UK General Election 2010

[sbc]

Surprised that there is no thread on this thus far. The general election was recently called for May 6th, although this was one of the worst kept secrets in Parliament.

Depending on which opinion poll you look at Conservatives are in the lead on about 37-40 with roughly a 5-7 point lead over Labour and the Lib Dems are on about 20 points.

Summary:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/default.stm

The main issue is the economy. Mainly how to protect recovery and maintain public services without letting the deficit run out of control. I believe Labour want to try and halve the deficit in 4 years to 6% of GDP per annum which is still twice the EU's recommended 3%, but no-one has given a damn about this because of the severity of the recession. They also have planned to increase National Insurance by 1% on salaries over £20k which should raise £6bn. National Insurance being a tax paid by both employees and the employer (11% iirc) which goes towards state pensions etc. Many big businesses have protested against this rise and the Conservatives have taken this up (Tories catering to big business lol) and have said that they would finance this using yet as unidentified efficieny savings. They also want to cut public spending sooner, risking perhaps a double-dip recession but saying that early cuts are neccesary to inject confidence into the UK economy that the deficit and borrowing is under control.

Then you have Lib Dems, the third party who seem to be offering the most change, wanting to raise the tax free personal allowance to £10k and offset this by increasing capital gains tax. Quite a few of us are of student age so you might want to know that they've said they're not going to scrap tuition fees immediately, but rather over a period of six years.

On a side note you have the cloud from the MPs' expenses scandal which may have a bit of an influence, but I doubt it will have much.

I hope I've blagged enough about politics, who are you all going to vote for?

 

[Parallel]

Not old enough to vote ergo i wont vote in the poll. But i'll post opinions below.

Being against Conservatives idealogically and objecting to their add campaign, i wouldn't have voted for them.

Gordon Brown is being blamed for the pile of crud Tony Blair left him in, and isnt deserving of the bead rep he's got.

Lib Dems. I'd vote for them if i thought they could get in.

So, overall, would probably go labour.

 

[Alexa888]

I heard the debate in Parliament yesterday, and although I am still going to go with the Tories, I wasn't hugely impressed by David Cameron. I reckon there will be a hung parliament

 

[Forbidden To Starve]

After seeing Vince Cable in action, reading many of his articles in The Independent and learning he's an avid beekeeper with a strong interest in humanity, I give my support to the Liberal Democrat party. I formerly gave my support to the Conversative party for the ever-so considered reason that David Cameron seems like a nice chap, whilst obviously not supporting any of their economic values, but I've been a Liberal Democrat supporter for a while now.

Their lateral critisms of the UK military spending and the prioritization of nonexistant Cold War politics is not only correct but also spot on - Gordon Brown and David Cameron seem very evasive of even discussing military on whether or not the troops are equipped, which to me is extremely worrying. The Liberal Democrat would also increase the welfare of their troops, and prioritize this issue, and not just in a Tony Blair sense - they would bring the basic pay of lower ranks and NCOs in line with police ranks, which is something I've always wanted to see calibrated and which I've heard my military friends criticize. The lowest-payed private would be £16,681, which seems extremely optimal and a definite start to reforming the military welfare. They also tend to emphasize and speak prominently of providing post-military with substantial counselling - their attempts to reaffirm the military covenant seem mostly systematic, and are definitely worth support.

There are more reasons, such as the obvious lack of support for Orwellian principles etc., and I've always liked their views on education and the economy.

 

[cantab]

I'll probably be voting Lib Dem. Primarily it is a vote against Labour - the Lib Dems being more likely to win in my constituency than the Tories. Though the Lib Dems did oppose the Digital Economy Bill, which was partly made law in the 'wash-up' but at least some of the dodgy elements were dropped or changed. (I need to read the bill that passed).

 

[sbc]

For those who voted other, what specific party do you have in mind? Unless you're secret BNP supporters that is lol

 

[cantab]

Oh, why does the poll close May 8th? (Default perhaps?) Shouldn't it close May 5th? No use letting people vote here after the real election results are been and gone?

 

[Burn Jack]

I live in a very conservative constituency and am consequently greatly amused by their vote for change posters everywhere.

 

[monkfish]

For those who voted other, what specific party do you have in mind? Unless you're secret BNP supporters that is lol

The Green party is actually leading the polls in Brighton, I think they are a very viable 'alternative' party. However, I will be voting Lib Dem because it is quite a close tie in my home constituency and I don't want a tory representing Somerset

 

[Priori]

I won't be of voting age by the time the vote comes around, but if I was I'd probably vote Labour. It's still basically a two-horse race between Labour and Conservative, and I can't stand David Cameron; he's just an enormous poser and he's being the typical Conservative by acting as the whipping boy to big businesses.
Then again, the Monster Raving Loony's 'All socks to be sold in packs of three as a precaution against losing one' policy is genius.

 

[monkfish]

The whole 2-horse-race thing is entirely a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people just voted for the party they actually wanted, rather than the lesser of two evils, things would probably be very different.

