Why is consensus so controversial in Britain?












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Years after the Brexit vote, long after losing her majority in the House of Commons, and days before the extended Brexit date, the Prime Minister is now talking to the Leader of the Opposition. To me this seems like an obvious move (if 3 years too late), but it is apparently controversial. In most European countries, it is normal to seek compromise and consensus; The Netherlands has the famous polder model and Germany has often been ruled by a coalition of the two main rival parties. Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial: it took years for Theresa May to make this move and then still under considerable criticism, being accused of giving influence to pro-Remain politicians or "marxists", although the Labour Party scored 40% in the 2017 elections.



Why does a consensus-based approach appear to be so controversial in Britain?





In the words of EU vice-president Frans Timmermans interviewed in Die Welt:




„In welchem Land würde es fast drei Jahre dauern, dass eine Regierung, die sich nicht einig ist, mal daran denkt, in einer lebenswichtigen Frage mit der Opposition zusammenzuarbeiten? Das ist eigentlich unvorstellbar, dass das in Großbritannien erst jetzt passiert.“




My translation:




„In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”











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  • 21





    This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:28






  • 11





    @Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:51






  • 4





    You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

    – M i ech
    2 days ago






  • 4





    @Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

    – AndyT
    2 days ago






  • 7





    @JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

    – gerrit
    yesterday


















77















Years after the Brexit vote, long after losing her majority in the House of Commons, and days before the extended Brexit date, the Prime Minister is now talking to the Leader of the Opposition. To me this seems like an obvious move (if 3 years too late), but it is apparently controversial. In most European countries, it is normal to seek compromise and consensus; The Netherlands has the famous polder model and Germany has often been ruled by a coalition of the two main rival parties. Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial: it took years for Theresa May to make this move and then still under considerable criticism, being accused of giving influence to pro-Remain politicians or "marxists", although the Labour Party scored 40% in the 2017 elections.



Why does a consensus-based approach appear to be so controversial in Britain?





In the words of EU vice-president Frans Timmermans interviewed in Die Welt:




„In welchem Land würde es fast drei Jahre dauern, dass eine Regierung, die sich nicht einig ist, mal daran denkt, in einer lebenswichtigen Frage mit der Opposition zusammenzuarbeiten? Das ist eigentlich unvorstellbar, dass das in Großbritannien erst jetzt passiert.“




My translation:




„In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”











share|improve this question




















  • 21





    This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:28






  • 11





    @Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:51






  • 4





    You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

    – M i ech
    2 days ago






  • 4





    @Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

    – AndyT
    2 days ago






  • 7





    @JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

    – gerrit
    yesterday
















77












77








77


6






Years after the Brexit vote, long after losing her majority in the House of Commons, and days before the extended Brexit date, the Prime Minister is now talking to the Leader of the Opposition. To me this seems like an obvious move (if 3 years too late), but it is apparently controversial. In most European countries, it is normal to seek compromise and consensus; The Netherlands has the famous polder model and Germany has often been ruled by a coalition of the two main rival parties. Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial: it took years for Theresa May to make this move and then still under considerable criticism, being accused of giving influence to pro-Remain politicians or "marxists", although the Labour Party scored 40% in the 2017 elections.



Why does a consensus-based approach appear to be so controversial in Britain?





In the words of EU vice-president Frans Timmermans interviewed in Die Welt:




„In welchem Land würde es fast drei Jahre dauern, dass eine Regierung, die sich nicht einig ist, mal daran denkt, in einer lebenswichtigen Frage mit der Opposition zusammenzuarbeiten? Das ist eigentlich unvorstellbar, dass das in Großbritannien erst jetzt passiert.“




My translation:




„In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”











share|improve this question
















Years after the Brexit vote, long after losing her majority in the House of Commons, and days before the extended Brexit date, the Prime Minister is now talking to the Leader of the Opposition. To me this seems like an obvious move (if 3 years too late), but it is apparently controversial. In most European countries, it is normal to seek compromise and consensus; The Netherlands has the famous polder model and Germany has often been ruled by a coalition of the two main rival parties. Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial: it took years for Theresa May to make this move and then still under considerable criticism, being accused of giving influence to pro-Remain politicians or "marxists", although the Labour Party scored 40% in the 2017 elections.



Why does a consensus-based approach appear to be so controversial in Britain?





In the words of EU vice-president Frans Timmermans interviewed in Die Welt:




„In welchem Land würde es fast drei Jahre dauern, dass eine Regierung, die sich nicht einig ist, mal daran denkt, in einer lebenswichtigen Frage mit der Opposition zusammenzuarbeiten? Das ist eigentlich unvorstellbar, dass das in Großbritannien erst jetzt passiert.“




My translation:




„In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”








united-kingdom






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edited 2 days ago







gerrit

















asked Apr 3 at 14:08









gerritgerrit

20.8k984186




20.8k984186








  • 21





    This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:28






  • 11





    @Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:51






  • 4





    You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

    – M i ech
    2 days ago






  • 4





    @Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

    – AndyT
    2 days ago






  • 7





    @JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

    – gerrit
    yesterday
















  • 21





    This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:28






  • 11





    @Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

    – armatita
    Apr 3 at 15:51






  • 4





    You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

    – M i ech
    2 days ago






  • 4





    @Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

    – AndyT
    2 days ago






  • 7





    @JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

    – gerrit
    yesterday










21




21





This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

– armatita
Apr 3 at 15:28





This is a logical but difficult question. There are certainly historical reasons but I would argue that there was bad luck for the timing of the referendum. Not only the result was nearly 50/50, but it also seems to be transversal to all major parties (brexiters and remainers exist in both camps). Further there is also the bizarre situation of having a brexiter (?) leading mostly remainers in the labour party. Since no party has a clear majority it leaves its leadership very vulnerable to smaller in-party groups (like hard brexit supporters, and perhaps, full europhiles).

– armatita
Apr 3 at 15:28




11




11





@Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

– armatita
Apr 3 at 15:51





@Gerrit No, not at all. It's the biggest issue today for sure, but does not justify all decisions. The UK is not unique in this situation. In fact I would argue that (but I have no scientific basis to support it) this is more common the more competitive the electoral systems are. Party consensus are fairly common in multi-winner systems, and less common in single winner systems (I think). Competitiveness often lead to situations where doing effective opposition is far more important than doing good opposition. The fact remains that labour (as a party) gains very little in helping the tories.

– armatita
Apr 3 at 15:51




4




4





You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

– M i ech
2 days ago





You are using "consensus" where you should use "compromise" instead. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/consensus

– M i ech
2 days ago




4




4





@Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

– AndyT
2 days ago





@Miech - Nothing wrong with using "consensus" here - May is seeking consensus with Corbyn.

– AndyT
2 days ago




7




7





@JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

– gerrit
yesterday







@JJJ The UK could have negotiated with itself before invoking Article 50, so that it could have used the full two year period to negotiate with the EU-27. The sensible thing to do would have been to recognise the referendum result as an issue of vital national importance, seek consensus between parties (naturally losing the extremes of both main parties) and between constituent countries, then trigger Article 50 and take negotiations with EU-27 from there. See also Why did the UK trigger Article 50 before having a negotiation position?

– gerrit
yesterday












9 Answers
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active

oldest

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Press




"Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of the proprietor's prejudices that the advertisers don't object to"




Americans like to believe their press is neutral. In the UK, hardly anyone bothers to maintain this pretence, and the press are openly engaged as political factions. The press circulation is much larger than the membership of the political parties, and has an impact beyond its actual numbers in terms of influencing opinion.



The three largest papers are the Sun (owned by Murdoch's News Corp), the Daily Mail (owned by Viscount Rothermere), and the Times (News Corp again). All have a right-wing anti-Europe stance, and will happily print inaccurate articles about Europe. Boris Johnson got a particularly bad reputation for this while working as a journalist before he was a minister. He is still employed as a journalist, and is in fact paid more for that than his role as a Minister of the Crown.



