NationStates Jolt Archive

Yup, voting opened this morning for the UK General election, and I cast my vote. On the way to college at about 9 AM this morning, I popped into the polling station. I cast my vote. The candidates were:

Local Candidates:

Labourless (Useless.)
Lib Dems (Not much better.)
Conservacrap (Are you thinking what we're thinking? Hell no!)
Green Party (Policies are too extreme.)

General Candidates:

Labourless (Still useless.)
Lib Dems (Still not much better.)
Conservacrap ("Pinky, are you pondering what i'm pondering?" "I think so brain, but where are we gonna find pink elastic bands at this time of day?")
Green Party (Still too extreme.)
UKIP (Or the BNP in sheeps clothing)
Monster Raving Loony Party (Now this sounds better.)

I voted: For the Local elections, Lib Dems. For the General Elections, I voted Loony! Loony Loony Loony!

And now I have voted. Now I am sitting here, typing this mindless post. Who did or are you planning to vote for? And who are the candidates in your area?

At 7:15 this morning I went along to polling station to cast my vote. I found 3 candidates for the general election and 2 for the county council election :( It's a sad day when even the three major parties can't be bothered to stand in both of the elections. Hurrumph! I want a bit more of a choice than that!

If I was old enough to vote I'd vote for the Conservatives.
They seem to make the most sense in my opinion. I'm going to train to become a politician (inspired by nationstates :)) so in a couple of years if Ed Best is going for Prime minister everyone vote for me, ok!

Lib Dems!!!!! (No local elections in Scotland)

If I was old enough to vote I'd vote for the Conservatives.
They seem to make the most sense in my opinion. I'm going to train to become a politician (inspired by nationstates :)) so in a couple of years if Ed Best is going for Prime minister everyone vote for me, ok!

If you're going to be a Conservative then no way in hell!

But I voted this morning too. Had an option for English Democrats...bleurgh! *shudders*

If I was old enough to vote I'd vote for the Conservatives.
They seem to make the most sense in my opinion. I'm going to train to become a politician (inspired by nationstates :)) so in a couple of years if Ed Best is going for Prime minister everyone vote for me, ok!

I take it you don't remember Michael Howard as Home Secretary then?

Prison works for criminals, potential criminals and non criminals...

If I was old enough to vote I'd vote for the Conservatives.
They seem to make the most sense in my opinion.

You know nothing of the word "Lie" do you? Have you not looked to the past and seen what the conservatives did to our country?

It's ok that you want to vote for them-it's your choice-But you really should look up history before you make up your mind.

Conservative, through and through. Finally got my postal vote on Monday, posted it then.

Put it this way, ain't voting for Labour liars, whatever happens. It was between the Tories and the Lib-Dems, and the Tories policies made more sense to me.

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.

Put it this way, ain't voting for Labour liars, whatever happens. It was between the Tories and the Lib-Dems, and the Tories policies made more sense to me.

The conservatives have built their reputation on lying. I gurentee you if they win, they will do completely different things from what they promised. And they WILL fuck up the country AGAIN. has no one learned from their last term?

The reason our country is in this state is thanks to the fact that the conservatives fucked it up, and Labour did NOTHING.

Man i'd be a much better ruler than anyone else. Then again i'd also be called evil. :D

The conservatives have built their reputation on lying. I gurentee you if they win, they will do completely different things from what they promised. And they WILL fuck up the country AGAIN. has no one learned from their last term?

The major problem with the Conservatives is that most of what remains of the parliamentary party is the insane bunch of lunatics who inhabit the right wing of the party. What ever happened to decent Conservative moderates like Ken Clarke and Chris Patten? It's as if Dennis Skinner were driving the Labour party!

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.

Yo, right here.


The conservatives have built their reputation on lying. I gurentee you if they win, they will do completely different things from what they promised. And they WILL fuck up the country AGAIN. has no one learned from their last term?

The reason our country is in this state is thanks to the fact that the conservatives fucked it up, and Labour did NOTHING.

Man i'd be a much better ruler than anyone else. Then again i'd also be called evil.


All politicians lie. You think Charles Kennedy is honest? There isn't an honest politician anywhere in the world. You think the Lib Dems will be good leaders? When was the last time they were voted as the opposition, let alone the government? They have no experience of running the country, and are more likely to panic and have to change 95% of their policies to get the country to actually work.

I'd rather have a party that knows what they're doing, and isn't Labour. That leaves the Conservatives.

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.
I hate him! but i would rather keep him than the damn Tories get into power, of course, idealy Lib Dems will win




and TIN, I'm very dissapointed in you for wasting your vote like that!

All politicians lie. You think Charles Kennedy is honest? There isn't an honest politician anywhere in the world. You think the Lib Dems will be good leaders? When was the last time they were voted as the opposition, let alone the government? They have no experience of running the country, and are more likely to panic and have to change 95% of their policies to get the country to actually work.

I don't trust him either. I just decided to waste my vote. It's what I like to call a "Protest vote." My area's a Labour Secured area anyway. They've never lost here.

I'd rather have a party that knows what they're doing, and isn't Labour. That leaves the Conservatives.

Please. Check history. You shall see that all those years of conservative rule fucked up this country no end. The downfall is continuing because Labour did nothing. To put it all into context-I HATE THEM ALL.

I voted loony because they are at least having a laugh at politics-and Mooning it at the same time. :D

Vote what you will, if you make the wrong choice, it will come back to haunt you. As if I make the wrong choice, it will haunt me. The truth is in politics, no one wins. Society continues to fail.

