British Politics Guide

[Salmoneus]

Well, thinking about it it's more likely that she tries to hang on until a successor is elected - that's what they usually do. Howard managed to hang around 6 months after resigning.

But if she did resign on the spot, presumably because she thought she had no other choice, then there simply wouldn't be a leader of the party. That's happened once before in recent times, when Major resigned the party leadership in order to invite (and defeat) an overt challenge, to try to end the backstabbing that marked his time in power - between Major's resignation and Major's re-election, there was no leader.

Sometimes there's been a deputy leader; I don't know if there was one in Major's interregnum. Really, though, it doesn't much matter - nothing will fall apart if a party doesn't have an official leader for a few weeks.

In practice, who would hold most power in the party in that period? We don't know, but there would probably be a number of influential figures:
- Theresa May would still be the Prime Minister, and would continue to set government policy, and hence would set party policy by default, unless people wanted to actively distance themselves from her.

- Brandon Lewis is Chairman of the Conservative Party. This isn't a hugely powerful role - partly because it's granted by the Leader rather than having any independent power-base - but it is a symbolic one. Lewis is officially in charge of the party - if there are any disputes over leadership election protocol, for example, I'd expect Lewis to be the one to at least officially set the rules. He's not a big name himself, though (unlike some past Party Chairmen) so he may well look to others for guidance.

- Graham Brady is Chairman of the 1922 Committee, and hence represents Tory MPs. He would have a lot of influence over issues of MP representation (including things like election rules), and his lead would be important in determining how closely Party MPs felt obliged to follow the direction of the PM.

- Julian Smith is Chief Whip. It's his job to get the party's MPs to vote according to party policy - which means that de facto he has a big role in determining what that policy is. Normally it means getting people to obey the PM, but in the case of a caretaker PM, things might be more fluid; certainly he'd have a big role behind the scenes conveying to the PM the mood of the MPs and persuading her not to have policies that her MPs don't want to support.

[chris_notts]

According to Hancock, the Tories shouldn't call a GE until Brexit is done in case the people vote the wrong way. We can't risk the democratic will of the people getting in the way of the mission, can we?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48318678

[alice]

According to Hancock, the Tories shouldn't call a GE until Brexit is done in case the people vote the wrong way. We can't risk the democratic will of the people getting in the way of the mission, can we?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48318678

To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

[dhok]

Would one of our resident Scotland experts be able to explain why Burger King is getting ratio'ed over milkshakes?

[alice]

Would one of our resident Scotland experts be able to explain why Burger King is getting ratio'ed over milkshakes?

1. Nigel "expletive" Farage was in Edinburgh for a rally recently.
3. There is a McDonald's close to the venue where this rally was held.
2. Nigel "expletive" Farage is not popular in Scotland.

[chris_notts]

Would one of our resident Scotland experts be able to explain why Burger King is getting ratio'ed over milkshakes?

1. Nigel "expletive" Farage was in Edinburgh for a rally recently.
3. There is a McDonald's close to the venue where this rally was held.
2. Nigel "expletive" Farage is not popular in Scotland.

I had no idea his middle name was "expletive"! It might explain the poorly hidden anger, resentment, bile, and borderline alcoholism from the privileged son of a stockbroker who is given over €100k/yr of public money for doing almost nothing.

[alice]

Would one of our resident Scotland experts be able to explain why Burger King is getting ratio'ed over milkshakes?

1. Nigel "expletive" Farage was in Edinburgh for a rally recently.
3. There is a McDonald's close to the venue where this rally was held.
2. Nigel "expletive" Farage is not popular in Scotland.

I had no idea his middle name was "expletive"! It might explain the poorly hidden anger, resentment, bile, and borderline alcoholism from the privileged son of a stockbroker who is given over €100k/yr of public money for doing almost nothing.

Apparently he doesn't like to talk about it. Maybe it's the quotes.

Anyway, I forgot:

5. McDonalds was told by the police not to sell milkshakes while Farage was in the vicinity, in the light of his previous visits to Scotland.

[Travis B.]

Why milkshakes though? Why not burgers and fries (or chips as you call them)?

(Maybe milkshakes are easier to consume while demonstrating than burgers?)

[alynnidalar]

There's been multiple incidents of milkshakes being thrown at politicians, apparently.

[KathTheDragon]

Because burgers are nice /s

[Linguoboy]

A little background: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... nson-bigot

It's been pointed out that milkshake shows up particularly well on the dark suits favoured by campaigning politicians.

[Travis B.]

Ketchup probably isn't as effective against politicians wearing dark suits...

[Linguoboy]

Ketchup is harder to wield, too. You'd need a bottleful to make a good splash and hitting someone with a bottle can cause serious injury. The most a milkshake can do is embarrass someone. They're are easy to carry and easy to throw and you never need to explain why you're carrying one while walking around.

[alice]

Ketchup is harder to wield, too. You'd need a bottleful to make a good splash and hitting someone with a bottle can cause serious injury. The most a milkshake can do is embarrass someone. They're are easy to carry and easy to throw and you never need to explain why you're carrying one while walking around.

Plus, as Anna Soubry helpfully pointed out on the radio earlier, milk goes off rather quickly and smells.

Anyway: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-48339711

[Moose-tache]

This is England, though. Shouldn't people be throwing crocks of jellied eels and handfuls of Stilton?

In any case, it's incredibly satisfying to see that man wiping flung dairy off his trouser front. It would be nice to have a Black Mirror situation where someone makes a milkshake trebuchet so accurate that no politician can ever go outside again, and they wear riot gear when they move from building to building. Getting milkshaked should just be part of the job.

[Jonlang]

This is England, though. Shouldn't people be throwing crocks of jellied eels and handfuls of Stilton?

Scotland isn't England. Only England is England.

[Moose-tache]

This is England, though. Shouldn't people be throwing crocks of jellied eels and handfuls of Stilton?

Scotland isn't England. Only England is England.

TIL Newcastle is in Scotland.

[Frislander]

This is England, though. Shouldn't people be throwing crocks of jellied eels and handfuls of Stilton?

Scotland isn't England. Only England is England.

TIL Newcastle is in Scotland.

To much of the south it might as well be.

[Jonlang]

This is England, though. Shouldn't people be throwing crocks of jellied eels and handfuls of Stilton?

Scotland isn't England. Only England is England.

TIL Newcastle is in Scotland.

Shit. I lost my way somewhere here...

[alice]

Scotland isn't England. Only England is England.

TIL Newcastle is in Scotland.

To much of the south it might as well be.

Actually, it's in Northern Ireland (and Australia, if you're feeling global). Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Newcastle-under-Lyme are in England.