Brexit

Then we have to take things into our own hands........

A Dutch friend told me this some time ago - before posting I verified with en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miljoenenjacht which appears to be the Dutch show that evolved into the international format Deal or No Deal.

It goes into quite a lot of detail about the Dutch format which has changed considerably over the years. The questions were, apparently, in the final rounds of the show up until 2002 when the final round was changed to the version which was purely based on chance - previous version detailed at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miljoenenjacht#Variation_used_until_2002

It appears that the early rounds do still employ a selection mechanism which involves questions, although these tend to be of the variety of "how many of our audience..." See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miljoenenjacht#Quiz_Round

No, we're still up sh*t creek.

There have been several versions in the Netherlands, the one that started it had the box stuff as the final round after quiz type questions and such.

On May, she keeps saying that ‘people want us to get on with it’, she does not know this at all but there is one easy way of finding out.

Remember when I posted this? I rest my case!

Well, it's all going splendidly well, isn't it?

Just as well there's nothing else significant going on in the UK to which politicians could be devoting some time.

As well as Noel Edmonds (see above), another reason that we are watching a car crash is our electoral system. First past the post with a winner takes all outcome is supposed to provide ‘strong government’, which has until recently merely meant that parties without a vote majority were able to govern as though they had. Now that FPTP is failing to even do that, requiring coalitions and compromise, our ill equipped political system is collapsing in on itself.

More logical systems, where votes relate to seats, result in that need for consensus and negotiation; not getting all that you want being the inevitable outcome. The referendum was seen by some as winner takes all but that would never be a sustainable outcome so the EU, being used to consensus etc. has helped to turn the division that the vote showed into an agreement that reflects that division. They have that experience which our system has withheld from us and the outcome of negotiations shows that - not substantially favouring one grouping or another.

Politicians and many (most?) voters cannot cope with that, however, and that lack of experience in this type of politics dooms us to disaster. That the first coalition in living memory saw both participants vilified and one nearly destroyed by voters just helped to confirm to politicians that compromise would be their downfall. The horrifying percentage who would support a no deal Brexit is further proof; they would wilfully destroy the country to make a political point rather than acknowledge their weak mandate.

So here we are, no compromise, disaster beckons.

I think it's likely that if we had a different electoral system, the Tories would have split by now into an anti-Europe and a pro-Europe grouping (who would operate in alliance for most of the time). The same split exists in Labour but to a lesser extent. Where Brexit has absolutely floundered is that we have no mechanism for cooperation across party boundaries and structuring political debate in any other way. Labour is seeking a General Election but that is meaningless when both parties have a similar position on Brexit - negotiated deal - leaving voters who want either extreme, a no-deal exit or to remain, nowhere to go.

I can't help feeling that a major realignment of British politics is underway, but it's difficult to see how that can be accomplished in our current electoral system. It's true that other electoral systems have their flaws too - see the rise of National Rally in France, or Five Star and the League in Italy. But what we have now isn't working, and it's difficult to know how it can move forward without cracking completely.

The outcomes have been somewhat softened in other countries by the need for coalition or run off elections which do not favour extremists. My fear is that the UK system is the most prone to electing majority governments which do not have the support of a majority in the country. It’s still hypothetical but a populist demagogue with barely 30 percent of the vote could be thus elected and have sweeping powers.

There has to be some reason she clings on to the role, any sane person would have resigned ages ago and left it to the perpetrators of one of the biggest cons against the British public for their own personal ambitions to sort out.

She either has an immense sense of self belief that she can deliver, or more scarily she believes that if she resigns the void could potentially tear apart our Parliamentary Democracy.

We are technically in a civil war which fortunately at the moment is being contained within the walls of Westminster.

She clearly knows where the bodies are buried and postponed the vote so she can dig up a few skeletons as proof

There’s been two coups in recent months and to survive both indicates that whilst her party are divided on Brexit, they don’t necessarily think she’s wrong to lead the party and Brexit.

Yet.

Lest we forget, Theresa May was directly responsible for xenophobic scaremongering during her time as Home Secretary that fuelled the Brexit vote. She is responsible for the ‘hostile environment’ that has seen British citizens wrongly deported. Her own red lines for the Brexit negotiations and decision to call a general election have led to this impossible situation where she simply can’t deliver on all the promises she has made to various different groups.

She has never had a good grasp of the detail, and has always gone for the strong-sounding tabloid-pleasing headline over policies of real substance that can actually work. She was the same as Home Secretary.

She is good at putting her head down and battering it against brick walls until they fall down and she gets what she wants. But she does that when anyone else would look at a map and just walk around the wall - or even better, arrange to have the key to the door in the wall so they can walk right through.

She is not a good Prime Minister and she does not deserve your sympathy. A hell of a lot of her problems are of her own making.