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Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#81

Post by ranko »

raesene9 wrote: post #19

What happens next will be interesting . At this point, a general election would be the obviously correct solution. It's clear that the conservative party don't have a platform and can't agree major policy points amongst themselves. However that would require conservative MPs to vote for it, which is the turkeys voting for Christmas so unlikely to happen, so I'd expect we'll have to wait till 2024 for that election. T…

Calling an election is now back in the hands of the government (not parliament) since the repeal of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act; a PM can ask the monarch to call an election without having to get the agreement of parliament. Neither the current nor next PM (whoever they end up being) is likely to do this if the polling numbers are anything to go by, of course. I think the only other way an election can be called is if the government loses a vote of no confidence.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#82

Post by zagrebian »

akudha wrote: post #45
nemo44x wrote: post #7

Imagine rising to the ranks of prime minister of one of the most influential countries ever and for your legacy to be a head of lettuce out-survived your reign. That the Queen literally died the day after meeting you. Unbelievable.

Britain, Brazil, Australia, Philippines, India, Turkey, U.S … it is mind numbing that of all the good, talented people these countries have, only the dumbest, worst of the worst end up in positions of power. Depressing. At this point, we can just randomly pick a citizen to be President or PM. We might have better chances that way

As they say, democracy sucks, but it’s the least bad system.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#83

Post by vanviegen »

mantas wrote: post #71
akudha wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Britain, Brazil, Australia, Philippines, India, Turkey, U.S … it is mind numbing that of all the good, talented people these countries have, only the dumbest, worst of the worst end up in positions of power. Depressing. At this point, we can just randomly pick a citizen to be President or PM. We might have better chances that way

It's the same in many other countries. They just ain't that big and language barrier prevents from looking deeper into BS that is going on there. Overall the issue is that this career route does not pay well. E.g. in my country a mid-level developer earns as much as parliament member. Specialised constructions workers can make as much too. Why the hell would you pursue career in politics if you can easily make as cus…

The reason for that used to be idealism. But I guess that's no longer in vogue.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#84

Post by sbuk »

raesene9 wrote: post #19

What happens next will be interesting . At this point, a general election would be the obviously correct solution. It's clear that the conservative party don't have a platform and can't agree major policy points amongst themselves. However that would require conservative MPs to vote for it, which is the turkeys voting for Christmas so unlikely to happen, so I'd expect we'll have to wait till 2024 for that election. T…

The country needs a general election or a general strike until we get a general election.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#85

Post by mcv »

bsenftner wrote: post #46
raesene9 wrote: post #19

What happens next will be interesting . At this point, a general election would be the obviously correct solution. It's clear that the conservative party don't have a platform and can't agree major policy points amongst themselves. However that would require conservative MPs to vote for it, which is the turkeys voting for Christmas so unlikely to happen, so I'd expect we'll have to wait till 2024 for that election. T…

Every time I think the USA is completely ruined, I remember how much worse the citizens of the UK have it. I remote worked for a London based CTO for years, with a science Phd, and to hear him discuss UK politics gave me an insight how effective propaganda and being immersed in a culture impacts one's judgement.

Both countries suffer from winner-takes-all district systems, and would probably be much improved by a system of proportional representation.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#87

Post by elij »

akudha wrote: post #45
nemo44x wrote: post #7

Imagine rising to the ranks of prime minister of one of the most influential countries ever and for your legacy to be a head of lettuce out-survived your reign. That the Queen literally died the day after meeting you. Unbelievable.

Britain, Brazil, Australia, Philippines, India, Turkey, U.S … it is mind numbing that of all the good, talented people these countries have, only the dumbest, worst of the worst end up in positions of power. Depressing. At this point, we can just randomly pick a citizen to be President or PM. We might have better chances that way

these leaders are a reflection of the voting population in this and those respective countries.

turns out we don't have that many smart people in the UK

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#88

Post by domh »

Only 45 days in the post; shortest in UK history. She tanked the economy quicker than anyone before. It's quite impressive how you can mess up this bad. Borrowing money to pay for tax cuts for the rich... Unbelievable.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#89

Post by actionablefiber »

cloutchaser wrote: post #73
mcv wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was terrible. She introduced a dramatic tax cut for the rich, which immediately crashed exchange rates and the stock market, and was even criticised by the rich it was meant to benefit.

2/3 tax cuts she suggested were actually supported by labour previously. I think the mistake is more a massive communications and timing issue. She really should have announced these cuts in a staggered way, with better communication for the markets. It would have been fine. But she really screwed up on getting the political communication right.

That 1/3 makes a pretty huge difference...

And more importantly she was announcing these policies at an exact time when the Bank of England was trying to raise interest rates and sell bonds to fight inflation. So you have the government and the central bank pursuing contradictory goals: one trying to jumpstart consumption by borrowing and spending and the other trying to cool it by raising the cost of borrowing and reducing spending. This lead to a lot of wasted time, money and efforts and really destroyed the government's credibility.

Re: Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister

#90

Post by hairofadog »

I know this topic is important in substance and the thing I'm about to say is an aesthetic issue, but as an American watching this unfold I have admired the Brits for the sense of heart that still seems to be present in their politics.

I'm referring to the parliamentary sessions in which, even though they're savagely roasting each other, they're doing in a way that feels somehow good-hearted and doesn't lay bare the naked resentment and hatred that seems to be all we have left in the USA.

Also, less amusing but still inspiring, has been articulate criticism from politicians and pundits who seem to actually care about the thing they're talking about; on this side of the Atlantic, it's easy to get the sense that anyone in front of a camera has a pile of talking points on a set of index cards in their lap that they pull out to memorize during commercial breaks.

Charles Walker, giving an impromptu interview, seems to care about a thing: https://youtu.be/Dimw572twfk

Parliament roasts Truss: https://youtu.be/Zc_9Ty_-PrQ

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