The Politics Thread

[Worthy4England]

Negotiating tactic?

What was he hoping to negotiate and with who?

It kept the pressure on the negotiations between Cons and Libs - very publically saying that there might be a deal elsewhere, if Cons and Libs didn't reach an agreement. You don't have to be negotiating anything with anybody. Somtimes just making it known that you would be/might be prepared to negotiate as a positioning statement is enough.

Doesn't this happen in business every Contract renewal when the customer is threatening to go out to the market, to make your pricing keener?

Fairly standard stuff.

[Worthy4England]

Negotiating tactic?

What was he hoping to negotiate and with who?

who knows? but - it was no more than a couple of hours after the news broke that the lib dems were talking to labour that the tories (through Hague) stood on the steps and publically made a raft of "extra mile" promises that (presumably) they hadn't made when they thought it was just them talking to Nick.

Labour would NEVER have held together the ramshackle alliance that was being suggested with their back benches of perpetual dusgruntlement - their negotiating team are clever enough to have realised that from day one.

anyway... lots of people ringing R5 to say they are joining the labour party (mostly ex lib dems)

That's the one.

[CAPSLOCK]

Negotiating tactic?

What was he hoping to negotiate and with who?

It kept the pressure on the negotiations between Cons and Libs - very publically saying that there might be a deal elsewhere, if Cons and Libs didn't reach an agreement. You don't have to be negotiating anything with anybody. Somtimes just making it known that you would be/might be prepared to negotiate as a positioning statement is enough.

Doesn't this happen in business every Contract renewal when the customer is threatening to go out to the market, to make your pricing keener?

Fairly standard stuff.

So, Labour knew they couldn't hold a coalition together, but the Tories aren't as bright as Labour (or the rest of the country) so they were put under pressure

No, not having it

[Worthy4England]

Negotiating tactic?

What was he hoping to negotiate and with who?

It kept the pressure on the negotiations between Cons and Libs - very publically saying that there might be a deal elsewhere, if Cons and Libs didn't reach an agreement. You don't have to be negotiating anything with anybody. Somtimes just making it known that you would be/might be prepared to negotiate as a positioning statement is enough.

Doesn't this happen in business every Contract renewal when the customer is threatening to go out to the market, to make your pricing keener?

Fairly standard stuff.

So, Labour knew they couldn't hold a coalition together, but the Tories aren't as bright as Labour (or the rest of the country) so they were put under pressure

No, not having it

Your pick.

Can't see any other reason why it would have been done.

[CAPSLOCK]

Exactly

[Worthy4England]

Exactly

So the only reason I keep coming back to, was to try and maintain pressure on the Con/Lib deal...

Some of the younger Notting Hill Mob might have been marginally influenced by it, I doubt the older heads will have been much swayed.

[thebish]

Theresa May as Home Secretary...

and I was just thinking this cabinet was shaking out as very dominantly "male" - which doesn't look like "new politics" to me...

[Worthy4England]

Theresa May as Home Secretary...

and I was just thinking this cabinet was shaking out as very dominantly "male" - which doesn't look like "new politics" to me...

So the inclusion of Theresa May alters this, how?

[William the White]

Negotiating tactic?

What was he hoping to negotiate and with who?

who knows? but - it was no more than a couple of hours after the news broke that the lib dems were talking to labour that the tories (through Hague) stood on the steps and publically made a raft of "extra mile" promises that (presumably) they hadn't made when they thought it was just them talking to Nick.

Labour would NEVER have held together the ramshackle alliance that was being suggested with their back benches of perpetual dusgruntlement - their negotiating team are clever enough to have realised that from day one.

anyway... lots of people ringing R5 to say they are joining the labour party (mostly ex lib dems)[/quote]

How long before the first defection by a Lib MP?

How long before the second?

And roll on the split. In any by-election there will be a Liberal candidate - even if not endorsed by Clegg.

[Zulus Thousand of em]

In all this sorry mess, and a hung parliament is always a sorry mess irrespective of your political standpoint, most of the pundits have overlooked the ultimate madness of the failed attempts by Broon to cobble together a government this week.

If they had got the Lib Dems on board that would have only brought them close to a majority. They would then have had to negotiate with the lunatics in the SNP (3 MP's) and Plaid Cymru (9 MP's) to obtain some sort of majority. (I think I've got the numbers right.) So what would the outcome be then? Yes, make the budget cuts required but they had better not impact on any of the citizens of Auchtermuchty or Llandindrod Wells. Now that's a recipe for tear gas on the streets if ever I saw one!

Politicians are tawdry by nature. This is as tawdry an episode as I can remember for some time though.

Just one other point, I can't wait for the full story to come out about the Labour negotiations with the Lib Dems. Reading between the lines I'm guessing that one or more members of the Labour negotiating team got the mood and approach spectacularly wrong. All good fun!

Spectacularly wrong.

As for lunatics, well we now have a Tory party in power, who were thought of so poorly, that they couldn't get a majority against possibly the second most unpopular PM ever (after Thatch). While Kay Burley is a balloon, I think she was right when she said 67% of the UK voted for a hung parliament.

I'm happy enough though, played right into the SNP hands again, the Libs are now going to struggle to hold seats up there, putting a party into power that is abhorent to most.

Oh yes, my big! The actual figures are Plaid Cymru 3, SNP 6 - which totally bolloxes my point of course!

[mummywhycantieatcrayons]

Theresa May as Home Secretary...

and I was just thinking this cabinet was shaking out as very dominantly "male" - which doesn't look like "new politics" to me...

Chris Grayling put out to pasture - not before time!

[thebish]

Theresa May as Home Secretary...

and I was just thinking this cabinet was shaking out as very dominantly "male" - which doesn't look like "new politics" to me...

So the inclusion of Theresa May alters this, how?

sorry - forgot the irony emoticon...

she does like her heels though...

[thebish]

they're not being patronising at all -

they have made Theresa May Home Secretary (which is a big enough job in itself)

but then also made her Minister for Women!

presumably on top of his Foreign Secretary job - Hague will me Minister for Men?

[Prufrock]

And Cameron Minister for Replicants?

[thebish]

And Cameron Minister for Replicants?

someone's been watching too much Charlie Brooker!

[ratbert]

Theresa May as Home Secretary...

and I was just thinking this cabinet was shaking out as very dominantly "male" - which doesn't look like "new politics" to me...

Chris Grayling put out to pasture - not before time!

Last seen trying to check into a B&B run by a gay couple...

...speaking of which, I keep expecting Nick and Dave to start snogging for the cameras any moment.

[Tombwfc]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8678143.stm

So they've gone from slagging each other off every week to some weird bromance. Amazing how things change when there's power up for grabs.

[thebish]

[KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab]

Looks like Alan Titchmarsh. After a stroke.

That might just be wishful thinking on my part, though....

[CAPSLOCK]

You want to stroke our Alan?