The press benefit from controversy: it sells papers. Readers enjoy outrage bait that panders to their prejudices; a pre-internet version of the "fake news" problem.



Sidebar: the Spiked/LM axis



There is a small group of people who used to write for Living Marxism until it was sued out of existence for denying the Bosnian genocide, then formed a successor Spiked!. They seem to be surprisingly influential in the commentariat despite their small size, and despite the intellectual incoherency of having gone straight from revolutionary communism to libertarianism without passing through common sense on the way.



BBC Question Time



A similar story prevails here. What ought to be a discussion show has succumbed to the temptation of getting on the most extreme guests possible, provoking highly strung arguments, and letting planted audience members inject outrageous questions.



Edit: another example of the revolving door: the man who ran the BBC's political output during the Brexit campaign was later appointed as Theresa May's director of communications and is a "hard Brexiteer".



Culture: The Establishment



The leaders of the country overwhelmingly come from a very narrow educational background: private school followed by Oxford PPE. This produces people with a bulletproof opinion of their own correctness and practice in intellectual bullying.



Culture: Ruins of the Empire



This mostly manifests as a belief that Britain can "punch above its weight", and therefore does not need to engage in international compromise. While the influence of this in negotiations with Europe is obvious, I would argue that it also prevails internally. (This is easily a graduate-thesis size investigation!). It seems to me that the country is run centrally as a tiny empire. Councils have little power and little funding autonomy; council tax rates can be capped centrally, and they are dependent on "block grant". The relatively recent devolved assemblies also get little respect from Westminster; the Scotland Office and Wales Office still exist despite seeming redundancy. The Scotland Office has a substantial budget for anti-independence campaigning.



The situation is even worse in Northern Ireland, land of No Surrender, where there has been no government for about two years following its collapse over a fraud scandal. Compromise is even more foreign there. People tend to forget that the UK had a live-fire civil war in living memory, but I think that matters to the uncompromisingness.



Systems: First Past the Post



The voting system at Westminster discourages coalition or minority governments, so there is no tradition of sound coalition-forming by seeking consensus.



Edit: as a piece of metacommentary, this is the first time I've noticed an answer getting significant numbers of upvotes and downvotes. I am aware that it can be considered opinionated, but I think that's a symptom of the polarisation that leads to no consensus. Politically engaged people disagree on increasingly basic things.






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  • 14





    @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

    – divibisan
    Apr 3 at 22:35






  • 28





    "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

    – Andy
    Apr 4 at 1:28






  • 3





    @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

    – pjc50
    2 days ago






  • 5





    On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

    – Richard
    2 days ago






  • 4





    @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

    – AJM
    2 days ago



















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Most Prime Ministers don't need to seek consensus. The first past the post election system tends to produce parliaments with a clear majority for one party, the Prime Minister automatically the leader of the Majority Party. And since ministers are chosen from among MPs, they are mostly willing to vote the party line.



As most PMs don't need to seek consensus, to do so indicates that the PM is in a weakened state, in which she does not have a clear majority, and cannot get her own MPs to follow her directives in voting.



From a partisan point of view, doing a deal with the opposition is a form of betrayal, and this is why members of her party have criticised her for attempting to deal with Corbyn.



There is a further, more philosophical point: If the major parties agree on a consensus position, then there is no effective scrutiny or an real choice for the electorate. The opposition opposes a large amount of government business. This ensure that the acts of the government are closely examined by its opponents. In the situation in which a government forms a grand coalition is the parties reach a consensus, and there is nobody to tell them that it is wrong. When the election comes round, the parties either have to reject policies that they agreed to as part of the coalition (and appear hypocritical) or enter the election with very similar manifesto to their opponents.






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  • 3





    This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

    – Chronocidal
    2 days ago






  • 5





    Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

    – Caleth
    2 days ago



















15














We did have consensus politics throughout much of the 20th century, despite enormous social changes and strains. There were consensus-based governments from 1914 under Lloyd-George and Asquith, then after the 1931 depression a 'national government' of all parties was formed and 'national' governments continued until WWII. In 1940, another consensus-based coalition was led by Winston Churchill with other parties.



Although Attlee (Labour) won in 1945, from that time onwards was a period of 'national consensus'. This meant that whoever won, Conservative or Labour - there was a broad agreement on certain issues like housing, healthcare, social security etc. This post-war consensus was ended by Thatcher in 1979 who had a different, harder ideological form of Conservatism to her predecessors. Now, a group of very vocal pro-Thatcherite extremists mostly aligned to groups like the ERG and Legatum are making any form of compromise or consensus impossible.



The problem is May called an election in 2017 to get a bigger majority and a mandate for a harder Brexit, but she didn't get one from the voters. Instead of realising she had no mandate and reaching out to find a consensus in Parliament for Brexit, she tried too hard to placate the extremists in her party and gave money to the Northern Irish DUP in return for support. She also put 'red lines' through the kind of Brexit that was discussed in the referendum and around anything that both sides could form a consensus around. This has led to two diametrically opposed sides to Brexit and years wasted in negotiations with the EU which ONLY cover the terms of leaving.



The divisions in Parliament are really indicative of the divisions in the country, neither side will compromise, each side is furious at the other and any sensible compromise route cannot find a workable majority.






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  • 1





    It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

    – phoog
    2 days ago











  • This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

    – paul23
    yesterday



















11














In addition to the other great answers, it's usual for politicians to continually denigrate their opposition.



Corbyn has been called a Marxist (!) and "dangerous", and that's just the milder stuff. The Tory party and Tory press have spent years demonizing him, so to cooperate with him now looks like doing a deal with the devil. They can't pivot fast enough.



Another worry is that Corbyn wants to be PM and will use the situation to further that goal.



There is also great suspicion from the Labour side that it's a trap, designed to spread blame for Brexit to the Labour party.






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    6















    Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial.




    This statement draws far too broad a conclusion from a single anecdote. There are myriad issues upon which consensus decisions are made every year in Britain. But, usually these are on issues upon which there was a consensus in the first place, or upon which nobody had strong positions staked out in the most recent round of elections.



    If anything, there is consensus on a broader array of issues in Britain both now and historically, than, for example, in the U.S. or France. For example, from 1931-1940, the U.K. was run by an all party coalition known as the National Government, to address a clear and present crisis (while the U.S. merely ended up with partisan dominant party rule by the Democratic Party in the Great Depression and Weimar Germany started out with a greatly divided partisan mix in parliament).



    What makes this particular issue different is that it has a history of being highly partisan and divisive. Brexit split the U.K. almost 50-50 in the last referendum. It was a close vote and the political parties in parliament were divided on the issue (in addition to intraparty conflict on the issue).



    Therefore, seeking out a broad coalition implicitly means that a lot of the people in the coalition have reversed themselves with respect to prior promises made to get them elected on that issue. This comes across as something of a breach of trust and so it is controversial.






    share|improve this answer


























    • To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

      – Peter Taylor
      yesterday











    • Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

      – paul23
      yesterday



















    2














    Taking a point out of your question: Mind that in the German system h need for compromise not only comes from the recent tendency on "big coalitions" between CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag but also from the second chamber, the Bundesrat.



    In the Bundesrat each state's government has votes which they can only use together (i.e. if a state is having a coalition government they can't split the votes)



    For many bills agreement by the Bundesrat is needed, thus even if a party had majority in the Bundestag they still need to cooperate with the majorities in the state governments.






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      0














      A lot of good information in the other answers, but specifically on the Brexit issue, it should be pointed out that it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice. Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state" - is inherently unsatisfactory for a large segment of both leave and remain voters.



      This poll in "The Independent" provides evidence that in a new referendum Remain would beat Theresa May's deal by 61% to 39%, while if the choice was Remain versus No Deal then it would be a rather closer contest (57% to 43%). (Note, "The Independent" is a strong advocate of a second referendum. Recent polls from other sources show Remain having a much narrower lead.)






