Published on 12, July, 2020
Do we need them, I think we do, I don't like the first past the post system and would like to see some form of PR,although I'm not sure which version yet.
I did find something I agreed with Jacob Rees Mogg about, not something that happens often, that a new PM should hold an election to get a mandate from the country. We had Truss and Sunak foisted on us, it's all very well sayiing that in a party system you vote for a party not a person, but when a new PM comes in mid term, they seem to rip up the manifesto of the previous incumbant and do something completely different that no body asked for. The idea that a small percentage of the population, those who are Tory Party members can foist their will on he rest of us is ridiculous, of course it could happen with any party, but it has happened with the Tories more recently and often.
I think reshuffles should be kept to a minimum too, ministers need about a year to really get to grips with their brief and start making changes, many are in place for about this time or less before being replaced by someone who has to go through the same process all over again. It dosen't lead to coherant management or policy.
Id like to see the second chamber reformed but I'm not sure how, I don't like all the superannuated politicians, crony's and hereditary peers, but whats the alternative? WOuld we have the same lot of failed politicians seeking reelection to the second chamber, would we end up with a situation like America often does, where govermnet grinds to a halt because what one house does the other blocks?
I'm a reluctant royalist, I dont' like the idea of kings and queens, but I like the idea of a President Blair or Johnson even less.
PR is not a good idea for us. It typically leads to coalitions, which is ok when national politics are less oppositional than ours, but would be unworkable with our own - as we saw with the coalition of 2010.
PR would have given Farage's fascist party around 60 seats - a terrifying idea. The FPTP system doesn't favour small parties, a very good thing in this case. It can also give us strong government, which is what the electorate hoped for in 2019, and what I hope we'll get now.
As for needing an election if the governing party changes leader, we don't, because we vote for a party and not a person. Change of leader is a party matter. Usually it goes to the memberships, which is how we as individuals can have a say.
We allegedly vote for a party and not a person, but when a new leader is chosen by a tiny number of party members and become PM, they can radically change the direction of government and make it something that we did not vote for. Like it or not, we're are becoming more presidential with our PM's and I think that why we ended up with the disaster that was Liz Truss, who apart from party members voted for her?
If we're not a party member we can't vote for a change in party leader, not all parties choose thier leaders in the same way. Many parties won't let you vote for a new leader unless you've been a party member for some months before, it stops a pile on for a Corbyn type figure.
I think the HoL is more often the opposition than the formal opposition in the HoC,
Corbyn was a disaster I do not know where to start with him.The mistake Labour made was not electing David Miliband who was in my mind the best person that never got to be PM bar paddy Ashdown.
On the tories they should have had Ken Clarke
I was too if he had I would have joined the Labour Party.I am afraid even with keir who is less extreme the left of the party who I fear is still alive and kicking and we can talk about Reform but on the left the independents and some members of the Workers Party and the greens have equally unpleasant views
Cat Loving Man said:The mistake Labour made was not electing David Miliband who was in my mind the best person that never got to be PM bar paddy Ashdown.
Yep. I loved David Milliband and was gutted when he didn't become leader.