Yo, right here.




All politicians lie. You think Charles Kennedy is honest? There isn't an honest politician anywhere in the world. You think the Lib Dems will be good leaders? When was the last time they were voted as the opposition, let alone the government? They have no experience of running the country, and are more likely to panic and have to change 95% of their policies to get the country to actually work.

I'd rather have a party that knows what they're doing, and isn't Labour. That leaves the Conservatives.
The Tories f*cked up just like Labour did, it's about time the Lib Dems got their chance to put things right

and TIN, I'm very dissapointed in you for wasting your vote like that!

Hey! I voted for the local Lib Dem candidate at least-and I did that for you! :(

The conservatives have built their reputation on lying. I gurentee you if they win, they will do completely different things from what they promised. And they WILL fuck up the country AGAIN. has no one learned from their last term?

The reason our country is in this state is thanks to the fact that the conservatives fucked it up, and Labour did NOTHING.

Man i'd be a much better ruler than anyone else. Then again i'd also be called evil. :D

Pretty much spot on TIN.

It seems only fitting the simplest democracy in the world has a simple choice of candidates.

The Tories and New Labour are only seperated by a small margin of selfishness
and the Lib Dems are too left-wing for the average xenophobic British control freak.

Oh well, I'll be voting after work this evening.
The only choice is do I toss the coin before or after I arrive at the polling station?

<snip>

Since I could sit here till I'm old and grey arguing this, I'm just going to agree to disagree with you.

Hell, at least we bothered to turn out and vote. This year will be the lowest turn out yet. Other than illegal immigrants faking postal votes so Labour stay in power, and procede to REALLY fuck up the coutnry, not just partially like they have at the moment.

<snip>

Maybe they did. But I disagree with Lib-Dem policies on immigration, tax, education, transport, usw.

Hey! I voted for the local Lib Dem candidate at least-and I did that for you! :(
well thanks for that but you still wasted your vote in the General Election, it just kinda annoys me when people do that, i would so love to vote and i can't, yet there are people out there who can vote but just can't be bothered or just vote for the Looney party or the Greens or some other crappy party that just hasn't got a chance in hell, it's just kinda infuriating

You have me wrong people. All the parties at the moment speak sh*t. The conservatives speak the least sh*t however, in my opinion.
I don't know which party I'd join as a politician, I'd be the one making sense though :)

Maybe they did. But I disagree with Lib-Dem policies on immigration, tax, education, transport, usw.
well, that's fair enough then, i'm not gonna sit here and tell you you're wrong, everyone has a right to believe in what they want and at least you're actually using your vote so it will make a difference

I don't know which party I'd join as a politician, I'd be the one making sense though :)

Then you wouldn't be a politician :p

Since I could sit here till I'm old and grey arguing this, I'm just going to agree to disagree with you.

Hell, at least we bothered to turn out and vote. This year will be the lowest turn out yet. Other than illegal immigrants faking postal votes so Labour stay in power, and procede to REALLY fuck up the coutnry, not just partially like they have at the moment.

I gurentee you that no matter who gets into power, the downfall of society will continue. In about 20 years I believe we will be close to anarchy.

I gurentee you that no matter who gets into power, the downfall of society will continue. In about 20 years I believe we will be close to anarchy.
well fortunately, during a constitutional crisis the Queen/King can take over, and i for one have faith in the monarchy and don't believe they would allow the country to fall into anarchy

I gurentee you that no matter who gets into power, the downfall of society will continue. In about 20 years I believe we will be close to anarchy.

By 2025, chavs will rule the streets, illegal immigrants will run the industry, and gangs of Albanian gangsters will assault and murder people at random, with the police so busy setting up speed cameras and cracking down on speeders they won't notice. The middle-class white Briton will be non-existant.


Sorry, did I say 2025? From the looks of the country at the moment, I could have said 2005, and gotten away with it. Hence my carefully laid plans to emigrate if Labour get back in again.

Then you wouldn't be a politician :p

:)

You have me wrong people. All the parties at the moment speak sh*t. The conservatives speak the least sh*t however, in my opinion.

I think you'll find it's the other way around. In all that time they were in power, the Conservatives barely furfilled ANY of their promises. Inflation went up, prices went up, and the economy was almost wrecked. So they had a little war with argentina for a few little islands and Badda bing badda boom! They were re-elected. How pathetic. It's like Labour. "Let's have a little war to gain support."

WOW. Major backfire. War don't impress people any more.

But still, the Conservatives sucked, and they still suck. It's just now they have a leader with the MOST ANNOYING VOICE I have ever herd. :mad:

I think you'll find it's the other way around. In all that time they were in power, the Conservatives barely furfilled ANY of their promises. Inflation went up, prices went up, and the economy was almost wrecked. So they had a little war with argentina for a few little islands and Badda bing badda boom! They were re-elected. How pathetic. It's like Labour. "Let's have a little war to gain support."

WOW. Major backfire. War don't impress people any more.

But still, the Conservatives sucked, and they still suck. It's just now they have a leader with the MOST ANNOYING VOICE I have ever herd. :mad:

I'm too young to remember fully the reign of the Conservatives. None of the parties are actually any cop at the moment :(

Im going out to vote in about 5 minutes...yay

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.

Pretty much all of us.