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      • 2





        Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

        – gerrit
        2 days ago











      • "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

        – Frank
        2 days ago






      • 4





        "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

        – Frank
        2 days ago











      • @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

        – padd13ear
        2 days ago











      • @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

        – gerrit
        2 days ago



















      0














      Consensus isn't controversial.



      The complaints about Theresa May meeting with Jeremy Corbyn are from people in their respective parties who think that their own party's position is right and the other party's position is wrong. To such a person, "consensus" means "doing something that's less right and more wrong."






      share|improve this answer



















      • 1





        On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

        – JJJ
        2 days ago













      • Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

        – paul23
        yesterday



















      0















      In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”




      This is a complete, and probably deliberately, untrue presentation of the facts. The negotiated agreement with the EU is not three years old, so it would have been a bit difficult for May to have negotiated a way to get her agreement passed beforehand.



      As for his actual statement, I would have hoped that a Dutch politician would have heard of Belgium.
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9311_Belgian_political_crisis as anyone reading the article will note, there were a couple of high-profile EU politicians involved in their record 500- odd says without a proper government, so perhaps Timmermans can ask them to give the UK a lecture on consensus politics






      share|improve this answer
























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        9 Answers
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        9 Answers
        9






        active

        oldest

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        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes









        80














        Press




        "Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of the proprietor's prejudices that the advertisers don't object to"




        Americans like to believe their press is neutral. In the UK, hardly anyone bothers to maintain this pretence, and the press are openly engaged as political factions. The press circulation is much larger than the membership of the political parties, and has an impact beyond its actual numbers in terms of influencing opinion.



        The three largest papers are the Sun (owned by Murdoch's News Corp), the Daily Mail (owned by Viscount Rothermere), and the Times (News Corp again). All have a right-wing anti-Europe stance, and will happily print inaccurate articles about Europe. Boris Johnson got a particularly bad reputation for this while working as a journalist before he was a minister. He is still employed as a journalist, and is in fact paid more for that than his role as a Minister of the Crown.



        The press benefit from controversy: it sells papers. Readers enjoy outrage bait that panders to their prejudices; a pre-internet version of the "fake news" problem.



        Sidebar: the Spiked/LM axis



        There is a small group of people who used to write for Living Marxism until it was sued out of existence for denying the Bosnian genocide, then formed a successor Spiked!. They seem to be surprisingly influential in the commentariat despite their small size, and despite the intellectual incoherency of having gone straight from revolutionary communism to libertarianism without passing through common sense on the way.



        BBC Question Time



        A similar story prevails here. What ought to be a discussion show has succumbed to the temptation of getting on the most extreme guests possible, provoking highly strung arguments, and letting planted audience members inject outrageous questions.



        Edit: another example of the revolving door: the man who ran the BBC's political output during the Brexit campaign was later appointed as Theresa May's director of communications and is a "hard Brexiteer".



        Culture: The Establishment



        The leaders of the country overwhelmingly come from a very narrow educational background: private school followed by Oxford PPE. This produces people with a bulletproof opinion of their own correctness and practice in intellectual bullying.



        Culture: Ruins of the Empire



        This mostly manifests as a belief that Britain can "punch above its weight", and therefore does not need to engage in international compromise. While the influence of this in negotiations with Europe is obvious, I would argue that it also prevails internally. (This is easily a graduate-thesis size investigation!). It seems to me that the country is run centrally as a tiny empire. Councils have little power and little funding autonomy; council tax rates can be capped centrally, and they are dependent on "block grant". The relatively recent devolved assemblies also get little respect from Westminster; the Scotland Office and Wales Office still exist despite seeming redundancy. The Scotland Office has a substantial budget for anti-independence campaigning.



        The situation is even worse in Northern Ireland, land of No Surrender, where there has been no government for about two years following its collapse over a fraud scandal. Compromise is even more foreign there. People tend to forget that the UK had a live-fire civil war in living memory, but I think that matters to the uncompromisingness.



        Systems: First Past the Post



        The voting system at Westminster discourages coalition or minority governments, so there is no tradition of sound coalition-forming by seeking consensus.



        Edit: as a piece of metacommentary, this is the first time I've noticed an answer getting significant numbers of upvotes and downvotes. I am aware that it can be considered opinionated, but I think that's a symptom of the polarisation that leads to no consensus. Politically engaged people disagree on increasingly basic things.






        share|improve this answer





















        • 14





          @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

          – divibisan
          Apr 3 at 22:35






        • 28





          "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

          – Andy
          Apr 4 at 1:28






        • 3





          @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

          – pjc50
          2 days ago






        • 5





          On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

          – Richard
          2 days ago






        • 4





          @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

          – AJM
          2 days ago
















        80














        Press




        "Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of the proprietor's prejudices that the advertisers don't object to"




        Americans like to believe their press is neutral. In the UK, hardly anyone bothers to maintain this pretence, and the press are openly engaged as political factions. The press circulation is much larger than the membership of the political parties, and has an impact beyond its actual numbers in terms of influencing opinion.



        The three largest papers are the Sun (owned by Murdoch's News Corp), the Daily Mail (owned by Viscount Rothermere), and the Times (News Corp again). All have a right-wing anti-Europe stance, and will happily print inaccurate articles about Europe. Boris Johnson got a particularly bad reputation for this while working as a journalist before he was a minister. He is still employed as a journalist, and is in fact paid more for that than his role as a Minister of the Crown.



        The press benefit from controversy: it sells papers. Readers enjoy outrage bait that panders to their prejudices; a pre-internet version of the "fake news" problem.



        Sidebar: the Spiked/LM axis



        There is a small group of people who used to write for Living Marxism until it was sued out of existence for denying the Bosnian genocide, then formed a successor Spiked!. They seem to be surprisingly influential in the commentariat despite their small size, and despite the intellectual incoherency of having gone straight from revolutionary communism to libertarianism without passing through common sense on the way.



        BBC Question Time



        A similar story prevails here. What ought to be a discussion show has succumbed to the temptation of getting on the most extreme guests possible, provoking highly strung arguments, and letting planted audience members inject outrageous questions.



        Edit: another example of the revolving door: the man who ran the BBC's political output during the Brexit campaign was later appointed as Theresa May's director of communications and is a "hard Brexiteer".



        Culture: The Establishment



        The leaders of the country overwhelmingly come from a very narrow educational background: private school followed by Oxford PPE. This produces people with a bulletproof opinion of their own correctness and practice in intellectual bullying.



        Culture: Ruins of the Empire



        This mostly manifests as a belief that Britain can "punch above its weight", and therefore does not need to engage in international compromise. While the influence of this in negotiations with Europe is obvious, I would argue that it also prevails internally. (This is easily a graduate-thesis size investigation!). It seems to me that the country is run centrally as a tiny empire. Councils have little power and little funding autonomy; council tax rates can be capped centrally, and they are dependent on "block grant". The relatively recent devolved assemblies also get little respect from Westminster; the Scotland Office and Wales Office still exist despite seeming redundancy. The Scotland Office has a substantial budget for anti-independence campaigning.



        The situation is even worse in Northern Ireland, land of No Surrender, where there has been no government for about two years following its collapse over a fraud scandal. Compromise is even more foreign there. People tend to forget that the UK had a live-fire civil war in living memory, but I think that matters to the uncompromisingness.



        Systems: First Past the Post



        The voting system at Westminster discourages coalition or minority governments, so there is no tradition of sound coalition-forming by seeking consensus.



        Edit: as a piece of metacommentary, this is the first time I've noticed an answer getting significant numbers of upvotes and downvotes. I am aware that it can be considered opinionated, but I think that's a symptom of the polarisation that leads to no consensus. Politically engaged people disagree on increasingly basic things.






        share|improve this answer





















        • 14





          @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

          – divibisan
          Apr 3 at 22:35






        • 28





          "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

          – Andy
          Apr 4 at 1:28






        • 3





          @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

          – pjc50
          2 days ago






        • 5





          On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

          – Richard
          2 days ago






        • 4





          @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

          – AJM
          2 days ago














        80












        80








        80







        Press




        "Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of the proprietor's prejudices that the advertisers don't object to"




        Americans like to believe their press is neutral. In the UK, hardly anyone bothers to maintain this pretence, and the press are openly engaged as political factions. The press circulation is much larger than the membership of the political parties, and has an impact beyond its actual numbers in terms of influencing opinion.



