This is the News!

[Funt Solo]

Rees-Mogg seems to have been born to provide a post-war warning about how easy it would be to descend into Nazi-ism. What a fucking horror. He'd have people off to the camps in the blink of an eye, that one.

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

hang on, it was judge sssssnooty who told us that the fish in britain's newly sovereign waters are happier now.

[Jim_Campbell]

And Truss is gone. New leader within a week.

[sheridan]

Within a week?  Can't see them organising it that quickly, after the shambles last time!

[Jim_Campbell]

Within a week?  Can't see them organising it that quickly, after the shambles last time!

The plan that's been circulating is that when the leadership contest gets down to the last two, whoever has the fewer votes stands aside in favour of the other, who just gets appointed leader by default.

They're not going to allow that interminable campaigning phase like last time, and they have no intention of putting it to the members.

In the words of one unnamed senior Tory a few days ago: "The membership fucked it up. They don't get another go."

[JayzusB.Christ]

And Truss is gone. New leader within a week.

Feck me, so she is.   Is that five Tory PMs in just over six years?  On the other hand, imagine the chaos that would might of have of happened if Ed Miliband had of been elected.

[Jim_Campbell]

Is that five Tory PMs in just over six years?

And three inside four months when the next one takes office. Still, at least we have a first past the post electoral system that guarantees stable, long-lasting governments, eh?

Even the Italians are laughing at us, now.

[wedgeski]

Is all this a harbinger of change, or will I be back in this thread in two years trying to articulate my hopelessness at another Tory election victory?

[Jim_Campbell]

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. The Times is reporting that Boris fucking Johnson is "taking soundings" in the Conservative party, with a view to standing in the forthcoming leadership contest.

BORIS FUCKING JOHNSON. AGAIN.

[IndigoPrime]

And three inside four months when the next one takes office. Still, at least we have a first past the post electoral system that guarantees stable, long-lasting governments, eh?

Mm. I must say that every shred of patience I had with people who are pro-FPTP/anti-PR has now been atomised. And they're still at it, pointing at Sweden, as though what we have is still somehow better.

(For those not in the know, Sweden now has a centre-right government with the far-right offering confidence. PR enabled the far-right to get quite a lot of seats, which we're told can't happen here, evidenced by the lack of eg BNP and UKIP/Brexit Party MPs. But instead, our system forces the two biggest parties to primarily care about swing voters, which once meant tempting Middle England but now demands they concentrate on nativists, which increasingly have crossover with... BNP and UKIP thinking. So we now effectively have a far-right government, in terms of economics and anti-liberal policy, even if the party itself still claims to be centre-right. And it was elected in 43% of the vote, which gained it 56% of the seats. ARGH.)

[IndigoPrime]

Is all this a harbinger of change, or will I be back in this thread in two years trying to articulate my hopelessness at another Tory election victory?

It's hard to see how the party can climb out of the hole it's in. But I suspect people will be disappointed if they think in two years the Tories will be facing electoral oblivion and not even be the official opposition. My _guess_ is that, whoever the new leader is, the polls will start to shift to at least some degree. That said, the Tories had best hope this is one of the mildest winters on record. If not, things could very quickly get messy.

[Barrington Boots]

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. The Times is reporting that Boris fucking Johnson is "taking soundings" in the Conservative party, with a view to standing in the forthcoming leadership contest.

BORIS FUCKING JOHNSON. AGAIN.

I think this was always his plan, but I reckon he thought he'd have two years before Truss fucked it up.
The thought of it is literally stomach-churning.

[Proudhuff]

Scotland has never voted for the Tories since the 50s, but we still get them, mind you Paisley's secret weapon seems to have worked...

[Funt Solo]

Truss must be quite pleased to be getting into the Guinness Book of World Records, though. Every cloud...

[JayzusB.Christ]

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. The Times is reporting that Boris fucking Johnson is "taking soundings" in the Conservative party, with a view to standing in the forthcoming leadership contest.

BORIS FUCKING JOHNSON. AGAIN.

Oh ffs.