Stepping down
Thatcher for Major - I know she'd lost the support of her party, but if she'd wanted to stay on, there was no law stopping her.

Wilson for Callaghan in 1976
(lolwhites, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 14:51, 1 reply)

Give That Man A Coconut

You're right - at least about Wilson/Callaghan.

But I'd argue the toss about Thatcher. She didn't step down. She was ousted.

And yes, technically she could have said "Fuck you I'm staying" but that was never on the cards.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 15:00, closed)

Fair point
She jumped before she was pushed. Only Tory MPs could vote for leader, and I always wonder whether the ordinary members would have voted to keep her if they'd had the chance.
(lolwhites, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 15:16, closed)

I Think

That the ordinary Tory members would have voted to keep her. They worshipped her. Still do. Fuckwits.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 15:22, closed)

Stepped down, outsted, doesn't matter
her successor *was not elected*, and that's the point. The whys and wherefores of her removal are utterly irrelevent; the mechanism by which her successor came to take the position is what's at issue here, and he was conspicuously not selected by popular vote.
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 16:04, closed)

Never Said He Was

Would this be a good time to point out that I've had several cans of beer and have now entered total bullshit mode?

It's after 1am here in Oz...

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 16:20, closed)

Splendid
...best time for it ;)
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Tue 13 Apr 2010, 16:40, closed)