NationStates Jolt Archive

Okay, with the local and european elections coming up on June the 10th I figured it was time to see how people would be voting, or at least time to have a thread on British politics not solely based on the BNP who at any rate do not merit that kind of attention.

I'm eligible to vote for the first time this year and am looking forward to doing so and am hoping that the turnout this year will not be quite so dismal as it has in previous years.

At any rate I'm going to be voting Labour, basically because I think that with a couple of exceptions I think Tony Blair has done a good job, and I agree with the general philosophy of "New Labour".

So how will you be voting?

If I could be assured that enough people would do this to be worthwhile, I wouldn't vote, as a protest against an easily-subverted postal-only voting system. Seriously - some mother got ballot papers through for her three year old and few-month-old babies. If she didn't report it, she would have easily gotten three votes. Not to mention it's no longer private - a teenager living in a strict family can't display any independant spirit any more. "You're gonna tick that box or I'm gonna kick you out."

But since it's not going to happen.. I'll probably vote for anyone except the BNP, UKIP or New Labour. Probably tory, scarily enough. They're the only party that has the in-europe-but-not-run-by-them message that I'd support.

As for local.. not sure. I'd vote lib-dems, but I know the local lib dem candidates and they are... shall we say, less than honest.

Wait, you guys have elections, too???? But shouldn't you be posting 14 threads a week with polls asking who people are going to vote for accompanied by threads titled "Blair SUX" and "Whoever is running against Blair is a moron" and "New Labor are Communists" and "Torys ar ReTARDs".....
geez guys, wheres your passion???





yes I'm kidding....

First time I was eligable to vote (although I should have been before :evil: ). I voted for the Liberals (www.liberal.org.uk) (not Lib Dems) in the EU election and Lib Dems in the Council Elections.


To Moonshine, try the Liberal party, and see if you like their vision for Europe. Also your point on strict families is valid. But the powers that be are only interested in high turnout and ignore possible problems. Also wasn't there something that a lot of councils hadn't even printed their constituents balot papers?

On turnout, iirc a ward in Oldham had a turnout of 4%, and some wonder how extremist parties get in.

Wait, you guys have elections, too???? But shouldn't you be posting 14 threads a week with polls asking who people are going to vote for accompanied by threads titled "Blair SUX" and "Whoever is running against Blair is a moron" and "New Labor are Communists" and "Torys ar ReTARDs".....
geez guys, wheres your passion???





yes I'm kidding....

Oddly enough I'd rather have that than the current sense of apathy that is all too pervasive in British politics. In fairness they are fairly minor elections and are really only seen as an indicator of party progress before the general elections.

Wait, you guys have elections, too???? But shouldn't you be posting 14 threads a week with polls asking who people are going to vote for accompanied by threads titled "Blair SUX" and "Whoever is running against Blair is a moron" and "New Labor are Communists" and "Torys ar ReTARDs".....
geez guys, wheres your passion???





yes I'm kidding....

Oddly enough I'd rather have that than the current sense of apathy that is all too pervasive in British politics. In fairness they are fairly minor elections and are really only seen as an indicator of party progress before the general elections.

Wait, you guys have elections, too???? But shouldn't you be posting 14 threads a week with polls asking who people are going to vote for accompanied by threads titled "Blair SUX" and "Whoever is running against Blair is a moron" and "New Labor are Communists" and "Torys ar ReTARDs".....
geez guys, wheres your passion???





yes I'm kidding....

Oddly enough I'd rather have that than the current sense of apathy that is all too pervasive in British politics. In fairness they are fairly minor elections and are really only seen as an indicator of party progress before the general elections.

On turnout, iirc a ward in Oldham had a turnout of 4%, and some wonder how extremist parties get in.

LOL

Actually tunouts usually go up whenever the BNP stands as extremists, from both left and right, make an effort to vote.

Who cares.

Normallyh I vote Lib Den but I'll probably vote UKIP to piss off the Tories and tony Blair! :D

Allowed to vote for the first time and you intend to vote for Labour, sorry New Labour (lets not confuse the two very different parties)?

Well, the young are naive and idealistic. Just wait a few years when you have experience of the real world and hopefully you may come to realise the truth.

I will be voting Conservative, as I am a member of the party, newly re-joined since Michael Howard took charge.

Also, I am an ex-UKIP member.

:twisted:

Allowed to vote for the first time and you intend to vote for Labour, sorry New Labour (lets not confuse the two very different parties)?

