Just a reminder, the closest thing to political allies in the UK for the GOP would be "Tories"

[WeDidIt]

IIRC, Tories were the traitors to the revolution in the fledgling US.

And the GOP DARES CALL THEMSELVES PATRIOTS!

[ClarkUSA]

1. lol! Teabaggers would have a fit if you said that to 'em.

Although Republicans have more in common with the BNP than Tories these days.

[WeDidIt]

5. The BNP holds no real power

and the Freepers are pulling for the Tories. There are multiple threads.

[ClarkUSA]

8. I know. I was half-joking about teabaggers' racist ways being akin to BNP's. n/t

[htuttle]

2. The Tories are too left wing for the GOP

They've been acting more like the BNP lately.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Actually, the Tories these days are more like the DLC

As htuttle said, today's Republicans are more like the British National Party (the racists).

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I have no idea how US and UK parties line up side by side. No idea, aside from

Greens and Socialists, who to root for over there.

[WeDidIt]

6. If I were a Brit, I'd be Liberal Democrat all the way.

Labour is too far right and Tories are right out.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. So does liberal there mean the same thing as liberal here? It seems like in some

countries that's not the case.

[WeDidIt]

9. Liberal in the US = Tory in the UK

Yeah, it's that bad here.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Small 'l' liberal tends to mean in Britain a stance on social issues, not economic

So Tony Blair complained about what 'liberals' did in the past, meaning things like making divorce easier, or making prison sentences less punitive, and more rehabilitative. The death penalty, abortion, homosexual rights, civil liberties and similar things would be called liberal issues (Blair was liberal on homosexual rights, but not civil liberties).

The Liberal Democrats are liberal in that sense; economically, you'd probably place them as 'mainstream Democratic politician'. Labour has a larger range, economically - the leadership is a little further to the right, on the whole (think DLC), while some backbench MPs and supporters are true socialists, and would nationalise much of industry if they could.

But the American usage of "'liberal' = 'in favour of government programs'" doesn't really apply here.

[malaise]

11. Well it's now official

The Tories cannot form a majority government. Thankfully memories of Thatcher will never leave the Brits.