The Queen won’t get involved in Brexit - she trusts the judgment of the people

Tecumsehsbones

Tecumsehsbones

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Blackleaf said:
May became PM without an election on 13th July 2016, and she didn't hold a General Election until 11 months later - 8th June 2017. I don't recall anyone complaining about that.
Brown became PM without an election in 2007 but it was three years later when he first faced a General Election - and he lost it. Throughout his entire term of office he didn't win one election. But I don't recall there being uproar.
Then Johnson becomes PM without having faced an election - just like most British PMs since 1900 - and people are complaining!
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Well, that's democracy, I guess.

If you're stupid.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Tecumsehsbones said:
Well, that's democracy, I guess.

If you're stupid.
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That's our parliamentary system. We have a parliamentary system, not a presidential system.

Talking of democracy, you currently have a president who didn't actually win the last election in terms of number of votes.

The American system can be said to be more undemocratic than the British one. The British elect a party, not the PM. We almost always have the party governing who won the most votes and seats in the election. Whereas America is currently, and often, led by the party and man who did NOT win the most votes.
 
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Serryah

Serryah

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Blackleaf said:
Well that's democracy for you. That's the word we use for such a thing.


Boris Johnson is, as we all know, Prime Minister. He is according to the political system we've had in this country for a long time. Johnson is the PM just as much as Winston Churchill, John Major, Gordon Brown and, of course, Theresa May were when they came to power without a general election.

I think it's a bit weird that some people suddenly think it's a bit odd that Johnson has become PM without an election when it's actually the norm in Britain. In fact, since 1900 most British PMs have come to power without an election - including three of the last four. Of the 28 PMs since 1900 - including those who have served more than once - 17 of them became PM without an election.

And yet, all of a sudden, you and a few others suddenly seem shocked and surprised and angry at Johnson becoming PM this way!


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'Unelected' Prime Ministers: common or not?
Published: 1st Aug 2019

Boris Johnson has won the latest contest to be leader of the Conservative Party and, as a result, he has become Prime Minister without winning a general election.

But how common is this, and what does it actually mean to have an “unelected” Prime Minister?

‘Electing’ Prime Ministers
Firstly, it’s important to note that UK voters don’t elect a Prime Minister directly.

There also isn’t a requirement for the Prime Minister to have won a general election as a party leader before they come into office, or to stay in office.

Voters select a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent their constituency. Prime Ministers are officially appointed by the Queen, and stay in office as long as they can command the confidence of the House of Commons (or until the next election).

This is usually the MP who leads the party with the most seats in the House of Commons, or who can unite a coalition of MPs or parties into a working majority.

Political parties select their leaders in various ways, but most include a vote of their members.

That is the system that Britain has had for a log time. It's also the system Canada has. Yet it seems you've only just realised this.
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You're right, to all of it.

And I despise the system we have.

I have for a long time wished we COULD elect our PM, outside of the party. Party should not equal leader.

So yes, I DID have issues with May as your PM. Until she called the election and was voted in by the general public.

I was indifferent to her before then because I thought she was a moron and really wasn't gonna do anything for your country. Turns out I was right.

BoJo is a totally different monster than May, and worth being vocal about.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Serryah said:
BoJo is a totally different monster than May, and worth being vocal about.
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Well that's subjective, merely a matter of opinion.

I think it would be rather wrong to change our political system whenever someone becomes PM that YOU don't like.

Typical Lefty: "I don't like the person who has become PM, so I want to change the political system to ensure that only people I want as PM become PM. Forget about democracy. Democracy is a bad thing because sometimes it doesn't go the way I want it to go."

And, yes, Johnson is very different from May: He intends, unlike her, to honour the referendum result. You know the word for it: democracy. I didn't realise that being a democrat made you a "monster".
 
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