# BritDopers (and nosy foreigners) - The general election 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 6, 2010, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133 "2010-04-06T11:13:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 40
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/781 "2010-05-10T20:28:32Z")
If there is another election, it’ll have to be under the current rules. Anything else is making up as you go. The markets won’t wait while we turn the electoral system upside down as well. Of course the voters could just return the same result, as they did in 1910. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/782 "2010-05-10T20:53:59Z")
> [@Nancarrow](#): > > Namely, that when the voters are fed up with an MP and want to be rid of them, they actually DO NOT have the power to remove them. Or to be more accurate, a _tiny_ proportion of them do, a proportion selected… _geographically_. They have the power to remove their MP. Why should the voters in one constituency have the power to select or remove another constituency’s MP? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/783 "2010-05-10T21:11:28Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > They have the power to remove their MP. Why should the voters in one constituency have the power to select or remove another constituency’s MP? Because, for some MPs (such as the PM, or Cabinet positions) they have effects on the entirety of the nation, not just their constituency. Brown may be the member for Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath, but his work in office affected all of us, not just his constituents. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/784 "2010-05-10T21:16:18Z")
Then in the elections, vote for the Conservatives so that he won’t be PM anymore, or pressure your MP to participate in a backbencher revolt against him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/785 "2010-05-10T22:29:03Z")
Simpler fix: separate elections for Parliament and the head of government. Or use a popular vote to select party leaders. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/786 "2010-05-10T22:40:13Z")
So – what is the next Government going to be? LD-Tory Coalition, LD-Labour Coalition, or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/787 "2010-05-10T22:55:04Z")
Impossible to tell at the present - we shall have to await events. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/788 "2010-05-10T23:10:38Z")
We need to ask our German or Belgian Dopers, people who are used to coalitions. For us Brits, this is terra incognita. We have no idea what is going to happen. My WAG would be that no coalition is possible, and we’ll have a Conservative minority government for a while. But I could be proved wrong tomorrow, or the day after that, or whenever. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/789 "2010-05-10T23:55:55Z")
…and I’ve just seen on another site that “we are in uncharted territory” is cliché of the day. Hey, at least I used the Latin version of it. Although I probably picked that up from something I read. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/790 "2010-05-11T01:27:51Z")
Why didn’t Gordon Brown quit effective immediately? If the problem with the Lib-Dems working with Labour is Brown, what does Labour or Lib-Dem gain by his remaining PM for another few months? And what does Lib-Dem gain by buying a pig in a poke as to who his successor is? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/791 "2010-05-11T01:50:50Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > We need to ask our German or Belgian Dopers, people who are used to coalitions. For us Brits, this is terra incognita. Is it? Haven’t there been coalition governments in the UK before? I see several listed [here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_governments) (None since 1945, however.) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/792 "2010-05-11T02:07:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Is it? Haven’t there been coalition governments in the UK before? I see several listed [here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_governments) (None since 1945, however.) Do you notice anything coincidental with the coalition governments of 1915-22, and 1940-45? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/793 "2010-05-11T02:29:21Z")
I’m guessing the Labour and the Liberal Democrats will attempt a coalition government defying the will of the people. Hopefully if this succeeds this will cause a new election where the British people will recognize the wisdom of having a majority government and give the Tories a majority will some seats to spare. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/794 "2010-05-11T02:32:13Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Do you notice anything coincidental with the coalition governments of 1915-22, and 1940-45? Yeah. Crisis. What, you don’t think the UK has that **now?** ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/795 "2010-05-11T02:33:54Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I’m guessing the Labour and the Liberal Democrats will attempt a coalition government defying the will of the people. Look at it this way: 62% of the people voted **against the Tories.** ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/796 "2010-05-11T02:43:22Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Yeah. Crisis. What, you don’t think the UK has that **now?** There were economic crisis through the seventies. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Look at it this way: 62% of the people voted **against the Tories.** For that matter the majority of Americans did not vote for Clinton or Nixon or Kennedy or Lincoln-did they lack a mandate? If you are the biggest party in Parliament certainly they deserve a place in the Government. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/797 "2010-05-11T03:05:05Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > If you are the biggest party in Parliament certainly they deserve a place in the Government. Based on what? That’s not actually a rule in the British constitutional system. Is it, Brits? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/798 "2010-05-11T03:45:02Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Based on what? That’s not actually a rule in the British constitutional system. Is it, Brits? It’s simple logic. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/799 "2010-05-11T03:58:43Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > It’s simple logic. And **that** is based on nothing. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133/800 "2010-05-11T04:14:44Z")
The simple logic seems to be eluding you Curtis. You need **a** majority, not necessarily **the** majority. If the Tories had 320 seats, and Clegg was clever enough to cobble together a stable 10 party coalition/accord, none of whom individually had more than say 50 seats but totalled 330, that provided stable executive and legislative government, that’s a workable majority. The Tories would warm the opposition benches until the coalition fractured, or the next election. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-and-nosy-foreigners-the-general-election-2010/535133.md?page=41)