Pretty much all of us.
cool :)

hope you guys vote wisely, which America DIDN'T! :mad: :mp5:

Pretty much all of us.

I don't. As in, I have no problems with Tony Blair...but I do have a problem with the Labour party atm

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.

I don't think he's as bad as people make out. He took a lot of flak over the Iraq war which was, in my opinion, undeserved (it's not like there are any major parties which DIDN'T support the war).

I wouldn't say voting for a doomed party is wasted....at least it shows they have some support. And according to the polls, it's in the bagfor Labour, so it's pretty much wasted anyway ^_~

~pr0ph37~

Hmm, just come back from voting for the 1st time ever. There were 5 candidates standing in my constituency for MP - Labour, Tories, Lib Dems, UKIP and an Independant.

I voted for Paul Clark, the Labour man, although I don't like him Labour are the closest to my ideas.

I haven't voted yet, but will later. I agree that none of the parties are of much use, but I don't want to spoil/not cast my vote. I'll likely vote lib dem for both, because inexperience, in my eyes, shouldn't be a reason against. All parties were inexperienced at one point, they'll never get it if you don't take a chance and vote them in. Also, their policies don't utterly stink, and they aren't being QUITE so hypocritical, though Kennedy has been using the last few days to start preaching personality politics again, which almost cost him my vote (I wonder if he cares.)

Well after much thinking, I finally decided I was going to vote labour. Not that it matters as our tory MP got 52% last time so he's safe. But when I got to the polling station I discovered that the labour candidate lives 50 miles away. I hate it when parties put up a party liner who knows nothing about the area they're standing for so the lib dems got my vote after all. I just wish the greens bothered here.

Unlike you lucky people on the Mainland, we Northern Irish have to put up with candidates lists almost completely composed of hustlers, bigots, thugs and criminals. Your not suppose to worry what there policies are on e.g. taxation, you just vote for a party which best corresponds to your ethnic background. All the 'Big Four' parties (SDLP, UUP, DUP and Sinn Fein) are on the right wing mostly but no one bothers to check their policies out, and there are no realistic liberal or leftist alternatives (at least ones with a chance of being elected). The fact that elections here are a sectarian head-count has put me off voting, I don't want to give these swine any encouragement, but if I lived in GB I'd probably vote Lib Dem cos they opposed the war in Iraq and are more realistic about having to increase taxation to fund better public services

I voted this morning. The choices were: Conservative (I would sooner cut off my right arm than vote Tory: 'lower than vermin' is still the best description of that vile pack of greasy, twisted... I'll stop now); Labour (a once-proud party, now taken over by a gang of right-wing entryists led by a glassy-eyed God-botherer, and suffocating under a load of yuppified cabbage-brained lobby-fodder); the Liberal Democrats (dippy but probably the best chance of getting something other than Labour where I live -- a toss-up between them and the SNP on that count); the SNP (don't see much point in voting for them in Westmister elections any more); the SSP (good luck to them); and the Greens -- for whom I finally cast my vote. First time I've voted Green. Blame the New Scientist.

I voted lib dems for both. The candidates came to our college, which was funny, because the UKIP lady was just so great, with such great comments as:
"If you're gay, I don't care - just get on with it!"
"We don't have a policy on that, but I hate single mothers."
Accompanied by hip thrusts.
My town is very anti-labour - so much so that at first we didn't have a candidate. Then a guy stood for it because he felt sorry for them, but knows he doesn't stand a chance of winning. Labour aren't even trying here. The lib dems are pretty much a shoo-in in my area.

well fortunately, during a constitutional crisis the Queen/King can take over, and i for one have faith in the monarchy and don't believe they would allow the country to fall into anarchy

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
*deep breath*
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
*ahem*

Sorry TInk, but, really.

Blessings
Cyber

I still think it's neat that ya'll vote for parties, not people.

I want it that way here!

Monster Raving Loony Party

We need one more of these in Australia, not this Family First (US Republican wannabes) parties.

Maybe Australia needs the Beer Drinking Yobbo Party. :p

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
*deep breath*
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
*ahem*

Sorry TInk, but, really.

Blessings
Cyber
piss off :p

Sorry Cyber, but, really.

Blessings
TInk

piss off :p

Sorry Cyber, but, really.

Blessings
TInk
Hehe, brilliant. You're right, though.
I feel so ambivalent about the monarchy. On the one hand, I'm like "down with the royals!" (partially influenced by the fact that I come from a town which has opposed them at every turn, supporting Monmouth and Parliament, and even crowning a few guys occasionally), but on the other hand, you're right - we need a safeguard. Especially since the House of Lords is meant to do that but SOMEONE *glares in Tony Blair's general direction* is making our Parliamentary system crumble. If Labour stay in much longer, I think the HOL will cease to exist or become completely functionless, since this is only the second time ever that they have been bypassed. AND I LIKE THE HOL, DAMNIT!
Don't mind the Queen either, except she doesn't actually read legislation before giving it her royal approval. So... let's hope she can whoopass better than she can guard us against STUPIDASS rules *mutters about the fox hunting bill, but if this turns into a bloody fox hunting debate I will turn psycho and KNIFE YOU ALL!!!!!*

Edit: yes, yes, I am wrong and stupid, but if you keep drumming it in that knife's gonna start looking miiiiighty tempting. (I'm kidding. Sorry).

