The government, deprived of its cobbled-together majority in the Commons by the decision of the DUP to abandon its ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement with May’s shambolic Tories, have collapsed in complete surrender tonight and accepted no fewer than five Labour and SNP amendments to its Budget finance bill. The amendments include the SNP’s new clause 14, Labour’s amendment 13 and new clause 5, centering on tax avoidance.
Last night’s DUP decision to vote against the Tories, rather than abstaining as they had announced, took both the government and the opposition by surprise, but with Labour gearing up for a three-line whip on tonight’s votes and the DUP set to repeat their vote, May has taken the coward’s route – again – of deciding not to contest the amendment votes.
In doing so, May has avoided a constitutional crisis in losing a finance bill vote by the skin of her teeth – but at a cost of making herself and her party a laughing stock. Only twice in history has a UK government been defeated on Budget votes and in both cases the government resigned.
The UK already had a ‘lame duck’ government – but not the duck has neutered itself into the bargain.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
If anyone ever doubted the case for a General Election, tonight settled that debate.
Theresa May could not get her own Budget through without accepting a total of five amendments – not because she wanted to but because she and her party are too weak in the House of Commons to carry the votes.
Labour ‘centrists’, who only days ago were dismissing the case for a general election, look as politically bankrupt and irrelevant as their critics have accused them of being.
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I don’t know how widely this is being reported by the MSM – if at all – but I just heard about it on al jazeera a bit earlier – ie ‘UK Church boycotts companies profiting from Israel occupation of Palestine’ (the Quakers, that is):
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181119-uk-church-boycotts-companies-profiting-from-israel-occupation-of-palestine/
And also this:
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181120-airbnb-removes-illegal-west-bank-settlement-listings/
And this is the way BBC News covered the above story on their website, and take particular note of how the ‘Israelis’ responded:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46273938
Airbnb delisting West Bank users has been on BBC news today.
Israel’s threatened legal action – which could easily result in a backlash by advertising the BDS movement so I doubt it’ll happen.
go tory go, there plenty of places that can accommodate you and your kind, north korea, iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, make England great again get rid of useless overspending tories
OMG, wanting to inflict Tories on those countries already under severe economic sanctions (50+ f’ing years for N.K along with constant threat of a second annihilation) and US/British bombs in Afghanistan… I think you need to get updated in foreign affairs and move away from the western exceptionalist mind set.
The Tories and British foreign policy are foremost UKs problem it’s up to Brits to sort them out! Time to take responsibility instead of wanting to hive the problem off onto countries already under the western kosh!
do you think any of them countries would tolerate such incompetence like we do, that’s why I suggested it, doubled edged really get rid of them an din countries like north korea wow the pollical correctness course would do them some good
At the time of writing this event seems to have escaped the notice of the BBC and Sky, at least online. I’m waiting to see if The Prime Minister’s Publicity Agent, also known as The Daily Express, can turn this into a victory for May.
How about a referendum on whether we should have a General Election?
“How about a referendum on whether we should have a General Election?”
We won’t get to choose but if we did it seems to me the polls aren’t showing us anywhere near far enough ahead to get anything remotely socialist through without Blairite support – which we wouldn’t get – so I’d vote to wait and keep pushing the Tories on UC, austerity and Brexit.
By May 2022 Tories might win fewer than 150 seats given the increased youth vote, their dying supporter base, the repercussions of Brexit and growing AI job losses.
They may even lose all but a handful of seats in the event of another ‘downturn’ – increasingly thought possible – for which we now have too few reserves.
Six weeks before the last general election, Labour were over 20 points behind. By the day of the election, we were almost level pegging. This happened because the media were forced by election rules to show Jeremy Corbyn as he is, not as they wanted people to see him. This time we would be starting from a small lead. Just imagine how far ahead we would be after six weeks.
adhd960, it’s not just the Tories we need to outnumber though, is it?
We need to outnumber them and the right wing of our own party who’ll be conspiring to avoid socialism at all costs.
By 2022 we might expect to have ‘lost’ a fair few of the Blairites – but in six weeks?
That might be a bit optimistic.
‘…the polls aren’t showing us anywhere near far enough ahead to get anything remotely socialist through without Blairite support – which we wouldn’t get…’, which defeats the whole objective of a political party – the lack of support, that is.
Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise (not for the millons suffering under government austerity) that the Conservatives are clinging on to power for a little bit longer: It gives us enough chance to deselect the Blairites or we induce them to jump ship by joining the Conservatives in coalition to replace the DUP and thereby automatically deselecting themselves.
Perhaps the government would abstain on a vote of no confidence against itself?