Additionally, http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/. This website is really cool! Find out which party's policies you actually agree with more, rather than judging on public personas etc. You can select more than 4 policies; I selected all of them and the majority of my answers were in alignment with Green or Lib Dems. And according to the title page there, most people SHOULD be voting Green - but of course they don't because "who votes Green". In the age of information, it's only a matter of time before people actually realise that it isn't a 2-horse race at all.

 

[Firestorm]

If I were in Britain, I'd be voting for whoever opposed the bill in this topic. This is what I did in the last Canadian election and my MP won. The last newsletter update I got from his office has net neutrality listed as one of the most important issues presented by my riding so at least my area knows what's important!

 

[Thunda]

A vote for one of the top two parties is just as meaningless as a vote for a smaller party. If anything its more meaningless, as when you vote for a smaller party your vote is a higher % of their total votes than when you vote for a bigger party. A vote for Labour or Conservative is one droplet in the ocean, a vote for a smaller party is one droplet in a glass of water.

So: vote for the party whose policies you agree with the most, no matter how small or 'worthless' the party themselves are.

 

[Deck Knight]

Not old enough to vote ergo i wont vote in the poll. But i'll post opinions below.

Being against Conservatives idealogically and objecting to their add campaign, i wouldn't have voted for them.

Barack Obama is being blamed for the pile of crud George W. Bush left him in, and isnt deserving of the bead rep he's got.

Lib Dems. I'd vote for them if i thought they could get in.

So, overall, would probably go labour.

With the aside that Gordon Brown and Tony Blair share the same party, when did "blame the last guy!" become a serious political argument?

It's uncanny how closely this mirrors the talking points of US liberals. If Gordon Brown was so inept at cleaning up Tony Blair's mess, why should he remain in office? Why should the party of BOTH of those leaders remain in office? That's unfathomable to me, and I'm just an angry American.

 

[Priori]

Taking the test from the link Monkfish posted, it turns out that I'm more inclined to the Green Party than anything else, and I've got to admit that I would rather see the Greens in power than either Labour or Conservative, but we do have a problem: Labour and Conservative will be the parties with the highest amount of votes, assuming nothing radical happens. People vote for them from allegiance, people will vote for them because they're the only parties that they've heard much about (or even know exist) and, sadly, people will only vote for either of them because they know it's only one of those two that will likely win.

My vote might 'mean more' to a smaller party, but you're missing my point: Every party has to fill the same 'ocean' in order to get ellected. Parties need X amount of votes to get into power, there are no 'nice try' ribbons awarded to parties that double their votes compared to what they had last year when twice two is only four, compared to a thousand. The only glass where our votes mean more at this point is the gap between the lager parties (and even that is looking dauntingly large).

If a situation occured, however unlikely (though we can dream), where people suddenly said 'hey, I'm going to vote for what I want, not what everybody else says I should' then I would happily join them and vote for the party I truly wanted in office, but I don't sense such a radical change happening just yet. As such, I would use my vote where it just might make a difference. I know that this would do nothing to break the cycle, it would probably serve to reinforce it, but I don't see the point in casting a vote when I can be almost certain it would be futile.

 

[akuchi]

The whole 2-horse-race thing is entirely a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people just voted for the party they actually wanted, rather than the lesser of two evils, things would probably be very different.

Additionally, http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/. This website is really cool! Find out which party's policies you actually agree with more, rather than judging on public personas etc. You can select more than 4 policies; I selected all of them and the majority of my answers were in alignment with Green or Lib Dems. And according to the title page there, most people SHOULD be voting Green - but of course they don't because "who votes Green". In the age of information, it's only a matter of time before people actually realise that it isn't a 2-horse race at all.

I'd like this to be true but due to the nature of our voting system (FPTP, simple plurality) most of the seats are very safe; there's a small number of marginal constituencies where it's theoretically possible, but else you're looking at knocking down majorities in the tens of thousands - and if, in your constituency, 11,000 people vote Tory, 10000 vote Labour, 8000 vote Green and 7000 vote Lib Dem, the Tories still win despite having the minority of the vote; so usually, it is a two-horse race.

The Tories are super-resistant to changing FPTP, as it's historically served them very well; Labour sold out on change and the Lib Dems want to change, though to a system that's not terribly good.

Anyway. My small rant on voting systems was basically because, if I'm still registered in the Woodspring constituency, I'm going to have to vote Lib Dem to make my vote actually mean anything. The Conservative incumbent, Dr. Liam Fox -ironically one of my most hated figures in modern politics-, has a majority of several thousand and the Lib Dems came second, so hopefully enough of us will unseat him. I doubt it, though, but it's all you can do.

I'm not democracy's biggest fan, but I resent having to vote for a party I wouldn't touch with a shitty stick generally in order to attempt to get rid of an absolute bastard* who's had far too long in power.

*I think he is a bastard both because he is a smug, self-satisfied cunt who represents the interests of the very privileged few, and because he is slightly to the left of Deck Knight on most things. I am not calling Deck Knight a bastard, though.

 

[Thunda]

My vote might 'mean more' to a smaller party, but you're missing my point: Every party has to fill the same 'ocean' in order to get ellected. Parties need X amount of votes to get into power, there are no 'nice try' ribbons awarded to parties that double their votes compared to what they had last year when twice two is only four, compared to a thousand.

