A New Calculus Is Being Tested on the Race for London’s Mayor

Our Brexit Diarist Reports Has His Eye on New Party Founded by Nigel Farage 

By Stephen MacLean, Special to the Sun | April 26, 2021  

As the date of local elections looms in the United Kingdom, we may be witnessing a remarkable new political calculus that is testing the waters in the race for mayor for London. Might Conservative-minded Britons, repulsed by the Conservative Government, be willing to support other parties that support their values and value their support?

One such is Reform UK, founded by the hero of Brexit, Nigel Farage, and now led by his lieutenant, Richard Tice. Reform is the latest iteration of the Brexit Party (itself an outgrowth of the UK Independence Party), now engaged in political reform at Westminster. Its objective is greater political accountability. Among its aims are an elected House of Lords and MP recall. Some of its aspirations, like a popular peerage, may need a rethink, but keeping politicians’ feet to the fire is a good thing.

Another promising entry on the right is the Reclaim Party, led by actor-turned-activist Lawrence Fox. Americans will know him as “Detective Sergeant Hathaway” from the PBS-series, “Lewis.” Himself a target of “cancel culture” for his outspoken views on freedom of speech, Mr. Fox founded Reclaim on the issue of the right to speak one’s views, free from coercion and intimidation. He is running as a candidate in London’s mayoral election on May 6..............To Read More.....

My Take - Understanding British politics is painful, kind of like stabbing yourself all over with a spoon.  I've never really understood it, and I think it's because England doesn't have an American style Constitution as does America to use as a touchstone.  Their "Constitution", is described in this way:

Though not codified, the UK's constitution is written in hundreds of Acts of Parliament, court cases, and in documented conventions. Its essential principles are Parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy and internationalism.

Britain, and many of it's former colonies, use something called the Westminster system, which seems to me to have been created to accommodate all the different countries that made up Great Britain.  Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, etc., weren't like America's states. 

That, along with their Parliamentary system, and while officially there are only two parties, they seem to be made up of multiple factions.  It can get really complicated for Americans.  

The Israeli's have a parliamentary system and the last time I looked there were 13 political parties, maybe more now, and government coalitions have to be created to form a government.  Some of those parties have diametrically opposing views, yet share power.  

It boggles my mind how anything gets done.