I cannot find this story anywhere
Which story, Tim?
The PM might think she’s the new Margaret Thatcher but she’s more like the new Ted Heath. Completely useless and almost had to be dragged from office.
SOS HMS UK , the captain out of control the ship rudderless , and the idiots in the engine room stoking the boilers full steam ahead onto the effing rocks .
It’s the “end game” now for May and Co thank God , just a case of how much mean time damage the Tories continue to do to us all before the whole sticking load of corrupt shite they are finally collapses into oblivion
“at a cost of making herself and her party a laughing stock”
Don’t get too excited. The Tories have been a laughing stock all through the idiot Brexit idea. Do you think a bit more shit of the heap is going to make a difference?
They will avoid triggering a general election, and forcing one is now much more difficult.
I guess if there is a vote of no confidence in the Govt by Parliament and ( long shot ) it passes , then that would be the end and a GE would be called .
But yep you’re right , expect this shower of shite to cling on regardless of the damage to the UK.
11.10pm scoured everywhere on line and can find NO coverage of this in ANY of the MSM .
Not sure of the Biased Broadcasting Co as I no longer watch or pay for it.
Google “may accepts five amendments” and in “tools” select “Past 24 hours”
Lots to choose from.
Thanks David , I just went straight to their sites and looked at the front page , nothing that I could see there , would have thought that would be the place to see such defeat reported.
Just checked again this morning 21.11, and nothing , it’s called burying bad news you’d bet it would be FP if it were Labour suffering a defeat . Still the point is mute as the bias of the MSM is well known and recognised.
Ah, I see now where you went wrong – you assumed I’d get the actual point of your question ‘~’ instead of lazily just Googling and posting… oops.
You meant the MAIN stream media… duh.
NO worries , I have a pair of very good glasses for sale on Ebay 😉
Mostly, this isn’t being reported. It is mentioned in the Guardian but only in the context of a piece about the DUP that manages a swipe at Corbyn at the same time
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/20/dup-refuses-support-may-brexit-deal.
I couldn’t find any mention of it in any context on the BBC website.
David McNiven’s search suggestion returned a number of Irish papers, the same Guardian article and apart from that only Huffington Post, Daily Fail – and Skwawkbox on the first page of results.
Given that the BBC is full of sycophantic stuff boosting May and her so-called deal, I think it’s time people seriously thought about whether they want to pay their next licence fee demand.
As said before – the BBC is much more than its news output, and a necessary counterbalance to commercial enterprises.
Forget the news, for a minute, and just consider that the BBC represents the major alternative choices and variety in broadcasting – particularly radio.
That concept needs preserving. But there is a major problem with current governance arrangements, which put the organisation in hoc to the government of the day.
For an exploration of the issues,have a look at Clive Lewis’s recent analysis. See :
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/2018/11/20/top-corbyn-backing-mp-calls-for-a-radical-overhaul-of-the-bbc-to-end-the-propaganda/
I agree with RH that the BBC does represent major alternatives in a landscape that is frankly shit but Lewis is naive in the extreme (and it won’t be the first time) to think that there is such a think as neutrality or independence when it comes to dissemination of information or propaganda (depending on your point of view). His proposals would end up with yet another Guardian type media enterprise, sniping at socialists and sneering at the working class from the sidelines.
” there is such a think as neutrality or independence when it comes to dissemination of information or propaganda”
True – but there are degrees of bias, and preserving a less servile governance framework for the BBC would be a better alternative than handing everything over to the ex-pat etc. billionaires.
In bed with Nationalists & demanding a General Election B4 the process of cauterisation can even begin, could lead to ‘interesting times’.
DUP voting against Tories thankfully doesn’t put us in bed with them.
I can’t see Labour risking being tarred with that brush.
Nothing but criminal legislation and constant monitoring will stop the Tory-controlled news media being seeded with sellouts and acolytes and being bribed, blackmailed and bullied into compliance.
Subversion of democracy, even by anything as commonplace as ‘political spin’ – whether in or out of Parliament – has to be recognised as such and punished accordingly.
Our right to demand truth from our elected leaders – and all others in positions of power over our lives – must surely outweigh by far the right of our courts to demand truth from witnesses, which they do on pain of imprisonment.
Taking ownership of the news – ‘the truth’ ffs – away from rich men is so obviously in society’s best interest it should hardly need stating.
Leveson 2 perhaps ?
For anyone interested in the substance of these 5 amendments they are detailed here…..
https://www.taxjournal.com/articles/finance-bill-2019-opposition-forces-amendments-committee-stage-21112018