Be Excellent To Each Other

Hot piss, you don't have me on ignore

Maybe we should make you opt-in, save people the trouble.

I think you should disable the ignore feature altogether for a laugh, it'd be like the end of The Matrix, except with less Keanu Reeves and two fewer sequels.

Getting a bit bored of all the pissing and moaning about suddenly the number of votes counting for something more than the number of seats. Maybe if the Tories weren't so hell bent on retaining the duopoly that they argued vehemently against electoral reform then it wouldn't be about to potentially fuck them over.

To be fair, every party campaigned against AV, and every party gerrymanders.

I don't have anyone on ignore, dude.

I'm probably the only person on here who doesn't have anyone on ignore, I reckon.

You'd be surprised.

You're funny

They were the only party of note to campaign against it.

Fair dos on the latter part though.

I don't think I do, but I have no idea how to check.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng- ... projection

This is going to be a proper bloodbath. No two parties are likely to be able to form an outright majority (other than Labour and the Tories, which would be an interesting outcome )

I reckon Libs and Labour will form a minority government, safe in the knowledge that the SNP will never ever vote with the Tories. And when it comes to Trident they wouldn't need SNP support as the Tories couldn't vote against even a watered down Trident replacement, thanks to Michael Fallon.

What's the spoiler etiquette for all this?

Finally, someone who agrees with my prediction.

Of course as you support it, it won't happen.

I'm pretty sure that, technically, I've never been wrong about anything.

Well this is the election that breaks all the rules. I've never returned an MP for a start. That's going to change this time.

Well, unless I decide not to bother walking to the polling station.

I shall be voting for someone other than Liberal for the first time ever, which is depressing. Why the fudge did the Libs accept AV in the referendum rather than holding out for PR? THEN MY PREFERRED VOTE MIGHT HAVE COUNTED

Question. Given the fixed term parliaments act, why the fuck has parliament been dissolved for 5 weeks now? Hardly like the date of the election comes as a surprise.

An argument could be that it gives rise to incumbent MPs a disadvantage on local campaigning. But fuck that, they've had 5 years to demonstrate their case.

Also, if there's some sort of fixed term parliament thing going on, how can there be, as Clegg has suggested, another election within months?

I have to confess I'm not familiar with the details of the fixed term parliament law.

The only way of forcing an election is losing a confidence vote. But things that used to be an automatic confidence vote (Finance Act was one, I forget the rest) are no longer the case. I thought that failing to pass a Queens Speech was the only automatic way now, but even that isn't the cas and from wonkypaedophile



Therefore sayCameron gets in, gets a popularity surge, and to go to the Polls he gets a no confidence vote prosposed and sends all his MPs to vote against him. So of course Labour/SNP vote confidence in the government to keep them in. It's been well planned, obv.

In other news, Cameron rolling his sleeves up has got a bit fucking tired now.

I'm sort of hoping it's leading up to a James Herriot elbow deep in a cow moment.

Have you noticed how he points with his knuckles? You won't unsee it now.

I think there are legal restrictions on the sorts of campaigning you can do while you're a sitting MP, so there has to be a gap before the election. Now I'm typing that, however, I don't know where I got it from, so I could be wrong.

Tomorrow is indeed, going to be a momentous day that we'll all remember for a long time to come.

Yes, it's the day that Lidl stocks these:-



I can't wait.

Yeah yeah, you hate me too, I get it.

Clearly he's just playing International Drinking Rules.

drinking games have a lot to answer for, you are lucky he isn't pointing with his elbow.

Curio!

On my way in to work today, I decide to take note of all the placards for the various candidates.

I saw 1 for UKIP, 5 for the lib dems, 11 for the greens, and about 100 for the conservatives (the lib dem posters were all for the local council elections) No Labour posters at all. My journey takes me through 3 conservative held constituencies (Devon South West, Totnes, and Devon Central, and then the Labour held Exeter.

i saw the stupid "Respect" bus parked with its hazard lights on in a bus stop this morning. I was going to beep the horn and flip the bird, but it looked empty.

I fucking hate voting.

a) I want to compare 2010 predictions to results. I can't find the fucking data.
b) Yougov have changed their website from prediction mode to results mode (of which there are now). I want to see who they predict for Hemel Hempstead.
c) The mass media just goes on and on about the party leaders -- who I can't directly vote for.

