General British politics discussion thread

The idea of subtracting FPTP wins from the list section is intended to make the overall result proportional. This is why in Glasgow the SNP got zero list seats. In 2021 they did such a clean sweep of constituencies they only got two top-up seats in total.

I am surprised there has been no serious attempt to game the system though. In regions where massive over-representation in the FPTP section makes it practically impossible to win any top-ups the list vote becomes in a sense almost pointless. I thought a load of SNP list vote would bleed off to Alba but it did not happen.

I see Suella Braverman is setting out her stall in Washington. Seems like the problem is that, according to her, the Conservatives were almost too woke and things like the pride flag and unconscious bias training is the problem here. Not that you need the pride flag and unconscious bias training in modern times to make it a bit fairer for people, it's that they are allowed to be displayed and show the problems still prevalent in the world. She really seems a bit thick, like Sunak, to think that the people she appeals to will not throw her out of the country if she allowed them that power.

If the Conservative members think the solution is Braverman then they are doomed for even longer than I thought. You will not be able to even more populist or racist than Farage and all you will do is alienate the moderate Tory voters. Let us remember this is the same person that told people there would not be a Brexit divorce bill with absolute certainty and we know this was not true. Surely at this stage the biggest danger she presents is not to Labour but to the Conservatives. To think that she was Attorney General at some stage. Amazing to look back at how bad it was under Johnson.

It's a bold move, I'll give Braverman that.

While the headlines will rightly be about the anti-LGBT message of the speech, it acknowledges - like Truss has - that they were all completely useless in their jobs.

They had no control, no idea what was going on and why. This is from someone who wants to lead the party, and thus the country.

So useless was she that despite being in charge she was powerless.

IImagine hearing that in an interview from a prospective employee? It beggar's belief that these people are so brazen that they actually think calling out their own incompetence is a good thing.

It seems rather blindingly obvious that the Conservatives need to split into two parties at this stage. The gap between most "one nation" Tories and what even Baroness Warsi referred to as "toxic, mad fascists" when describing some of her Conservative Party colleagues seems an utterly impossible one to bridge. I do wonder if the only thing keeping them together is the perceived value of the brand of the party's name.

Lee Anderson proving yet again why he is unworthy of being an MP.

The Tory's may be the main party of the opposition, but in reality the Boris majority got split between them and Reform, and so in essence there's two separate political circuses in motion; the government and opposition, and the opposition against itself.

I'd imagine that Reform picked off a good lot of the those switched to Tory from Labour back in 2019.

There is opportunity for the Libdems to siphon more old Tory's by making the sensible business case for closer alignment to the EU, more so in with the backdrop of a contest between the Tory's and Reform for who can out loony the other.

It's explicitly a reference to skin colour.

Those engaging in childish attempts to pretend otherwise - just so they can engage in a bit of the behaviour that they'd condemn anyone else for - are the ones that need to grow up.

Why on earth do some people, who are generally otherwise sensible, think that lowering themselves to the same level of behaviour as Farage and his followers is something to be proud of?

It's not a whole lot different to people who try to apply the "angry black woman" trope to Diane Abbott.

If that's the type of person you want to emulate, then off you go.

I foresee that a resurgent Lib Dem party been the pathway back to EU membership, not the Labour party who will see it as a diversion to getting their agenda implemented.

The main fly in the ointment will be the constant cacophony from the billionaire backed Tory press which will never let up in their cheerleading for the millionaire class. They will be the siren call that will see the Tories rehabilitated without changing at all.