There are no 'nice try ribbons', but if a smaller party starts getting more votes people will start to notice them over time (maybe tens of years) and consider them in their voting pattern.

If a situation occured, however unlikely (though we can dream), where people suddenly said 'hey, I'm going to vote for what I want, not what everybody else says I should' then I would happily join them and vote for the party I truly wanted in office, but I don't sense such a radical change happening just yet. As such, I would use my vote where it just might make a difference. I know that this would do nothing to break the cycle, it would probably serve to reinforce it, but I don't see the point in casting a vote when I can be almost certain it would be futile.

So you want people to vote for who they actually want in power, but you aren't willing to take the first leap yourself? It wouldn't be an overnight 'radical change', it would take time. Voting for one of the top parties just because they are the lesser of two evils in your constituency is just as futile, if not more, than voting for a smaller party who you know wont win. The former has you playing a part in a 5000 vote loss or victory, the latter has you gradually helping a smaller party, who you agree with, start to get more recognition.

 

[WeGotTheJazz]

Lib Dems. I'd vote for them if i thought they could get in.

I am sure thousands of Brits feel the same way you do. If we all just went and voted for the right party, maybe we could make a difference! (EDIT: which seems to be what m0nkfish said...sorry m0nkfish) (in case it wasn't clear, I'd vote Lib Dems too...it's a shame the general election is 5 days before my 18th birthday)

 

[SHUCKLE MAN]

I'd vote for Labour, mainly because I don't want Conservatives to win.

I like the Lib Dems, but I don't know how much to trust them. I think they can get away with promising amazing things, because they know that they'll never be in the position where they'll actually have to do the things they promise. If there was a chance they'd win, I think they wouldn't be promising so much, as they would be scared to let us down if they did win. I like the party though.

 

[Objection]

On a side note you have the cloud from the MPs' expenses scandal which may have a bit of an influence, but I doubt it will have much.

Two words: ad hominem.

As for me, I don't have enough political knowledge to make an informed decision in favour of any of the parties, so I shall abstain from voting.

 

[akuchi]

So you want people to vote for who they actually want in power, but you aren't willing to take the first leap yourself? It wouldn't be an overnight 'radical change', it would take time. Voting for one of the top parties just because they are the lesser of two evils in your constituency is just as futile, if not more, than voting for a smaller party who you know wont win. The former has you playing a part in a 5000 vote loss or victory, the latter has you gradually helping a smaller party, who you agree with, start to get more recognition.

Unfortunately the way the system works makes it very difficult to do anything else. Until there is some level of proportional representation, I'm afraid that's all you can do. Idealistically, it's a lovely idea to all vote for who we'd like - but it won't make any difference to the people in power, and I'd rather vote anti-Tory than for a party that I actually support, seeing as the first one has some chance of making a difference.

 

[cantab]

As for me, I don't have enough political knowledge to make an informed decision in favour of any of the parties, so I shall abstain from voting.

So take the Vote for Policies quiz!
In general, you have just under a month. That's plenty of time to get informed.

I took the quiz, and got a mixed bag. 3/9 labour, 3/9 green, 2/9 lib dem, 1/9 tory.

I'm not sure I set much store by the results however, because often I was very uncertain which policy was better - usually there were two or three I agreed with, along with some I was thoroughly opposed to. So I'd probably get different results tomorrow.

I won't vote Labour, because ultimately it's a matter of trust. That and I still haven't forgotten that they are the party which ignored the biggest political protests in history, and the only protests I have been a part of. And while my politics would seem in accord with the greens, they are unlikely to win in my constituency. That's distinct from thinking they won't win overall. The Lib Dems won't win overall either, but I think they have a decent hope of winning in my constituency, though last time was a big Labour majority. If I live somewhere the Green party had a strong presence, I would vote for them.

The UK electoral system is biased in favour of large parties. While a part of me supports reforming it, I do have a reservation - I don't want to see an end to the concept of "my MP" - the fact that there is one individual person, more than anyone else, whose job it is to represent my views. Alternative Vote (AKA Instant-runoff) retains this.

 

[akuchi]

quick aside: AV+ would be better. Proportional whilst retaining the MP/constituency link.

 

[Deck Knight]

I'm not democracy's biggest fan, but I resent having to vote for a party I wouldn't touch with a shitty stick generally in order to attempt to get rid of an absolute bastard* who's had far too long in power.

*I think he is a bastard both because he is a smug, self-satisfied cunt who represents the interests of the very privileged few, and because he is slightly to the left of Deck Knight on most things. I am not calling Deck Knight a bastard, though.

Clearly he lacks my charming good looks, refined taste, and upstanding sensibilities.

If I were British, apparently I'd be UKIP with a slight smattering of BNP and Labour at the edges. Of course, there isn't a whole lot of direct correlation of all platforms when talking about a different nation.

 

[sbc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1oQvC4fUtk

Anyone watch the debate? Good ol' Tories trying to not come across as racists...and looking extremely stupid in the process.

Seems like Lib Dems are becoming a serious party now too.