Unlike you lucky people on the Mainland, we Northern Irish have to put up with candidates lists almost completely composed of hustlers, bigots, thugs and criminals. Your not suppose to worry what there policies are on e.g. taxation, you just vote for a party which best corresponds to your ethnic background. All the 'Big Four' parties (SDLP, UUP, DUP and Sinn Fein) are on the right wing mostly but no one bothers to check their policies out, and there are no realistic liberal or leftist alternatives (at least ones with a chance of being elected). The fact that elections here are a sectarian head-count has put me off voting, I don't want to give these swine any encouragement, but if I lived in GB I'd probably vote Lib Dem cos they opposed the war in Iraq and are more realistic about having to increase taxation to fund better public servicesI see your point, but I'm not sure why you think the two Nationalist parties in particular are right-wing. They are both in favour of all this restorative justice bollocks, and are always harping on about human rights. Of course, for SF in particular, that may well mean human rights for only half of the population..! Nah, seriously, I know they work hard for all their constituents, but to be fair, the same can be said for the DUP. They can't really do much about things like tax under direct rule, and I'm not even sure they can on the few occasions where the Assembly is running - I think, though am not certain, that really big things like that are still left with Westminster.

Well, I am going to vote...I'm intending to vote for the Alliance Party, but it's between the DUP and the UUP in my constituency, so it won't matter anyway. Not that I'd vote for either of the two fore-runners; the DUP tend to annoy me, and while I don't mind the UUP so much, the particular candidate in this constituency is an arrogant twat.

But, anyway, Holylands, you're right that it's just a sectarian headcount. I wish the three main UK parties ran here; since we are officially part of the UK, I don't get why they don't. I know the Tories run, but they haven't a cat's chance in hell of getting in. I'm at a loss to understand how we're supposed to eliminate sectarian politics when our elections are almost exclusively based on Unionist/Nationalist divides.

Hehe, brilliant. You're right, though.
I feel so ambivalent about the monarchy. On the one hand, I'm like "down with the royals!" (partially influenced by the fact that I come from a town which has opposed them at every turn, supporting Monmouth and Parliament, and even crowning a few guys occasionally), but on the other hand, you're right - we need a safeguard. Especially since the House of Lords is meant to do that but SOMEONE *glares in Tony Blair's general direction* is making our Parliamentary system crumble. If Labour stay in much longer, I think the HOL will cease to exist or become completely functionless, since this is only the second time ever that they have been bypassed. AND I LIKE THE HOL, DAMNIT!
Don't mind the Queen either, except she doesn't actually read legislation before giving it her royal approval. So... let's hope she can whoopass better than she can guard us against STUPIDASS rules *mutters about the fox hunting bill, but if this turns into a bloody fox hunting debate I will turn psycho and KNIFE YOU ALL!!!!!*
that is exactly it! The monarchy is a safeguard, i think it's great that we have the whole democracy thing but I feel better knowing that if all that fails at least we still have the monarchy to save us

piss off :p

Sorry Cyber, but, really.

Blessings
TInk
Hey dude, no particular offence meant to you personally, but I am not really a fan of the monarchy. I don't think that the monarchy is the way to go, and I don't see them being able to control the country any better than the polititians if it all comes down around our ears. Do you honestly see it that much differently? I don't think much of most polititians (hmmm-I seem to have forgotten how to spell-ah well *shrugs*), and I think that politics in this country is rapidly being dumbed down to the level of a popularity contest. I think that the 'first past the post' system is completely outdated and should have been replaced many years ago with proportional representation (that's at least one thing that the Scottish Parliament has over Westminster) and that it could go a long way to addressing 'voter apathy'. But, having said all of these things, at least a polititians fitness for the job is not based on an accident of birth.

Blessings
Cyber

I think that politics in this country is rapidly being dumbed down to the level of a popularity contest. I think that the 'first past the post' system is completely outdated and should have been replaced many years ago with proportional representation (that's at least one thing that the Scottish Parliament has over Westminster) and that it could go a long way to addressing 'voter apathy'.While I am ambivalent about the monarchy - overall, I suppose I'd prefer to have it, but I'm not fussy - I definitely have to agree with you on these points.

If Labour stay in much longer, I think the HOL will cease to exist or become completely functionless, since this is only the second time ever that they have been bypassed. AND I LIKE THE HOL, DAMNIT!

Erm, if you're talking about the parliament act then that's 7 times that the House of Lords has been overruled by the Commons and a further 3 times that they have been threatened with the parliament act...

Erm, if you're talking about the parliament act then that's 7 times that the House of Lords has been overruled by the Commons and a further 3 times that they have been threatened with the parliament act...
It depends if you count the times it's been through or the times that the legislation was past officially by the queen. I count them as one. But that could just be my law textbook lying to me.

I think that the 'first past the post' system is completely outdated and should have been replaced many years ago with proportional representation
I agree with you in principle, but PR is not without it's problems - look at Weimar. But I like the idea of it.

It depends if you count the times it's been through or the times that the legislation was past officially by the queen. I count them as one. But that could just be my law textbook lying to me.
Did they not use the Parliament Act on the 1914 Home Rule Act, and the 1949(?) Parliament Act, and then on the recent hunting one? thrice?

The conservatives have built their reputation on lying. I gurentee you if they win, they will do completely different things from what they promised. And they WILL fuck up the country AGAIN. has no one learned from their last term?

The reason our country is in this state is thanks to the fact that the conservatives fucked it up, and Labour did NOTHING.

Man i'd be a much better ruler than anyone else. Then again i'd also be called evil. :D

Get outta here! A liar? A Conservative liar?! You can't vote for a liar!

