poor judgement, which is quite an accomplishment.
All of them will be judged harshly by history, with Blair being the one most culpable, because he should have known better.
And all of them collectively bear responsibility for what is about to happen to the UK.
And once the Fintech revolution fulfills its potential, the "City" will be decimated, and at that point the wheels will come completely off.
The status quo is under attack, from all sides; left, right, and center. The "popular anger and a yearning for change" is mounting by the day, particularly among the youth, who increasingly recognize just how fundamentally broken the economic and political systems in the UK and the West in general are. Societies, governments, leaders, and "the Baby Boomers" have failed them, rather spectacularly.
The only question now is the form that the manifestation of their anger at having their economic futures stolen from them will take.
"Reality is going to bite", indeed.
Blair accelerated it, massively.
Every Prime Minister since has simply been incompetent, and the opportunity cost of their inaction will prove to be staggering.
And now Theresa May somehow found a way to make the EU actually look good, compared to her catastrophically poor judgement, which is quite an accomplishment.
All of them will be judged harshly by history, with Blair being the one most culpable, because he should have known better.
And all of them collectively bear responsibility for what is about to happen to the UK.
And once the Fintech revolution fulfills its potential, the "City" will be decimated, and at that point the wheels will come completely off.
The status quo is under attack, from all sides; left, right, and center. The "popular anger and a yearning for change" is mounting by the day, particularly among the youth, who increasingly recognize just how fundamentally broken the economic and political systems in the UK and the West in general are. Societies, governments, leaders, and "the Baby Boomers" have failed them, rather spectacularly.
The only question now is the form that the manifestation of their anger at having their economic futures stolen from them will take.
"Reality is going to bite", indeed.
57
Theresa May is very sharp and has been a steady hand at the helm. Just because voters in the U.K. are crazy doesn't mean she shouldn't soldier on.
6
Failure is not an option.
1
So sharp that she called an election fully confident of achieving a 100-seat majority for the Tories and came out with a big fat goose egg.
The two great cradles of modern democracy, the UK and the USA, have descended into self defeating tribal strife and failed leadership. It hasn't looked much darker since Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor.
43
and why do you think that is? wouldn't you say that identity politics, multiculturalism and "inclusion" politics have contributed to the fracturing of these cradles of democracy? Open borders and globalisation were touted by the liberal elites in London, while PC politics made it impossible to see the culture clash of Islam vs Western society, without being muzzled as "islamophobic".
The few have visited their sins upon the many in a very undemocratic manner.
The few have visited their sins upon the many in a very undemocratic manner.
So far as the Tories are concerned this piece is fairly accurate. But while Mr. D'ancona does present the mainstream Conservative view of Corbyn here, it is so inaccurate as to make nonsense of the rest of the piece.
Regardless of how Mr. Corbyn thought and acted as rebel Labour MP over the last 30 years, as Labour Party leader he has not been a Revolutionary Socialist so much as a modest, straight talking, honest man who at least Diogenes would have appreciated if not the mainstream of the British establishment.
Mr. Corbyn's persona is precisely what has galvanized the movement and in particular the movement of the young around him and that is a big part of what happened yesterday. It was as we the in colonies used to say, the shot heard 'round the world.
As for the Labour program itself, it was hardly revolutionary; it was a program that Harold Wilson could have run or for that matter James Callaghan. It's the only the neo-liberalism of the intervening years that makes it seems radical and aside from the anti-politics of Mr. Corbyn's personal approach, the common sense appeal of smacking the dead hand of neo-liberalism from around the neck of the Labour Party is what has rallied both the young and increasingly segments of the working class to Labour.
For Labour to beat the Tories next year when the unworkable new Tory coalition comes apart at the seams is still a tall order but they now have a winning program, and . . . Momentum behind them.
Regardless of how Mr. Corbyn thought and acted as rebel Labour MP over the last 30 years, as Labour Party leader he has not been a Revolutionary Socialist so much as a modest, straight talking, honest man who at least Diogenes would have appreciated if not the mainstream of the British establishment.
Mr. Corbyn's persona is precisely what has galvanized the movement and in particular the movement of the young around him and that is a big part of what happened yesterday. It was as we the in colonies used to say, the shot heard 'round the world.