Well, the young are naive and idealistic. Just wait a few years when you have experience of the real world and hopefully you may come to realise the truth.

I will be voting Conservative, as I am a member of the party, newly re-joined since Michael Howard took charge.

Also, I am an ex-UKIP member.

:twisted:

You're a real joiner, aren't you?
Tell me, what makes people join political parties? The sex? The drugs? The wimmin? :roll:

On turnout, iirc a ward in Oldham had a turnout of 4%, and some wonder how extremist parties get in.

LOL

Actually tunouts usually go up whenever the BNP stands as extremists, from both left and right, make an effort to vote.

Well, what if there are no/few left extremists in the ward?

You're a real joiner, aren't you?
Tell me, what makes people join political parties? The sex? The drugs? The wimmin? :roll:

The sex? I wish
The drugs? not my scene, that why im a tory!
The wimmin? have you seen politically-minded women, they make Kitten from BB look attractive!

I join because I feel you have to make a stand and if you support a party's policies then what better way to show your support then joining.

The problem with the EU is that people in Britain don't bother with it, generally euro elections get very poor turnouts, 20% if you are lucky! But if you don't vote then other people will make up rules you dont agree with but have to obey.

:twisted:

You're a real joiner, aren't you?
Tell me, what makes people join political parties? The sex? The drugs? The wimmin? :roll:

The sex? I wish
The drugs? not my scene, that why im a tory!
The wimmin? have you seen politically-minded women, they make Kitten from BB look attractive!

I join because I feel you have to make a stand and if you support a party's policies then what better way to show your support then joining.

The problem with the EU is that people in Britain don't bother with it, generally euro elections get very poor turnouts, 20% if you are lucky! But if you don't vote then other people will make up rules you dont agree with but have to obey.

:twisted:

Out of interest, how much is it to join the Conservative party?

Out of interest, how much is it to join the Conservative party?

One soul and all morals...

The drugs? not my scene, that why im a tory!

arf!! cos no Tory has ever taken drugs, condoned taking them or fought for de-criminilisation.

The Tory vote is being nicely split by the UKIP party, they belong to a voting block in that states it's main aim is closer integration and the ratification of the constitution, yet claim the Tories want to take power back from the EU. They are hypocrits and liars that are again tearing themselves apart over Europe, only this time they've got another political party.

monster raving loony party for ever :twisted: :twisted:

monster raving loony party for ever :twisted: :twisted:

Is that still around? I thought it collapsed after the demise of its leader, Screaming Lord Sutch.

But the did have a few policies that eventually made their way to being considered serious.

Anyone but the BNP or 'Respect' (aka Give George Galloway a Job Party) - both nasty extremist groups backed by aggressive and repressive ultra-conservatives (of the knuckle scraping and mosque attending varieties repsectively).

The Conservative Party: A bunch of Freaks
New Labour: Yet another bunch of Freaks
Liberal Democrats: They will never win.
Green Party: Too whiny and insufferable despite their excellent policies.
BNP: Prison inmates and social losers!
UKIP: Too centred on one issue.
Respect: Too centred on one issue.

If I could be assured that enough people would do this to be worthwhile, I wouldn't vote, as a protest against an easily-subverted postal-only voting system.

I hadn't realised it was postal only voting :shock: I can't vote yet anyway, but my parents haven't received anything yet. My family thinks there's a conspiracy happening so that the government gets the votes it wants. There's been lots of stuff in the papers about people in certain areas not allowed to vote because their post came late, or they have shakey hands so their signatures didn't match perfectly.

Euro election time Yippee.

So.
Every few years we get to make our little cross on the ballot paper and as a reward they ignore many of the desires of the electorate until they want us to give them the appearance of support again. Only this time they get overruled by the europeans who want to ban our sausages and make bananas straight.
So vote away guys.
Vote for giving shedloads of money to ex communist bloc countries who have got the scent of free money.

Get ready for the locals which is a damn sight more useful.

Every few years we get to make our little cross on the ballot paper and as a reward they ignore many of the desires of the electorate until they want us to give them the appearance of support again. Only this time they get overruled by the europeans who want to ban our sausages and make bananas straight.

Wow, and I thought Great Britain was European. Guess I was wrong. Tell me, what makes it so amazingly different?

So vote away guys.
Vote for giving shedloads of money to ex communist bloc countries who have got the scent of free money.

Do you feel it in your wallet? Or do you feel the money could be used for British purposes better? Funny that you protest against alleged Eastern European bloodsuckers and not against other 'useless' things.

