Bye Bye Theresa, thanks for taking Cleggie with you :-)

Of course it has also given Jeremy his best ever chance of being PM.

If he can't do it now (or in the possible snap election) he never will.

It's them, or a coalition with the DUP. I know which I'd prefer.

Just noticed my temporary home is very blue even after the last MP made a few tasteless remarks. whereas my home has turned from blue to red!!

Oh well another vote I cast in the waste bin of history ;-(

It's them, or a coalition with the DUP. I know which I'd prefer.

Can there be a coalition with the DUP when you consider the Brexit border issues?

Mine has also returned from blue to red - two rather lacklustre tories since the late Bob Cryer held it. But the majority is only 249, so we're in for massive leafleting and doorstepping when the inevitable rematch is called. This House of Commons has no chance of lasting five years.

Can there be a coalition with the DUP when you consider the Brexit border issues?

And the DUP's inability to power-share with Sinn Fein, and inability to address the renewable energy scandal, to name but two.

Welcome to our world. We had our general elections March 15, 2017. We still haven't got a new cabinet. Still a lot of negotiations going on, but no certain outcome.

Can one of you explain in simple words how the election process in the UK works and what options there are?

OK, if no-one else wants to, I'll try.

It's all based on constituencies - 650 of them at the moment: geographical areas. People living in that area get one vote, for one candidate of their choice, and the person with the most votes is the Member of Parliament for that area. Nothing proportional, no votes to transfer.

In theory, practically anybody can put themselves forward as a candidate (and some very strange people do), but in practice the vast majority are chosen and supported by political parties: very occasionally, independent candidates get elected because of some special issue they've taken up in a local area, but it's very rare. There were none last night.

Again theoretically, all the power resides in the hands of those 650 directly-elected MPs. But in practice, it's the party political machinery which pulls all the strings - mostly in private. Since every member has a party affiliation which got them nominated and elected in the first place, they tend to vote in herds: so the party with the most elected members usually votes their own members into positions of executive power like Prime Minister and other departmental ministers.

Enough to get you started?

Can one of you explain in simple words how the election process in the UK works and what options there are?

Simple answer.

Well there are 650 separate constituencies in the UK, each has one Member of Parliament. Often called "seats"

To have a "majority" of MP's of one party, they must win enough "seats" pass the magic 326 MP's

326 means that even if all the other 324 MP's vote against, as long as all 326 vote for then the government will win the vote.

This did not happen, with the Conservatives only getting 318, 8 short of the magic number.

However it is possible to form a government without the magic 326 as long as you can ensure that some of the other 324 MP's vote with you.

This is what Theresa May is currently trying to do.

The question now is: will May survive to lead the Tories for the next 5 years?

it's the party political machinery which pulls all the strings - mostly in private.

With one exception - each party has at least one conference per year, with the main ones being in the early autumn (September/October). And again for the main parties, many of the set-piece speeches are televised.

I suspect the Conservative party conference this year will have more viewers than usual...

The question now is: will May survive to lead the Tories for the next 5 years?

Not if the Evening Standard has anything to do with it.

Well that got interesting quickly, didn't it people?

It should really have been a cake walk for her I thought. I'm wondering if relying on the same mantra "strong and stable" destabilised things a bit.

Soon after she became prime minister, my son turned to me one evening and said, "I think I'd be able to listen to her more if she wasn't so patronising". I hadn't exactly pinpointed up to that point, what it was about seeing her on television that was distracting me from paying full attention too, and then I realised it was what she was doing with her right forearm and fist. Y-e-e-e-e-s. Fortunately a bit of help from body language experts appears to have helped put a stop to that, which was the point, I realised I was able to agree with my son ;)

That she's come out with David Cameron's famous stance against not resigning just before he resigned - is also interesting. I'd like to think she has better staying power than that, but they can get quite savage can't they - fellow party members if they hold you responsible. And the press. I haven't checked recently, but if Osborne is the Evening Standard - I'd get deeply suspicious if they even remotely supported her remaining as party leader - but I am a bit out of touch.

Oh, and we stayed red - I believe quite emphatically so.

Oh, and we stayed red - I believe quite emphatically so.

We got rid of Stewing Jack, so turned red :-)

May is a career politician & not many of those makes for a good leader. She was ineffectual as Home Secretary & now as PM. She won't last. The problem is who is good enough to take over without ruining the country & party?

Oh, and we stayed red - I believe quite emphatically so.

We got rid of Stewing Jack, so turned red :-)

May is a career politician & not many of those makes for a good leader. She was ineffectual as Home Secretary & now as PM. She won't last. The problem is who is good enough to take over without ruining the country & party?

Don't worry too much. I suspect your lot will be changing governments at a pace to catch Italy going forward.

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Had to happen. Too much depending on the past while the rest of the world passes them by.

End of the special relationship

Had to happen. Too much depending on the past while the rest of the world passes them by.

End of the special relationship

Yes BREXIT and Trump don't really go together. Over at SETI you will see some saying that Trump is good for America, with his make America grate great again.

However with his withdrawal from the Paris accord, he has become more of a liability to the rest of the world and whatever people say a presidency conducted on twitter does not raise his standards in the eyes of the world.( I did not vote for Sadiq Khan but Trumps tweets in my view came from the sort of lowlife you see in court for racially abusive tweets)

Unfortunately the UK is too tied up with the US to break away easily.

As was mentioned in the article, time for China to step up to the plate.

I think it will take the UK a while to recover from the events of the past 12 months and Theresa May had a chance to make a positive BREXIT deal and be remembered as the PM that successfully took us out of Europe.

Now......

,,,the country suffers while some lament the loss of their seats at the trough. Had Cameron given the country the EU referendum when he first stated one, he would more than likely still be Prime Minister. May has put herself in the same boat but is too stubborn to accept that.