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But the Tory concessions on tax relief, the referendum on the voting system, the fixed-term parliament etc, IS progressive. Sure, they may not be as progressive as you would like but if you think the current Tory-led government can make the changes that were made under Thatcher, for instance, then you're mistaken. Give them a chance before wishing them to fail. There is an awful lot at stake here.
It's just an expression of preference. I'm entitled to continue being critical of the Conservative party, I don't have to start liking them now they are in government. Of course I am hopeful that they won't be as bad as I fear, and will watch with interest. But I don't see why I shouldn't continue to believe that the Tories are ultimately bad for the country - why would I now change my mind about that because they happen to have got into government?
If the overriding concern is to 'sort out the economy', why oh why did they put that useless idiot Osborne in charge?? Genuine facepalm moment.
I'm surprised the Lib Dems put up with an ultra rabid eurosceptic like William Hague as Foreign Secretary. It'll be interesting to see what the agreement on EU policy will be, given that Hague is the kind of man who checks for EU flags under his bed every night before going to sleep.
I guess it was inevitable that Liam Fox was going to get a post somewhere. Given the very, very right wing stance of the man, I guess he will do far less damage in the Defence post than others. We'd all be fucked if he gets put in charge of Health, Education or Welfare...
Pleased to see Vincent Cable in charge of Business and Banking, and Chris Huhne in charge of Environment and Climate Change. That's bound to get some climate change denialists in the Tory party well pissed off
I agree. My own view is that we are seeing a continuation of the trend that started under Blair - an end to old fashioned Left v Right politics. Blair was considered quite right-wing in terms of traditional Labour. Cameron is considered to be more left-wing than previous Conservative leaders.
What I am glad to see is that a lot of the members of Cameron's cabinet (both Conservative and LibDem) have real business experience behind them, rather than being career politicians.
I kinda gutted they didn't put a Tory as the minister for Scotland though. Just for a laugh to see their reaction.
Looking at the voting map on the Beeb, it looks like most of England went Tory with Labour getting lots of Scotland, Wales and some of the north of England. Even so, the Tories did get the most votes.
Yes the electoral system is not wholly just but you can hardly blame the Tories for that. Labour came into power in 1997 on a ticket of, amongst other things, electoral reform. Who'd have thought that, all these years later, that they'd have the prescience to know that it would be that very system that would nearly keep them in power.
And they're not all Etonians - Osbourne went to Westminster (as did Nick Clegg incidentally...). What a frightful oik
I don't think its odd. Even if there had been a Lib/Lab pact under Brown, I would have hoped that they would have succeeded for the well being of the country. Hoping that the current coalition would fail would mean far more economic uncertainty. Of course I wouldn't expect you to become a Tory - or Lib Dem for that matter - but there is more to our current situation that petty politics. And what you write appears to indicate that the Tories are in a position to do anything that they like (which would understandably play to your fears). But they have to bring the Lib Dems along with them. I would have thought the Lib Dems would have been your second choice after Labour? If so, I am quite certain that the Lib Dems will ultimately rein in any major Tory plans that 'progressives' would find distasteful. So my point is, 'okay - maybe this isn't my idea of the ideal scenario but good luck to them in getting the country back up and running'.
Incidentally, on current information, it looks like "New Politics" = all white, all male cabinet. Hurrah.
ETA: Just seen that Theresa May has been given the Home Office, so it's not all male. Will be interesting to see the eventual make up of the Cabinet though.
Oh, not blaming the Tories for the electoral system. Labour were in office for 13 years and had plenty of opportunity to change it.
For an interesting graphical depiction of the way the country voted, look at the map here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/
On the face of it it looks pretty blue, but if you click to change the view to Proportional rather than Geographic, it's a lot less blue, and not much at all in the North. I don't dispute the numbers of the votes involved obviously, but you can see that people in the South East, who are more prosperous and affluent than the rest of the country, have voted in a Conservative government which the rest of us have to live under.
The little finger has already been placed in the huge huge crack in the dam.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aikAcd.kgOIY&pos=9
Word to the wise: stay clear of the dam
Nothing contradictory when you write it like that. In those words, I agree with you.
Meh, regional affiliations have always been there. I could say that I resented being governed for 13 years by Northerners, Scots and equality fascists but I guess it's the fairest system we have. It's not going to please everyone. Not until I'm proclaimed supreme dictator, then it'll be off to the saltmines for the lot of you
ETA: Equality fascists. Now there's a bemusing ideal. Is that an oxymoron? :chin:
We shall now see what Cameron is really made of. If he's going to be a Prime Minister with conviction and guts, I may just be able to admit I was wrong in my initial predictions. And for those people who think I'm secretly a Tory - if he's a Prime Minister who is opportunistic and gutless, I shall view him with exactly the same recalcitrance and contempt with whom I viewed the previous occupant of that office.
As for you, Gordon Brown - good riddance to you, you utter, utter cunt.
You know what I mean by equality fascists
Yes PR would be fairer, however it does remove the important aspect of FPTP which is the constituency system. While PR may be the best
way to determine who runs the UK as a whole, FPTF does insure regional representation. Most MPs barely appear on the radar of Westminster and national affairs, yet remain excellent constituency MPs who dilligently serve the needs of their consitutencies. A quick look at Wiki says that the longest serving MP prior to this election (he stepped down in April) was a chap called Alan Williams, who was Labour MP for Swansea West from 1964 to 2010 though hasn't held a cabinet position since the 70s. Undoubtedly a great local MP otherwise the folk of Swansea wouldn't have kept electing him. I guess every system has its pros and cons.
Incidentally, I'm glad that the coalition is made up of the two parties who both oppose the third runway at Heathrow. Living under the flightpath in SW London, this pleases me.
AV Top Up, which was recommended by the Jenkins Commission, combines the MP constituency tie with proportionality. The difficulty with this system is that it might create two categories of MPs. But it shows the possibility is there.
I'd be interested to see what reforms they do propose though (if anything). FPTP has its drawbacks but hey, we could have the electoral college system...
*sighs*
At least we'll not have to hear 'Prime Mentalist' or 'one-eyed Scottish cunt' quite as much. Though I suspect stocks in the oh-so-witty 'Cleggover' are about to sky-rocket.
You are a bloody legend.
Oh yes, and why is saying "good riddance" to the previous PM (that apparently makes me "profoundly bitter", to use the words of our resident Spaniard) such a bad thing?
I think I just blushed.
Because, if Gordon Brown, for all his faults, qualifies as an 'utter, utter cunt', then there must be hundreds of people in Westminster alone who should be described, according to your scale, as utter, utter, utter, utter cunts x 1000.
Nothing wrong with disliking Brown. But your irrational hatred and phobia of him is, frankly, as inexplicable as is comical. And your constant personal attacks regarding his physical apparence and health are quite nauseating, to be honest.
However the constant mocking of Brown's blindness and alledged mental health breakdowns I find rather uncalled for.