As for the Labour program itself, it was hardly revolutionary; it was a program that Harold Wilson could have run or for that matter James Callaghan. It's the only the neo-liberalism of the intervening years that makes it seems radical and aside from the anti-politics of Mr. Corbyn's personal approach, the common sense appeal of smacking the dead hand of neo-liberalism from around the neck of the Labour Party is what has rallied both the young and increasingly segments of the working class to Labour.
For Labour to beat the Tories next year when the unworkable new Tory coalition comes apart at the seams is still a tall order but they now have a winning program, and . . . Momentum behind them.
65
Well articulated and good points.
But Corbyn is ultimately an ideologue, those who know him best readily admit this. The manifesto is a compromise on his part. What people easily forget is that Corbyn is partially responsible for Brexit, his tacit support for Leave (although publicly Remain) is the main reason the Labour machine could not coalesce in favour of staying in the Union.
The last person the UK needs at this moment in history is an ideologue, practicalities of Brexit will define the country for the next 20 years.
But Corbyn is ultimately an ideologue, those who know him best readily admit this. The manifesto is a compromise on his part. What people easily forget is that Corbyn is partially responsible for Brexit, his tacit support for Leave (although publicly Remain) is the main reason the Labour machine could not coalesce in favour of staying in the Union.
The last person the UK needs at this moment in history is an ideologue, practicalities of Brexit will define the country for the next 20 years.
1
Barry
Corbyn is an ideologue; no argument there but that he and John McDonnell were happy to compromise on the Labour manifesto is sign in itself they are looking to build a broad inclusive Labour Party that supports "the many, not the few." The ball is now in the court of the center-left of the Party to reciprocate, but with this recent success I suspect they will and that's a good thing all around.
Corbyn is an ideologue; no argument there but that he and John McDonnell were happy to compromise on the Labour manifesto is sign in itself they are looking to build a broad inclusive Labour Party that supports "the many, not the few." The ball is now in the court of the center-left of the Party to reciprocate, but with this recent success I suspect they will and that's a good thing all around.
It says: So why not salute her gutsy decision to carry on? The problem is twofold. First, Mrs. May explicitly framed the election — which she was not obliged to call when she did — as a test of her leadership, character and credentials to negotiate a good Brexit deal with the European Union.
That's the first. What's the second?
That's the first. What's the second?
22
"Worse, Mrs. May has failed to acknowledge the scale of what has happened, or even that it has happened at all. Whatever one thinks of Mr. Corbyn’s credentials and record, he tapped into a popular anger and a yearning for change, as the Brexiteers and Mr. Trump did. He understood how to achieve emotional resonance and, most impressively, inspired young people to vote."
The UK election favoring Corbyn was never an "emotional decision". It was a perfectly logical reaction to the actual past actions and the stated ongoing policies of the Tory government.
The authors elitist view of intelligent working classes (in any nation) being happy recipients of the ravages of excessive internal and globally unrestrained capitalism is completely upside down. While the growing income inequality internally in nations can be partially alleviated by governmental controls and fair taxation, the global controls are non-existent.
The UK population is sick and tired of enforced austerity in all public services, along with static fixed incomes, while businesses and the upper class enjoy record breaking wealth. To see the government continue to let off foreign corporations raking in obscene UK profits, while they contribute only pittances in UK taxes, just adds fuel to flames.
Slipping in constant merely "emotional" propaganda criticisms of Mr Corbyn wherever possible in the article, removes all independent thoughtful credibility. He was the man with the right answers. Period.
The authors elitist view of intelligent working classes (in any nation) being happy recipients of the ravages of excessive internal and globally unrestrained capitalism is completely upside down. While the growing income inequality internally in nations can be partially alleviated by governmental controls and fair taxation, the global controls are non-existent.
The UK population is sick and tired of enforced austerity in all public services, along with static fixed incomes, while businesses and the upper class enjoy record breaking wealth. To see the government continue to let off foreign corporations raking in obscene UK profits, while they contribute only pittances in UK taxes, just adds fuel to flames.
Slipping in constant merely "emotional" propaganda criticisms of Mr Corbyn wherever possible in the article, removes all independent thoughtful credibility. He was the man with the right answers. Period.
184