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posted by n1 on Monday April 24 2017, @12:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the opportunists dept.

Various news outlets are reporting that the UK's prime minister, Theresa May, has called for a general election to be held on 8 June. The Conservative Party Web site has a transcript of her public statement, which can also be heard in a video.

The call for a snap election has now been backed by parliament.

May surprised allies and opponents [...] when she announced her plan to bring forward an election that was not due until 2020, saying she needed to avoid a clash of priorities in the sensitive final stages of the two-year Brexit talks.

After addressing a rowdy session of the House of Commons, May won the support of 522 lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament for an election on June 8. Only 13 voted against.

With May seen winning a new five-year mandate and boosting her majority in parliament by perhaps 100 seats, the pound held close to six-and-a-half month highs on hopes she may be able to clinch a smoother, more phased departure from the EU and minimise damage to the UK economy.

[...] The former interior minister, who became prime minister without an election when her predecessor David Cameron quit after last year's referendum vote for Brexit, enjoys a runaway lead over the main opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.

This is a notable change from the position taken over the last few months where May had said after the EU referendum, a "period of stability" was needed. "There isn’t going to be one. It isn’t going to happen. There is not going to be a general election," said the prime minister's spokesman less than a month ago.

Coverage (many of these are editorials):


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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by isostatic on Monday April 24 2017, @01:17PM (15 children)

    by isostatic (365) on Monday April 24 2017, @01:17PM (#498814) Journal

    Speedy news. In other news, Windows XP was launched recently, hoping to bridge the gap between the much decrying windows ME and the business OS Windows 2000.

    • (Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday April 24 2017, @01:36PM (12 children)

      by Rivenaleem (3400) on Monday April 24 2017, @01:36PM (#498825)

      Sure, it's modded funny, but this was actually the first I'd heard of it.

      • (Score: 2) by lx on Monday April 24 2017, @01:43PM (1 child)

        by lx (1915) on Monday April 24 2017, @01:43PM (#498832)

        You've just answered David's question [youtube.com].

        • (Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday April 24 2017, @03:42PM

          by Rivenaleem (3400) on Monday April 24 2017, @03:42PM (#498889)

          It's really weird how this slipped me by. I'm not normally this blind to current affairs. But there's definitely something to be said for things like Netflix and gaming consuming a lot of my time not spent at work. Normally important news events would be discussed at lunch time, but this didn't come up at all. I think we (the Irish) are just getting a bit tired and bored of it all if nobody discussed it. Seems the golf got more discussion.

      • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Monday April 24 2017, @03:49PM (9 children)

        by isostatic (365) on Monday April 24 2017, @03:49PM (#498899) Journal

        this was actually the first I'd heard of it.
        Are you sure? I blocked ME from my mind over a decade ago

        More seriously, if this really is the first you've heard of an election surrounding one of the largest economies of the world, especially in the context of the breakup of the largest economy in the world, you should probably look to broaden your sources of international news. I assume you're aware of the French elections yesterday?

        • (Score: 1) by moondoctor on Monday April 24 2017, @04:30PM

          by moondoctor (2963) on Monday April 24 2017, @04:30PM (#498925)

          >"There isn’t going to be one. It isn’t going to happen. There is not going to be a general election," said the prime minister's spokesman less than a month ago

          This is the first anybody heard about this election. The next election was expected years from now, not weeks. This came out of the blue and is pretty crazy. Nobody knew about it a week ago, let alone ten years. Could completely reshape the UK political landscape as the opposition party is writhing around on the floor and will very likely be demolished in spectacular fashion at this election. Interesting times indeed.

        • (Score: 2) by n1 on Monday April 24 2017, @07:13PM (4 children)

          by n1 (993) on Monday April 24 2017, @07:13PM (#499007) Journal

          It came as a surprise to many when they read the fine print of the coverage that the French 'elections' were just a first round run-off for the candidates... The actual election/second round is not for another couple of weeks.

          Additionally:

          "Tonight, I am no longer the president of the National Front. I am the presidential candidate," Ms Le Pen said on French public television news.

          Ms Le Pen had previously attempted to clean up the party’s racist and anti-Semitic image as she tried to appeal to voters on both the left and the right.

          She has made it through to the final round of the French presidential election, where she will face centrist Mr Macron.

          http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marine-le-pen-front-national-stepping-down-leader-party-french-election-a7700286.html [independent.co.uk]

          • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by turgid on Monday April 24 2017, @08:01PM (2 children)

            by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 24 2017, @08:01PM (#499026) Journal

            Marine Le Pen is a Nazi, pure and simple.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:07AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:07AM (#499111)

              Pfft, everyone's a Nazi, that makes her the Nazi we need right now in troubled times.

          • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday April 25 2017, @09:31AM

            by isostatic (365) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @09:31AM (#499201) Journal

            It is, and it's really good when electing a single person. Not quite STV, but it has benefits that STV or AV or instant run-off doesn't have (and it has drawbacks - namely a second round)

            Its a way to keep extremeists out of power, something we used to take seriously in Europe. You could have prefered Filon, the centre-right candidate, but as he didn't get the support, you'd rather have Macron, the centre-left candidate than Le Pen, the far-right candidate. This way the centre doesn't need to coaless around a single candidate to keep the extremists on both sides out. At least in theory.

            In 2002 Front National, headed by another Le Pen (Marine's father), reached the final round, against Chirac. It was expected to be the usual sensible split, and many voted for smaller parties like the Greens. This meant that only Chirac got through to the second round, and Le Pen also got through. The country united behind Chirac, and he won something like 80:20.

            In 2017 it almost failed completely, the two extreme candidates - Mélenchon and Le Pen, could have gone into the final round. That didn't happen, although based on the last 12 months I'm half expecting Le Pen to win the final vote.

        • (Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday April 24 2017, @09:13PM

          by Rivenaleem (3400) on Monday April 24 2017, @09:13PM (#499050)

          I was actually! That was a more common topic of conversation than the PM vote. Weird.

        • (Score: 1) by butthurt on Monday April 24 2017, @10:28PM (1 child)

          by butthurt (6141) on Monday April 24 2017, @10:28PM (#499075) Journal

          Submitter here. Yes, this story was delayed. What's all this about French elections? Last I heard, France was an absolute monarchy.

          • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:26AM

            by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @01:26AM (#499115)

            I'm sorry to have to tell you: Someone stabbed Caesar...

    • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Monday April 24 2017, @04:21PM (1 child)

      by isostatic (365) on Monday April 24 2017, @04:21PM (#498917) Journal

      In other news, Windows XP was launched recently, hoping to bridge the gap between the much decrying windows ME and the business OS Windows 2000.

      Little known fact, kids born after Windows 98 came out are going to vote in this election.

      • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:32AM

        by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:32AM (#499219) Journal
        I hope so, but statistically they probably won't.
        --
        sudo mod me up
  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Monday April 24 2017, @02:12PM (6 children)

    by looorg (578) on Monday April 24 2017, @02:12PM (#498844)

    "This is a notable change from the position taken over the last few months where May had said after the EU referendum, a "period of stability" was needed. "There isn’t going to be one. It isn’t going to happen. There is not going to be a general election," said the prime minister's spokesman less than a month ago."

    She did say those things but they are in somewhat stark contrast to the stability part, she is calling for the extra election to consolidate power and create stability since apparently the entire house is more or less in disarray.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 24 2017, @02:25PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday April 24 2017, @02:25PM (#498849) Journal

      Theresa May with more power? Good luck, Soybrits.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 24 2017, @02:25PM (1 child)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 24 2017, @02:25PM (#498850) Journal

      Maybe she's right about the moment, but this is not without risks.

      Current Aussie PM triggered last elections well in advance; he got a slimmer majority than he had in the house and a difficult senate.
      The fact that his coalition is split, very much the same the Republicans in US are (conservatives and retrogr... errr. sorry... ultra-conservatives), doesn't help him either

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday April 24 2017, @02:54PM

        by zocalo (302) on Monday April 24 2017, @02:54PM (#498870)
        Have to agree with the gamble. Timing wise, it makes a lot of sense: the provisional schedule of formalizing Brexit in early 2019 and having general election roughly a year later during 2020 doesn't really allow for things to settle down before the election. Having the election now, while Labour is in disarray, makes it seem likely that the Conservatives will end up with a greater majority of MPs, no doubt based on as many candidates as possible selected for a neutral/pro-Brexit stance rather than out-and-out Remain, which will make it much easier to push Brexit matters through Parliament. It also bumps the next scheduled general election out to 2022, by which time the Conservatives are no doubt hoping that they'll have Brexit more or less working and can ride that to another 5 years in power.