        The three largest papers are the Sun (owned by Murdoch's News Corp), the Daily Mail (owned by Viscount Rothermere), and the Times (News Corp again). All have a right-wing anti-Europe stance, and will happily print inaccurate articles about Europe. Boris Johnson got a particularly bad reputation for this while working as a journalist before he was a minister. He is still employed as a journalist, and is in fact paid more for that than his role as a Minister of the Crown.



        The press benefit from controversy: it sells papers. Readers enjoy outrage bait that panders to their prejudices; a pre-internet version of the "fake news" problem.



        Sidebar: the Spiked/LM axis



        There is a small group of people who used to write for Living Marxism until it was sued out of existence for denying the Bosnian genocide, then formed a successor Spiked!. They seem to be surprisingly influential in the commentariat despite their small size, and despite the intellectual incoherency of having gone straight from revolutionary communism to libertarianism without passing through common sense on the way.



        BBC Question Time



        A similar story prevails here. What ought to be a discussion show has succumbed to the temptation of getting on the most extreme guests possible, provoking highly strung arguments, and letting planted audience members inject outrageous questions.



        Edit: another example of the revolving door: the man who ran the BBC's political output during the Brexit campaign was later appointed as Theresa May's director of communications and is a "hard Brexiteer".



        Culture: The Establishment



        The leaders of the country overwhelmingly come from a very narrow educational background: private school followed by Oxford PPE. This produces people with a bulletproof opinion of their own correctness and practice in intellectual bullying.



        Culture: Ruins of the Empire



        This mostly manifests as a belief that Britain can "punch above its weight", and therefore does not need to engage in international compromise. While the influence of this in negotiations with Europe is obvious, I would argue that it also prevails internally. (This is easily a graduate-thesis size investigation!). It seems to me that the country is run centrally as a tiny empire. Councils have little power and little funding autonomy; council tax rates can be capped centrally, and they are dependent on "block grant". The relatively recent devolved assemblies also get little respect from Westminster; the Scotland Office and Wales Office still exist despite seeming redundancy. The Scotland Office has a substantial budget for anti-independence campaigning.



        The situation is even worse in Northern Ireland, land of No Surrender, where there has been no government for about two years following its collapse over a fraud scandal. Compromise is even more foreign there. People tend to forget that the UK had a live-fire civil war in living memory, but I think that matters to the uncompromisingness.



        Systems: First Past the Post



        The voting system at Westminster discourages coalition or minority governments, so there is no tradition of sound coalition-forming by seeking consensus.



        Edit: as a piece of metacommentary, this is the first time I've noticed an answer getting significant numbers of upvotes and downvotes. I am aware that it can be considered opinionated, but I think that's a symptom of the polarisation that leads to no consensus. Politically engaged people disagree on increasingly basic things.






        share|improve this answer















        Press




        "Freedom of the press in Britain means freedom to print such of the proprietor's prejudices that the advertisers don't object to"




        Americans like to believe their press is neutral. In the UK, hardly anyone bothers to maintain this pretence, and the press are openly engaged as political factions. The press circulation is much larger than the membership of the political parties, and has an impact beyond its actual numbers in terms of influencing opinion.



        The three largest papers are the Sun (owned by Murdoch's News Corp), the Daily Mail (owned by Viscount Rothermere), and the Times (News Corp again). All have a right-wing anti-Europe stance, and will happily print inaccurate articles about Europe. Boris Johnson got a particularly bad reputation for this while working as a journalist before he was a minister. He is still employed as a journalist, and is in fact paid more for that than his role as a Minister of the Crown.



        The press benefit from controversy: it sells papers. Readers enjoy outrage bait that panders to their prejudices; a pre-internet version of the "fake news" problem.



        Sidebar: the Spiked/LM axis



        There is a small group of people who used to write for Living Marxism until it was sued out of existence for denying the Bosnian genocide, then formed a successor Spiked!. They seem to be surprisingly influential in the commentariat despite their small size, and despite the intellectual incoherency of having gone straight from revolutionary communism to libertarianism without passing through common sense on the way.



        BBC Question Time



        A similar story prevails here. What ought to be a discussion show has succumbed to the temptation of getting on the most extreme guests possible, provoking highly strung arguments, and letting planted audience members inject outrageous questions.



        Edit: another example of the revolving door: the man who ran the BBC's political output during the Brexit campaign was later appointed as Theresa May's director of communications and is a "hard Brexiteer".



        Culture: The Establishment



        The leaders of the country overwhelmingly come from a very narrow educational background: private school followed by Oxford PPE. This produces people with a bulletproof opinion of their own correctness and practice in intellectual bullying.



        Culture: Ruins of the Empire



        This mostly manifests as a belief that Britain can "punch above its weight", and therefore does not need to engage in international compromise. While the influence of this in negotiations with Europe is obvious, I would argue that it also prevails internally. (This is easily a graduate-thesis size investigation!). It seems to me that the country is run centrally as a tiny empire. Councils have little power and little funding autonomy; council tax rates can be capped centrally, and they are dependent on "block grant". The relatively recent devolved assemblies also get little respect from Westminster; the Scotland Office and Wales Office still exist despite seeming redundancy. The Scotland Office has a substantial budget for anti-independence campaigning.



        The situation is even worse in Northern Ireland, land of No Surrender, where there has been no government for about two years following its collapse over a fraud scandal. Compromise is even more foreign there. People tend to forget that the UK had a live-fire civil war in living memory, but I think that matters to the uncompromisingness.



        Systems: First Past the Post



        The voting system at Westminster discourages coalition or minority governments, so there is no tradition of sound coalition-forming by seeking consensus.



        Edit: as a piece of metacommentary, this is the first time I've noticed an answer getting significant numbers of upvotes and downvotes. I am aware that it can be considered opinionated, but I think that's a symptom of the polarisation that leads to no consensus. Politically engaged people disagree on increasingly basic things.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 2 days ago

























        answered Apr 3 at 16:01









        pjc50pjc50

        7,97311734




        7,97311734








        • 14





          @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

          – divibisan
          Apr 3 at 22:35






        • 28





          "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

          – Andy
          Apr 4 at 1:28






        • 3





          @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

          – pjc50
          2 days ago






        • 5





          On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

          – Richard
          2 days ago






        • 4





          @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

          – AJM
          2 days ago














        • 14





          @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

          – divibisan
          Apr 3 at 22:35






        • 28





          "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

          – Andy
          Apr 4 at 1:28






        • 3





          @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

          – pjc50
          2 days ago






        • 5





          On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

          – Richard
          2 days ago






        • 4





          @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

          – AJM
          2 days ago








        14




        14





        @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

        – divibisan
        Apr 3 at 22:35





        @gerrit Endorsements are made by the editorial boards. There is a clear (if not always perfect) distinction between the news and editorial sides of the paper. Obviously, there is bias in all news (it's written by humans, after all), but that doesn't conflict with the claim that "Americans like to believe their press is neutral"

        – divibisan
        Apr 3 at 22:35




        28




        28





        "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

        – Andy
        Apr 4 at 1:28





        "Americans like to believe their press is neutral" I think its more like we'd like them to be neutral, not that we believe they are.

        – Andy
        Apr 4 at 1:28




        3




        3





        @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

        – pjc50
        2 days ago





        @Zeus Consensus is not always a mutual problem; that's the "opinions on shape of world differ" misconception. Trying to form a consensus with people who have increasingly extreme views based on misinformation doesn't work.

        – pjc50
        2 days ago




        5




        5





        On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

        – Richard
        2 days ago





        On the topic of general elections, it's working pointing out how the Lib Dems were effectively wiped out in the house of commons after joining a coalition government. The public are evidently ready to punish MPs who make compromises with opposing parties.

