Election shock poses key question: Where does the UK go from here?

This column in the Sunday Nation issue of June 4 contained the following sentence: “At the time of writing, the Conservative party led by Prime Minister Theresa May looks set to roll over the Labour party and its controversial leader, Jeremy Corbyn.”

Please note the qualifier: “At the time of writing…”

When the General Election was held on June 8, it was the Conservative party that was rolled over as young Labour voters came out in huge numbers to support Corbyn.

HUNG PARLIAMENT

The final figures, Conservatives 318 seats (down 13) and Labour 262 (up 30) meant May’s party retained control of Parliament but without a working majority, that is more seats than all the other parties put together.

That is known as a hung Parliament.

Without at least 326 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, a government won’t be able to pass laws if all the other parties try to stop them.

IRELAND PARTY

To get the necessary majority, May was required to seek Parliamentary support from elsewhere and where she sought it, to the dismay of many, was in the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

The word most often associated with the DUP is “dinosaurs”.

This is a party that once locked up council playgrounds on Sundays because Sunday is the Lord’s Day.

ORANGE ORDER

DUP members are fundamentalist Christians, many of whom reject Darwin’s theory of evolution, consider homosexuality intrinsically evil, oppose even minor relaxations in the abortion law and oppose all forms of religious ecumenism.

The DUP has 10 MPs, half of whom are members of the Orange Order, which prohibits its members from marrying Catholics or participating in Catholic religious services.

It is unlikely that the Conservatives will be too concerned about the DUP’s reputation. Its 10 votes are what will count.

DISCREDITED
The big question is how long a minority government can last.

Theresa May has lost much of her authority and this will not have gone unnoticed by the European powers as negotiations start on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.

A trenchant editorial in The Observer newspaper called on her to go, saying: “Discredited, humiliated, diminished, Theresa May has lost credibility and leverage in her party, her country and across Europe… rivals and opponents no longer fear her.

"Too weak to deliver her manifesto, too vulnerable to tackle dissent, too enfeebled to deliver for Britain, this prime minister can no longer serve her country.”

PARTY LEADERSHIP

The painful irony for Conservative MPs who lost their seats is that they went down in an election May did not need to call.

The expectation is that the party will not seek to remove her from the leadership immediately but will demand wider contact with all areas of the party and less reliance on her expert staff.

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A lady in London paid £10 (Sh133) for a ring she spotted at a car boot sale.

She wore it casually for years until someone suggested she get it valued.

The ring turned out to be a 26-carat white diamond from the 19th century and the experts gave it a value of £350,000 (Sh47 million).

THATCHER'S BROOCH
But just to prove that gem experts can be as wrong as political pollsters, Sotheby’s auction house sold it last week for £656,750 (Sh88 million).

In the same sale was another eye-catching item, a diamond brooch worn by our late prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, on the day she offered her resignation to the Queen.

It was estimated to fetch up to £35,000 (Sh4.7 million). It sold for £81,250 (Sh11 million) and the proceeds went to charity.
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When William Gardner’s 84-year-old mother was afflicted with dementia, he was given power of attorney to control her financial affairs.

He proceeded to help himself to £35,000 (Sh4.6 million) to buy a car, go on holiday, visit the theatre and spend money at the supermarkets.

He also failed to pay fees to the care home where his mother lived in the sum of £13,000 (Sh1.7 million), causing her to be threatened with eviction.

SON JAILED
Judge Camp at Newcastle Crown Court told Gardner, “What you have done is milk your mother’s account to the extent of £48,000 (Sh6.3 million).

"This is a very mean offence indeed. She expected you to look after her money and not steal from her.

"She was helpless and you fleeced her.” The judge jailed Gardner for three years.
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More weird things heard at interviews:

Why did you leave your last job? I have a problem with authority.

Tell us about a problem you had with a co-worker and how you resolved it. The solution was we were both fired.

What if I cannot walk to work if it’s raining? Will you pick me up?

What is your company’s policy on Monday absences?

If this doesn’t work out, can I call you to go out some time?

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