Poll: Poll: Prime Minister Theresa May calls General Election on June 8th

[Tunney]

You mean soft Brexit surely? She's not pushing for hard Brexit but certainly could be more likely to end up that way without a large majority.

This is what the Conservative manifesto says:

The negotiations will undoubtedly be tough, and there will be give and take on both sides, but we continue to believe that no deal is better than a bad deal for the UK

...

As we leave the European Union, we will no longer be members of the single market or customs union

That doesn't sound like a soft Brexit and we could well end up with no deal at all.

 

[dowie]

That doesn't sound like a soft Brexit and we could well end up with no deal at all.

The chance of which increases when she has a smaller majority.

The conservative manifesto isn't too relevant to this point as it stays the same regardless of the size of her majority if she wins.

 

[Mr Jack]

Very worrying - Diane Abbot as Home Secretary...

Our current and previous Home Secretaries have been utterly dire, and the list going back before then isn't exactly inspiring: Jack Straw, Jacqui Smith, and Michael Howard spring to mind as particularly notably bad. So while I'm no fan of Diane Abbott I struggle to see how she'd be any worse than what has gone before.

 

[stewski]

This should have been an easy landslide win for May and the Tories, but incompetence and complacency in putting together their manifesto have seriously damaged them. As much as I'd like to believe otherwise, they're still easily on course for a solid victory but nothing like the massive Labour rout it looked like they'd get when the election was called.

I do wonder what kind of Labour supporter (even as the polls have narrowed from High 20s to 5) posts the above.

I find the entire, entrenched, lets ignore Labour's democratically elected leadership (despite being far more open to consensus rule than previous leaders) and bang on about what random individuals want out of the party, rather than the majority direction, whilst continually discounting every achievement of that leadership totally bizarre.

Jack if you'd like to believe otherwise, just believe otherwise, even as an outside bet, what is the value in Labour supporters talking the possibility down?

 

[Mr Jack]

I do wonder what kind of Labour supporter (even as the polls have narrowed from High 20s to 5) posts the above.

Jack if you'd like to believe otherwise, just believe otherwise, even as an outside bet, what is the value in Labour supporters talking the possibility down?

I find reality-denying partisanship tiring and pointless.

 

[Irish_Tom]

You mean soft Brexit surely? She's not pushing for hard Brexit but certainly could be more likely to end up that way without a large majority.

The conservative manifesto isn't too relevant to this point as it stays the same regardless of the size of her majority if she wins.

You said she's not pushing for a hard Brexit and in the next breath say the manifesto (which specifically states the Conservatives are pushing for a hard Brexit) is irrelevant?

 

[stewski]

The Fact that a man who protested Pinochet and Apartheid as the Conservatives Ruled and in the case of Pinochet, were personal friends, is extraordinary.

Outside bet or not "Jezz we can".

 

[iamtheoneneo]

I'm not sure at all - just look at the poll in this thread - Labour+LibDems get more votes that the Conservatives, and this is supposed to be a Tory forum. Since Manchester there has been a swing to Labour. Very worrying - Diane Abbot as Home Secretary...

Not just since Manchester. Since their manifesto and the constant bs. I was voting tory but won't bc of:

Increased internet monitoring.
Fix hunting.

As your average middle class citizen I don't care about much (tbh) but these two points really annoy the heck out of me

 

[stewski]

I find reality-denying partisanship tiring and pointless.

So do I, where are the polls at the moment compared to a number of other recent votes, say Brexit and Trump?

 

[stewski]

Not just since Manchester. Since their manifesto and the constant bs. I was voting tory but won't bc of:

Increased internet monitoring.
Fix hunting.

As your average middle class citizen I don't care about much (tbh) but these two points really annoy the heck out of me

For me attempting to ignore my left wing stance on investment in the economy, as much as Corbyn has been talked down as poor leader (which isn't always unfair tbh), May's decisions seem as if she's trying to loose:

I haven't seen her go near the rank and file public, she refuses debate, spouts meaningless sound bites ad infinitum, collapses under interview and throws mud at the wider world that she is supposed to be artfully negotiating with. As an individual she's disastrous at this point, it goes without saying I think the Conservatives Manifesto reads like a death note to a post brexit Britain!

