Is the PM trying to pull an Erdogan? – @barney_vernon70

THERESA May previously went from backing the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU, to championing a hard Brexit. Now, she has gone from ruling out a General Election until 2020, to demanding we have one in June.

Remember, kids: you can’t spell contradictory without Tory! For some inexplicable reason, a sensibly timed Scottish independence referendum is not okay, but a snap election aimed only to benefit the Tories is fine.

Certainly, the Prime Minister’s move to consolidate her power has echoes of Recep Erdogan’s recent referendum victory in Turkey, in which the much-maligned authoritarian Turkish leader strengthened his stranglehold on the country. While both leaders enjoy presenting a façade of leadership and security, it’s blindingly obvious that neither politician has the best interests of their people at heart.

After arrogantly announcing this snap election, Theresa May was quick to confirm that she will not take part in TV election debates. The new “Iron Lady” appears to melt at the first sign of rational conversation. By refusing to debate on television, the Tories have shifted from presenting false information to no information at all.

Moreover, it takes some balls to announce a General Election whilst you’re still under investigation for fraud in the last one. The CPS recently confirmed that they are considering charges against more than 30 individuals regarding the assumed 2015 Tory financial scam.

Arrogance and alleged criminality aside, it appears that the Conservatives are seeking to capitalise on the weakness of Labour and the fact that Brexit hasn’t yet been a total disaster – largely because almost nothing has happened. A resounding victory in June’s election will create the false impression that Britain is united behind Brexit, regardless of the success of the SNP in Scotland. Once again, “Britain” is being used as political language for “England”, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in a dead heat for least important. However, if this snap election is about giving May a mandate to carry out a hard Brexit, the same logic should be applied to the SNP and Scottish independence.

If Tory success legitimises Brexit, then SNP success must also legitimise the case for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Frankly, the only thing that could take current affairs further beyond parody is if the Tories lose the General Election they have instigated. I realise there is almost no chance whatsoever that Jeremy Corbyn and Labour will win this snap election, but it would be hilarious if they do. If Labour are smart, they’ll try to stretch their appeal to the masses and provide actual opposition to Tory policies instead of meekly whispering discontented remarks. Doing this will involve some degree of cooperation with the SNP.

If it meant that the Tories had no overall majority, surely Labour would see sense in working with Sturgeon? I mean, Scottish Labour barely exists anymore, so surely it makes sense to work with Scotland instead of ignoring it like the Tories do? Besides, I think if England votes for Tory again, it all but loses its right to complain about politics. This is their chance to prove they’re not as stupid as the last elections have led us all to believe.

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What do you make of the North Korea situation? James, Aberdeen

THE North Koreans have made bold, aggressive announcements in the past. Not all that long ago they were threatening war with the United States over a subpar Seth Rogan comedy – which, in their defence, is something we’ve all thought about doing.

However, most of these bombastic declarations from Earth’s most secretive and fascist regime have largely been blown off as malarkey by semi-intelligent western leaders. Sadly, times have changed, and instead of having a man in the White House whose reading ability is above that of Spot the Dog, we have perpetual man-baby Donald Trump in charge.

In this scenario, Trump is effectively the fat kid in school that dimwittedly threw stones at the wasp nest to see what would happen. Worse yet, this effectively mirrors the relationship North Korea has had with the United States for several decades. Kim Jong Un and his family have relished every opportunity to annoy the Americans with missile tests and arrogant public statements. Now, the US President is doing the same thing in return. This is obviously a perfect recipe for nuclear holocaust.

The Chinese recently suggested that this situation could lead to World War III, and it would make perfect sense that the end of the human species would be brought about by their own stupidity. After all, the North Korean’s chubby, stupid haired dictator is in power by default – but the Americans actually voted for theirs.

The US public have voluntarily put the nuclear launch codes into the hands of a man so stupid he once stayed up all night to study for a urine test. We can only hope that cooler heads prevail, but with the players involved here, it could well be brown trousers time for all of us.