Metamorphosis in the UK

Seeing a tadpole in the pond closer to the surface regularly over the past week. Today, crept closer and managed to snap this (enlarged) photo. The clearly visible developing hind-legs show that the tadpole is undergoing metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages. in frogs, this is a dramatic change over a period of time. In some species this can be within a day, however, with the common European frog, 14 weeks is the average. Essentially, the change is from a more fish like, vegetarian tadpole that has a long coiled gut to digest algae and a horny spiral mouth, to a four limbed, land living predator with a prehensile tongue and a jaw. Draco, the dragonfly nymph will also undergo metamorphosis from a water based predator to a winged aerial one.

UK politics has also undergone a figurative metamorphosis as yesterdays ballot has resulted in a hung parliament, with no party reaching the magical 326 seat majority. As Sinn Fein do not take up their seats in the UK Parliament, presumably, they cannot vote there, which would make the actual majority required 319 (326 minus the 7 Sinn Fein MPs). The final results were:
Conservative 318, Labour 262, SNP 35, LiberalDemocrats 12, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 10, Sinn Fein 7, Plaid Cymru 4, Green Party, Independent 1, UK Independence Party 0 (Hurrah!).

The Tory party has reached some form of agreement with the DUP, that allowed Prime Minister Theresa May to go to the Queen to ask to form a government (The Queen cannot refuse). Listening to tonight's reviews on the possible future for Brexit, opinion is that a softer Brexit is on the cards. On the Sky newspaper review, it was even thought that a collaborative approach between the main parties on Brexit might be possible. Whilst this might be a feature of continental democracies, a shift away from the confrontational parliamentary UK style seems unlikely to me - unless it is all talk for show, with quiet agreement on key points in the background.

The media currently see Theresa May as finished - it is not a matter of whether she will be replaced but when. The remarkable public absence of support by big figures in her party (Boris Johnson, David Davies etc.) is seen as a reflection of private sharpening of knives in readiness for the right moment.

All this has obscured the Trump - Comey confrontation in the US yesterday, where ex FBI chief James Comey gave a damaging performance in the Senate hearing. Trump countered today with being willing to testify under oath to give his story. Unless Trump really made and kept recordings of the meetings, it is two men's words against each other. President Trump and his lawyer have started working to undermine Comey's present credibility in tweets, conversations and latching onto Comey's leaking of his memos.

The public scandal itself hides real progress by the Trump/Republican administration to successfully remove the teeth from the Dodd-Frank financial regulations - which were brought in during the Obama administration in 2010, in reaction to the financial crash in 2008.