Oh wait. All politicians are cheating, scumbag, self-obsessed liars except for a tiny handful of honest independents. It's just that some of them get found out while others are better liars.

Well since i see no particular reason to vote for any of the main partys (they all have bits i like and bits i don't) it basically comes down to my local candiates and out of that bunch of oily sleezbags the only one i feel i can but any faith what so ever into is my local labour candidate

Did they not use the Parliament Act on the 1914 Home Rule Act, and the 1949(?) Parliament Act, and then on the recent hunting one? thrice?

I have :

1. Welsh Church Disestablishment Act 1914, under which the Welsh part of the of England was disestablished in 1920, becoming the Church in Wales

2. Government of Ireland Act 1914, which established a Home Rule government in Ireland; its implementation was blocked due to the First World War

3. Parliament Act 1949, which amended the Parliament Act 1911

4. War Crimes Act 1991, which extended jurisdiction of UK courts to cover acts committed on behalf of Nazi Germany during the Second World War

5. European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999, which changed the system of elections to the European Parliament from first past the post to a form of proportional representation

6. Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, which equalised the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activites with that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activites at 16.

7. Hunting Act 2004 which I'm sure everyone remembers well enough :)

<snip>. But, having said all of these things, at least a polititians fitness for the job is not based on an accident of birth.

Blessings
Cyber

No, It just based on corruption.

A few other points,
1)to the comment that "the conservatives were sleazy", I have on very reliable sources that my MP and a Minister have a wife swap thing going on. *Shudder* I know the people involved I wouldn't with any of the 4.
Check also the other sleaze stories and votes for cash stories, I know 20+
2)The "tories recked the economy", Check you facts, they did not. the Unions did it through greed. (i am a union member)
3)The "Labour party are good on the economy", to get in the first time they promised to stick to the conservative spending plans.

Did they not use the Parliament Act on the 1914 Home Rule Act, and the 1949(?) Parliament Act, and then on the recent hunting one? thrice?
Pssshhh, well I'm sorry guys if what I said is wrong, Elliott and Quinn's ELS sucks lol. Or maybe I'm thinking of the monarch not giving approval to legislation. Either way, I hope you get my point that it's a relatively rare occurrence. I think sometimes it's necessary but I think that it wasn't this time, as so much of the population was opposed to it. Having said that, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that Conservatives or whatever would have been any better.

2. Government of Ireland Act 1914, which established a Home Rule government in Ireland; its implementation was blocked due to the First World War
That would be what i thought was called the Home Rule Act 1914.

That would be what i thought was called the Home Rule Act 1914.

That would be the chappy!

that is exactly it! The monarchy is a safeguard, i think it's great that we have the whole democracy thing but I feel better knowing that if all that fails at least we still have the monarchy to save us

That's the dumbest thing I've read all day. The monarchy is nothing more than an inbred tourist attraction.

That's the dumbest thing I've read all day. The monarchy is nothing more than an inbred tourist attraction.

Not as daft as you think. The Police and armed services all take allegance to the Monarch. Of the ones I know they really would follow the Monarch over the PM. They have no illusion who has the long term national interest in mind, and its not the PM.

Hey dude, no particular offence meant to you personally, but I am not really a fan of the monarchy. I don't think that the monarchy is the way to go, and I don't see them being able to control the country any better than the polititians if it all comes down around our ears. Do you honestly see it that much differently? I don't think much of most polititians (hmmm-I seem to have forgotten how to spell-ah well *shrugs*), and I think that politics in this country is rapidly being dumbed down to the level of a popularity contest. I think that the 'first past the post' system is completely outdated and should have been replaced many years ago with proportional representation (that's at least one thing that the Scottish Parliament has over Westminster) and that it could go a long way to addressing 'voter apathy'. But, having said all of these things, at least a polititians fitness for the job is not based on an accident of birth.

Blessings
Cyber
I took no offence lol, that's why i put the ':p'

I was just saying that if the politicians completely screw up (which may well happen) at least there's something standing between that and the country descending into anarchy, the monarchy may not be perfect but i'd rather be ruled by the Queen than nobody at all! And I don't think it's necasarilly a bad thing that a person is born into a particular role, that way they are brougt up and trained to do that particular role

Not as daft as you think. The Police and armed services all take allegance to the Monarch. Of the ones I know they really would follow the Monarch over the PM. They have no illusion who has the long term national interest in mind, and its not the PM.

Quite so. There are many who believe that if the Queen were to decide to take control of the country, the government wouldn't be able to stop her very easily as she may well be able to rally the support of the majority of the armed forces and the civilian authorities. She's an 'inbred tourist attraction' with more power than a lot of people realise. I was about to say 'thankfully' she's just a nice old lady and wouldn't try it, but to be honest, she'd probably be better at it than the current crop of politicians. Hell, a band of lemmings could probably do better than the current crop of politicians. She's certainly more popular with the general public... some people actually respect her :eek:

Bah. I just got completely drenched walking to and from the polls :mad:. While I would vote no matter what, I can understand why turnout tends to be low when the weather is bad.

Voted Alliance party for the Westminster election. They were also my first choice for the local council elections.

Bah. I just got completely drenched walking to and from the polls :mad:. While I would vote no matter what, I can understand why turnout tends to be low when the weather is bad.

