First-past-the-post voting system: The Rules

Rule 1: Only seats matter, the popular vote is irrelevant.

Rule 2: An exception is made to Rule 1 if we need to keep the Jocks in their place for the purposes of a TV leaders' debate.

Here's Kay Burley to explain.

UPDATE: I see Sky's carefully-worded justification for excluding the third-largest party is that they have invited "the three main UK-wide parties". Guys, when you're in a hole, it's generally best to stop digging. "UK-wide" is not a synonym for "based in London". Neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats are UK-wide parties because they don't put up candidates in Northern Ireland. If you want a debate between UK-wide parties only, it'll be a Boris Johnson monologue. (Although maybe I shouldn't put ideas in their heads, because they'd probably be tempted.)

Ironclad wrote:SNP are vastly overrepresented, and I feel they shouldn't really have a box to stand on in a live TV GE debate. Plus they have but one policy to broadcast anyway, and we hear that every time there is a day in the week. What could they bring of significant interest?

Time wrote:British Government Delays Report on Russian Interference in Brexit Vote Until After Election

The publication of a report into Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum is to be delayed until after the upcoming U.K. general election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said Monday.

The 50-page report by the U.K. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, entitled simply “Russia,” was due to be published on Monday.

The culmination of an 18-month inquiry, the report had compiled evidence from Britain’s intelligence agencies and other experts about the extent of Russian interference in Britain’s democratic processes. But it will now not be published until after the Dec. 12 election, after the Prime Minister’s office refused to give the necessary signoff.

Continues...

PM accused of cover-up over report on Russian meddling in UK politics

Boris Johnson was on Monday night accused of presiding over a cover-up after it emerged that No 10 refused to clear the publication of a potentially incendiary report examining Russian infiltration in British politics, including the Conservative party.

Downing Street indicated on Monday that it would not allow a 50-page dossier from the intelligence and security committee to be published before the election, prompting a string of complaints over its suppression.

The committee’s chairman, Dominic Grieve, called the decision “jaw dropping”, saying no reason for the refusal had been given, while Labour and Scottish National party politicians accused No 10 of refusing to recognise the scale of Russian meddling.

Fresh evidence has also emerged of attempts by the Kremlin to infiltrate the Conservatives by a senior Russian diplomat suspected of espionage, who spent five years in London cultivating leading Tories including Johnson himself.

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Ironclad wrote:I don't believe the SNP are that deep.

Tracer Tong wrote:It’s a bit weird to have the SNP up there when only a small proportion of the audience could vote for them.

Thomas Eshuis wrote:

Tracer Tong wrote:It’s a bit weird to have the SNP up there when only a small proportion of the audience could vote for them.

On the other hand they have more seats in parliament than the LibDems.

First-past-the-post voting system: The Rules

Rule 1: Only seats matter, the popular vote is irrelevant.

Rule 2: An exception is made to Rule 1 if we need to keep the Jocks in their place for the purposes of a TV leaders' debate.

Here's Kay Burley to explain.

ronmcd wrote:The latest one is 'only Boris Corbyn or Swinson could be PM'.

Swinson can't be PM, the libdems can't win.