        – Richard
        2 days ago




        4




        4





        @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

        – AJM
        2 days ago





        @Richard The Lib Dems were perceived as having failed to effect coalition policy in any way, having simply gone along with Tory policy in all areas except the AV referendum - which failed where a genuine option for proportional representation might not have. Nick Clegg just rolled over and capitulated to Cameron immediately, and a lot of the anger comes from people like myself who voted Lib Dem because we lived in wards where this was the best option to stop a Tory getting in.

        – AJM
        2 days ago











        35














        Most Prime Ministers don't need to seek consensus. The first past the post election system tends to produce parliaments with a clear majority for one party, the Prime Minister automatically the leader of the Majority Party. And since ministers are chosen from among MPs, they are mostly willing to vote the party line.



        As most PMs don't need to seek consensus, to do so indicates that the PM is in a weakened state, in which she does not have a clear majority, and cannot get her own MPs to follow her directives in voting.



        From a partisan point of view, doing a deal with the opposition is a form of betrayal, and this is why members of her party have criticised her for attempting to deal with Corbyn.



        There is a further, more philosophical point: If the major parties agree on a consensus position, then there is no effective scrutiny or an real choice for the electorate. The opposition opposes a large amount of government business. This ensure that the acts of the government are closely examined by its opponents. In the situation in which a government forms a grand coalition is the parties reach a consensus, and there is nobody to tell them that it is wrong. When the election comes round, the parties either have to reject policies that they agreed to as part of the coalition (and appear hypocritical) or enter the election with very similar manifesto to their opponents.






        share|improve this answer





















        • 3





          This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

          – Chronocidal
          2 days ago






        • 5





          Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

          – Caleth
          2 days ago
















        35














        Most Prime Ministers don't need to seek consensus. The first past the post election system tends to produce parliaments with a clear majority for one party, the Prime Minister automatically the leader of the Majority Party. And since ministers are chosen from among MPs, they are mostly willing to vote the party line.



        As most PMs don't need to seek consensus, to do so indicates that the PM is in a weakened state, in which she does not have a clear majority, and cannot get her own MPs to follow her directives in voting.



        From a partisan point of view, doing a deal with the opposition is a form of betrayal, and this is why members of her party have criticised her for attempting to deal with Corbyn.



        There is a further, more philosophical point: If the major parties agree on a consensus position, then there is no effective scrutiny or an real choice for the electorate. The opposition opposes a large amount of government business. This ensure that the acts of the government are closely examined by its opponents. In the situation in which a government forms a grand coalition is the parties reach a consensus, and there is nobody to tell them that it is wrong. When the election comes round, the parties either have to reject policies that they agreed to as part of the coalition (and appear hypocritical) or enter the election with very similar manifesto to their opponents.






        share|improve this answer





















        • 3





          This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

          – Chronocidal
          2 days ago






        • 5





          Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

          – Caleth
          2 days ago














        35












        35








        35







        Most Prime Ministers don't need to seek consensus. The first past the post election system tends to produce parliaments with a clear majority for one party, the Prime Minister automatically the leader of the Majority Party. And since ministers are chosen from among MPs, they are mostly willing to vote the party line.



        As most PMs don't need to seek consensus, to do so indicates that the PM is in a weakened state, in which she does not have a clear majority, and cannot get her own MPs to follow her directives in voting.



        From a partisan point of view, doing a deal with the opposition is a form of betrayal, and this is why members of her party have criticised her for attempting to deal with Corbyn.



        There is a further, more philosophical point: If the major parties agree on a consensus position, then there is no effective scrutiny or an real choice for the electorate. The opposition opposes a large amount of government business. This ensure that the acts of the government are closely examined by its opponents. In the situation in which a government forms a grand coalition is the parties reach a consensus, and there is nobody to tell them that it is wrong. When the election comes round, the parties either have to reject policies that they agreed to as part of the coalition (and appear hypocritical) or enter the election with very similar manifesto to their opponents.






        share|improve this answer















        Most Prime Ministers don't need to seek consensus. The first past the post election system tends to produce parliaments with a clear majority for one party, the Prime Minister automatically the leader of the Majority Party. And since ministers are chosen from among MPs, they are mostly willing to vote the party line.



        As most PMs don't need to seek consensus, to do so indicates that the PM is in a weakened state, in which she does not have a clear majority, and cannot get her own MPs to follow her directives in voting.



        From a partisan point of view, doing a deal with the opposition is a form of betrayal, and this is why members of her party have criticised her for attempting to deal with Corbyn.



        There is a further, more philosophical point: If the major parties agree on a consensus position, then there is no effective scrutiny or an real choice for the electorate. The opposition opposes a large amount of government business. This ensure that the acts of the government are closely examined by its opponents. In the situation in which a government forms a grand coalition is the parties reach a consensus, and there is nobody to tell them that it is wrong. When the election comes round, the parties either have to reject policies that they agreed to as part of the coalition (and appear hypocritical) or enter the election with very similar manifesto to their opponents.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 2 hours ago

























        answered Apr 3 at 22:30









        James KJames K

        36.1k8107155




        36.1k8107155








        • 3





          This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

          – Chronocidal
          2 days ago






        • 5





          Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

          – Caleth
          2 days ago














        • 3





          This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

          – Chronocidal
          2 days ago






        • 5





          Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

          – Caleth
          2 days ago








        3




        3





        This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

        – Chronocidal
        2 days ago





        This is an important point: The "most European countries" that the OP mentions are used to having coalitions and no strict "ruling party", to the point that some are ruled almost entirely by compromise. Spain, quite infamously, had a period around 2015-2016 where the various parties were so busy arguing and compromising with each other that no actual governance was getting done, with everything in a deadlock.

        – Chronocidal
        2 days ago




        5




        5





        Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

        – Caleth
        2 days ago





        Most PMs only need to seek consensus within their own party

        – Caleth
        2 days ago











        15














        We did have consensus politics throughout much of the 20th century, despite enormous social changes and strains. There were consensus-based governments from 1914 under Lloyd-George and Asquith, then after the 1931 depression a 'national government' of all parties was formed and 'national' governments continued until WWII. In 1940, another consensus-based coalition was led by Winston Churchill with other parties.



        Although Attlee (Labour) won in 1945, from that time onwards was a period of 'national consensus'. This meant that whoever won, Conservative or Labour - there was a broad agreement on certain issues like housing, healthcare, social security etc. This post-war consensus was ended by Thatcher in 1979 who had a different, harder ideological form of Conservatism to her predecessors. Now, a group of very vocal pro-Thatcherite extremists mostly aligned to groups like the ERG and Legatum are making any form of compromise or consensus impossible.



        The problem is May called an election in 2017 to get a bigger majority and a mandate for a harder Brexit, but she didn't get one from the voters. Instead of realising she had no mandate and reaching out to find a consensus in Parliament for Brexit, she tried too hard to placate the extremists in her party and gave money to the Northern Irish DUP in return for support. She also put 'red lines' through the kind of Brexit that was discussed in the referendum and around anything that both sides could form a consensus around. This has led to two diametrically opposed sides to Brexit and years wasted in negotiations with the EU which ONLY cover the terms of leaving.



        The divisions in Parliament are really indicative of the divisions in the country, neither side will compromise, each side is furious at the other and any sensible compromise route cannot find a workable majority.






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Frank is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.
















        • 1





          It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

          – phoog
          2 days ago











        • This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

          – paul23
          yesterday
















        15














        We did have consensus politics throughout much of the 20th century, despite enormous social changes and strains. There were consensus-based governments from 1914 under Lloyd-George and Asquith, then after the 1931 depression a 'national government' of all parties was formed and 'national' governments continued until WWII. In 1940, another consensus-based coalition was led by Winston Churchill with other parties.



