Johnson's government has just lost their majority

Philip Lee defected to the Lib Dems in style by walking over to the opposition benches. Now his majority is gone lol!

https://news.sky.com/story/live-mps-prepare-to-launch-efforts-to-block-no-deal-brexit-11801143

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Reply 1

Alt Tankie

Just :

Guto Bebb
Sam Gyimah
Rory Stewart
David Gauke
Antoinette Sandbach
Ken Clarke
Oliver Letwin
Dominic Grieve
Philip Hammond
Alistair Burt
Justine Greening
Damian Green
Nicholas Soames

To go.

Hopefully labour can start clearing out its ranks of neoliberal shills too

Reply 2

jonathanemptage

This is great not only does it give the Lib Dems more MP's it means Boris literally must call a GE which I reckon he'd loose and we'd have a hung parliament all remain parties (Lib Dem,Change Greens,Plaid,SNP and maybe Labour?) have said they will work together to get a peoples vote with a view to stopping Brexit even if you support Brexit you can't deny Boris not being able to push anything through is a good thing because his proprosals apart form being against the law are stupid.

Reply 3

Guru Jason

As much as I find it funny that the cons have lost their majority, I still think that every party is gonna have rebels so not sure how much 1 seat is going to matter. That said, I love to see a few more con defectors.

Reply 4

Rakas21

Original post by Alt Tankie

Greening and Burt have said they are retiring.

Soames and Hammond had private meetings with Boris earlier so they may cave.

Reply 5

Rakas21

Original post by Guru Jason

Normally this would be a massive deal but actually since the election was widely briefed last night and he made this a de facto confidence vote when he said rebels would be deselected this is not that important other than giving the Lib Dem's an extra seat in the next parliament (we can reasonably assume that with a 10-15% universal swing on their 2017 vote that they will hold the defectors seats).

Reply 6

username1799249

Original post by Alt Tankie

What you don't seem to understand is that marginalising and narrowing the appeal of the once major parties merely creates a space for other parties to come in and take up the slack.

Sure, those on the right and left of politics like you will be licking your lips with glee but power is only swinging your way by default. Given an election it will still be the centre ground that sees the main gains.

Reply 7

Alt Tankie

Original post by ByEeek

Completely disagree. What you don’t seem to understand is history and human nature. By appealing to everyone you appeal to no one.

The centre ground blairite voter base that the two parties have relentlessly chased doesn’t exist and it’s adherents are deeply unpopular.

I’m something of a Hegelian. I like opposition and contradictions. The New Labour ‘centre ground’ arose out of a synthesis between the extreme social liberalism of the left and the extreme economic liberalism of the right. I’m hoping for a new populist ‘centre’ based on the opposite of this- the economic socialism of the left and the social conservatism of the right. This appears to be happening across Europe we’re just behind the curve although I think the Brexit party is promising

Reply 8

NJA

Original post by igotthatsauce

Philip Lee had already lost a vote of confidence in his Bracknell constituency and was heading for de-selection.
Lib Dems got 7.5% of the vote there.

Reply 9

username1799249

Original post by Alt Tankie

Completely disagree. What you don’t seem to understand is history and human nature. By appealing to everyone you appeal to no one.

Agreed. But in a first past the post system of electing or even a proportion system single issue, marginal and extreme groups will never hold the balance of power without compromise.

It is the one word that we seem to have forgotten but compromise is ultimately the way to go unless you are prepared to go back to medieval times where opponents were simply and swiftly murdered. And bear in mind that power always ends at some point so even the victors end up being killed at some point.

Reply 10

jonathanemptage

Original post by Guru Jason

Usually 1 seat wouldn’t make much difference the reason this is a big deal is it means the ruling party now no longer have majority support in the house.

Reply 11

Alt Tankie

Original post by ByEeek

Sure. But I think ‘compromise’ and ‘moderation’ have been terms completely abused so that they have just become shorthand for corrupt or without principles. Here’s a word that people are looking for much more than compromise- Authenticity.

Reply 12

Jammy Duel

You mean the majority that never existed in the first place because so many MPs stood on a manifesto they didn't believe in?

Reply 13

Alt Tankie

Food for thought.

If Corbyn was doing a Johnson and purging the PLP with deselections he would be pilloried by the press as a Stalinist.

Reply 14

Alt Tankie

Bravo to Moggy, him leading the commons is the coup de grace for the Letwin’s and Grieve’s of the world

Reply 15

Napp

Original post by Alt Tankie

Food for thought.

If Corbyn was doing a Johnson and purging the PLP with deselections he would be pilloried by the press as a Stalinist.

He is a Stalinist.

Reply 16

Lewito

Original post by Alt Tankie

Bravo to Moggy, him leading the commons is the coup de grace for the Letwin’s and Grieve’s of the world

Bravo to me indeed.

Reply 17

Alt Tankie

Original post by Napp

He is a Stalinist.

I hope you’re trolling

Reply 18

Napp

Original post by Alt Tankie

I hope you’re trolling

Well what would you call him then? either way i seem to remember you confessing to some flavour of it before.

Reply 19

Stiff Little Fingers

Original post by Napp

Well what would you call him then? either way i seem to remember you confessing to some flavour of it before.

If the person you're responding to genuinely is a tankie then they are a Stalinist (and unwelcome in most leftist spaces because if there's one thing the left as a whole can agree on its **** Tankies), but Corbyn isn't, he's a democratic socialist at most.