Keir Starmer Announces Resignation

[Altair]

Germany and France recently had political crises that exceeded the bounds of a PM being ejected by his own party which, in Britain at least, is not considered unusual. I am confident there will be more.

Finally some light humour. "Ungovernable" is a laughing-stock word among people who have noticed that almost every time political establishments run into difficulty having their way, the country is pronounced "ungovernable". It is about as useful a word as "robust".

Its ungovernable because the electorate is asking for the impossible.

How does one maintain services like the NHS and pump more money into the military, without raising taxes or borrowing more? All the while stuck with lower growth due to brexit.

Two parties have tried, two parties are going through leaders faster than it takes to go from olympic hosts.

Sure, give reform the reins, its the same math. Math the electorate doesnt seem to understand or care about.

At least when Chretien and Martin had to slash federal spending the public knew it had to be done. Chretien wasnt ousted because of it, Martin didnt have his career ended.

The UK is incapable of that it seems.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Its ungovernable because the electorate is asking for the impossible.

How does one maintain services like the NHS and pump more money into the military, without raising taxes or borrowing more? All the while stuck with lower growth due to brexit.

Who knows? Maybe they just absolutely gut everything providing services and transfers to people on a public teat.

 

[Altair]

Who knows? Maybe they just absolutely gut everything providing services and transfers to people on a public teat.

100 percent what needs to happen. Something needs to give.

But the second someone does, their popularity would plummet and they would be replaced.

Again, I don't use the term ungovernable lightly. Even France, with it's 3 blocs that hate each other can find room to compromise because it's the electorate that is split, not so much the political class. The UK is ungovernable because it's the entire electorate that is split from those who need to face the practical realities of running the country. The electorate is united, left and right, that they don't want the government to touch their services, and the government cannot afford to do it without raising taxes or borrowing more, and the electorate wont stand for higher taxes and the bond market will cripple the UK if they borrow more.

Until such a time as someone gets into power and is willing to pay the price to gut everything while holding on to their job, somehow, that country is going to cycle through PMs faster than the olympics.

 

[Navy_Pete]

I am trying to think of any prior instance I've come across of someone advancing the proposition that moving from resources to services is not entirely a good idea, and coming up short. Usually in Canada we lament our position as "hewers-of-wood-and-drawers-of-water" and dream about moving up.

Well done.

Exiting the EU added transaction costs which resulting in some outflows, but it didn't end the country.

No, but did create enough impediments to the delivery of services as well as their remaining goods which previously had unrestricted access to one of the largest economies on the planet.

It was an act of self harm. The only people that seemed to benefit from it were the criminals and billionaires who can continue to wash and shelter their money in the UK banking system, without the additional EU rules that came in after Brexit. The majority of the population is objectively worse off.