The UK voted and, as of late evening Pacific Time, Cameron is set to be returned as Prime Minister with an increased number of seats. Clegg is at risk of being made eligible for a return to the EU, I mean, lose his seat. It could have been much, much worse although I think that many Scots are in desperate need of psychiatric help. (Sheona, ColinB and John Mackie exempted from this)
Boadicea's Chariot 
*Sigh* Clegg has managed to survive. Bugger.
Indeed! We can expect proportional representation and England for the English to be the key issues! Bye bye, Wallace; don’t forget your gromit.
Janus: for better or worse I think that a federal arrangement is the only way forward for the UK. In a way I am happy that the SNP have gained as many seats as they have. Considering the quality of the candidates, now MPs, the fundamental mendacity of the party will become oh-so-apparent. By giving Scotland powers to raise its own revenues one can expect the Tories to improve their standing north of the Tweed the Tories will also likely improve their standing there as Scotland will no longer be removed from much of their funding. It will be amusing to see the SNP have to explain billion-pound shortfalls that England formerly happily paid.
And regional shifts in England will lead to demands for devolved powers to the large English conurbations. Meanwhile the SNP in Westminster are marooned without power!
Of course, Wee ‘Eck will blame Cameron for that — even though he and Sturgeon did much to alienate anyone sane. “A voice for Scotland” — as if putting England through 13 years of Tone MacRuin didn’t count for something.
I think that many powers should be devolved to local authorities so long as oversight is retained to prevent nepotism or abuse.
I’m all in favour of Scotland having its own tax-raising powers, tough though that will be on friends and family. I suspect Salmond is not a very happy haggis this morning. No shots to call. I’m going to Scotland next week. It will be interesting to see what my cousins have to say.
I was having blood taken in the surgery this morning when the news of Balls’ defeat came over the radio. A broad grin spread over my face, which I hastily turned away in case it upset the phlebotomist at a delicate moment.
The best bit, Ed Balls got the chop! Oooooh, Matron! 🙂
So will Hilary persuade Ed’s brother David to return to Labour back home?
Sheona: Salmond, and Sturgeon, have managed to have the worst of both worlds. They dominate Scottish politics in Edinburgh and London, but have no voice in government. They can now only scream, shout and be otherwise generally insufferable. At the same time, London will give Scotland the autonomy they have demanded. The hard core of SNP support will likely continue to blame Cameron and London for everything, but I think that the disconnect between the Scots Nazi Party rhetoric and reality will only grow — especially with their lovely new figures like Miss Black. The Fall of Balls made me laugh. We won’t have to suffer his hideous mug for the next 5 years.
Janus: I don’t think that either one will have much to say in politics since the name Miliband appears tarnished beyond redemption. I’d be quite happy if they chose someone sensible.
Something I look forward to with great anticipation. Now the slug has his own majority he can no longer pass off his watered down policies onto the limp dems. His own back benchers will be of far more account, tee hee! One wonders how he will try to wriggle out of the referendum now he no longer has a blubbing cleggover to blame? Likewise immigration. All sorts of nasty subjects are going to raise their ugly heads, may well be hoist by his own petard from his personal left wing take.
It really is outrageous that UKIP should have so many votes, over 3 million and no effective representation. time for PR methinks.
Not only balls denouement, but galloway too, one’s cup runneth over!!!
Apart from the initial euphoria at actually keeping the barbarians from the gates this morning, I anticipate some very rough times. I really don’t think the slug has it in him to make the reforms so desperately needed.
It is no point running a chummocracy which has happened the last five years with the insiders getting richer whilst impoverishing the state and those lower on the totem pole.
Does nothing for anyone long term.
First past the post is leaving too many under represented and resentful, not a good mixture for anywhere that purports to run a democracy. I do wish the UK could have plebiscites and write ins. would keep the bastard politicians a bit more in line and out of the trough. But a nice silver lining that quite a few have been detached from the public teat if only til they get their fancy EU jobs!
CO, do I detect some egalitarian thoughts?! I had you down for a benificent dictator kindagirl! 😳
Tina: Cameron will also have to come to terms with the likes of Johnson who is far more popular and once again in Parliament. I suspect that Cameron will manage things fairly well, however. You give him far too much credit for actually having a fixed ideology. Or even a flexible ideology, for that matter. He’s an ideological opportunist who poaches votes and support where, when and how he needs to in order to secure his own plum position. If the winds blow in a more conservative direction, he will bend in that general direction.
It seems inevitable at this point that the UK’s electoral boundaries will be reformed — so will its system of distributing votes. What I am also watching with bated anticipating is next year’s US general election. Depending on which party wins the presidency, an anti-EU Secretary of State could well be appointed!
I cannot pretend to be anything other than completely delighted with results.
And Ukip crying foul gains so sympathy whatsoever from me. We had the chance to vote on some sort of PR type system and the answer was no, and frankly, I cannot see that Cameron has the slightest interest in asking again.
