UK General ELection 7 May 2015

[Stavros]

Some interesting figures from the new House of Commons:

650 MPs

Women
191, 29% of the total
-compared to US House of Representatives -435 seats: 84 or 19.3%, of which Republicans are 22, Democrat 62;
or Sweden =45%.
By Party
Conservative Party -68
Labour Party -99
SNP -20

Openly LGBT
32 *highest number of openly LGBT legislators in the world, but accurate global figures are hard to come by.
Labour -13
Conservative 12
SNP -7
There were a total of 155 openly LGBT candidates in the 2015 election, most of them Conservative Party candidates.
-comparisons: openly LGBT in the US House of Representatives -5.

Non-White MPs
42, or 6.6%
compared to the US House of Representatives -85 or 27%

apologies for any wrong figures, and a) I have not compared the numbers of women MPs with their % share of the population, ditto LGBT and non-white legislators.

[Stavros]

Something else has occurred to me as I join some more dots from the election results.

Sinn Fein (f.1905) now has elected MPs in the UK House of Commons (but they do not take their seats); elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, elected MEP's in the European Parliament, elected Deputies in the Dail Eireann -the lower house of the Irish Parliament, and members who sit in the upper house or Seanad Eireann (Senate). I cannot think of another political party that has elected representatives in two different countries, and five different legislatures. Perhaps someone will tell me if there is.

[rodinuk]

Pickles gets a knighthood would you believe

[martin48]

For those that don't know this gentleman, he's the one on the right

[Laphroaig]

Alternatively...

[flabbybody]

off topic, the disturbing image out of the UK that made American media was Charles shaking hands with the person who is more or less the face of 1970's terrorism

[Stavros]

Putting the past behind us, moving forward in a spirit of reconciliation....

[rodinuk]

...The idea of Labour being progressive is now close to absurd, it is terrified of being different on a wide range of issues, which is why UKIP appeals to those voters who feel the two main parties -as with Democrats and Republicans in the US- are just two versions of the same party with some minor differences on social policy, and when it comes to abortion and gay marriage, there isn't much to choose between Labour and the Tories. What does 'progressive' even mean in the 21st century?

Might like to revisit that question now that Jeremy Corbyn/Tom Watson are the new leadership pairing for the Labour party....

[peejaye]

Best thing to happen to the Labour party for 25 years or more. It's a great day for ordinary working people. Of course, the "privileged" amongst us will disagree!
YOU people have had it to good for too long!

Watch out for the "new" Trade union laws to be announced on Monday by the "nasty party".

[Stavros]

Originally Posted by Stavros
...The idea of Labour being progressive is now close to absurd, it is terrified of being different on a wide range of issues, which is why UKIP appeals to those voters who feel the two main parties -as with Democrats and Republicans in the US- are just two versions of the same party with some minor differences on social policy, and when it comes to abortion and gay marriage, there isn't much to choose between Labour and the Tories. What does 'progressive' even mean in the 21st century?
Might like to revisit that question now that Jeremy Corbyn/Tom Watson are the new leadership pairing for the Labour party....

-I see no reason to change my position, as I have no confidence in Tom and Jerry and what so far is their incoherent platform. In the particular case of Jerry, I think that he has issues which must be on the agenda but which he may not be able to take as far as he wants, and it relates to both the UK situation and the internal decision-making machinery of the Labour Party. Here are some interesting issues that come with Corbyn:

1) The hysterical reactions to the 'return to the 1980s' does beg two crucial questions, on party democracy and on Europe:
-Corbyn, as a long time supporter of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy [CPLD] must want to restore the Labour Party Conference as the supreme policy making body of the party, as it was before first Kinnock and then Blair cut off its balls so that it became an annual feel-good rally with no policy making powers. Policy being made by a small elite around the party leader/PM and his advisers has been one of the key factors since 1997 which has alienated many party members, but how does Corbyn intend to restore powers to Conference given that it would be one way of maintaining the interest of the new membership, but given the old questions over the Unions having, or not having a block vote? I am not sure how he will be able to change the rules on this. Clause 4 is another issue but at this stage not as important as Conference.
-In the 1975 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Economic Community [these days the EU] Corbyn voted for the UK to leave and with most of the labour left, led by Michael Foot and Tony Benn, maintained this position (regardless of the actual vote in 1975) all the way through to the historic vote at Conference in 1981 which made leaving the EU Labour Party policy. In theory Corbyn has since changed his position -but has he? Dianne Abbott on Radio 4 yesterday lunchtime insisted that Corbyn wants the UK to remain in the EU, but in fact up until this weekend, his position was conditional on Cameron's negotiations on EU reform not giving away workers rights, environmental protection, and a guarantee to crack down on 'Brussels-backed' tax havens -with no knowing what his position is on TTIP; which means that it is still possible that Corbyn will campaign for the UK to leave the EU in the next referendum.

2) Changes to British politics beg the question: how will Corbyn win back lost Labour votes?
-Boundary changes this Parliament should see the number of constituencies reduced from 650 to 600, but while the SNP may be at its zenith, how many seats in Scotland -if Scotland remains in the UK over the next 10 years- does Labour need to get back -surely a minimum of 30?- and how will Labour win back seats in England where in the current format it needs at least 100 without being handed the gift of a civil war in the Tory Party over Europe?
-Indeed, the potential for the referendum on Europe to damage both Labour and the Tories makes the populist idea that Corbyn is tapping into a new radicalism look attractive -as window dressing, but as Corbyn has nothing new to say about politics or the economy, I suspect that when the voters go inside the shop, they will find that there is nothing worth buying.
-Fundamental to Corbyn's project is to move the 'centre ground' of British politics to 'the left', to re-shape the debate on housing, education, health and foreign policy but it isn't clear how he is going to do this or if he can succeed if his policy alternatives do not look practicable. The mere fact that he is likely to raise taxes and use quantitive easing to fund his policies must surely be insane if as expected interest rates begin to rise over the next 18 months.

In sum we have:
a) an ambiguous position on the UK's membership of the EU;
b) an as yet to be defined position on Labour Party democracy;
c) no new or exciting policies on the economy, housing, education, health, the environment or foreign policy with no serious thought as to their costs;
d) political baggage -Northern Ireland, Israel and the Palestinians, the Falkland Islands, nuclear disarmament- which suggests Corbyn is intellectually as weak as many other MPs (albeit for different reasons), exposing the extent to which the current generation of politicians is the least inspiring we have had for more than a generation.

The Labour Party is a broken party, Tom and Jerry cannot fix it. It is doomed. It doesn't get my vote, and will never get my vote again.