        However, if there's one thing several recent elections have shown, it's that you can no longer rely on the expected outcome to actually be the final result. There's still a strong Remain sentiment (48% voted Remain, who have basically had their views sidelined ever since), some of the realities of Brexit are starting to sink in - not least that the drop in Sterling has made the average person on the street poorer while the rise in stocks has made the "Elites" richer than ever - plenty of people still hate the Conservatives, and there are additional complexities like the Scottish views on remaining in the EU vs. leaving the UK, the divisions in the Labour party, and the mess in Northern Ireland. I wouldn't be so sure that the Conservatives are going to get quite the overwhelming majority that they are no doubt hoping for and, while unlikely, could in fact end up on the receiving end of another electoral upset. I'm certainly not going to be putting too much stock in any of the polls this time around.
        --
        UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by isostatic on Monday April 24 2017, @04:18PM

      by isostatic (365) on Monday April 24 2017, @04:18PM (#498914) Journal

      The whole country is in disarray. She's hoping to boost her majority so she's less beholden to tory rebels. She'll get her hard brexit policies through thanks to backing by Labour, but it's the other stuff she wants to do (snoopers charter, sell of NHS, etc) that she needs more people for.

      I'm really hoping it backfires, and she has to form a government of national unity with Labour.

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday April 24 2017, @05:18PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Monday April 24 2017, @05:18PM (#498947)

      My guess is that the real goal is to maximize the time in between Brexit becoming a reality and the next time she's up for election. This means that during negotiations, she can safely sell out her constituents' interests to the EU, multinationals, and the City-based banks, and maximize the chance that voters will forget about that before the next election.

      That said, I'd rather see the Monster Raving Loony Party in charge than the UK IP.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 2) by n1 on Monday April 24 2017, @07:17PM

      by n1 (993) on Monday April 24 2017, @07:17PM (#499011) Journal

      Things do change, political opportunities of the opposition being in an absolutely terrible position with no credibility or coherent message being the primary ones, but from the article I linked in TFS is a direct quote from September last year:

      I’m not going to be calling a snap election. I’ve been very clear that I think we need that period of time, that stability to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @03:20PM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @03:20PM (#498882)

    So, what would happen is the "Remain" parties during the referendum get a majority now? Less support for May to continue the Brexit procedure?

    I remember many sounds from Brits that voted "Leave", thinking it would not be done when they would get a majority.

    • (Score: 2) by Soylentbob on Monday April 24 2017, @03:43PM

      by Soylentbob (6519) on Monday April 24 2017, @03:43PM (#498890)

      Article 50 of the EU is already invoked, the point of no return has been reached and crossed. Also the liberal party is allegedly so weak that May has practically no risk of losing and a good chance to boost her majority. (No, I don't remember where I got this information l.)

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @03:48PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 24 2017, @03:48PM (#498897)

      That's not how the british system works.

      You have a few scenarios:

        - the tories get a refreshed, strong majority. Brexit proceeds unchanged.
        - the tories get a reduced majority. They're still the government, and Brexit proceeds (probably) unchanged.
        - the tories don't get a majority, but get a plurality and manage to cobble together a pro-Brexit coalition. Brexit proceeds, with largely minor changes to the negotiating strategy.
        - someone else wins an outright majority. (Note: with Labour being more useless than kitten in a catnip patch right now, I have no idea who this would be.) Brexit presumably continues, because the kick-off has already happened, but with desperate attempts to woo Europe into not hurting Britain too much.
        - some non-tory coalition forms a government. (Liberal democrats and scottish nationals? With some labour around the fringes? I have no idea.) They probably try to stop Brexit, but at this point it's probably too late. Chances are, they offer Scotland another independence referendum, and oversee the dismantling of the UK.

      Remember, Brexit has already been started. There are now two years of negotiations to come. What's largely happening right now is argument over who runs those negotiations. I wasn't a fly on the wall, but I'd be that one of May's chief concerns was her being undermined by a putative successor government holding shadow negotiations behind her back while she tries to wrap it up. This gambit reduces that threat.

      • (Score: 2) by turgid on Monday April 24 2017, @07:39PM

        by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 24 2017, @07:39PM (#499017) Journal

        Very insightful, Mr/Ms AC.

      • (Score: 2) by turgid on Monday April 24 2017, @07:47PM (1 child)

        by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 24 2017, @07:47PM (#499022) Journal

        As for Scottish Independence, the Scottish government recently voted to have another independence referendum. The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has formally asked the UK Prime Minister Theresa May for permission to have the referendum, but the Prime Minister has not given an answer yet as to the timing. It looks almost certain that Scotland will leave the UK this time. Northern Ireland and Gibraltar are other interesting cases.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by TheRaven on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:35AM

          by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:35AM (#499222) Journal
          The simplest thing is for England and Wales to leave the UK. The UK then remains in Europe and the parts of England that wanted to stay (i.e. the parts with a functioning economy) can apply for membership of the UK.
          --
          sudo mod me up
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by isostatic on Monday April 24 2017, @04:07PM (3 children)

      by isostatic (365) on Monday April 24 2017, @04:07PM (#498906) Journal

      If Lib Dems, SNP and Greens combined got 18 million votes, I would suggest all bets are off.

