Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I'm happy to answer questions without going into the party political aspect. I'm not an expert but can talk about the basics. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 The basics of how a Prime Minister is chosen and how the governing parties work and what happens if the next Prime Minister can't get a majority to work with them would be interesting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Can you share a bit about Scotland’s and Ireland’s and Wales’s and Northern Ireland’s relationships with UK and where power is centralized in London versus where local governance steps in? I am particularly interested in utilities and trade and budget aspects of this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2022 Author Share Posted October 20, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Starr said: The basics of how a Prime Minister is chosen and how the governing parties work and what happens if the next Prime Minister can't get a majority to work with them would be interesting. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has the most Members of Parliament (MPs) elected in a general election (or any subsequent by-elections if a seat comes free due to death or resignation). That means that the Prime Minister can change without there being a new general election (as in the current situation). It is up to the political party to decide how the new leader is elected. In recent times, the PM has been an MP elected to a particular constituency, but I believe it's theoretically possible for a Lord to be a Prime Minister - that hasn't happened in over 100 years. If a Prime Minister can't command the majority of their own party, they can be removed by an internal party procedure. If they can't command a majority in the House of Commons, they would have to seek a coalition with another party, or go to a general election if they think that might help. 52 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: Can you share a bit about Scotland’s and Ireland’s and Wales’s and Northern Ireland’s relationships with UK and where power is centralized in London versus where local governance steps in? I am particularly interested in utilities and trade and budget aspects of this. The jargon is which powers are 'devolved'. Trade and defence are not devolved. Budget is partially devolved - for example, Scotland has slightly higher tax rates than England (an extra tax on top of what Westminster sets). Utilities are, in general, private companies. This is a good summary; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/770709/DevolutionFactsheet.pdf ETA: Ireland - Eire - is a sovereign country, not part of the UK. Edited October 20, 2022 by Laura Corin 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Eire is all on one power grid, though, right? And Ireland is EU but N. Ireland is UK—how does grocery shopping etc. work? Can you buy cheaper groceries in Ireland and not have to pay tariffs to bring it back or??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2022 Author Share Posted October 20, 2022 Just now, prairiewindmomma said: Eire is all on one power grid, though, right? And Ireland is EU but N. Ireland is UK—how does grocery shopping etc. work? Can you buy cheaper groceries in Ireland and not have to pay tariffs to bring it back or??? This is very up in the air. Right now (extremely controversial) there is a kind of tariff border down the Irish sea, between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but not between Northern Ireland and Eire, I believe. That means that Northern Ireland is continuing to function as a de facto part of the EU for now. Power grid? I didn't know that Eire and Northern Ireland were integrated, so Wikipedia knows much more than I do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Ireland For clarification: Eire is the country of Ireland. The island of Ireland comprises Eire and Northern Ireland. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 How do you pronounce Eire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 20, 2022 Author Share Posted October 20, 2022 5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said: How do you pronounce Eire? This is how I've heard it pronounced but I'm not a Gaelic speaker https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/eire 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said: Eire is all on one power grid, though, right? And Ireland is EU but N. Ireland is UK—how does grocery shopping etc. work? Can you buy cheaper groceries in Ireland and not have to pay tariffs to bring it back or??? The island is Ireland, the countries are the Republic of Ireland (commonly shortened to simply Ireland) and Northern Ireland. Eire is the Irish (native) term but not commonly used by English speakers. Yes, some people along the border are taking advantage of grocery price differences right now especially since the pound tanked, much as many Americans and Canadians do when prices are more favorable across the border. The border has been a “soft border” since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, but policies surrounding Brexit are threatening to reverse course to a “hard border”, which everyone fears will bring back violence and unrest. Reunification seems more likely as unionism doesn’t have the stronghold it once did in NI. As memories of the Troubles fade and religion is losing its divisive chokehold, younger generations don’t seem as keen to keep the countries separated and the language being used is shifting from “if” to “when” it might happen. Likely it won’t be quick, but barring something unforeseen it does seem imminent. I assume Scotland will break free first, setting the stage for NI to eventually follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 If you want to dive into the current mess, this podcast is detailed and interesting. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5hY2FzdC5jb20vcHVibGljL3Nob3dzL3RoZS1yZXN0LWlzLXBvbGl0aWNz/episode/NjM1MTllNWM3ZDY2ZTgwMDExY2NhZmZi?ep=14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Laura, is Scotland talking about voting on independence again? I have read some articles that seem to indicate Brexit had been a disaster for Scotland, and that maybe folks would like to rejoin the EU which would mean or course separating from UK. Any thoughts on that? If they do, how would that affect the other UK countries. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 I understand how the Prime Minister is elected but can you give a brief summary of how an overall new election is called? I've seen reports that that some in the Labour Party are calling for one. Can they do that? Does it require a majority of MPs to call one or does it have to be called by the party in power? And is that what a no confidence vote is - a call for a new election? I appreciate you educating us. Of course we can look things up but hearing from an average person, especially one we "know" is better than a Google search. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Is there any mechanism to have a general election sooner than the five year term, other than the party in power calling one? My 13 year old is curious if there is any UK equivalent to the US process of impeachment. I said that I assumed if someone had actually committed a crime they could somehow be removed, but I don't actually know! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Faith-manor said: Laura, is Scotland talking about voting on independence again? I have read some articles that seem to indicate Brexit had been a disaster for Scotland, and that maybe folks would like to rejoin the EU which would mean or course separating from UK. Any thoughts on that? If they do, how would that affect the other UK countries. Yes, the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) is asking for a new independence vote. As it stands, Westminster has to agree to a vote being held, otherwise it is not legal, but the SNP will probably challenge that through the courts. Westminster says that they have already agreed to a 'once in a generation vote' and won't countenance another one. Scotland has a stronger movement to independence than the other three nations of the UK, so I'm not sure that Scottish independence would cause the other nations to depart too. 1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said: I understand how the Prime Minister is elected but can you give a brief summary of how an overall new election is called? I've seen reports that that some in the Labour Party are calling for one. Can they do that? Does it require a majority of MPs to call one or does it have to be called by the party in power? And is that what a no confidence vote is - a call for a new election? I appreciate you educating us. Of course we can look things up but hearing from an average person, especially one we "know" is better than a Google search. The Labour Party can call for an election, but it has no effect. An election is called by the PM because a) they think they will get an improved majority from a new vote, or b) they can no longer pass legislation because of rebellion within their party or the collapse of a coalition with another party. So in some cases an election is called because the majority of MPs ask for it through a vote of no confidence - this in effect means that they will no longer pass legislation. 1 hour ago, kirstenhill said: My 13 year old is curious if there is any UK equivalent to the US process of impeachment. I said that I assumed if someone had actually committed a crime they could somehow be removed, but I don't actually know! Impeachment of the PM exists, but apparently has not been used for 200 years. A PM can survive in office after having been convicted of breaking the law, depending on the offence and whether it triggers a vote of no confidence (see Boris Johnson https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/12/boris-johnson-and-rishi-sunak-fined-for-breaking-covid-lockdown-laws) The PM can also be suspended from the Commons for parliamentary misconduct, for example lying to the House of Commons (see accusations leveled at Boris Johnson - process not yet decided https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/privileges-committee-boris-johnson-lied-parliament-partygate-explained-1713870) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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