Friends, I'm sure we all share the same goal: Nigel Farage as King-Emperor of Great Britain and its farflung dominions, and Donald Trump as King of the Americas. What could go wrong in the best of all possible worlds, I say!!! Well, we're a little closer to achieving Goal # 1, since Sir Keir Starmer has announced he will resign as British Prime Minister. Probably he'll be replaced by another Labour hack, but in the fullness of time let's hope the Labour government collapses, Reform wins a new general election, and King Charles III sees the writing on the wall and proffers his crown to ole Nigel. Hey, a man can dream!!!
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Yours is an interesting proposal. Yes, it would necessitate turning the clock back to the last time a British monarch voluntarily disinherited his own family. I'm guessing that would be Edward the Confessor and historians are still unclear as to whether he promised the crown to Duke William of Normandy or to Harold Godwinson, yes? Today there would be the matter of the prospective William the 5th. Oh, I think those Brits are going to go with the bemusing system history has graced them with for designating a head of government. Gotta luv it!
ReplyDeleteThe article speculates in part that Starmer's intention of staying in office for the summer is so that he can engage in unfettered "legacy building". What kind of legacy might that be?He is described as having attempted to tone down the Corbynite far left influence he saw in Labour when he became party leader. But was that sincere or was it only an attempt to avoid a disastrous Labour swing to the looney left for the present at least? Does the PM have executive power analogous to that of a US President with the Executive Orders DJT has used extensively? I suppose he could be brought down as Party Leader at any time and that the British "Constitution" might then necessitate his immediate resignation (?).
Labour is in a very precarious position. It could come in 3rd in a General Election. I think President Trump was right in opining that immigration, crime and energy insanity are Labour's millstones. I would guess that Labour's now demonstrated , characteristic far left adherence to these catastrophic policies may have "done for it". The Brits are too free a people to endure incipient tyrants. Farage may complete the job.
Jack, I sure hope so! Although, even if Reform did win a general election, if the "loyal opposition" then didn't come from Labour, who would it come from? Quite possibly a party much worse than Labour, like the Greens.
ReplyDeleteStarmer serves at the pleasure of the King, formally, but in practice he serves at the pleasure of the Labour caucus in Parliament, which means his party colleagues could decide to forcibly eject him whenever they like. It makes sense, though, to do so gradually, because the process of finding his replacement is too important to rush. Labour does face a dilemma in deciding how much to embrace the Corbynite and non-Corbynite far-left. Of course, the Conservatives faced similar dilemmas of their own, and they look no healthier than Labour, based on their attempts to please everyone and no one simultaneously.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I wonder if the Greens would make a coalition with Labour in an attempt to stave off a MAGA like government unapologetically and aggressively opposite to the far left views both parties embrace.
ReplyDeleteThe European heat wave may well draw much aggrieved Brit attention to far leftist suppression of oil drilling in the North Sea. Electric power outages resulting from desperate efforts to stay cool in this most un British summer weather may turn the gimlet eye of the electorate on all more and more widely discredited climate conjurors and the fantastic panaceas they force on common sense countries in all seasons. Perhaps the Greens should adopt some euphemistic name: maybe the Dream Party(? ).
Jack, as in Germany, I think it quite possible that the two main parties -- in this case, Labour and the Tories -- would make common cause to hold Reform at bay. You can't underestimate the existential dread of the establishment, nor the lengths to which it will go to preserve itself.
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