      However the 2 largest parties, May's Conservatives and Corbyn's Labour are both angling for a hard brexit. The Lib Dems have fought and won massive swings in the byelections since June based on brexit -- in Witney (Cameron's old seat) the tories lost 15% of the vote, and the Lib Dems gained 22%. In Richmond the Lib Dems were up 30% and Tory was down 13%.

      Both of those were special cases, however if those results were repeated with tory vote down 10%, labour down 5%, and lib dem vote up 20% (i.e less extreme), there would be about 280 lib dem MPs.

      • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:37AM (2 children)

        by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:37AM (#499225) Journal

        However the 2 largest parties, May's Conservatives and Corbyn's Labour are both angling for a hard brexit

        No they're not. Labour wants to remain in the single market and retain all of the worker protection that the EU provides.

        --
        sudo mod me up
        • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday April 25 2017, @11:16AM

          by isostatic (365) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @11:16AM (#499233) Journal

          Actions speak louder than words, and so far they've been backing May to the hilt.

          The massive increase in support for the Lib Dems since the referendum - including 30% swings to Lib Dems in remain constituencies, and even in Copeland which Labour lost in a near-unprecedented failure, there was a 9 point swing from Labour to Lib Dem.

          Alas the tories have gone full UKIP and are hoovering all the ukip vote up. Labour also tried over the last year, have realised they've failed, and are now rowing round in circles.

          Unfortunatly the Lib Dems are cocking up this election so far, no media presence at all.

        • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:11PM

          by isostatic (365) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @02:11PM (#499299) Journal

          No they're not. Labour wants to remain in the single market and retain all of the worker protection that the EU provides.

          They've seen the massive support that the Lib Dems are getting and want in.

          However according to Kier Starmer, Labour wants the free movement of people would end. Therefore labour wants to leave the single market.

          There's also the fact that we can't even begin to negotiate being in the customs union until we've actually left the EU (https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0120/846481-eu-brexit/)

          Even in a bad situation, where the lib dems only get say 4 million votes, and the Tories get 400 seats, at least Corbyn will be out and we'll having someone like Umma as a proper opposition leader. If Corbyn wins another far-left momentum drive, then I hope the sensible people in Labour jump ship over the summer.

    • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday April 24 2017, @06:38PM (3 children)

      by zocalo (302) on Monday April 24 2017, @06:38PM (#498986)
      An excellent "what if" question, for all concerned, even if it is (apparently at least) a long shot of actually coming to pass. I don't doubt that there will be a lot of Remain protest votes cast towards the LibDems in the election, given Labour's official stance is now pro-Brexit, that's the only real hope Remainers have left: a LibDem/SNP led coalition that successfully pushes for putting a stop to the process. Realistically, Labour had a choice - take a strong Remain stance, forcing Conservative-hating Leave voters to make a tough choice in what would have been Ref. 2 by default, while hoping to be the larger party in a coalition government with the LibDems and (maybe) SNP. Or they could do what they have opted to do: take a pro-Leave stance and - according to the polls at least - get trounced by the Conservatives and LibDems in the England and the regional parties like the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales. Obviously the Corbyn supporting elements of Labour either don't put much stock in opinion polls, or are just in denial about their chances; I suspect the rest of Labour are just going to be waiting for him to fall on his sword the morning after and hoping they can somehow pick up the pieces.

      As for aborting the Article 50 process, theoretically at least, that's still possible given that there are plenty of people on both sides of the fence who seem to think that Article 50 can be aborted, including its author, many of those on the EU's negotiating team, and amongst May's own team who have aired the possibility of just walking away from the table and taking a default if things went badly enough. Should an SNP/LibDem led coalition actually get to form the next government - unlikely on paper, but with the recent electoral upsets, who knows? - then they could probably abort the process, likely to huge sighs of relief from Remain voters and the EU looking to prevent other countries following suit. The real question is, would they actually dare to do so and, if so, how?

