UK's political parties

[Machiavelli]

This is the most uncertain moment in the history of over 300 years of parliamentary history. We've basically had a two-party system for that period with Labour replacing the Liberals/Whigs as the rival of the Conservatives/Tories a century ago. Now we have a multi-party system with all of them all over the place:

Tories -- split down the middle and now have to try and piece together multiple deals internationally which they as a party (let alone those who transpire to be the negotiators) have no real experience of.

Labour -- unelectable baffoon with the strategic nous of a caterpillar at the helm, that has been decisively rejected by the core constituency that has dominated its century-plus history

UKIP -- its raison d'être has just been achieved

Lib Dems -- with eight MPs and policies miles apart from the electorate

SNP -- just announced it's for a second independence referendum less than two years after losing one by a 10% margin. Lose that one and the party's stardust will rub off

Plaid Cymru and the Greens -- not connecting with the electorate

We're in for a roller-coaster period. What will happen with the parties? Will there be mergers? Will there be new entrants? How much longer can the two-party-oriented FPTP sustain itself in such a multi-party framework?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

UKIP have achieved UK Independence.


However, if their real aim was stopping / reducing EU immigration then they MAY be sorely disappointed with the EU Exit deal which is negotiated.

 

[glasfryn]

This is the most uncertain moment in the history of over 300 years of parliamentary history. We've basically had a two-party system for that period with Labour replacing the Liberals/Whigs as the rival of the Conservatives/Tories a century ago. Now we have a multi-party system with all of them all over the place:

Tories -- split down the middle and now have to try and piece together multiple deals internationally which they as a party (let alone those who transpire to be the negotiators) have no real experience of.

Labour -- unelectable baffoon with the strategic nous of a caterpillar at the helm, that has been decisively rejected by the core constituency that has dominated its century-plus history

UKIP -- its raison d'être has just been achieved

Lib Dems -- with eight MPs and policies miles apart from the electorate

SNP -- just announced it's for a second independence referendum less than two years after losing one by a 10% margin. Lose that one and the party's stardust will rub off

Plaid Cymru and the Greens -- not connecting with the electorate

We're in for a roller-coaster period. What will happen with the parties? Will there be mergers? Will there be new entrants? How much longer can the two-party-oriented FPTP sustain itself in such a multi-party framework?

in peacetime
the grassroots Labour party love him

 

[Machiavelli]

in peacetime
the grassroots Labour party love him

RE in peacetime: I'm referring to the future of our political parties
RE the grassroots: they may well do but there's only a few hundred thousand of those; we can quibble over precisely who the working class are (if such a classification is still relevant), but in terms of numbers who are legible to vote, they're in the tens of millions