Voted Alliance party for the Westminster election. They were also my first choice for the local council elections.
my mum used to manage all their stuff...manager of their head office, organised the party conferences, organised distribution of party paraphenalia....doesnt vote for them though, at least not since they backed Maskey for lord mayor.

my mum used to manage all their stuff...manager of their head office, organised the party conferences, organised distribution of party paraphenalia....doesnt vote for them though, at least not since they backed Maskey for lord mayor.That's really cool! I'd love a job in politics, whatever it was. My boyfriend was nearly recruited into them as well - they were one of the few parties that spoke to him while he was writing his PhD, and they seemed impressed and asked him to join. He claims he was too shy to get involved in politics however - and now works at middle management level at DEL, where he's on the radio, giving conference speeches etc...I'd have chosen the former myself!

Re: Maskey, I didn't support that decision on the part of the Alliance either. However, by the end of his year in office, I hated him considerably less than I had done. From what I could see, he tried to be fair and inclusive (much more than many in SF anyway). Not that I would vote for him myself, however...

Wait a second. TIN can vote? I thought he's 20. Whats the voting age in England? Isn't it 21?

Wait a second. TIN can vote? I thought he's 20. Whats the voting age in England? Isn't it 21?

18

Wait a second. TIN can vote? I thought he's 20. Whats the voting age in England? Isn't it 21?
18

Ah ok.

That's really cool! I'd love a job in politics, whatever it was. My boyfriend was nearly recruited into them as well - they were one of the few parties that spoke to him while he was writing his PhD, and they seemed impressed and asked him to join. He claims he was too shy to get involved in politics however - and now works at middle management level at DEL, where he's on the radio, giving conference speeches etc...I'd have chosen the former myself!
Yea, i wouldnt mind getting into politics...just not Northern Irish politics. waaay too messy.

Re: Maskey, I didn't support that decision on the part of the Alliance either. However, by the end of his year in office, I hated him considerably less than I had done. From what I could see, he tried to be fair and inclusive (much more than many in SF anyway). Not that I would vote for him myself, however...
Hes standing in my constituency...i very much hope that he doesnt get elected (its not likely anyway)

Yea, i wouldnt mind getting into politics...just not Northern Irish politics. waaay too messy.Yes, that's a fair point.

Hes standing in my constituency...i very much hope that he doesnt get elected (its not likely anyway)You're in South Belfast, aren't you? Isn't Martin Smyth the MP there...I believe he's standing down this year. Who's your money on then? I hope it isn't Maskey myself, but I can't see it luckily enough.

You're in South Belfast, aren't you? Isn't Martin Smyth the MP there...I believe he's standing down this year. Who's your money on then? I hope it isn't Maskey myself, but I can't see it luckily enough.
Yea, its Martin Smyth, and yea hes standing down.

Until now the DUP never fielded a candidate against him though, because he was anti-agreement, but McGimpsey is pro-agreement so theyve put up a candidate against him...Spratt i think his name is. the SDLP have Alasdair McDonnell standing, and Sinn Fein have Maskey.

Now, in the last election Smyth won by 14% over the SDLP, but now the unionist vote is going to be split, so it could be very close between three (SDLP, DUP and UUP), providing that Sinn Fein pick up some votes from the SDLP.

One of the news programmes reckoned there could be as little as 300 votes between all 3.

I know i'm not a British citizen, but I hope you get to kick Blair out. how many of you here dislike him? just wondering.

Have you seen the other guy?

Have you seen the other guy?

How can he have? He doesn't show up in mirrors or on camera, does he?

How can he have? He doesn't show up in mirrors or on camera, does he?

ROTFL

For anyone who ever wondered, reading through this thread will give you a good idea as to why I upped and left the UK. The politicians are no better here, but at least the weather is good, the bikinis are small and the cost of living is low.

For anyone who ever wondered, reading through this thread will give you a good idea as to why I upped and left the UK. The politicians are no better here, but at least the weather is good, the bikinis are small and the cost of living is low.

Got room for one more? ;)

Lib Dems me voted for and they won in my area.

I'm curious, how exactly do your elections work in the UK? :confused: As an American I'm not exactly sure how things work out with a multi-party system as opposed to the two-party system. If I remember right from my brief comparative politics unit, you have proportional representation for your districts instead of winner-take-all, like we do, but that's all I know. And it could be wrong too. I don't know. So, how do things like that work in your country?

I'm curious, how exactly do your elections work in the UK? :confused: As an American I'm not exactly sure how things work out with a multi-party system as opposed to the two-party system. If I remember right from my brief comparative politics unit, you have proportional representation for your districts instead of winner-take-all, like we do, but that's all I know. And it could be wrong too. I don't know. So, how do things like that work in your country?


It's different, from region to region, as I understand it. Here in Scotland, we just have one vote, and it's First past the Post system (winner takes all/FPTP). Multiparty politics doesn't work any differently to two party politics, with the obvious exception of there being more viable parties to vote for. The election for the party you want to win is FPTP everywhere in Britain, but the vote for individual candidates for the constituencies may be different elsewhere in the UK. I believe that NI runs a form of proportional representation.

EDIT: Aside from that it's basic majority rule. The party with the most votes, usually wins (usually, because it's the party with the most seats. There is a possibility that a party could have more votes but not take enough seats. The lib dems consistently have more votes than their seats would suggest, as they lack a core group of support, instead polling second/third (and taking nothing) consistently elsewhere.