        Although Attlee (Labour) won in 1945, from that time onwards was a period of 'national consensus'. This meant that whoever won, Conservative or Labour - there was a broad agreement on certain issues like housing, healthcare, social security etc. This post-war consensus was ended by Thatcher in 1979 who had a different, harder ideological form of Conservatism to her predecessors. Now, a group of very vocal pro-Thatcherite extremists mostly aligned to groups like the ERG and Legatum are making any form of compromise or consensus impossible.



        The problem is May called an election in 2017 to get a bigger majority and a mandate for a harder Brexit, but she didn't get one from the voters. Instead of realising she had no mandate and reaching out to find a consensus in Parliament for Brexit, she tried too hard to placate the extremists in her party and gave money to the Northern Irish DUP in return for support. She also put 'red lines' through the kind of Brexit that was discussed in the referendum and around anything that both sides could form a consensus around. This has led to two diametrically opposed sides to Brexit and years wasted in negotiations with the EU which ONLY cover the terms of leaving.



        The divisions in Parliament are really indicative of the divisions in the country, neither side will compromise, each side is furious at the other and any sensible compromise route cannot find a workable majority.






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Frank is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.
















        • 1





          It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

          – phoog
          2 days ago











        • This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

          – paul23
          yesterday














        15












        15








        15







        We did have consensus politics throughout much of the 20th century, despite enormous social changes and strains. There were consensus-based governments from 1914 under Lloyd-George and Asquith, then after the 1931 depression a 'national government' of all parties was formed and 'national' governments continued until WWII. In 1940, another consensus-based coalition was led by Winston Churchill with other parties.



        Although Attlee (Labour) won in 1945, from that time onwards was a period of 'national consensus'. This meant that whoever won, Conservative or Labour - there was a broad agreement on certain issues like housing, healthcare, social security etc. This post-war consensus was ended by Thatcher in 1979 who had a different, harder ideological form of Conservatism to her predecessors. Now, a group of very vocal pro-Thatcherite extremists mostly aligned to groups like the ERG and Legatum are making any form of compromise or consensus impossible.



        The problem is May called an election in 2017 to get a bigger majority and a mandate for a harder Brexit, but she didn't get one from the voters. Instead of realising she had no mandate and reaching out to find a consensus in Parliament for Brexit, she tried too hard to placate the extremists in her party and gave money to the Northern Irish DUP in return for support. She also put 'red lines' through the kind of Brexit that was discussed in the referendum and around anything that both sides could form a consensus around. This has led to two diametrically opposed sides to Brexit and years wasted in negotiations with the EU which ONLY cover the terms of leaving.



        The divisions in Parliament are really indicative of the divisions in the country, neither side will compromise, each side is furious at the other and any sensible compromise route cannot find a workable majority.






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Frank is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.










        We did have consensus politics throughout much of the 20th century, despite enormous social changes and strains. There were consensus-based governments from 1914 under Lloyd-George and Asquith, then after the 1931 depression a 'national government' of all parties was formed and 'national' governments continued until WWII. In 1940, another consensus-based coalition was led by Winston Churchill with other parties.



        Although Attlee (Labour) won in 1945, from that time onwards was a period of 'national consensus'. This meant that whoever won, Conservative or Labour - there was a broad agreement on certain issues like housing, healthcare, social security etc. This post-war consensus was ended by Thatcher in 1979 who had a different, harder ideological form of Conservatism to her predecessors. Now, a group of very vocal pro-Thatcherite extremists mostly aligned to groups like the ERG and Legatum are making any form of compromise or consensus impossible.



        The problem is May called an election in 2017 to get a bigger majority and a mandate for a harder Brexit, but she didn't get one from the voters. Instead of realising she had no mandate and reaching out to find a consensus in Parliament for Brexit, she tried too hard to placate the extremists in her party and gave money to the Northern Irish DUP in return for support. She also put 'red lines' through the kind of Brexit that was discussed in the referendum and around anything that both sides could form a consensus around. This has led to two diametrically opposed sides to Brexit and years wasted in negotiations with the EU which ONLY cover the terms of leaving.



        The divisions in Parliament are really indicative of the divisions in the country, neither side will compromise, each side is furious at the other and any sensible compromise route cannot find a workable majority.







        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Frank is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer






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        answered 2 days ago









        FrankFrank

        1512




        1512




        New contributor




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        New contributor





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        • 1





          It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

          – phoog
          2 days ago











        • This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

          – paul23
          yesterday














        • 1





          It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

          – phoog
          2 days ago











        • This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

          – paul23
          yesterday








        1




        1





        It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

        – phoog
        2 days ago





        It's still remarkable that the precipitating factor is always crisis, though. This remains odd to followers of other countries' political systems.

        – phoog
        2 days ago













        This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

        – paul23
        yesterday





        This means that the country should split into separate parts where a compromis can be found in each part. Use the balkan model where you split people and force them to move somewhere along their ideological lines. Just do it without the war this time and consider "we can do a war and then the end point will be X, or we can do it without the killing and just all move".

        – paul23
        yesterday











        11














        In addition to the other great answers, it's usual for politicians to continually denigrate their opposition.



        Corbyn has been called a Marxist (!) and "dangerous", and that's just the milder stuff. The Tory party and Tory press have spent years demonizing him, so to cooperate with him now looks like doing a deal with the devil. They can't pivot fast enough.



        Another worry is that Corbyn wants to be PM and will use the situation to further that goal.



        There is also great suspicion from the Labour side that it's a trap, designed to spread blame for Brexit to the Labour party.






        share|improve this answer




























          11














          In addition to the other great answers, it's usual for politicians to continually denigrate their opposition.



          Corbyn has been called a Marxist (!) and "dangerous", and that's just the milder stuff. The Tory party and Tory press have spent years demonizing him, so to cooperate with him now looks like doing a deal with the devil. They can't pivot fast enough.



          Another worry is that Corbyn wants to be PM and will use the situation to further that goal.



          There is also great suspicion from the Labour side that it's a trap, designed to spread blame for Brexit to the Labour party.






          share|improve this answer


























            11












            11








            11







            In addition to the other great answers, it's usual for politicians to continually denigrate their opposition.



            Corbyn has been called a Marxist (!) and "dangerous", and that's just the milder stuff. The Tory party and Tory press have spent years demonizing him, so to cooperate with him now looks like doing a deal with the devil. They can't pivot fast enough.



            Another worry is that Corbyn wants to be PM and will use the situation to further that goal.



            There is also great suspicion from the Labour side that it's a trap, designed to spread blame for Brexit to the Labour party.






            share|improve this answer













            In addition to the other great answers, it's usual for politicians to continually denigrate their opposition.



            Corbyn has been called a Marxist (!) and "dangerous", and that's just the milder stuff. The Tory party and Tory press have spent years demonizing him, so to cooperate with him now looks like doing a deal with the devil. They can't pivot fast enough.



            Another worry is that Corbyn wants to be PM and will use the situation to further that goal.



            There is also great suspicion from the Labour side that it's a trap, designed to spread blame for Brexit to the Labour party.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 2 days ago









            useruser

            10.3k32441




            10.3k32441























                6















                Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial.




                This statement draws far too broad a conclusion from a single anecdote. There are myriad issues upon which consensus decisions are made every year in Britain. But, usually these are on issues upon which there was a consensus in the first place, or upon which nobody had strong positions staked out in the most recent round of elections.



                If anything, there is consensus on a broader array of issues in Britain both now and historically, than, for example, in the U.S. or France. For example, from 1931-1940, the U.K. was run by an all party coalition known as the National Government, to address a clear and present crisis (while the U.S. merely ended up with partisan dominant party rule by the Democratic Party in the Great Depression and Weimar Germany started out with a greatly divided partisan mix in parliament).



                What makes this particular issue different is that it has a history of being highly partisan and divisive. Brexit split the U.K. almost 50-50 in the last referendum. It was a close vote and the political parties in parliament were divided on the issue (in addition to intraparty conflict on the issue).



