# Who will win the British election?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-win-the-british-election/302380>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 4, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-win-the-british-election/302380 "2005-05-04T15:51:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-win-the-british-election/302380/81 "2005-05-06T17:32:20Z")

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> [@BobLibDem](#):
>
> What’s up with Northern Ireland anyway? Why do results take longer from there?

They don’t start counting until the morning.

> [@eleanorigby](#):
>
> So, essentially, Blair has another 4 years-unless he gets a track record of not getting legislation passed, whereby he will be forced to hold an election (didn’t this happen to John Major?).

Major came close at times, but managed to hang on for a full term.

> [@](#):
>
> The Dems are conservative over there? :eek:

Yup. Look at it this way: none of the main parties would dare suggest scrapping the NHS, none are keen on capital punishment, none want any really significant tax cuts, all want to find a way to increase the state pension, etc etc…

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**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-win-the-british-election/302380/82 "2005-05-06T17:40:27Z")

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[QUOTE=eleanorigby]  
Thanks.  
The Dems are conservative over there? :eek:  
QUOTE]

From “Beyond the Fringe” a sketch called ‘That’s America’ which basically joked about evry area- The South, The Mid West, The West, The North not ‘being’ America- and concluding that ‘New England’- only a bit of Old England- ‘That’s America!’ digresses and they say-

[posh British Accent]‘Off course, they inherited our two party system as well. They have the Republicans who are just like our Conservatives, and they have the Democrats who are just like our Conservatives!’[/posh British Accent].

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-win-the-british-election/302380/83 "2005-05-09T21:23:29Z")

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> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> What does it mean for the UK’s place in the EU and replacing the pound with the euro?

Brown is not keen on the euro, and even Blair recently accepted that we aren’t going to join it any time soon. But the idea had already been kicked into the long grass a while ago, so this election hasn’t changed things much.

The hotter, or at least warmer issue at the moment is the proposed European constitution. “New Labour” (Blair’s allies), the Lib Dems, and some left-wing Tories are keen, most others are sceptical. Opinion polls are not in favour. It’s still just about conceivable, though, that the referendum could be won. If Chirac pulls it off I think Tony will go for it. If he loses, which he probably will, he’ll resign. If he wins, he gets what he has always wanted, a place in the history books next to Margaret Thatcher.

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