The PM and the Cabinet are still the Government during this period, but the House of Commons is basically closed and no more bills can be passed. The day-to-day of Government goes on as normal. The only time that there really is no Government is the half an hour or so between the outgoing PM goes to the King and says "I'm off, the new guy's on his way" and the newly elected PM rocks up "hi Kingy, I'm the new PM" and the King "invites" him to form his new Government.sangi39 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:17 pm This could be a "strictly speaking, but", but the MP in my constituency announced, on the day the election was called, that parliament has been suspended, and that, within the confines of the law, he was only an "acting", MP, not an actual Member of Parliament, meaning that, for those forty some odd days, he could only really deal with emergencies
I don't know how much this might be the case in the US, but in the UK it seems to be the case that, beyond things previously established (like paying people) and emergencies, the government and its machinations just kind of don't exist? Like, our general elections, from what I can remember, have an upper bound on campaigning (I think it's like 2 or 3 months), so a short term temporary shut-down of government is just sort of the thing, whereas in the US, at least for presidential elections, you've got like a two-year build up. You can't shut down governance for that long every four years
The "quick turn around", then, I imagine, is literally because a) things already half shut down, and b) pretty much every party leader is poised to win (as Masako said as well, we have the odd situation of having the fact that people need to ask someone else to form a government that exists outside of that system). I'm fairly certain, although could be wrong, that there's also a two-week-long limit on "forming a government" that the Commons accepts? So that might speed things along a tad
British Politics Guide
Re: British Politics Guide
Unsuccessfully conlanging since 1999.
Re: British Politics Guide
Thaaaaat makes more sense Thank you muchlyJonlang wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:29 amThe PM and the Cabinet are still the Government during this period, but the House of Commons is basically closed and no more bills can be passed. The day-to-day of Government goes on as normal. The only time that there really is no Government is the half an hour or so between the outgoing PM goes to the King and says "I'm off, the new guy's on his way" and the newly elected PM rocks up "hi Kingy, I'm the new PM" and the King "invites" him to form his new Government.sangi39 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:17 pm This could be a "strictly speaking, but", but the MP in my constituency announced, on the day the election was called, that parliament has been suspended, and that, within the confines of the law, he was only an "acting", MP, not an actual Member of Parliament, meaning that, for those forty some odd days, he could only really deal with emergencies
I don't know how much this might be the case in the US, but in the UK it seems to be the case that, beyond things previously established (like paying people) and emergencies, the government and its machinations just kind of don't exist? Like, our general elections, from what I can remember, have an upper bound on campaigning (I think it's like 2 or 3 months), so a short term temporary shut-down of government is just sort of the thing, whereas in the US, at least for presidential elections, you've got like a two-year build up. You can't shut down governance for that long every four years
The "quick turn around", then, I imagine, is literally because a) things already half shut down, and b) pretty much every party leader is poised to win (as Masako said as well, we have the odd situation of having the fact that people need to ask someone else to form a government that exists outside of that system). I'm fairly certain, although could be wrong, that there's also a two-week-long limit on "forming a government" that the Commons accepts? So that might speed things along a tad
Re: British Politics Guide
I think this would be mistaking a symptom for a disease. The media coverage of the 2015 election was aggressively partisan; they would have taken anything that would work for the purpose of slandering Labour, and they got a bacon sandwich. It wasn't even about Ed Miliband - after he resigned as leader we got the Times describing Jeremy Corbyn and his "Chairman Mao-style bicycle".
Re: British Politics Guide
I did wonder what would have happened if Sunak had suddenly dropped dead during the campaign. Convention demands that the King appoint someone who can be expected to command a majority in the House of Commons - but that would have been Starmer!Jonlang wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:29 am The PM and the Cabinet are still the Government during this period, but the House of Commons is basically closed and no more bills can be passed. The day-to-day of Government goes on as normal. The only time that there really is no Government is the half an hour or so between the outgoing PM goes to the King and says "I'm off, the new guy's on his way" and the newly elected PM rocks up "hi Kingy, I'm the new PM" and the King "invites" him to form his new Government.
Re: British Politics Guide
If the PM dies, the party just elects a new leader and they become PM. If this were to happen during purdah then the campaign for a new party leader would likely take longer than the campaign for the general election. It's never happened so how it would actually pan out is anyone's guess.Richard W wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:03 pmI did wonder what would have happened if Sunak had suddenly dropped dead during the campaign. Convention demands that the King appoint someone who can be expected to command a majority in the House of Commons - but that would have been Starmer!Jonlang wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:29 am The PM and the Cabinet are still the Government during this period, but the House of Commons is basically closed and no more bills can be passed. The day-to-day of Government goes on as normal. The only time that there really is no Government is the half an hour or so between the outgoing PM goes to the King and says "I'm off, the new guy's on his way" and the newly elected PM rocks up "hi Kingy, I'm the new PM" and the King "invites" him to form his new Government.
Unsuccessfully conlanging since 1999.
Re: British Politics Guide
I would expect the deputy PM (at the time Oliver Dowden) to assume the role of acting PM for the purposes of the election, forming a coalition government (in the event of a hung parliament) and the leadership contest.
Re: British Politics Guide
I'm trying to come up with something snarky to say about this, but can't. "Reform UK under pressure to prove all its candidates were real people": https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ar ... eal-people
Re: British Politics Guide
They went so hard on "reform" they tried to reform reality itselfRaphael wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 7:30 am I'm trying to come up with something snarky to say about this, but can't. "Reform UK under pressure to prove all its candidates were real people": https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ar ... eal-people
Re: British Politics Guide
So why didn't he just rename the party instead of creating a new one?
Comparing the photos from this page ( https://www.gbnews.com/politics/reform- ... ing-ai-bot ), the first definitely looks like his face got smoothed in photoshop, and possibly slimmed down to look slightly less chubby.Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2024 7:30 am I'm trying to come up with something snarky to say about this, but can't. "Reform UK under pressure to prove all its candidates were real people": https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ar ... eal-people
Re: British Politics Guide
Reform UK used to be called the Brexit Party, by the way.
And GB News is like a UK Newsmax. But new. And their viewers vote more for Labour than Tory or Reform despite the views of the channel.
And GB News is like a UK Newsmax. But new. And their viewers vote more for Labour than Tory or Reform despite the views of the channel.