Decent Opposition

[fender62]

all the partys are equally bad in my opinion sadly, all seem rather weak without cohesion
and to much infighting back stabbing or brown mouths, seems it's always been this way though.
im getting tired of all of it, they promise much but never deliver.

[Kathyan]

In fear of getting shot down in flames I would like to make two points. Firstly the Tories won the most seats, therefore they won the election. Secondly the DUP were in Government before the election and it didn't seem to be a problem then, so why is it now?

[mikey4444]

Kathryn....the DUP were not in Government before the Election.

[Old_Geezer]

They were in parliament.

[mikey4444]

Another point Kath...before the Election, the DUP were part of the Opposition. What May is now proposing is to enter into some kind of "coalition" with them, in order to get important legislation through, after The Queens Speech.

[mikey4444]

OG...but they were not in "Government"

[EDDIE51]

Because the DUP are a bunch of racist, religiously bigoted,anti gay & lesbian, terrorist supporters who also want abortion to be a criminal offence! While they were safely out of the way in NI it mattered little, but now they will be central to the Government. They have already stated that 'There will be a price to be paid for our support!'
Just what that price will be is yet to be decided!

[jim360]

The statement that the Tories won the election is one of those things that is technically true, but misses the point so clearly that I wonder why people are so insistent. Actually I don't wonder that much -- it's a convenient way of hiding from the reality of the Tory party's failure.

Yes, they won the most votes and the most seats. But this comes with so many obvious caveats, all of which matter in the end:

1. The Tories started with a majority. Now, they have no majority.
2. The Tories aimed to increase their majority in Parliament. They failed.
3. The Labour Party was in disarray. Now it is ready to be united and has a strong position.
4. Corbyn was described as a disaster by all the media, all his enemies, and even many of his allies. The electorate didn't agree. He's now clearly electable after all.
5. Theresa May was a popular leader who'd embraced the glorious victory of the referendum and should have welcomed most, or all, of UKIP voters back to the fold -- certainly, most Leave voters should have rallied to her cause. She didn't succeed.
6. Theresa May launched a presidential-style campaign, then forgot that this meant she had to meet members of the public and appear in front of them without the protection of organised events.

No-one can deny the numerical truth that the Tories ended up ahead on votes and seats. But they missed their targets, they signally failed to destroy a Labour Party at its lowest ebb, and seeking a mandate for a "Strong and Stable" government, the public said "no thanks -- try again, Theresa". She'll have to go. Or, at the very least, she'll have to listen to the result. It wasn't a defeat, but it was a pathetically poor victory and the Tories can't ignore this. They had everything going for them two months ago, but took every opportunity they could to waste their strong position.

[mikey4444]

Eddie...stop being so shy and retiring !

[Old_Geezer]

Well summed up Jim.

They wont be in government after either Mikey. Coalition isn't on offer as I understand it.

[mikey4444]

OG....no, you are probably right, but if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck ...........

[Kathyan]

Sorry I got that wrong. What I should have said was that they usually voted with the government.

[mikey4444]

Yes Kath...they did !

But not on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, etc.

[naomi24]

I don’t really understand why Labour supporters are making such a fuss. Both Labour and the SNP (whose main ambition is to gain independence from the rest of us) were willing to join forces – had the opportunity arisen.

[gness]

Oh come on, Naomi.....you don't understand why folk don't want their government in hock to a party with such unsavoury links? Really?

[scooping]

Would only add that, in George Osborne's phrase this morning, that May really is a Dead Woman Walking. I thought it appalling that he attacked his former Cabinet colleague during the campaign, but such is the loyalty to Party. My view is that she's got to go and the sooner the better. I did, however, think it disingenuous in extremis that Corbyn 'trotted' out that the Labour Party was 'ready to serve'. Is he employing his former girlfriend's maths skills? How on earth he possibly do that on current representation in the Commons?

[sunny-dave]

If I was the SNP I think I might be considering consulting my lawyers.

As far as I'm aware they don't have links with terrorist organisations nor a basket of repellent policies from the stone age of human rights.

[jim360]

At the moment the talk is of "Confidence and Supply", as in the DUP will allow the Tories to govern as best they can on budgets and that but not on everything in their programme. No doubt the Tories want to avoid a "Coalition of Chaos"...

It's still a sorry result for the Tories. No majority, and there's talk that a deal with the DUP of any kind risks messing up the political situation in Northern Ireland. But at this point we'll have to wait to see what both sides come up with. Even with DUP support, some Tory party MPs might feel inclined to vote down the Queen's Speech if it's seen as disastrously bad, although I doubt this will happen really.

It's a very precarious position the Tories are in. Especially as, the longer it goes on that they're seen to be in disarray, the better it will be for Labour in the inevitable early election. In the short term, the Tories have to sort this out, and May has to show contrition and humility at the very least.

[kvalidir]

Exactly Dave, Naomi feigns stupidity frequently when things don't go her way, and it ill becomes her, she knows exactly what the problem is with the DUP she just can't defend her team's choice in jumping into bed with them.

[Kromovaracun]

//I don’t really understand why Labour supporters are making such a fuss.//

Because there's a very real chance that direct rule will get imposed on NI very soon and the Tories have just thrown away the UK's claim to be an arbiter. May has risked the peace to cling on to power. That's woefully irresponsible.

It's not just Labour supporters either. Her own party is in uproar about it. Wakey wakey!