International News Events: Asked and Answered...

[Parasaurolophus]

I'm wondering why it was approved for that long. It seems odd given the (greater?) likelihood of a No Deal Brexit.

Well, she doesn't have much choice. She theoretically has the power to say 'no', but that would provoke a constitutional crisis. (See, e.g., the kerfuffle in Canada in 2008 over the Conservative prorogation to avoid a non-confidence vote they would have lost. IMO the crisis was the lesser of two evils at the time, because proroguing in that case seriously subverted democracy. But I digress.)

It kinda looks like Johnson's idea is to force a no-deal Brexit, though.

[archaeo42]

I'm wondering why it was approved for that long. It seems odd given the (greater?) likelihood of a No Deal Brexit.

Well, she doesn't have much choice. She theoretically has the power to say 'no', but that would provoke a constitutional crisis. (See, e.g., the kerfuffle in Canada in 2008 over the Conservative prorogation to avoid a non-confidence vote they would have lost. IMO the crisis was the lesser of two evils at the time, because proroguing in that case seriously subverted democracy. But I digress.)

It kinda looks like Johnson's idea is to force a no-deal Brexit, though.

Okay thank you. Despite years of trying I still don't fully understand how British government works so the constitutional crisis aspect was missed by me.

[Parasaurolophus]

As a rule of thumb, the Queen always does as she's told by Parliament/the PM, because she's supposed to be above and outside and beyond politics. She has the power to intervene, but can't really exercise it without precipitating a crisis. That's the trouble with unwritten constitutions and the rule of precedent.

[ergative]

Okay, so something happened last night. What does it mean for the PM to 'remove the whip' from rebel Tories? Surely the BDSM-related images arising in my head from that headline are not (fully) accurate?

[backatit]

Haha, yes, can see your point.

This article explains it better than I could but it's basically the power granted to a party member to influence other party members.

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/whip-party-what-withdrawn-mean-boris-johnson-tory-mps-no-deal-brexit/

[backatit]

And I'm not sure whether this current event is a good thing or not (well, it is maybe better than what was going on before). It may allow Boris Johnson to fracture the Tory party and if he is supported in the general election to consolidate his power base (there was a good article in The Guardian yesterday about how he could do that). If this rather bold move by conservatives fails, they will be worse off than before, but hopefully they can get some progress this time. The problem is that even people who voted remain have lost confidence in government, and are so sick of it that they are ready for it to be over, and to just get on with things, whatever that means. BJ is not stupid - he timed his original takeover well.

[ergative]

Thanks! That was extremely helpful.

[mamselle]

Dare I say that between the bluster and the hair, a certain other individual comes to mind?

Except the MPs seem to have more spine in standing up to your guy than most of our reps (Pelosi and a few others excepted) do to our loudmouth.

M.

[ciao_yall]

And Parliament just handed Johnson his arse on a platter.

[Parasaurolophus]

And Parliament just handed Johnson his arse on a platter.

<cackles>

That's not at all what I expected. Nor, I expect, what His Putschiness expected.

[mamselle]

Well, you know, the UK's had more time to work out the kinks in its governance model than the US has.

I mean, Magna Carta dates from 1215; the US Declaration of Independence (or the Constitution, if you prefer) is several hundred years younger than that...

But, yeah, I was impressed...

M.

[nebo113]

I am completely confused about what's happening in Britain.  I get that Bad Boris was handed three defeats, canned Churchill's grandson, and even his own brother quit in disgust.  And that the British MPs have more guts than US Republicans.  But can someone explain what it all means??

[Anselm]

I am completely confused about what's happening in Britain.  I get that Bad Boris was handed three defeats, canned Churchill's grandson, and even his own brother quit in disgust.  And that the British MPs have more guts than US Republicans.  But can someone explain what it all means??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGL-XJPuCuo

A good explanation

[nebo113]

I am completely confused about what's happening in Britain.  I get that Bad Boris was handed three defeats, canned Churchill's grandson, and even his own brother quit in disgust.  And that the British MPs have more guts than US Republicans.  But can someone explain what it all means??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGL-XJPuCuo

A good explanation

Thanks.

[mamselle]

It's sounding as if there's support for reinstating those who left within their parties, although some have in fact crossed the aisle so will be following other paths.

M.