I've been yelling at CNN all evening, demanding that they stop building up fake suspense about Boris Johnson's no-confidence vote in Parliament. There was no way his party was going to chuck him out.
Which they didn't. But I admit it was closer than I counted on—though this hardly matters to a guy like BoJo. He could win by one vote and he'd declare it a massive victory and a mandate for his enduring leadership.
I'll confess something, though: I kind of enjoy watching this stuff. It comforts me slightly that there's at least one other country that's as bollixed up as we are.
Some folks were even speculating that he might have deliberately provoked it, since apparently he then can't be hit with one for another year.
Not that he was in threat either way. There's just nobody else with his base of support in the Conservative Party, and until he loses big in a general election he's still a "winner".
Wow, that's a take that must have come from someone who didn't watch the last several times someone "won" a vote of confidence.
since apparently he then can't be hit with one for another year.
Absent a rules change that is correct. People have been "confidently" predicting Johnson's demise for the past year. He has a habit of inconveniently interfering with these confident predictions. Moreover, the country may well not get its next general election until January, 2025. It's entirely possible the UK economy will be on the mend by then, and (you heard it here) Boris Johnson's premiership will continue.*
*(For similar reasons the gleeful predictions of Joe Biden's eminent defeat might similarly be misplaced. A lot can happen in 2.5 years!)
BoJo is s Netanyahu is a bad wig.
Prove me wrong.
If 35 or 40, not sure of the exact number but somewhere in that range, Tories wanted to get rid of him bad enough, Labour could call a vote of no confidence in the House and collapse the Government. Problem solved.
In fact it is Britain's fault because almost all the pathologies in the US are mutated metastasized versions of the ones in Britain. Which is one reason why I wish France had won the Napoleonic Wars. They have some serious serious issues too but not quite as bad as the Anglos.
In fact it is Britain's fault because almost all the pathologies in the US are mutated metastasized versions of the ones in Britain. Which is one reason why I wish France had won the Napoleonic Wars. They have some serious serious issues too but not quite as bad as the Anglos.
Seems wrong.
By any reasonable global measure, Britain is a wealthy, high-functioning country with a perfectly sound political system (and vastly cleaner politics as well as infinitely more robust voting rights than the United States). I personally think Brits were mad to give up EU membership, mind you, but the failure of half of a foreign country's voters to agree with me on an issue that directly affects them is proof of approximately nothing.
Moreover, a number of states whose constitutions closely follow the UK model—Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland come to mind—are global models of good governance and lofty levels of prosperity and human development. So much for the "bad" Anglos.
The better alternative history to pine for is the one where the Red Coats snuff out the rebellion, slavery is abolished shortly thereafter, 700,000 American deaths are prevented in the 1860s, Jim Crow never happens, and the America of 2022 enjoys sane gun laws and universal healthcare (more or less a very large Canada with warmer weather).
if the brits were the enlightened rulers you seem to think they were, there never would have been a revolution in the first place.
I don't think governance in the UK is (or was) particularly "enlightened." I just think the Westminster system works a lot better than America's own Madisonian clusterfuck. (Sane gun laws and national slavery are good!).
"Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland come to mind—are global models of good governance and lofty levels of prosperity and human development. So much for the "bad" Anglos."
These countries had horrible authoritarian lockdowns and no longer value free speech. Definitely, the bad Anglos.
You are misinformed on the subject of free speech, and the great majority of Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders disagree with your choice of adjectives to describe the anti-covid measures that were taken.
The left in Anglo countries have demonstrated once again how little they know about science with their imaginary "anti-Covid" measures.
The U.S. is the only Anglo country with free speech even though the left is probably going to succeed in getting rid of that within a decade.
The growing hostility toward the press on the part of one of the country's two governing parties undermines the reality of free speech in America.
Come on, what? He's permanently wounded in a way that would be inconceivable in the US. He did worse than Theresa May and she was gone in 6 months.
We can't concieve of it but even the tory base dislikes him and won't come out for him.
Johnson won yes but what this means for the future is that there are enough Tories to sink the government if there was a full no-confidence vote in Parliament if they really wanted to get rid of him.
The problem is, you can't beat something with nothing and right now there is no one else in party of any stature who can step up to sieze the reigns of power from Johnson and he knows this as well as anyone. It may well be for the next two years he'll look to cut the nuts off any would-be challenger until his political fortunes improve.
He's permanently wounded in a way that would be inconceivable in the US.
Inconceivable? I don't think this is remotely true. In the UK system prime ministers (and party leaders) are regularly driven from power between elections. It's virtually impossible to drive an American president from office—even a gravely wounded one—absent an election. Indeed, it's only happened once in 230+ years.
I think you have it exactly backwards: it's inconceivable that, say, a Prime Minister Trump would have survived the Russia scandal that lead to impeachment procedings (had that affair transpired under the Westminster system).
Meant to add: needless to say the virtual impossibility of forcing a change in political leadership when the country would clearly benefit from doing so is one of our Madisonian system's myriad, glaring deficiencies.
Conservatives looked around the room and thought, "Ehhhhh, I wouldn't vote for any of us; I guess he'll do."