      That would almost certainly be a number's game. They would certainly cite the 48% that originally voted Remain, but the reality of a general election with so many parties in contention is that the party (or parties, in the event of a coalition) that gets to form the next government usually only get around one third of the total votes cast, if that. Hardly as decisive a mandate as the referendum result. Even allowing for a few changed opinions, there is still going to be ~50% of the population in the Leave camp who are not going to be pleased if the process gets stopped in its tracks, and it would take an *awfully* large swing of voters to the pro-Remain parties to make it clear the mood has changed and they are the minority. Somewhat improbable, given that there's still no sign of the kind of widespread economic chaos promised by the Remain campaign's "Project Fear", nor is there ever likely to be given how obviously overblown and worst case scenario the pitch was. The other only option would be a second referendum at some point, but that just means wasting more time, risks yet another vote not going to plan, and all the while deepening the divisions within the UK and between the UK and the EU.
      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
      • (Score: 2) by theluggage on Monday April 24 2017, @08:31PM (2 children)

        by theluggage (1797) on Monday April 24 2017, @08:31PM (#499040)

        given that there's still no sign of the kind of widespread economic chaos promised by the Remain campaign's "Project Fear"

        Well, given that effects generally come after causes, and Brexit won't actually happen for another two years*, that's hardly surprising, but rationality has never really been part of either side of this debate... Even so, unless you've got a nice portfolio of multi-national stocks that have gone vrooosh since the vote, the immediate fallout of inflation and low interest rates for savers hasn't been too brilliant for all those working poor who were going to kick elitism in the teeth by voting for Boris...

        Of course, Camoron was going to sign Art 50 the day after a "leave" vote, and Osbourne was going to call an emergency "austerity plus" budget which probably would have brought it all to pass - but fortunately they were politicians and their lips were moving (please don't mistake my previous paragraph as any sort of respect for the "remain" campaign which was basically "nice econonmy you have there - pity if anything happened to it!").

        (*and god knows how many further years of some interim deal fudged together when the clock runs out without an agreement...)

        • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday April 24 2017, @10:01PM

          by zocalo (302) on Monday April 24 2017, @10:01PM (#499066)
          Absolutely agree on the tactics of the Remain campaign, not that Leave can really claim any moral high ground either; I suspect they actually did more damage to their chances than obviously ridiculous claims like "£350m/wk for the NHS" being thrown around by various elements of the Leave campaigns. Likewise the worst of any fallout definitely won't really start to happen until much closer to the actual exit, but that doesn't mean that the initial signs are not already there if you are prepared to look though. The City's banks and other businesses are starting to look at setting up shop in the EU, other industries in the all important service sector that are closely linked are struggling to win EU contracts, everyone is paying more for goods and services, and various sectors are starting to wonder if their particular subsidies are going to continue and, even if so, what level of cuts they might face.

          As for the stocks, other than the real fat cats I don't think it's going to make too much difference in the long run; the man on the street with any investments/private pension is still likely to end up breaking even at best, or even in a net loss. Even assuming you hedged your bets, moved investments, pensions, etc., over to international stocks and UK companies that do well overseas before the vote, then rode that huge jump in the markets, your on-paper gains are going to need to be offset against the fall in value of Sterling. Unless you got *really* lucky in your portfolio choices, you're probably just about breaking even on the deal - and it's still only an on-paper gain that might also be subject to tax if/when you try and cash it in.
          --
          UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
        • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:40AM

          by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:40AM (#499226) Journal
          The problem for the remain campaign was that they included a lot of MPs and so couldn't use the most compelling arguments for remaining in the EU: that the EU has blocked the most egregious abuses of power by Westminster and that the worst policies from the EU were pushed by British Prime Ministers wearing their Council of Ministers hat. Unfortunately, an argument of 'we're utterly untrustworthy, you should vote against giving more power to us' wasn't one that most MPs felt comfortable using.
          --
          sudo mod me up
    • (Score: 2) by theluggage on Monday April 24 2017, @08:10PM

      by theluggage (1797) on Monday April 24 2017, @08:10PM (#499030)

      So, what would happen is the "Remain" parties during the referendum get a majority now?

      AFAIK, the only "Remain" party now is the Scottish National Party, who can't win a majority unless they suddenly start fielding candidates in England - now that would be fun, but unlikely) and maybe some of the N. Ireland parties. Even the Liberal Democrats seem to be pursuing a "soft Brexit" (i.e. leaving the EU and staying in the single market).

      I think the only "remain majority" scenario is that May's cunning plan collapses leaving no overall winner, Corbyn is forced to resign (as is traditional for Labour leaders who lose a general election) allowing the Labour party to oppose Brexit (Corbyn looks like a closet Brexiteer, like many on the traditional Labour left who would like more state intervention in industry than the EU woild permit) allowing two or more of Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP to form a pro-remain coalition. Not holding my breath. More likely the Lib Dems would (again) prop up the Tories in return for a few token concessions on Brexit, but most likely of all is that May has called it right and she'll get an increased majority. Then, its a case of trying to guess how much of the current "hard Brexit" policy is being forced on May (who was supposedly a remain supporter) by hard-liners and how much is her idea. Methinks she'll back whichever side looks like winning...

       

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