I'm curious, how exactly do your elections work in the UK? :confused: As an American I'm not exactly sure how things work out with a multi-party system as opposed to the two-party system. If I remember right from my brief comparative politics unit, you have proportional representation for your districts instead of winner-take-all, like we do, but that's all I know. And it could be wrong too. I don't know. So, how do things like that work in your country?

The UK is general election is a pure first past the post system. There are 645 constituencies. Each of these elects one member of parliament. Each constiuency has a list of candidates, you, the elector. go and vote for one, and one only of these (no transferable voting stuff). The candidate in the constituency that gets the most votes is elected member of parliament for that constituency. It is about as simple and straightforward as elections can get, but it does mean that the Lib Dems for example, get about 20% of the popular vote, but only about 10% of the seats in parliament. Or, this time that Labour have a big majority in parliament but only 36% of the vote.

Edit: The system may be different in NI. Sorry about that, but I tend to forget about their political system being different.

Interesting. Thanks for the info! :)

For the General Elections, I voted Loony! Loony Loony Loony!
Way to throw your vote away.

As a British citizen who hasn't got the right to vote (I don't reside in the UK), I'd like to thank everyone who went out and voted Lib Dem - as well as all those who would have done so if they could (*hugs TInk*).

If I could have voted, I'd have voted LibDem. The Tories were a nightmare option, and I wouldn't have voted for Blair. While he's much better than the Tories, I'm glad to see he's now got a significantly reduced majority. Basically the only other option I would have considered would have been the Greens, but the damn "first past the post" system means that voting Green is pretty much useless. :(

As for the Loonies, there's the same problem as with the Greens - plus, I've seen the Loony manifesto, and I don't particularly care for it. ;)

IMHO, it would be much better if you had a two-round election, as we have in France. That way, you can vote for the party you genuinely prefer in the first round, knowing that only the "major" parties will get through to the second round, and that you can then vote for one of them. In which case I'd probably vote Green in the first round, and Lib Dem in the second.

Way to throw your vote away.

In a democratic society, there's no such thing as "throwing your vote away". True, the system is set up in such a way that any vote for a small party will be completely ignored, but that's a flaw in the system, not in the voters. Personally, as I said, I would have voted Lib Dem so that my vote would have counted, but if someone genuinely feels closer to the MRLP than to any other party, they have a right to vote Loony without being scorned for it. That's the (theoretical) point of a democratic, multi-party society.

As a British citizen who hasn't got the right to vote (I don't reside in the UK), I'd like to thank everyone who went out and voted Lib Dem - as well as all those who would have done so if they could (*hugs TInk*).

If I could have voted, I'd have voted LibDem. The Tories were a nightmare option, and I wouldn't have voted for Blair. While he's much better than the Tories, I'm glad to see he's now got a significantly reduced majority. Basically the only other option I would have considered would have been the Greens, but the damn "first past the post" system means that voting Green is pretty much useless. :(

As for the Loonies, there's the same problem as with the Greens - plus, I've seen the Loony manifesto, and I don't particularly care for it. ;)

IMHO, it would be much better if you had a two-round election, as we have in France. That way, you can vote for the party you genuinely prefer in the first round, knowing that only the "major" parties will get through to the second round, and that you can then vote for one of them. In which case I'd probably vote Green in the first round, and Lib Dem in the second.


The best way is not a two tier system, but proportional representatation as it would give a fair representation of how people voted and therefore make evrey vote count. As the Lib Dems share of the vote increased by 3.7% while gaining only 11 seats while the Conservatives vote icreased by only 0.6 and won 33 more seats, how is this a fair system.

As imperial navy keeps saying that the conservatives messed up the country and lied all the time i think that a little history is needed.

Ever heard of the winter of discontent? You know the winter from 78/79? When Labour was in power? When the trade unions ran the country, when we didnt have electricity some of the time, when we had a three day week because of it. When millions were unemployed. When the country was well and truly f*cked.
I remember, thats when Thatcher came in, thats when she took on the trade unions and reduced their power, she made this country competitive and productive. Industries that could not compete with abroad went out of business (mining anyone). Yes, we had millions unemployed, yes sometimes she was dictatorial but the economy was fixed and she didnt cause ERM crash (more on that later).

Her supply side policies caused initial headaches for the economy as every economist would tell you happen. But those supply side economics made the economy competitive and laid the groundwork for what we have here today. Continual growth and prosperity. Public services were neglected but at the time that was not the gravest problem. Thatcher stuck to her principles and millions more people owned their own home by the end of her premiership thanks to her policies.

As for ERM, thatcher didnt want that, when we went in, it was under pressure, extreme pressure from europhiles and all those people who wanted a federal europe. We went in and had to maintain exchange rates against the deutschmark which ended up hurting us really badly. In the end so called 'black wednesday' is really white wednesday as we have economic growth which started in tory rule (despite browns claims that it is all labour's doing). We have control of our economy and if major hadn't stopped ken clarke, the tories would of made the Bank of England independant.

That is why i will never vote Labour, let alone Lib Dem. I will always vote Tory, they may not always be right, but they bloody know what to do in a crisis.

http://bnp.org.uk/news_detail.php?newsId=298
Despite a national media silence on the presence of the BNP and a few nasty smear campaigns conducted by the institutionally hostile press at a regional level, the people of Britain made up their own minds. Based on what they know to be true with their own eyes, voters from Somerset to Sunderland and Glasgow to Kent gave the thumbs up to the BNP. Our progress is measured and steady, rather than euphoric and erratic, deep rooted and growing.

