The Old Guard Losing Its Grip

With the showing that Bernie Sanders made in the US, and now that of Jeremy Corbyn in England, it's obvious that the old white conservative establishment is on shaky legs. They're either going to have to give over or change their ways. Or crack down and become dictators.

Theresa May will visit Buckingham Palace at lunchtime to request the Queen’s permission to form a government, after reaching an informal agreement with the unionist DUP.

[...]

The prime minister called the snap poll in the hope of winning a resounding personal mandate, with just days to go before Brexit talks with Brussels begin in earnest. But high turnout among young voters and an upbeat campaign by Jeremy Corbyn, with the Labour leader addressing jubilant rallies up and down the country, deprived the Conservatives of their majority.

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With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives have 318 MPs, 12 fewer than when May called the election. Labour won seats deep in traditional Tory territory, taking their total to 261, up 31.

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The DUP is socially conservative and enthusiastically pro-Brexit – and could also press for a boost to public spending in Northern Ireland, as well as assurances that it will not be treated differently to the rest of the UK in any Brexit deal.

[...]

The Brexit secretary, David Davis, who was instrumental in pressing for May to call an early poll, is understood to have discussed the prime minister’s plans with her on Friday morning. Senior Conservatives said pro-Brexit MPs were keen to see May remain in post to press ahead with negotiating Britain’s exit from the European Union.

[...]

Meanwhile Labour will press for [May] to resign, and try to show that it could form a coalition of its own – though the parliamentary arithmetic looks difficult, and the Liberal Democrats have repeatedly said they will not make electoral pacts.

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, called May a “lame duck” prime minister. “In the interests of the country we are willing to form a government, a minority government, and put forward a programme, a Queen’s speech, as well as an alternative budget and also an alternative programme for the Brexit negotiations and then it is up to other parties whether they support us,” he told Good Morning Britain.

[...]

Tory MP Anna Soubry broke ranks to say May should “consider her position”.

“It is bad. She is in a very difficult place … It was a dreadful night. I’ve lost some excellent and remarkable friends,” she said. “This is a very bad moment for the Conservative party and we need to take stock and our leader needs to take stock.”

  Guardian

We'll see if the Tories learned any more than our Democrats did from this unexpected showing.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.