Wow. Don't know much about British politics, do you? That was a terrible result for Johnson. He had to win that overwhelmingly to have any hope of survival, and he didn't. He'd finished, maybe not immediately, but pretty soon. My guess is that if the Conservatives get clobbered in the upcoming by-elections, Johnson will resign, either willingly or forced to by the Cabinet.
I agree. As a UK citizen and International Labour Party member I (of course) want him gone but I also know Conservative MP are absolutely ruthless about getting rid of a PM if they think he will prevent them getting re-elected. Johnson was thought of asan asset in the next elestion and now he clearly isn't so he will be gone soon.
" It comforts me slightly that there's at least one other country that's as bollixed up as we are."
it's wonderful what the Murdoch press can do to a polity..
I think that we've got it much worse than you. Because although we too still use first-past-the-post as our electoral system, we have four (or five depending on how you count it) viable parties.
This means that no government in any sort of modern history has received more than 50% of the vote (apart from the one time we tried a coalition) and many will win a large majority on the back of only around 40% (or worse - in 2005 the Labour party won a majority with barely 35%.)
The US still notionally has only two parties, although I accept that third-parties have had an effect on Presidential elections. In the UK we now have two other parties routinely getting 10% national support (and the SNP are a special case), which completely screws with everything.
Once you factor in the issue that the Tories now have a baseline of 30% (due to Brexit and racism mostly), they really don't need to do much to win by comparison to any of the other parties.
Having said that, we're also getting more and more effective at 'tactical' voting. There are two by-elections due in a couple of weeks, both currently held by the Tories. One is going to go massively Labour; the other has a decent chance of going to the LibDems (one of those small parties) because the two parties have tacitly agreed not to campaign in each other's target seats, and the voters know where to go.
Come a General Election, mind, and all bets are off. Although I am very tempted to put money on a Labour majority of >100.
Republicans are going to drag us into fascism with like 27% of the population. We are in much shittier shape I assure you.
Allende died after getting only a slightly more durable victory for International Socialism in Chile. (Seriously: his great triumph was a lesser plurality percentage than either Jesse "the Mind" Ventura or Paul Le Page ever got.)
A pity Fuhrer Hawley won't suicide by machine gun like Ol' Sally.
“…many will win a large majority on the back of only around 40%…”
Happens in the US Senate all the time. Republicans often seize control of it with well less than 50% of the national vote total. And now we’re entering an era in which Republicans increasingly win the White House too with smaller and smaller pluralities of the national vote.
"He could win by one vote and he'd declare it a massive victory and a mandate for his enduring leadership."
Closer to home a guy lost the election by 74 Electoral College votes and declared a massive victory. What are we doing about him?
Hoping he follows his fellow Lestermaddox Democrat John Fetterman down the myocardial infarction path.
"He's got fabulous genes. He could live to be 150!"
It comforts me slightly that there's at least one other country that's as bollixed up as we are.
A failed leadership challenge in your mind equates to twice daily gun massacres, millions without healthcare, regular episodes of attempts to sabaotage the nation's credit, and muscular efforts by the opposition party to persuade people not to get vaccinated?
Really?
Britain has its share of political dysfunction, to be sure—maybe beyond that which is typical for wealthy European countries. But the US is in a class by itself. And then some.
Kevin is comfortable, therefore Kevin is happy just following politics like it was sports.
He's a Reagan Democrat like his hero Liz Warren!
Kevin likes what's become of the country over the last 40 years!
No Reagan Democrat I know of wants to impose a wealth tax.
I don't follow British politics as closely as I could, but aside from holding parties in flagrant breach of covid regulations, BoJo doesn't seem that horrible. Mind you, I'm not saying that he's been a good prime minister, but he is certainly no Trump, or even close.
Agreed. And the Conservative Party doesn't engage in nearly the degree of criminal lunacy that characterizes the Republicans. For all I know maybe the Tories would be just as bad if they could get away with it—but British constitutional norms and political culture get in the way (I couldn't say for sure). But clearly things are a lot more benign there compared to the Dante-esque shitshow that governance in the United States has become.
Boris was fired from the Times as a young reporter for lying to much , he was excelling in producing fake news before fake news was invented
Boris was against Brexit until he figured out his career would benefit from being a brexiter . Fake news was widely used in the campaign but Boris was the master of it since he had practiced lying in his whole life
I am definitely leaning left and aren’t that much for conservative parties but the Tories used to be just another European such but turned into a joke lead by a clown in a very short time.
BoJo has succeeded not to let the effects of Brexit hit the Britts with full power yet but that will happen . The Conservatives are polling disastrously already and it will get worse. Little Boris will be out… soon.
Unfortunately, being a UK Citizen, it is bad to learn he`s still in power . (Wonder how much in commission ££££££££££ he spent ?) .
Bollocksed.
"It comforts me slightly that there's at least one other country that's as bollixed up as we are."
Comforts you?
Two of the world's long standing liberal democracies are eating themselves from within--with likely encouragement from adversarial governments--and you find it comforting?
You're getting jaded in your old age, Kev.