It will be interesting to see how it works out without the Liberal Democrats in tow: hopefully it will be an improvement.
oops typo : No sympathy.
Araminta: it will be an improvement, even if it won’t be the best Tory government. Nick Clegg was, to his credit, sensible on matters economic but in all other matters he was a grating prima donna who insisted on being the tail that wagged the dog at every turn. The Tories can also count on the added support of the 10 Northern Irish DUP and UUP MPs who, more often than not, support the Tories.
Politics is after all the art of the possible and circumstances alter cases. The Tories should try to limit the intrusions of the EU into domestic affairs. Local demands for autonomy won’t go way.
Quite right, Christopher.
Janus: yes and we shall doubtless see where it goes.
Janus: a great irony for the UK is that many of its problems with the EU come from how EU law is applied by the British Government and British courts. On the continent, national civil law legal systems prevent the absurdities seen in the UK from being quite as prevalent. If EU laws contradict national laws, the EU law will be subordinated. That is why Spain, France, Germany and Italy while being seen as very “European” all observe EU diktats far more loosely than the UK. Even the UK Supreme Court (horrible bit of Labour hashery, that. The Law Lords were much nicer) The reality is that if the UK wanted to, it could unilaterally reduce the EU’s influence on domestic and foreign affairs by using precedents already established elsewhere. Not everything can be achieved, but it would be an improvement and as the EU gradually reduces itself to a parody of a union, it won’t be as big of a threat.
The EU, what’s not to like?
Unelected leadership. Gravy-train linking two HQs. Unaudited accounts. Politically biassed decisions in favour of inefficient industries. Laughable foreign policies..
Still don’t like the idea of a referendum?
Janus: I deeply dislike the EU and would prefer that it be abolished sensibly rather than have it collapse under the weight of its own contradictions causing even more chaos. What I meant is that there are ways to deal with it more effectively until an exit can be arranged or it simply makes itself an utter irrelevance.
Yes! ☺️
I think there is no point in Cameron wasting his time trying to negotiate anything with the EU. No promises will be kept, especially with France in the mix. Remember the simpleton Blair giving up part of Thatcher’s hard-won rebate for reforms to the CAP that have never happened. Let’s just go before the eurozone and then the EU collapse of their own accord.
Sheona, you may be right. I’m only afraid that if the UK rocks the boat the financial markets will penalise the FTSE and the Pound long before we can reap the benefits of leaving.
I’m slightly disgusted, but still amused, at how a potential British exit has been spun by the media. They make it seem as if the UK would be left with absolute no trade links to the continent and that billions would instantly be lost. This leaves out the fact that 2 years would, by convention, come to pass before the UK would formally be free of the EU and the EU would have to negotiate for favourable trade deals. Considering the size of the UK and the value of trade with it, some sort of arrangement would be worked out — especially since the Huns need the UK far more than the UK needs the Huns. The Huns are increasingly unwilling to listen to Froggish diktats. This must be done cautiously and sensibly.
I look forward to JM’s take on all this! (Come home soon.) 😊
I see the Glorious Peoples’ Labour Party and their fellow travellers responded to the result in their usual civilised way by rioting in Downing Street and defacing a war memorial. Where were Boris’s water cannons?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11595097/Police-officer-injured-as-anti-Tory-protesters-gather-outside-Downing-Street-and-Whitehall.html
A waste of good water though! 😀
Who’s going to bail out Scotland when they overspend the taxes they collect on new welfare handouts?
Janus: Well, they could load the cannons from the sewers, where most of these people belong.
Thinks look grim indeed for Scotland. The SNP haven’t received an additional power yet, but those of means are already planning an escape to Scotland’s Sassenach-infested neighbour or even Ireland.
….and big biz HQs inc the banks are on the move too.
I hope that Cameron keeps calm and doesn’t lead the SNP call the tune. It is easy to whip up frenzies for short-term political goals. Generally, they blow over after a time and the SNP are making such a brilliant hash of things that they will soon suffer the consequences of their own mismanagement.
Sturgeon seems to imagine that her 56 MPs are going to march into Westminster and start running things. Instead they will have to realise they are the new bugs and have a lot to learn.
I found the open disagreement between Sturgeon and Salmond to be most entertaining. They haven’t even arrived in London and the SNP’s internal divisions and contradictions are starting to emerge openly. Wait until they have to go through the Westminster sausage factory. Then they’ll really have fun. That’s the danger in having a party leader in Edinburgh and their most formidable parliamentarian — and former leader — in Westminster.
Q. to Sturgeon: Do the SNP support an EU referendum?
A. No, er…..maybe…..er…..y’mean for the UK’s or for Scotland’s membership?
Q. to Salmond: Ditto
A. How did Sturgeon answer? I disagree.
I am also chuffed that they will put the delightful Miss Black in their front benches! Perhaps she can rant about Scotch and what she cannae handle?