The UK political thread (formerly independence thread)

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

If May has to give them a ministerial post for their 10 seats then let's hope it's not health, culture, environment or energy. They'll fuck up anything they touch but those are the departments you especially don't want fundamentalist christians running.

[Bizza]

Tories throwing in with that lot after all the shit that got thrown at Corbyn for his supposed terrorist links. Fucking hypocrites. Can't wait to see how the Daily Mail spin this.

[houston4044]

May has really got to stop banging on about stability, it was laughable before but now it's just ridiculous.

One brightside of all this that hopefully a fox hunting vote is off the table now.

[Soze]

I would like to congratulate Theresa May on a quite remarkable achievement. I hate her today more than I did yesterday and before. Really didn't think that was possible!!

[VizardAmata]

DUP in power... what a fucking nightmare. The thought of what May has promised those loonies is quite frightening.

[Haldamir319]

How long do we give this 'agreement' between the Tories and DUP?

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Probably quite a while, the DUP have backed nearly every decision that the Conservatives have made over the last few years anyway, particularly as concerns austerity. They are also fully behind a hard brexit thanks to some tactical large party donations, and are even more corrupt (look up the DUP's renewable heating incentive scandal to see what I mean.) They're a match made in hell.

Where it may fall down is if the DUP demand a return to direct rule for Northern Ireland. Since the assembly election a few months ago Sinn Fein are only one seat behind DUP as the largest party, and they no longer have then numbers required to veto legislation on gay marriage etc. So since the election they've been intentionally dragging their feet and sabotaging the negotiations intended to get the assembly back to work, in the hope that devolution will end and we will be returned to direct rule from Whitehall.

The only thing is, under direct rule the courts would eventually have to rule that women in NI must have the same access to abortion as in England and Wales, gay marriage would available here etc. Not at all what the DUP want to happen.

So the way I see it the DUP's support will probably be stringent on having the Tories allowing them to continue keeping Northern Ireland as their own personal fiefdom separate from the law of the land in the UK, yet suspending the assembly so as to not allow Sinn Fein and the other parties to democratically overrule them.

This exposes the biggest irony of modern unionism: the claim of loyalty to Britain and soon it seems to be part of their government, but also the desire to be exempt from those pesky modern British laws like equal rights. So while the DUP are going into this probably thinking that they can coax the Tories into rolling back on gay marriage and restricting abortion etc. the opposite will probably be true. The weight of public opinion against the DUP's backwardness will hopefully force Northern Ireland into line legally with the rest of the UK, into the 20th century.

Interesting times ahead anyway.

[Gandalf the Red]

Who has suddenly voted labour on the forum after the election?





As far as I'm concerned it's the same old thing no matter who won.

[VizardAmata]

Probably quite a while, the DUP have backed nearly every decision that the Conservatives have made over the last few years anyway, particularly as concerns austerity. They are also fully behind a hard brexit thanks to some tactical large party donations, and are even more corrupt (look up the DUP's renewable heating incentive scandal to see what I mean.) They're a match made in hell.

Where it may fall down is if the DUP demand a return to direct rule for Northern Ireland. Since the assembly election a few months ago Sinn Fein are only one seat behind DUP as the largest party, and they no longer have then numbers required to veto legislation on gay marriage etc. So since the election they've been intentionally dragging their feet and sabotaging the negotiations intended to get the assembly back to work, in the hope that devolution will end and we will be returned to direct rule from Whitehall.

The only thing is, under direct rule the courts would eventually have to rule that women in NI must have the same access to abortion as in England and Wales, gay marriage would available here etc. Not at all what the DUP want to happen.

So the way I see it the DUP's support will probably be stringent on having the Tories allowing them to continue keeping Northern Ireland as their own personal fiefdom separate from the law of the land in the UK, yet suspending the assembly so as to not allow Sinn Fein and the other parties to democratically overrule them.

This exposes the biggest irony of modern unionism: the claim of loyalty to Britain and soon it seems to be part of their government, but also the desire to be exempt from those pesky modern British laws like equal rights. So while the DUP are going into this probably thinking that they can coax the Tories into rolling back on gay marriage and restricting abortion etc. the opposite will probably be true. The weight of public opinion against the DUP's backwardness will hopefully force Northern Ireland into line legally with the rest of the UK, into the 20th century.

Interesting times ahead anyway.

I hope you're right. I am genuinely afraid of the DUP sending this country back into the dark ages.

[Metalchemyst]

One good thing that's come from this election is the reduction in SNP seats. Sturgeon needed bringing down a peg.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

Here's some handy flashcards/Top Trumps for those who want to acquaint yourself with the characters who may be extracting concessions from Theresa May in the very near future.

https://www.facebook.com/maimkillrepeat/posts/10158923977220220

[houston4044]

Have to snigger at the Tories who played the election as a "vote Labour and be beholden to the SNP" and come out of it beholden to the DUP.

So do we change the poll to one of "how long can May hold on?"

[Tet]

Why would it fail? With the support of the DUP, it would need a Conservative back bench revolt to fail to pass. And while I'm quite sure there are plenty of back benchers that want to see May gone, they're also quite aware that stabbing her in the back quite so soon would lead to a Corbyn government. No, I suspect she'll be allowed to continue until things have settled down a bit. Expect a leadership challenge (and almost certainly a new election) in 6-8 months.

[Gandalf the Red]

I agree with Tet.

The losers are seeming a bit desperate now.

Emily Thornberry saying that May is a "Squatter" when she was one of the ones that propped up the Gordon Brown Government. She was also the one that took the piss out of working class people who watched football, drank beer and had a "white van".

[Haldamir319]

Yeah, with the DUP onside they have enough votes to carry the Queen's Speech.

I'm not sure how long May lasts. There's some talk of the EU delaying negotiations by a year. If that happens, I could see it being prior to the amended kick-off - so that there's no unneeded distractions from the negotiation process. If not... then they may let her stay to oversee the whole thing.