                Therefore, seeking out a broad coalition implicitly means that a lot of the people in the coalition have reversed themselves with respect to prior promises made to get them elected on that issue. This comes across as something of a breach of trust and so it is controversial.






                share|improve this answer


























                • To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                  – Peter Taylor
                  yesterday











                • Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                  – paul23
                  yesterday
















                6















                Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial.




                This statement draws far too broad a conclusion from a single anecdote. There are myriad issues upon which consensus decisions are made every year in Britain. But, usually these are on issues upon which there was a consensus in the first place, or upon which nobody had strong positions staked out in the most recent round of elections.



                If anything, there is consensus on a broader array of issues in Britain both now and historically, than, for example, in the U.S. or France. For example, from 1931-1940, the U.K. was run by an all party coalition known as the National Government, to address a clear and present crisis (while the U.S. merely ended up with partisan dominant party rule by the Democratic Party in the Great Depression and Weimar Germany started out with a greatly divided partisan mix in parliament).



                What makes this particular issue different is that it has a history of being highly partisan and divisive. Brexit split the U.K. almost 50-50 in the last referendum. It was a close vote and the political parties in parliament were divided on the issue (in addition to intraparty conflict on the issue).



                Therefore, seeking out a broad coalition implicitly means that a lot of the people in the coalition have reversed themselves with respect to prior promises made to get them elected on that issue. This comes across as something of a breach of trust and so it is controversial.






                share|improve this answer


























                • To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                  – Peter Taylor
                  yesterday











                • Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                  – paul23
                  yesterday














                6












                6








                6








                Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial.




                This statement draws far too broad a conclusion from a single anecdote. There are myriad issues upon which consensus decisions are made every year in Britain. But, usually these are on issues upon which there was a consensus in the first place, or upon which nobody had strong positions staked out in the most recent round of elections.



                If anything, there is consensus on a broader array of issues in Britain both now and historically, than, for example, in the U.S. or France. For example, from 1931-1940, the U.K. was run by an all party coalition known as the National Government, to address a clear and present crisis (while the U.S. merely ended up with partisan dominant party rule by the Democratic Party in the Great Depression and Weimar Germany started out with a greatly divided partisan mix in parliament).



                What makes this particular issue different is that it has a history of being highly partisan and divisive. Brexit split the U.K. almost 50-50 in the last referendum. It was a close vote and the political parties in parliament were divided on the issue (in addition to intraparty conflict on the issue).



                Therefore, seeking out a broad coalition implicitly means that a lot of the people in the coalition have reversed themselves with respect to prior promises made to get them elected on that issue. This comes across as something of a breach of trust and so it is controversial.






                share|improve this answer
















                Yet in Britain, a government based on consensus appears controversial.




                This statement draws far too broad a conclusion from a single anecdote. There are myriad issues upon which consensus decisions are made every year in Britain. But, usually these are on issues upon which there was a consensus in the first place, or upon which nobody had strong positions staked out in the most recent round of elections.



                If anything, there is consensus on a broader array of issues in Britain both now and historically, than, for example, in the U.S. or France. For example, from 1931-1940, the U.K. was run by an all party coalition known as the National Government, to address a clear and present crisis (while the U.S. merely ended up with partisan dominant party rule by the Democratic Party in the Great Depression and Weimar Germany started out with a greatly divided partisan mix in parliament).



                What makes this particular issue different is that it has a history of being highly partisan and divisive. Brexit split the U.K. almost 50-50 in the last referendum. It was a close vote and the political parties in parliament were divided on the issue (in addition to intraparty conflict on the issue).



                Therefore, seeking out a broad coalition implicitly means that a lot of the people in the coalition have reversed themselves with respect to prior promises made to get them elected on that issue. This comes across as something of a breach of trust and so it is controversial.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited 2 days ago

























                answered 2 days ago









                ohwillekeohwilleke

                22.4k35393




                22.4k35393













                • To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                  – Peter Taylor
                  yesterday











                • Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                  – paul23
                  yesterday



















                • To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                  – Peter Taylor
                  yesterday











                • Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                  – paul23
                  yesterday

















                To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                – Peter Taylor
                yesterday





                To call the national government of 1931-1940 "all-party" is somewhat misleading. The Labour party split over it, and there were far fewer National Labour MPs than "original" Labour MPs.

                – Peter Taylor
                yesterday













                Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                – paul23
                yesterday





                Yet you only need to seek out a current majority: dealing with brexit can be separate of -say- dealing with healthcare. That's the whole idea of making compromises: sometimes you get what you want sometimes you don't, and you deal with different people at different times.

                – paul23
                yesterday











                2














                Taking a point out of your question: Mind that in the German system h need for compromise not only comes from the recent tendency on "big coalitions" between CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag but also from the second chamber, the Bundesrat.



                In the Bundesrat each state's government has votes which they can only use together (i.e. if a state is having a coalition government they can't split the votes)



                For many bills agreement by the Bundesrat is needed, thus even if a party had majority in the Bundestag they still need to cooperate with the majorities in the state governments.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                johannes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.

























                  2














                  Taking a point out of your question: Mind that in the German system h need for compromise not only comes from the recent tendency on "big coalitions" between CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag but also from the second chamber, the Bundesrat.



                  In the Bundesrat each state's government has votes which they can only use together (i.e. if a state is having a coalition government they can't split the votes)



                  For many bills agreement by the Bundesrat is needed, thus even if a party had majority in the Bundestag they still need to cooperate with the majorities in the state governments.






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  johannes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.























                    2












                    2








                    2







                    Taking a point out of your question: Mind that in the German system h need for compromise not only comes from the recent tendency on "big coalitions" between CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag but also from the second chamber, the Bundesrat.



                    In the Bundesrat each state's government has votes which they can only use together (i.e. if a state is having a coalition government they can't split the votes)



                    For many bills agreement by the Bundesrat is needed, thus even if a party had majority in the Bundestag they still need to cooperate with the majorities in the state governments.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    johannes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.










                    Taking a point out of your question: Mind that in the German system h need for compromise not only comes from the recent tendency on "big coalitions" between CDU/CSU and SPD in the Bundestag but also from the second chamber, the Bundesrat.



                    In the Bundesrat each state's government has votes which they can only use together (i.e. if a state is having a coalition government they can't split the votes)



                    For many bills agreement by the Bundesrat is needed, thus even if a party had majority in the Bundestag they still need to cooperate with the majorities in the state governments.







                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    johannes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer






                    New contributor




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                    answered 2 days ago









                    johannesjohannes

                    33113




                    33113




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                    New contributor





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                        0














                        A lot of good information in the other answers, but specifically on the Brexit issue, it should be pointed out that it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice. Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state" - is inherently unsatisfactory for a large segment of both leave and remain voters.



                        This poll in "The Independent" provides evidence that in a new referendum Remain would beat Theresa May's deal by 61% to 39%, while if the choice was Remain versus No Deal then it would be a rather closer contest (57% to 43%). (Note, "The Independent" is a strong advocate of a second referendum. Recent polls from other sources show Remain having a much narrower lead.)






                        share|improve this answer



















                        • 2





                          Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago











                        • "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago






                        • 4





                          "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago











                        • @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                          – padd13ear
                          2 days ago











                        • @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago
















                        0














                        A lot of good information in the other answers, but specifically on the Brexit issue, it should be pointed out that it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice. Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state" - is inherently unsatisfactory for a large segment of both leave and remain voters.



                        This poll in "The Independent" provides evidence that in a new referendum Remain would beat Theresa May's deal by 61% to 39%, while if the choice was Remain versus No Deal then it would be a rather closer contest (57% to 43%). (Note, "The Independent" is a strong advocate of a second referendum. Recent polls from other sources show Remain having a much narrower lead.)






                        share|improve this answer



















                        • 2





                          Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago











                        • "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago






                        • 4





                          "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago











                        • @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                          – padd13ear
                          2 days ago











                        • @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago














                        0












                        0








                        0







                        A lot of good information in the other answers, but specifically on the Brexit issue, it should be pointed out that it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice. Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state" - is inherently unsatisfactory for a large segment of both leave and remain voters.



