Is Parliament always this much fun? I’m not pretending to understand all of it, but it’s apparently Mr. Duncan Smith vs. his own party, and it sounds like a cross between a rugby match and the Jerry Springer show.
Mr. Duncan Smith rants, in best Jerry Springer fashion. “You elected me your leader, and look at all this hard work I’ve done, and it was all for you, and now you’re going behind my back, and you’re going to utterly destroy everything I’ve worked for, well, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot, I hope you know that, but I’m not gonna let you DO it, no, we’re going to work together, and we’re going to salvage this relationship, or die trying… [snif]…”
Why can’t our U.S. politicians say something as clever as “murally dyslexic”? What a great turn of the phrase. Instead we get “There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee…that says, fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me twice … you can’t get fooled again”
It’s not just British politics, it’s very much a Conservative thing.
The Conservative party has basically split into two wings with very little in common. One side is younger, pro-EU, more squeamish in making moral pronouncements - and the other is older, deeply suspicious of the EU and very keen on traditional moral values. The modernists accuse the traditionalists of being too right-wing and out-of-touch to ever be elected, claiming that their core electoral support has long since died out; the traditionalists accuse the modernists of being unprincipled, morally dubious and of attempting to mimic Labour.
It’s been this way for years. Thatcher kept a lid on it through force, Major tried through consensus and common-sense, but the cracks were too wide by the time Hague came in. Duncan Smith has inherited two parties that don’t like each other but need each other to retain their joint position as HM Opposition.
Up late one night on C-SPAN they were showing the House of Commons standing around insulting Tony Blair for a few hours. I was awed by the way everyone would grunt loudly in agreement with everyone else. I wish US congresspeople grunted more.
Out of curiosity, does the US Congress have a similar session to Question Time, where the opposition gets a chance to shit all over the PM? ( I love watching Question Time!)
Neither side can guarantee being big enough to survive in that role by itself. Added to which it would be like the worst ever band split-up with both sides claiming rights to the name etc. My guess is that the problem will resolve itself as the traditionalists die off. The average age of Tory Party members is 65 and rising.
BTW, there’s no chance of Thatcher dying of natural causes - that job’s going to need a wooden stake.
Out of curiosity, does the US Congress have a similar session to Question Time, where the opposition gets a chance to shit all over the PM? ( I love watching Question Time!)
Best thing I heard from the British Parliament was back when Maggie was PM. There was debate about compensating folks who’d been wrongly imprisoned for a number of years, and Maggie was opposed to it. One MP was saying, “If Margaret Thatcher had spent ten years in prison–” At which point he was interrupted by another member shouting, “As well she should!” This was greeted by thunderous applause and laughter. Damn, the Brits are a lucky bunch.
Yep, as everton says, they need each other. What were the Liberal Democrats able to achieve when they were the third party? If you don’t have the weight of numbers in our wonderful first-past-the-post system to really disrupt the government’s position you might as well just stamp your feet and threaten to hold your breath. If you can’t muster a substantial number of MPs voting your way, any legislation the government wants the government will get.
The Tories know this. Any split would push the Liberal Democrats into second place (maybe not by much, since I could see the modernist Tories coming up with some appealing soundbites) and the Tories would become a laughing stock. No power, just bluster.
It’s probably clear that I’m no fan of the Conservative Party. I’m certainly no fan of the traditionalist wing, and I agree with many of the criticisms levelled by the modernist Tories. However, I’m also not exactly mad keen on Labour at the moment, and this country really could use some effective, rigourous opposition!
Well, if the Tories self-destruct - which is not impossible - then the Lib-Dems will, of necessity, step up to the plate as party of opposition. That will make things pretty much the way they were when I was a lad. We’d have one right-wing party (Labour), one left-wing party (Liberal Democrats), and one irrelevant historical appendage (Conservative).
My plan is to join the Conservative party and support Boris Johnson in a leadership bid. That should finish them off fairly effectively.
Personally, I’m impressed with the way current politicians are keeping faith with their predecessors. Tony Blair is diligently maintaining the legacy of John Major, and Ian Duncan Smith maintaining that of William Hague. Touching, really.
I think Maggie’s best was invoking the second derivative in parliament, arguing that the irate of increase* in unemployment was decreasing.
Steve: Have you seen the Boris Johnson/Beano cartoon in Private Eye?
Once you’ve seen it, it’s impossible to take the man seriously (as if you ever did)…
Hmm … Cringe factor: High. Media whore, butt of many jokes. Potential for sexual misdemeanours: Does not compute, but then I’d have said the same about John Major. Intellect: Allegedly Boris hides the mind of a genius behind the image of a buffoon. If so, he’s doing a good job of it. Image: Old English Sheep dog
Yes, that should consign them to oblivion. However, I mustn’t delude myself that I understand the motivations of Middle England, given that some would still welcome the return of Thatcher, or think that Anne Widdecombe would make a good leader.
Nothing to add really, except that I’m enjoying the image and mentally joining to queue to dance on her grave
The sad thing is, the Boris Johnson cartoon in Private Eye is actually more believable than the real thing…
Incidentally: another thing you Americans need in your debating chamber is a mace. We have a mace - it’s supposed to represent the Queen’s power or something. It’s strictly ceremonial… most of the time.
Actually, I think his name’s already linked in rumour with a fellow journalist (Petronella Wyatt, possibly. That is, it’s possible the rumours are about Johnson and Petronella Wyatt - whether there’s any substance to such rumours, I don’t know… not that sure I want to know, either.)
