UK News and Discussions

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

My prediction:

Conservatives 110
Labour 440
LibDem 60
SNP 15
Reform UK 7
Plaid Cymru 4
Green 2
Others 12

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

1997 election for comparison...

Labour 418
Conservative 165
Liberal Democrats 46
Others 30

[Time_Traveller]

'Change begins now', Starmer says - as Labour win historic landslide

Friday 5 July 2024 06:32, UK

Sir Keir Starmer has declared "change begins now" after winning a landslide victory at the general election.

The Labour leader has secured the 326 seats required for a majority in the House of Commons - putting an end to 14 years of Conservative rule.

Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had conceded defeat moments before that number was reached, declaring at his election count: "The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory."

Shortly afterwards, a gleaming Sir Keir told a crowd of supporters: "We did it, you campaigned for it, you fought for it, you voted for it and now it has arrived, change begins now."

He added the UK is once again experiencing the "sunlight of hope".

https://news.sky.com/story/the-labour-p ... t-13162921

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

It's just so weird to think about the fact that Charles III is very likely going to be the last monarch to die before LEV happens

[funkervogt]

Dear Britons:

Why did the Labour Party win the election, and what will they do in office?

[wjfox]

Why did the Labour Party win the election

Because the Conservatives turned our country into a blazing dumpster fire. Fourteen years of incompetence, economic stagnation, corruption, and declining public services – particularly the NHS. Johnson's disastrous and scandal-ridden administration, followed by economic meltdown under Truss, were the final straws for most people.

Starmer united the previously fractured Labour and emerged as a viable leader, successfully assuaging concerns that voters had, e.g. the party's reputation for overspending, tax rises, etc. as well as controversy over antisemitism. Also, Labour had previously lost support over its Brexit stance, but Starmer has been very consistent in his message (Brexit itself won't be reversed, but we'll build stronger ties with Europe).

what will they do in office?

Given the damage that's been inflicted, it could take many years to fully recover. But I hope – at the very least – they restore standards, decorum, and trust in politics, all of which dropped to their lowest ever points in recent years.

In terms of actual policies, I expect they'll begin the task of rebuilding our NHS, and other public services, which have been chronically neglected. Immigration has emerged as a significant issue too, and they'll probably introduce a new agency or vetting process to handle the massive uptick we've seen in migrants crossing the Channel from France, etc.

Starmer is planning a nationalised company for renewable energy called "Great British Energy", and has pledged to halt all drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea. It sounds like our rail network could also be nationalised, which the majority of people support.

In the medium to longer term, I hope Starmer's view on Brexit is just a ruse, and we get some sort of 2nd referendum. Even if that means we just join the Single Market and Customs Union, it would do wonders for our economy and growth prospects.

[firestar464]

Expecting a lot of resignations of party leaders in many parties.

[weatheriscool]

Question for you that live in the uk! what is the difference in policy between labor and a liberal democrats? what one is further to the left. Will they work together on many or most issues?

[firestar464]

Labour is center-left while the LDP is center to center-left

[Cyber_Rebel]

Question for you that live in the uk! what is the difference in policy between labor and a liberal democrats? what one is further to the left. Will they work together on many or most issues?

Wjfox could probably answer this better, but it's very similar to the German SPD party or the AUS/NZ Labour Parties, in that these parties have actual socialist roots and mainly focus on worker issues. It's what I imagine a party based on Bernie Sander's policies in our country might look like, as it's a focus on social democracy with socialist leanings.

The liberal democrats I'm assuming are what we know as "neo-liberals" who prefer a more classical market structure but not nearly to the same extent as the Tories or GOP, and on social issues they tend to be a bit (as in a lot) better. They are what I'd likely compare best to our Democrats, at least in theory, but this can also vary depending on one's interpretation of liberalism.

The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions. The party is primarily social liberal, supporting redistribution but sceptical of increasing the power of the state, emphasising the link between equality and liberty. The party supports investment and progressive taxation, but also promotes civil liberties and a less centralised economy. This distinguishes the party from many liberal parties elsewhere in Europe that are instead dominated by classical liberalism. By comparison, the Liberal Democrats support a mixed economy and have sometimes opposed privatisation.

The party spans the centre and centre-left, and has emphasised each aspect at different times. The public have traditionally viewed the party as centre-left, though during the Cameron–Clegg coalition they were seen as centrist. On economic issues, the party has usually been positioned between the Conservatives and the Labour Party, though typically closer to the Labour Party. There is a degree of ideological diversity among members of the Liberal Democrats, with a wide range of opinions on most subjects.

Here's a YouGov study doing this exact point of comparison: https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/ ... rs-believe

[Time_Traveller]

‘Disproportionate’ UK election results boost calls to ditch first past the post

Mon 8 Jul 2024 06.00 BST



The push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the “most disproportionate election in history”, according to campaigners and academics.

Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote.

“This election has thrown the spotlight on to the electoral system as the result was the most disproportional on record,” said Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society. “We have already had a growing chorus of calls for PR [proportional representation] in the aftermath.”

Farage said the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was “unfair” after Reform took 14.3% of the popular vote – making it the third biggest party by vote share – but won only five seats. The Green party received 6.8% of the vote for its four seats.

“I think these results will reinforce in people’s minds the need for reform,” Farage said.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ar ... t-the-post

Even though I try to disassociate myself from any party right of Labour, he definitely does have a point and we need to ditch FPTP as soon as we can and this election may change people's minds indeed.

[firestar464]

I mean it also means that the LDP and Greens did not get the voice they deserved

[wjfox]

Labour is center-left while the LDP is center to center-left

Yes, pretty much. Although the LibDems strayed to the right a little from 2010-2015, when they formed the Cameron–Clegg coalition. This damaged their reputation for several years. But they've clearly recovered since then.

Historically, the party was much bigger and more influential than today. The Liberals, as they used to be known, and their predecessors (the "Whigs"), held two-thirds of the popular vote during their peak in the mid-19th century.

The emergence of Labour, and voting reforms (including women's suffrage) led to a collapse in the Liberals' support during the early 20th century, and the party became the Liberal Democrats in 1988.

[firestar464]

[wjfox]