Seat after seat saw BNP candidates increase their share of the vote with some excellent results in seats being contested for the very first time.

In only a handful of seats (11) did UKIP candidates get marginally more votes than a BNP candidate, whereas our candidates beat UKIP in 65. There was no spectacular support for the chameleon of Robert Kilroy-Silk’s Veritas Party who had stolen the BNP’s clothing on immigration and Europe. Only in Veritas's showcase seat of Erewash where Kilroy-Silk was standing, did any of their candidates beat BNP. In addition BNP candidates beat Greens in 25 seats, while Greens beat BNP in just 6 seats. We are not just an ephemeral pressure group ready to be used by the establishment and dumped when we no longer fit their agenda; we are the real voice of patriotic nationalism.

Highlights

• Best result – Richard Barnbrook Barking – 16.9%
• Highest number of votes – David Exley, Dewsbury -5,066
• Highest vote ever in Scotland – Scott McLean, Glasgow North East – 3.2%
• Largest increase - Richard Barnbrook Barking – up 10.5%
• 34 deposits saved.
• Total no. of votes across 119 seats: 194,685

Tangible rewards
The election effort has seen some solid gains above and beyond numbers voting for our candidates. We have purchased broadcast quality camera equipment which helped produce a party election broadcast which is still being avidly discussed on music bulletin boards around the Internet, radio broadcasting equipment and over £50,000 of printing equipment, all bought and paid for which we will be using to print our own material in forthcoming campaigns.

All activists, candidates and campaign workers can be rightly pleased with their efforts across the country. Despite months of Police repression against our members at the behest of the New Labour regime, despite the seizure of computers, dawn raids and intimidation, we have survived, we have grown and we are here to stay.

Thanks to all party workers, supporters and of course the near 200,000 Britons who gave their support to our candidates.
***********

In one word,"Prevailing" or "Effectual" ... is how I would describe my interpretation, in courageous contempt, for the still overly-excessive conditioned media portrayal of those who practice not to oppress, but to really rejuvinate and replenish national and world dignity for all. This elections "winner" may serve as a "false comfort and joy" for those not having any sincere loyalty to britain;Nationalism, but It is conjuring within those who actually are, a type of "cleansing tsunami" that will invoke change ... However blurred it is, The Truth Will Surface as it is always really there somewhere and it will Prevail !

<*>The BNP’s vote came in spite of the fact the Conservative Party, led by the hyper-Zionist Howard, falsely portrayed itself as the only party opposing immigration with a chance to win. In fact, the Conservative Party has consistently sold out the British People and immigration has continued with the same ferocity under the Conservatives as it did under the Labor Party.

Because many voters don’t want to “waste” their vote they are often influenced by the media orchestrated opinion polls which portray nationalist candidates as as a “wasted vote.” When people believe they have to vote for a lesser evil to prevent a bigger evil, it distorts the true support a party or candidate has. It is safe to say that Nick Griffin and the British National Party support is easily more than double than the vote percentage received. That fact makes the BNP one of the major Parties in Britain today.

Nick Griffin is slated to give a major speech at the 2005 International European American Conference in New Orleans on May 20, 2005. Europeans and Americans from around the world anxiously look forward to his presentation. –David Duke<*>

The best way is not a two tier system, but proportional representatation as it would give a fair representation of how people voted and therefore make evrey vote count. As the Lib Dems share of the vote increased by 3.7% while gaining only 11 seats while the Conservatives vote icreased by only 0.6 and won 33 more seats, how is this a fair system.

I fully agree. The disadvantage of that would be the loss of constituency representation, since the only way to make it fair would be to make it proprtional on a national level, but the advantages would significantly outweigh the disadvantages.

It would not only allow the Lib Dems to have as many MPs as their share of the nationwide vote, it would also mean that voters who opt for small parties would be heard at last. You could vote Green, or Loony, or whatever, and know that if, say, the Greens got 6% of the nationwide vote, they would have 6% of the seats in Parliament. It would ensure at long last that every vote truly does count.

That is why i will never vote Labour, let alone Lib Dem. I will always vote Tory, they may not always be right, but they bloody know what to do in a crisis.

Yeah -- tip billions down the pan trying to keep the pound at an unreasonably high level, suffer a massive collapse in currency value anyway, and finally get caught by the media trying to sneak out of the back of the building.

...voters from Somerset to Sunderland and Glasgow to Kent gave the thumbs up to the BNP.

Well, I can't speak for other parts of Britain, but I wouldn't get too encouraged if I were you by the BNP's showing in Glasgow. They stood in only two Glasgow constituencies: Glasgow Central (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/700.stm) and Glasgow North-East (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/html/703.stm), where they polled 671 and 920 votes respectively. There were 56,455 votes cast in those two constituencies, giving the BNP a modest 2.82%. Lots of people stick a single digit in the air every time they see someone from the BNP, but it's hardly ever a thumb.

i was hoping for a hung parliament (labour were gonna win, but with a split so either tories or lib dems could carry a vote),
IMHO too many people seem to be too obsessed with only one party winning, why not try some co-operation which (yes i know i am a eternally hopeful fool) might find some true middle ground on some issues and help get politics back to people. But PR is definately the way to go. Lib Dems %age of vote natonally to seats in parliament, appears to be the only politically movatived self protective reason the voting remains an archaic system. Looking not so far away toward europe, and coalitions are install there and working fine.