Innocent🕷Abroad: The Brits know how to do an election night. We can't do it the same way, because we have a zillion different federal, state, & local offices up for grabs on the same day, plus ballot initiatives & referenda. But one night with elections to a single legislative house is so pure, it's fun.

The Brits know how to do an election night. We can't do it the same way, because we have a zillion different federal, state, & local offices up for grabs on the same day, plus ballot initiatives & referenda. But one night with elections to a single legislative house is so pure, it's fun.

we're only just getting started, time for the real coffee pot

UK politics can be grim, but election night there with constituencies being largely ungerrymandered, losers standing next to winners of podiums, and the "election season is 6 weeks, not 2 years" default is incredibly wholesome

also "if/when you lose, there's no lame duck season, the next guy arrives tomorrow at 10am" is a big UK W vs the US system, we should totes get rid of that

just without the part where you ask the king for his permission to form a government

Yeah it's not my favorite bit. Tho at least it's all just a weird cosplay and everyone understands very clearly that it's not real

Tbf we also have our "ask electors to pick" and "ask congress to count" cosplay, which tbqh we should really move past, because while it's all fun and games as weird cosplay, we've found out to our detriment what happens when folks refuse to dress up and act it out

The Tories could still win if King Charles has courage.

Like a DnD session where one of the players brings a Glock to the table

We don’t even make the electors wear silly robes. You know Britain would have some sort of robe with different types of fur and feathers for each US state. One of their few Ws.

I think I see why you have so many followers. I don’t know who you are but appreciate the intelligent engagement you bring.

Giving congress the option to change election results is a terrible system of government.

The monarch is a great rubber stamp.

King Chuckles the Third of His Name knows that he will meet the same fate as his namesake if he dares do anything beyond say "okeydoke"

There's also the bit where black rod shows up and they slam the door in his face to stop him coming in.

I thought the King asked the leader of the winning party to form a govt. No?

Especially now when we've seen the opportunity it presents for an insurrection to build!

Not only no lame duck, but aren't they *out of office* once the election is called? It works like that in Canada.

Part of that, aside from general downsides of a presidential system, is they get how the way to do it is a relatively small number of top-level political appointees, not going five levels down into middle management with it so the incoming president has thousands of jobs to fill.

Altogether there are almost 4,000 political appointees, about a quarter of which require Senate confirmation. It's absurd and because of it even our obnoxiously long transition period functionally isn't long enough and it takes months into a new term to really get up and running.

Also, while FPTP sucks, it is broadly a good thing that how much you can do in power depends on the size of your majority, rather than getting the same power whether you win by the skin or your teeth or by a landslide.

Interesting that other Westminster style systems take longer for no particular constitutional reason. Canada took I think 3 weeks to transition from Harper to Trudeau (largely because Elections Canada doesn't formally certify results as fast as the UK does).

The US has too many elected offices. It makes it hard to keep track of who's screwing up. Fewer electeds held to more scrutiny would be better.

Gimme that two month campaign.

How do they manage personal effects in 10 Downing, I wonder

put them all in boxes and deliver them to the former PM's home address

Only if the British Museum doesn't rob the postie delivering it.

I mean, that's because of the limitations of travel of the time right? That's what I always chalked it up to.

A ton of the weirdness in the US system dates back to the difficulties of physically getting around the US back in the day. UK just didn't need to worry about it since any place far away just didn't get representation.

"Do you need a box for your office stuff? Never mind, I'll bring one."

Ok, If Obama pulls the sword out of the stone, or whatever, can he be king?

In one of the declarations, I saw the Tory MP, a minister, realize when he heard the Labour candidate's vote total that he wasn't going to hold his seat. He patted the Labour guy on the back, then shook his hand warmly after the announcement was done. Donald Trump's sore loser schtick is so awful.

And that's a really universally expected thing. Someone not shaking hands and/or congratulating the winner would really be seen as pathetic, I think.

Yeah there were a couple who didn't show up and that was something to get the TV journalists to break impartiality to talk about how poor form it was

Yup, you've got to be at your own count. Even if you're a Shadow Minister and it's at Little Dunny in the Wold, or you know you've lost.

Galloway for example

Exactly. Hoping he may have finished political career, between accepting that donation and not showing up for the count.

The neverending election cycle is so exhausting

yeah I hate it

They say direct democracy would exhaust the people from having to vote on everything, but it couldn't possibly be more exhausting than this.

Also our next Prime Minister is standing on a platform next to someone dressed as Elmo and someone called Keith the Flying Brick.

UK media should use Elmo and Grover as stand-ins for Labour and the Tories the way US media uses donkeys and elephants for the Dems and the GOP.

Grover is a nice boy who just wants to be helpful. He doesn’t deserve to be smeared as a Tory

Maybe this is just because I know the background for him and not the others but since I found it out I can't find the Elmo guy funny rather than depressing (on numerous levels)

Oh no.

Basically he lost custody of his kids (who he calls Elmo, presumably as some kind of abbreviation of their actual names) post-divorce and keeps doing this as a seemingly not particularly thought out plan to get them back

And he's been doing this long enough I'm slightly surprised they're apparently stil not adults

Oh god that's just sad.

to be clear, the elmo guy, not someone else right?

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