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All purpose General Election thread
By popular demand. Use this thread to knock yourselves out. Unstructured political comment on the internet is always enlivening.
*Omnem dimittite spem, o vos intrantes*
For specific election-related resources, here are the threads already on the site:
Islington North PPCs: <http://www.stroudgreen.org/discussion/1950/general-election-islington-north-ppcs>;
Tollington Ward Candidates: <http://www.stroudgreen.org/discussion/1969/council-elections-tollington-ward-candidates-announced>;
Hornsey and Wood Green PPCs: <http://www.stroudgreen.org/discussion/1949>;
Stroud Green Ward Candidates: <http://www.stroudgreen.org/discussion/1968/council-elections-stroud-green-ward-candidates-announced/>;
Stroud Green Ward Candidate interviews (Lib Dems): <http://www.stroudgreen.org/discussion/1978/stroud-green-ward-candidate-interviews-liberal-democrats/>;
Comments
Do you generally think 'well, the last 5 years wasn't bad, we could vote Labour again like we always do', or something like 'Well, that was a dreadful 5 years, recessions etc. - but they say it wasn't their fault, and they'll do better next time, I'll vote Labour again'?
Or do you continue to vote the way you've always voted, and change your outlook as your party has changed (e.g. LibDems seem to have moved slightly towards the right since Charles Kennedy departed - but do you continue to vote for them as they're the closest to your ideal?)
Or pick one with a stand-out policy you like the sound of?
My general outlook on life errs towards Tory thinking, but have so far been unimpressed by anything I've seen/read from them so am pretty much undecided.
Agree that all the recent revelations on how UK politics operates has made me want to vote with whoever will give a cast-iron guarantee of some form of PR immediately after this election. Is that the LibDems? Would rather be governed by a party that most people voted for, even if I didn't myself.
Thoughts on tomorrow?
Clegg to dismiss the 'special relationship' with the US as something only the OLD EVIL PARTIES are intent on carrying on. Lapdog is likely to be thrown around.
Brown to make reference to Cameron's gaffe on China last week. A potential PM considering China as a nuclear threat is a bit insane.
Cameron to look into the camera. A lot.
Overall though, this election is a bit of a strange one for me. I'm generally a Lib Dem voter, but their potentially increasing influence on the outcome is making me feel a bit un-easy. Especially so if in an event of a hung(or balanced) parliament, they side with the Tories. I understand that it's more likely they will look to go for a Lib-Lab coalition and attempt to remove Brown, but I'm not going to be happy if my vote goes towards a Lib-Tory coalition with Cameron as the PM (Not that it will ultimately matter, given Corby's safety).
An outright Lib win or a Lib-Tory alliance would surely be the step forward to please most of the electorate.
Ultimately though, I probably agreed that a Lib-Tory coalition is less likely given the intrinsic differences between the two parties. They keep talking about this massive flux though, so you never know!
Re: Greece - it's a shame the historic relationship with Germany has had the consequences that it has. The rescue package should have been agreed a long time ago, without people sniping about what happened during the second world war...
5 years of deadlock?
Johnson continuing as Home Sec is a real concern. He has been wholly discredited. Just because he thinks PR is a fine idea is no defence. He's been happy to crush civil liberties and ignore expert advice to satisfy the press - us as individuals with free will don't even enter into his tiny mind.
As for "5 years of deadlock" rather that than a Government getting in on a landslide and being able to force through any policy they wish.
Despite what scare-mongers in the press and politics may say a coalition government will bring us closer to truly fair and democratic government than we have ever been before. All policies would have to be properly debated in the Houses of Parliament which would hopefully lead to more openness.
All we then need to do is get rid of the whips!
PM - David Tennant
Secretary for Scotland - James Mc Avoy
Media, Culture and Sport - Simon Pegg
Minister for General Niceness - Ann Marie Duff
Minister for general drunkeness - Neil Morrisey
I haven't read any of his academic or economic papers, so only going on what I remember from his time as economic spokesperson for LibDems.
These are some that I remember thinking "this guy doesn't care which road he takes - why follow him?"
Supported Brown's flagship 'Light Touch' financial regulation (to which he gave the Bill "broad support"), then jumped ship when it all went to pot:
“While light-touch regulation was not at the time wrong, in principle the credit crunch has made it clear that the way this regulation was carried out was entirely inadequate.”
"Not at the time wrong"? Ffs, it went a good way to allowing things to get out of control. Surely someone with some experience in finance/business (and oil!) would see that individuals in that industry would seek to take advantage of a toothless FSA (mortgage lenders for one, banks another - plenty of people so this coming).
Against any fiscal stimulus - but for tax cuts:
"It is entirely wrong for the government to assume the economy should be stimulated by yet more public spending rather than tax cuts, particularly for the low paid."
And then for fiscal stimulus - and against tax cuts:
"It was much more sensible to use capital spending in ways that supported the construction industry" - "We were consistently critical of the use of VAT cuts as a stimulus to the economy".
Quantitative Easing (i.e. printing free money):
Initially it was “the Robert Mugabe School of Economics“ (in a column in the Independent) - and then later he felt that “directly increasing the amount of money flowing into the economy is now the only clear option.”
I understand the idea of changing ones mind once the facts change or become clearer is reasonable, but to me he seems rudderless with no clear vision except for the fact that he banged on about consumer debt in 2003 I think, he was right on that about 4 years before everyone else.
Darling appears to have some gumption, and even harsh critics can see he took over after 11 years of mismanagement to try and get things into shape - and more importantly he appears to have been honest with the public ("the worst recession in 60 years" - only to have the PM and his minions "unleash hell" on him - that's pretty blunt language which I want to hear from politicians). He seems like someone who'll stick to what he believe is for the good of the country, not the good of his own image.
I'm also aware all quotes from all politicians can be easily taken out of context, and I'm pretty feeble at arguing the toss. But the idea that Cable is somehow going to be any better in power than the wishywashy way he conducts himself at the moment needs deflated for all our sakes. I am more than happy to be wrong.
edit: shit that looks like a rant - it looked much shorter in notepad!