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Another Election
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John Rice
John Rice
38 posts

Re: Hate is a cul-de-sac
May 01, 2017, 17:18
nigelswift wrote:
Our ability to negotiate with EU27 will not be affected by the size of May's majority....


I'm not sure it's quite so simple. Hear me out, I'm anti-brexit and anti-tory. This is a case of seeking a silver lining; not a case of celebrating the cloud.

It's true that the size of the tory majority is irrelevant in the strict context of the EU-Britain negotiations. However, it is not irrelevant when it comes to setting the British negotiating position, and it won't be irrelevant if May finds herself needing to make concessions in order to minimise the damage of brexit.

Right now, a tiny number of tory MPs, in tandem with the Ulster Unionists, can hold Theresa May hostage. Unless Britain pursues a hardline brexit path, they can threaten to withdraw their support and bring down the government. With a larger tory majority, this kind of parliamentary blackmail will be *much* harder to organise.

Of course; I'd much rather no tory majority at all. Right now that doesn't seem likely, but we can always hope. So perhaps the worst of all possibilities is what we have now -- a slim but workable tory majority that only holds together so long as the PM keeps the tory hardliners and Unionists on side. And perhaps May increasing that majority slightly would be better than the current situation?

I promise to wash my mouth out with soap after I finish here for even suggesting such a thing, and it's just a devil's advocate thought-experiment. But worth thinking about all the same.
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