The Tories have a majority, Scotland has abandoned Labour for the Nationalists, and the LibDems are basically dead. The hard-right anti-EU party got a couple of seats as well. A lot of people think secession is back on the table, but SNP : Scotland :: Bloc Quebecois : Quebec, and Quebec's secession dreams are pretty much over.

I wish we had a viable third party like the LibDems, but I guess it turns out that they're only good in theory. I also wish we had a parliamentary system, but we long for a monarch even more than the British do.

_________________

Nigel Farage's UKIP received 3 million votes, but will only have 2 MP's in Parliament--neither of them Farage.

SNP rec'd 1.4 mil votes, but will have 59 MP's.

Labour only rec'd 3x as many votes as UKIP, but will have 227 more seats in Parliament.

Cameron's conservatives 11 mil votes results in 325 MP's, to 2 for UKIP's 3 mil voters.

Proportional representation intrigues me, but if it means giving more seats to Tea Party East, I'd better keep quiet for now.

_________________

Ed Miliband is stepping down today, which is a good first step to Labour getting their shit back together.

Its very sad to see the UKIP plague spread. The EU sucks, I get that, but oh my god they want to turn the NHS into some American styled shitshow and just once-and-for-all fuck the poor forever.

when's the next Bond movie coming out?

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Cameron has promised the right things to keep the union intact. He is proceeding with devolution (federalism in the U.S.), which will temper Scottish dreams of independence and fulfill his Better Together Promise. He is allowing a vote on an EU exit even though he opposes that. The Brits will hold the union together and stay in the EU. My prediction.

Proportional representation is a complete trap. In Brazil it takes like 20 parties to form a majority government. Single member districts, built on a first past the post electoral system is much better and creates stable governments. Israel is another example of poorly constructed parliaments. While it sounds good to give the wings representation, it gives them outsized power in government. In Israel, the majority only has two extra seats, so the far right will now control the votes.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

I agree that the union is staying together. I read some blue-ribbon fearmongering that Scotland would secede from the UK, the UK would leave the EU, and all anglophone business would move from London to Edinburgh to punish England. Now that's just plain silly.

First-past-the-post kinda sucks. If it takes twenty parties to form a government, so be it. I'd rather have that than our current system of a Democratic Party that stands for everything and nothing against a Republican Party that stands for theocracy and hate.

_________________

The Nazi's came to power via a proportional representation system. The Germans have the 5% vote threshold to prevent that now, but look at UKIP. You'd have racists with 12% of the seats and the ability to win concessions for their support of the government. The bribery scandal in Brazil is largely a function of having to give money to small parties to keep the government intact. Huge downsides.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

reductio ad Hitler, I win!

_________________