Rishi Sunak's United Kingdom

[lenaitch]

The leadership race rules are out for the next Conservative leader, who will automatically be PM next week
Yes, that's right, next week. They are doing this that fast. The vote will be October 28th. Candidates literally have this weekend to gear up and run and that's it. Aslo to be nominated you must have signatures of unique support from 100 current Conservative MPs (ie. MPs can't support more than one candidate). Right now the Conservatives have 356 MPs in Parliament, meaning the maximum possible number of candidates is three, though some are saying getting even two to cross that 100 line will be difficult as there's so many splintered factions and some candidates have only around 80-90 possible MPs to support them.

Either way, this is get some popcorn material for the next seven days. It's going to be bloody.

What do they do - set up one less chair than the number of candidates then play music?

Watch Charles has to step up the plate and either dissolve parliament or appoint a PM.

Dissolve parliament and force an election is probably an option, but I'm not fully up on the exercise of reserve power in a Constitutional Monarchy. Labour is the official opposition but even if you add up all the other seats, they don't come close to the Conservatives, so no other party can claim they 'enjoy the confidence of the House.

They are starting to look like some banana republic.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Dissolve parliament and force an election is probably an option, but I'm not fully up on the exercise of reserve power in a Constitutional Monarchy.

Charles can dissolve parliament only at the request of the PM. That’s the rules.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Charles can dissolve parliament only at the request of the PM. That’s the rules.

And if there is no PM? Would King Charles III be in "charge"?

 

[Admiral Beez]

And if there is no PM? Would King Charles III be in "charge"?

There’s always a PM. The baton gets passed not dropped. Truss is PM until someone else is.

 

[Richard White]

And if there is no PM? Would King Charles III be in "charge"?

*Oliver Cromwell enters the chat*

 

[lenaitch]

*Oliver Cromwell enters the chat*

No he doesn't. Cromwell's rise to Lord Protector of a republican England was the result of his military action and a vacuum in the ruling royalty that he exploited (or caused, depending on who you believe).

This is the peaceful transition of government power; although admittedly a rather abrupt one. If there is a vacuum, it's on the political side of the equation, but the ruling government has 357 choices to pick from.

 

[Richard White]

No he doesn't. Cromwell's rise to Lord Protector of a republican England was the result of his military action and a vacuum in the ruling royalty that he exploited (or caused, depending on who you believe).

This is the peaceful transition of government power; although admittedly a rather abrupt one. If there is a vacuum, it's on the political side of the equation, but the ruling government has 357 choices to pick from.

Yes but it was Charles the 1st that decided to tell Parliament how to do their job. That lead to Oliver Cromwell partaking in the English Civil War and the eventual overthrow of the monarchy.

It is because Charles the 1st told Parliament how to do their job that the crown is no longer allowed in the house of commons.

 

[lenaitch]

Live coverage of the UK Conservative Party selecting their new leader.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1582987013845721090

 

[Northern Light]

Post Truss polling data is out...........and the UK Tories seem headed for trouble on a Kathleen Wynne scale, or worse.

Labour 53%
Cons 14%
Lib Dems 11%
Greens 6%
SNP 5%

 

[W. K. Lis]

 

[lenaitch]

Post Truss polling data is out...........and the UK Tories seem headed for trouble on a Kathleen Wynne scale, or worse.

Labour 53%
Cons 14%
Lib Dems 11%
Greens 6%
SNP 5%

Our Liberals suffered the fate of any political party long in power; hubris and the 'bad fish' syndrome. The UK Conservatives topped that off with an astounding display of internal incompetence. Truss couldn't even outlast a head of lettuce.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/world/europe/liz-truss-lettuce-stream.html

 

[MisterF]

Live coverage of the UK Conservative Party selecting their new leader.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1582987013845721090

They're not done yet.

 

[Richard White]

They're not done yet.

Nooo.. this sums it up better.

 

[Northern Light]

And....lets all give a warm welcome to the UK's newest PM, and .....first Billionaire PM? (depending on which currency you measure in, on what date)....Rishi Sunak.

(estimated net worth 730 million British Pounds)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/britain-conservaties-sunak-1.6626988

 

[Northern Light]

Now for something different.

A popular sports broadcaster (Gary Lineker) was pulled from the air by BBC on Friday due to his criticism of the Sunak governments new policy on asylum seekers on social media (twitter).

The BEEBs argument is that it interfered with their mandate to be non-partisan, even though the comment did not come on a BBC platform, did not air, nor is he in the News division.

Well, Mr.Lineker is a popular fellow and this move managed to royally tick off his fellow sports presenters, who all summarily refused to work on Saturday (today) causing BBC to axe most of its sports coverage all day.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bbc-lineker-britain-migrants-1.6776069