Tuesday, Mar 30, 2010

Is this what democracy has come to?

Telegraph: Gordon Brown could lose and still be Prime Minister

''Gordon Brown could continue as Prime Minister for weeks even if he loses the election, under Whitehall proposals to prevent a run on the pound in the event of a hung parliament.''

Posted by hpwatcher @ 10:09 PM (765 views) Add Comment

10 Comments

1. This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

 

2. stillthinking said...

Lets be clear, the run on the pound is not just due to a hung parliament, either a Labour win -or- a hung parliament, just that we will have democratically chosen a run on the pound if Labour gets back.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 08:18AM Report Comment
 

3. paul said...

Unless the outcome of the election is a genuine surprise, a run on the pound is inevitable. Saying that the pounds value could collapse if there's a hung parliament is also a convenient way of denying responsibility for mismanaging the economy for the last ten years too.

But of course something has to be done to "maintain economic stability" (if that erm ... also preserves MPs' property wealth then that's a bonus naturally).

The big question is: I wonder just what lengths the government may permit themselves to go to in order to "protect Britain's economic interests" in the event of a hung parliament.









Such as interfering with the democratic process ... perhaps?

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 08:30AM Report Comment
 

4. down wave said...

Posted again for the casual reader of this blog, I posted it some weeks back. There will be a run on the £ and interest rates will have to rise, there will be no option. If you have read this previously, sorry.


Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2010 09:19AM . 24. down wave said...
>>>>>>>>>>>One should hold in mind that Football and Rugby (etc) players are opposing teams on the public field for entertainment; But in the changing rooms they are all hairy mates out to make money as they shower of the mud.

This is absolutely true of Westminster, notwithstanding each party's public facade, they are all hairy boys (and Girls now) out to make money and screw us to boot. No one party wants to inherit the poisoned financial wells and scorched earth of NU labours financial and social incompetence or the inevitable consequences shortly to unfold.

So my best guess is that as they scrub each others back to clean off the mud,
they will arrange for a Hung Parliament, so that none of them take the blame.

In this case, which now looks certain, the voters will take the blame and they
will all continue to make money, while our country descends into Bankruptcy
brought about by their soap opera dramas.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 09:44AM Report Comment
 

5. uncle tom said...

In the first election of '74, Ted Heath hesitated before resigning, having polled more votes than Labour, even though Labour had more seats (but didn't have an overall majority)

The hesitation saw him dubbed as a bad loser, a reputation he never shook off.

If GB cannot be sure of forming a governing coalition by the time the last results are declared, he would be well advised to offer his resignation, although the Queen might not accept it straight away..

..if he doesn't learn from history, and lets his arrogance prevail; he might find the Libdems price for support included his removal..

(They would be well advised to demand that anyway - although any deal that would be acceptable to Labour, would inflict huge damage on the Libdems. If you look at the numbers, the Libdems holy grail of PR is something Labour could never accept, as Labour would be left with an electoral disadvantage, relative to the Tories.)

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:13AM Report Comment
 

6. orcusmaximus said...

@down wave "they will arrange for a Hung Parliament, so that none of them take the blame"

I don't buy it. No MP will voluntarily give up his seat, salary and expenses so that his colleagues can dodge the blame. They would all rather keep there "jobs" and weasel out of the blame some other way.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 12:40PM Report Comment
 

7. orcusmaximus said...

@UT "If GB cannot be sure of forming a governing coalition by the time the last results are declared, he would be well advised to offer his resignation,"

If we learn from history, GB will not do anything which might result in him losing his post until the last possible moment!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 12:43PM Report Comment
 

8. mr g said...

If the sh*t really does hit the fan straight after an election resulting in a hung parliament, then it may be desirable for Brown to continue as PM for a while and take all the flak for the resulting problems.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 03:54PM Report Comment
 

9. orcusmaximus said...

@mr g "it may be desirable for Brown to continue as PM for a while and take all the flak for the resulting problems."

As much as I would love to see GB get his just deserts, I'd rather see the country on the way to recovery.

In my experience, the only way to get an erroneous past decision reversed is to have a change of management. No manager will ever admit to making a mistake!

So, the only way to reverse the trends of


  • Increasing the number of people employed by the state or on benefits (the wealth consumers), and
  • Reducing the private sector (the wealth generators),

is to have a different party in charge.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 04:42PM Report Comment
 

10. mr g said...

@orcusmaximus

My comment was made because I have such a low regard of Brown that I would love to see him under the cosh and squirming if things turn nasty.

However, at the end of the day, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments and the priority has to be to see the country on the road to recovery.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 06:07PM Report Comment
 

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