 

[dowie]

You said she's not pushing for a hard Brexit and in the next breath say the manifesto (which specifically states the Conservatives are pushing for a hard Brexit) is irrelevant?

It doesn't say she's pushing for hard Brexit it leaves open the possibility of it though.

And yes the point related to the size of her majority - that manifesto exists whether or not she has a large or small majority.

I thought this was a straightforward point and am surprised that some are not grasping it.

 

[Irish_Tom]

It doesn't say she's pushing for hard Brexit it leaves open the possibility of it though.

And yes the point related to the size of her majority - that manifesto exists whether or not she has a large or small majority.

I thought this was a straightforward point and am surprised that some are not grasping it.

No Customs Union and not being memebers of the single market (as Tunney posted) is the very definition of hard Brexit… not only is this in the manifesto, it's been clear from speeches and interviews with May that this is exactly what she intends to 'win' from Brexit talks. I thought this was a straightforward point and am surprised that some are not grasping it.

If the Conservatives don't increase their majority, there is a less of a mandate for a hard Brexit (which is clearly what they want).

This may increase the likelihood of a 'no deal' situation, but only if she doggedly pushes for a hard Brexit in the face of political opposition from within the UK.

 

[dowie]

No Customs Union and not being memebers of the single market (as Tunney posted) is the very definition of hard Brexit… not only is this in the manifesto, it's been clear from speeches and interviews with May that this is exactly what she intends to 'win' from Brexit talks. I thought this was a straightforward point and am surprised that some are not grasping it.

If the Conservatives don't increase their majority, there is a less of a mandate for a hard Brexit (which is clearly what they want).

This may increase the likelihood of a 'no deal' situation, but only if she doggedly pushes for a hard Brexit in the face of political opposition from within the UK.

A no deal scenario falls under hard Brexit - the point is with a smaller minority she is more beholden to the hardcore leavers within her party leading to an increased chance of no deal/hard Brexit.

The manifesto still exists regardless so to cite it in reference to a point being made re: the relative size of her majority (if she wins) is irrelevant.

 

[stewski]

A no deal scenario falls under hard Brexit - the point is with a smaller minority she is more beholden to the hardcore leavers within her party leading to an increased chance of no deal/hard Brexit.

The manifesto still exists regardless so to cite it in reference to a point being made re: the relative size of her majority (if she wins) is irrelevant.

Pedal a myth to scare a moderate majority to vote for a demonstrably awful government.
Whatever government, with whatever make up, will have to hold a majority of MPs (from whichever side of the house will support them) to pass laws!

We elect these representatives based on knowledge of the position on a range of issues including Brexit.

Please buy my brand or the brexit get's it is weak leadership which ignores how our democracy is designed to work!

 

[dowie]

This isn't a myth - if she's got a large majority from her own party then that makes talks far easier, if she's got a small majority then that gives more leverage to the hardcore remainers...

 

[Irish_Tom]

I guess it depends on your point of view about Brexit.

As a remainer, I'd rather she had a smaller majority and less leverage over the Greens, Lib Dems, SNP and Labour Remainers.

If that makes things harder for her because she also has to pander to the hard brexiteers in her own party then so be it.

 

[StriderX]

This isn't a myth - if she's got a large majority from her own party then that makes talks far easier, if she's got a small majority then that gives more leverage to the hardcore remainers...

Except Parliament gave her carte blanche to do as she pleases with little interference from the benches.

 

[Judgeneo]

 

[Greebo]

This isn't a myth - if she's got a large majority from her own party then that makes talks far easier, if she's got a small majority then that gives more leverage to the hardcore remainers...

Ye the majority of political commentators say the opposite?????

 

[dowie]

Ye the majority of political commentators say the opposite?????

how do you mean?