Why do I want to see who is polling best? Because first past the post sucks fucking cock and makes me outrageously angry, as now I have to concern myself with what other people vote, and I basically can't decide. Even AV is better than FPTP.

Basically: I might end up tactically voting, which I hate, because I can't vote "anything but the tories or ukip, please", and voting for who I want might not work and therefore "count".

Got to the polling station shortly after 7: I was third in the queue! Staff were having trouble sealing the ballot box but eventually managed it with string so could then start issuing papers.

Next time round, I want to be first.

North-East Oxfordshire this morning:

Got to my polling station and it was empty of people save for the ballot management team. In and out in 30 seconds.

Pre-emptive "title of your sex tape" joke.

I wanted to go to a hustings. I couldn't find details of any where I live.

Nobody came to see me either, and I was so looking forward to testing candidates on minuitae of their manifestos.

All I had was the local green party councillor knock on the door yesterday. Whilst I would have loved to engage him on how nutzoid his party is, I was too busy with kid stuff and had to politely decine to enter into a conversation.

I had a change in the voting booth and voted SNP. They've got it all together. Down with Trident! Spending increases! Bugger the deficit! Scotland's Future in Scotland's Hands! A Strong Scottish Voice In Westminster! FREEEDOOOOOM.

Yeah sounds fucking ridiculous. I actually pointlessly voted for my man so at least when Nicola Sturgeon tries to roll out that ridiculous fucking argument that a government without Scottish MPs can't be legitimate, it can be pointed out to her that hundreds of thousands of people here voted Conservative.

Let the shitshow commence.

I used this site to check how things were looking in my area (Labour killin' it in Dulwich and West Norwood, blood.)

https://election.38degrees.org.uk/constituencies

Gah. So many tempting morsels in this thread, it's election day..... and I'm inundated with fecking work. Arse!

Really, clients should allow time for me to pontificate uselessly on the internet, the selfish gets.

Still time to make your bid in the sweepstake Cavey. Numbers can speak just as loudly as words

You do realise that you're now on the list for the next round of clearances?

As legitimate as letting Scottish MPs vote on English matters. It's the constitution: don't like it, change it.

My favourite legitimacy argument is that as the Convention Parliament at the time of the Glorious Revolution was just a group of MPs and peers who declared themselves as such and gave the crown to William & Mary, our entire system is illegitimate.

By the same token I could say that any local MP that isn't the one I voted for isn't legitimate either. Such nonsense. Sturgeon will use Scotland's probable preference for staying in the EU in a 2017 referendum as a pretext for another one on independence.

At this rate I might clear myself, and certainly if it looks like independence will be a thing I'll make sure my assets are well clear of the calamity that'll follow.

done!

I'll have to physically send you the quid coins in the post like I did with The Vision though

I wouldn't want to cash a cheque from Coutt's anyway.

I was thinking bullion?

I need to work on my jokes, clearly.

Some paranoid Seumas Milne nonsense – http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ent-labour

However, reading the Cabinet Manual (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... manual.pdf), there may, interestingly, be a tiny bit in his wibblings to think about.

Regardless of who agrees what with whom, Cameron can sit tight and declare that they've formed a minority government. If Cameron then can’t command the confidence of the Commons and there is a clear alternative he is expected to resign (section 2.12). The “clear alternative” would then have a crack at forming a government and becoming prime minister. However, the Cabinet Manual does not make clear what or who the "clear alternative" PM might be. Milne's suspicion is that Cameron will claim that Miliband is not that "clear alternative” because he hasn't entered any formal or informal agreements with other parties to give him a majority (because Ed very firmly said he won’t make any deals with the SNP, remember?). On that basis Cameron will say he is entitled to squat in Downing Street until he loses a vote of no confidence and the FTPA enforces a second election. Or, somewhat less likely, the other parties, worrying about the disruption to the economy the second election would cause, roll over and abstain in a second confidence motion approving ConLib Mk 2.

OoooOOOOooooooOOOOOooooooooooo

The sneering SNP will attempt to disrupt at every stage for their own small-minded ends, that the one thing you can rely on.