Does Britain spend 0 £ on development aid normally? Oh, I see, that's different, because the gains are so much higher than a strong Europe that actually has something to say.

Who cares.

Who cares.

Since you an others are so quick to flood this forum with repetitive ramblings and rantings on your own elections, how about you don't bother reading the thread and leave us be, child?

Anyway...

I'm very much anti-Conservative, the BNP disgust me and UKIP strike me as deeply insincere and narrow-minded. I'm not a Christian, so the Christian Coalition are no good, the English Democrats I have no idea about & ditto the People's Progressive Party (summat like that).

Labour simply make me angry, the Lib Dems are well-intentioned but not really to my taste. The various socialist parties are hopelessly out of touch. Respect lost my, um, respect when they turned on the Greens for not joining them. I'm also not a fan of Galloway.

Which leaves the Greens and the Liberal Party. Well, I've got five votes in three elections to give away, so I guess I'll give three to the Greens one to the Liberals and maybe one for 'Red' Ken in the mayor's election.

Will it make a difference? Ho, ho, ho...

Every few years we get to make our little cross on the ballot paper and as a reward they ignore many of the desires of the electorate until they want us to give them the appearance of support again. Only this time they get overruled by the europeans who want to ban our sausages and make bananas straight.

Wow, and I thought Great Britain was European. Guess I was wrong. Tell me, what makes it so amazingly different?

Yes we are European geographically but lucky for us we have the English Channel otherwise we would be more European than we are now. Differences? How about Language, culture,politics. (Remember the divide on Iraq?) We have more in common with the US. Although I'm not advocating becoming the next state. I am worried that there will be a kind of blurring of cultural identities not just for the UK but for other nations.

So vote away guys.
Vote for giving shedloads of money to ex communist bloc countries who have got the scent of free money.

Do you feel it in your wallet? Or do you feel the money could be used for British purposes better? Funny that you protest against alleged Eastern European bloodsuckers and not against other 'useless' things.

Yes we will feel it in out wallet when we have less money for other things like our lovely (Mostly) free NHS. . And yes I do protest against other useless things but this thread is about the Euro elections. And bloodsuckers is not a term I would use. I would prefer opportunists.

Does Britain spend 0 £ on development aid normally? Oh, I see, that's different, because the gains are so much higher than a strong Europe that actually has something to say.

Yes we give aid to other countries. But we do not have bottomless pockets.
From your countries name and your comments I guess you are Belgian/Walloon and a federalist ? I apologise if this is incorrect If so I can understand to a certain extent your views but I think the UK has more differences than common points with europe. And until the time that changes I think we should steer a middle path.

Lol, the name Republic Flanders suggest that I am Belgian/Walloon? Sorry, I don't get that.

I am a Flemish separatist, definitely not a federalist.

Lol, the name Republic Flanders suggest that I am Belgian/Walloon? Sorry, I don't get that.

I am a Flemish separatist, definitely not a federalist.

Ok I stand corrected.

Allowed to vote for the first time and you intend to vote for Labour, sorry New Labour (lets not confuse the two very different parties)?

Well, the young are naive and idealistic. Just wait a few years when you have experience of the real world and hopefully you may come to realise the truth.

I will be voting Conservative, as I am a member of the party, newly re-joined since Michael Howard took charge.

Also, I am an ex-UKIP member.

:twisted:

You can pass me of as young and idealistic if it suits some overall schema you're nurturing but I can assure you that I am far better equipped to vote than the vast majority of my seniors.

I am voting for new Labour because:

1. We currently have the lowest unemployment rate in years (4.5%).
2. By all independent measures our economy seems to be very strong at the moment.
3. By most independent measures our public services, particularly the NHS, seem to be improving.
4. I agree with the New Labour philosophy of combining markets, targets and private sector management with aspects of the public service in order to deliver a high standard of performance.
5. I stand with them on the issue of European integration.

[quote=Lutton]

You're a real joiner, aren't you?
Tell me, what makes people join political parties? The sex? The drugs? The wimmin? :roll:

The sex? I wish
The drugs? not my scene, that why im a tory!
The wimmin? have you seen politically-minded women, they make Kitten from BB look attractive!


That's a bit of a harsh generalisation, I mean there are a even few Tories who do okay - Julie Kirkbride (shadow culture secretary), Laura Jones (conservative member of the Welsh assembly) and even if you go into the media you've got the likes of Daisy Sampson and the political editor of the daily Express whose name eludes me for the moment.

