Shocking major win for UK Conservatives and Cameron

[William Thornton]

An outright majority for the Tories, quite surprising.

Some of the same issues will be relevant here in 2016.

[Haruo]

Including no doubt Texas Secessionism.

[William Thornton]

There are Texans who make me long for the expulsion of the state and a resurrection of Santa Anna for another shot at San Jacinto.

[Sandy]

[William Thornton]

[Tim Bonney]

[Tim Bonney]

[William Thornton]

[Sandy]

It's a district by district seat allotment. If you're in a district with 6 candidates, and you get 30% of the vote, but the next highest vote getter only receives 20%, even though 70% of the votes went to others, you get the seat. So it is possible, and it has occurred, that a party which receives a minority of the total vote can control Parliament. The drawback, however, is that the larger parties, particularly the Tories, are not tightly wound around an agenda, but tend to differ on specific issues, enough so that a majority can turn around quickly, and result in gridlock. There was a time when Parliament seemed to be much less prone to negotiation and compromise than Congress, but I don't think that's the case any more. And the British seem to prefer governments in which there is lots of debate, and little action.

[Tim Bonney]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

I agree. Our current system has evolved so that congress doesn't have any incentive to really represent us, since they are mostly likely going to get re-elected anyway.

[ET]

Does this sound familiar, William? .

Instead of implying that the uneducated, ignorant or unthinking voters who listen to Rush or watch Fox News were the reason for any given conservative U.S. victory, the dude across the pond implies the blame rests on the same type of British voters who read the Sun and Mail tabloids.

No Rush, no Fox News, no Super-Pacs....and the Brit conservatives STILL pulled it off!

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

Sandy's right. All the articles I've read about the UK Conservative party is that it is just right of center. I could support a number of their views though not their support for the wasted wars in the middle east.

Because of the diversity of parties in the UK the effect is actually towards moderation. Extremist form their own parties rather than gain control in either the Conservative or the Labour Party unlike us Republicans who from Ronald Reagan on began to court the far right extremists to gain votes.

[Haruo]

Interesting electoral cycle going on in Poland.