                        This poll in "The Independent" provides evidence that in a new referendum Remain would beat Theresa May's deal by 61% to 39%, while if the choice was Remain versus No Deal then it would be a rather closer contest (57% to 43%). (Note, "The Independent" is a strong advocate of a second referendum. Recent polls from other sources show Remain having a much narrower lead.)






                        share|improve this answer













                        A lot of good information in the other answers, but specifically on the Brexit issue, it should be pointed out that it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice. Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state" - is inherently unsatisfactory for a large segment of both leave and remain voters.



                        This poll in "The Independent" provides evidence that in a new referendum Remain would beat Theresa May's deal by 61% to 39%, while if the choice was Remain versus No Deal then it would be a rather closer contest (57% to 43%). (Note, "The Independent" is a strong advocate of a second referendum. Recent polls from other sources show Remain having a much narrower lead.)







                        share|improve this answer












                        share|improve this answer



                        share|improve this answer










                        answered 2 days ago









                        padd13earpadd13ear

                        692




                        692








                        • 2





                          Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago











                        • "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago






                        • 4





                          "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago











                        • @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                          – padd13ear
                          2 days ago











                        • @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago














                        • 2





                          Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago











                        • "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago






                        • 4





                          "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                          – Frank
                          2 days ago











                        • @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                          – padd13ear
                          2 days ago











                        • @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                          – gerrit
                          2 days ago








                        2




                        2





                        Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                        – gerrit
                        2 days ago





                        Why is it impossible? One can be in/out Customs Union, in/out Common Market, in/out Euratom, accept the Four Freedoms or not, etc. Labour has a plan, Conservatives have a plan, neither have a majority, so they need to compromise around a plan that can reach a consensus.

                        – gerrit
                        2 days ago













                        "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                        – Frank
                        2 days ago





                        "Any deal which involves following some of the EU rules but with no say in the making of those rules - making the U.K. into a "vassal state"" Not true, EFTA members of the EEA are outside the EU, they do not consider themselves vassals, and can influence EEA rules, which mostly originate from outside the EU, at relevant levels such as the WTO. Even so, EEA rules can be influenced, shaped by EFTA states, who are only bound by an advisory EFTA Court in EEA matters.

                        – Frank
                        2 days ago




                        4




                        4





                        "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                        – Frank
                        2 days ago





                        "it is almost impossible to compromise between "in" and "out" as it is basically a binary choice" - This was the fatal flaw of the referendum. Reducing a hugely complex situation to a simple binary choice, the kind of Brexit that was explained by many in the referendum was swiftly ruled out by May's red lines -after- the result. The kind of Brexit now championed by the ERG etc was dismissed in 2016 as Project Fear. There is a lot of revisionism going on with this, from both extreme sides.

                        – Frank
                        2 days ago













                        @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                        – padd13ear
                        2 days ago





                        @gerrit All those binary choices are subsidiary to the original one and are predicated on the assumption that "out" has already been accepted as the answer to the original binary choice. None of those are compromises with respect to the original question.

                        – padd13ear
                        2 days ago













                        @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                        – gerrit
                        2 days ago





                        @padd13ear They are compromises on how to implement the original question, which is what Brexit is about. The Labour Party is not proposing to revoke Article 50.

                        – gerrit
                        2 days ago











                        0














                        Consensus isn't controversial.



                        The complaints about Theresa May meeting with Jeremy Corbyn are from people in their respective parties who think that their own party's position is right and the other party's position is wrong. To such a person, "consensus" means "doing something that's less right and more wrong."






                        share|improve this answer



















                        • 1





                          On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                          – JJJ
                          2 days ago













                        • Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                          – paul23
                          yesterday
















                        0














                        Consensus isn't controversial.



                        The complaints about Theresa May meeting with Jeremy Corbyn are from people in their respective parties who think that their own party's position is right and the other party's position is wrong. To such a person, "consensus" means "doing something that's less right and more wrong."






                        share|improve this answer



















                        • 1





                          On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                          – JJJ
                          2 days ago













                        • Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                          – paul23
                          yesterday














                        0












                        0








                        0







                        Consensus isn't controversial.



                        The complaints about Theresa May meeting with Jeremy Corbyn are from people in their respective parties who think that their own party's position is right and the other party's position is wrong. To such a person, "consensus" means "doing something that's less right and more wrong."






                        share|improve this answer













                        Consensus isn't controversial.



                        The complaints about Theresa May meeting with Jeremy Corbyn are from people in their respective parties who think that their own party's position is right and the other party's position is wrong. To such a person, "consensus" means "doing something that's less right and more wrong."







                        share|improve this answer












                        share|improve this answer



                        share|improve this answer










                        answered 2 days ago









                        David RicherbyDavid Richerby

                        1,713819




                        1,713819








                        • 1





                          On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                          – JJJ
                          2 days ago













                        • Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                          – paul23
                          yesterday














                        • 1





                          On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                          – JJJ
                          2 days ago













                        • Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                          – paul23
                          yesterday








                        1




                        1





                        On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                        – JJJ
                        2 days ago







                        On the other hand, isn't doing nothing more wrong that the consensus? Even in the eyes of those people?

                        – JJJ
                        2 days ago















                        Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                        – paul23
                        yesterday





                        Consensus is the whole idea of adding water to the wine, so yes you won't get the perfect solution (for you). But you get a solution everyone is fine with. So those people are basically against consensus on this topic. "My way or the highway" is the opposite of consensus.

                        – paul23
                        yesterday











                        0















                        In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”




                        This is a complete, and probably deliberately, untrue presentation of the facts. The negotiated agreement with the EU is not three years old, so it would have been a bit difficult for May to have negotiated a way to get her agreement passed beforehand.



                        As for his actual statement, I would have hoped that a Dutch politician would have heard of Belgium.
                        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9311_Belgian_political_crisis as anyone reading the article will note, there were a couple of high-profile EU politicians involved in their record 500- odd says without a proper government, so perhaps Timmermans can ask them to give the UK a lecture on consensus politics






                        share|improve this answer




























                          0















                          In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”




                          This is a complete, and probably deliberately, untrue presentation of the facts. The negotiated agreement with the EU is not three years old, so it would have been a bit difficult for May to have negotiated a way to get her agreement passed beforehand.



                          As for his actual statement, I would have hoped that a Dutch politician would have heard of Belgium.
                          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9311_Belgian_political_crisis as anyone reading the article will note, there were a couple of high-profile EU politicians involved in their record 500- odd says without a proper government, so perhaps Timmermans can ask them to give the UK a lecture on consensus politics






                          share|improve this answer


























                            0












                            0








                            0








                            In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”




                            This is a complete, and probably deliberately, untrue presentation of the facts. The negotiated agreement with the EU is not three years old, so it would have been a bit difficult for May to have negotiated a way to get her agreement passed beforehand.



                            As for his actual statement, I would have hoped that a Dutch politician would have heard of Belgium.
                            https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9311_Belgian_political_crisis as anyone reading the article will note, there were a couple of high-profile EU politicians involved in their record 500- odd says without a proper government, so perhaps Timmermans can ask them to give the UK a lecture on consensus politics






                            share|improve this answer














                            In what country would it take nearly three years, before a government, that is not in agreement gets the idea to cooperate with the opposition on a vitally important issue? It is really incredible, that this is happening in [Great Britain] only now.”




                            This is a complete, and probably deliberately, untrue presentation of the facts. The negotiated agreement with the EU is not three years old, so it would have been a bit difficult for May to have negotiated a way to get her agreement passed beforehand.



                            As for his actual statement, I would have hoped that a Dutch politician would have heard of Belgium.
                            https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9311_Belgian_political_crisis as anyone reading the article will note, there were a couple of high-profile EU politicians involved in their record 500- odd says without a proper government, so perhaps Timmermans can ask them to give the UK a lecture on consensus politics







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered 4 hours ago









                            OrangesandlemonsOrangesandlemons

                            2,421621




                            2,421621






























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