Anyway, they're not all THAT bad.

I'm voting Lib Dems, because.
Labour: Run by Blair, aka Bushs servent and ignorer of the people.
BNP: Racist thugs.
Conservtives: Something of the night about them.
Respect: I have no respect for them.
English Democrats: Quite like them, but I think some of their stuff is weird, I mean deviding england into 9 EU regions. What the F*** is that about.
Greens: To enviromentlist and winy.
UKIP: Evil
Lib Dems; Good policys and the person who is running for them in the council elections is on the nearest Farm to us. :D

monster raving loony party for ever :twisted: :twisted:

Is that still around? I thought it collapsed after the demise of its leader, Screaming Lord Sutch.

But the did have a few policies that eventually made their way to being considered serious.


I think there's actually been a split, apparently the leader was taking it too seriously so some other chap former a breakaway group.

If I could be assured that enough people would do this to be worthwhile, I wouldn't vote, as a protest against an easily-subverted postal-only voting system.

I hadn't realised it was postal only voting :shock: I can't vote yet anyway, but my parents haven't received anything yet. My family thinks there's a conspiracy happening so that the government gets the votes it wants. There's been lots of stuff in the papers about people in certain areas not allowed to vote because their post came late, or they have shakey hands so their signatures didn't match perfectly.

It's not postal only voting, my local polling station is right around the corner and I'm actually going to make the effort (monumental as it is) to actually go there and vote properly. If people can only be bothered to vote by post then it really does say something bad about the state of British politics.

New Labours policies have left me completely disillusioned, so beyond the vote for Ken (who has done a good job and really tries to ignore the fact that he is in the Labour Party at the moment), they are a no go zone for my votes. I thought they were ment to be socialists?! So far their policies have been fairly right of centre and plus they went to war against public opinion.

I can never ever like Michael Howard. He is terrifying. And the Conservatives policies are an odd mixture of backing up Blair in the areas that I disagree with, and going against New Labour in the the few places I do agree with what they have done. So no votes there

Respect is as people have previously said - a vehicle for George Galloway. And I don't like him. Single policy politics don't make for very good ones anyway.

Same really with UK independence party - they are too focused on the being anti Europe. I'm fairly pro European so they go against my beliefs in that area. Plus they are even more right wing then the conservatives in some ways. And I don't agree with most right wing policies

BNP are far too extreme right. Enough said.

Green Party Policies are generally good, but beyond that they don't have a hope of winning, plus they are constantly complaining. Which doesn't make them look particularly good.

Lib dems have a bit of an odd mixture of policies, but that being said I agree with almost all of them. If they could just make themselves a bit more charismatic then they would be in with a good chance really.

So that leaves me with a choice between Lib dems and Greens. As the Lib dems have more of a chance, my vote will go there.

it seems 2 me that most people complainin about not havin a decent party to vote 4 are ex-labour voters who finks that blair has lost touch. wel if thats the case, either swallow ur pride and vote for the lib-dems or, just set up ur own party. im votin 4 some1 at my colege cos we dont fink thers any1 gud 2 vote 4. at least u wont be doin the horrible disgrce of abstainin.

New Labour: I quite like them except they bow to pressure from 'newspapers' like The Sun and The Daily Mail / Mirror, which they shouldn't do. Personally I supported the war in Iraq, so no problems there, and it was nice to see Blair actually stand up for something for a change.

Conservatives: I don't like their policies at all. I like the Welfare State and the NHS thankyou very much.

Lib Dems: Come up with solutions that look good when you first hear them, but when you really think about them they have obvious flaws.

Greens: They appear to me as whiny no-it-alls. Really infuriating sometimes.

BNP: Ermm... no. I don't think we went through WWII to be governed by Fascists.

Respect: I haven't actually heard of them so I won't vote for them. Plus they haven't a hope in hell of winning.

UKIP: I'm Pro-Europe but I don't like one policy parties anyway. There's more to running the country that trying not to be run other countries.

BUMP

I can't help it. I really can't. Everytime this happens! Everytime I see that word I think of what it sounds like and I giggle.... *looks at 'election' again*

*giggles and streaks out before the authorities catch her*

Labour will, quite rightly, be punished...
Lim Dems will see a swing in their favour so will the Tories.
UKIP: Overblown - people won't waste their vote on them despite Kilroy - Silk (snigger). Others are not worth a mention.