Brits: How Are You Voting?

[*End Is Forever*]

Originally posted by Jamski
I'll be postal-voting for Labour, as always. Best way to keep the Torys out - always vote Labour. Sure, they're not perfect, but keep the Torys out at all costs, out of the town hall, out of Westminister and out of Brussels. And that's the way a lot of people think, thank god

-Jam

If you're going to vote negatively against someone, at least suss out how to spell their name...

[Provost Harrison]

As the wheels of bureaucracy are slow I won't be voting anywhere. I am not messing around sorting out a vote for Hull (where I don't live any more anyway) and my registration in London is not yet complete. Which is rather annoying.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Jamski
I'll be postal-voting for Labour, as always. Best way to keep the Torys out - always vote Labour. Sure, they're not perfect, but keep the Torys out at all costs, out of the town hall, out of Westminister and out of Brussels. And that's the way a lot of people think, thank god

Voting Lib Dem could get them to become the third party Less likely now, sine Howard's doing a better job, but in terms of local and national government, and possibly even Euro elections, they're not far off their vote, in terms of numbers. A small swing and a lot of seats change.

I'd love to see a day where the Tories become the 3rd party of British politics

[Jamski]

Sorry. Conservatorys it is then.

-Jam

[Sava]

Sava: They're centrist economically (moderate pro-environment, but also pro-liberalisation and deregulation) and liberal socially (decriminalisation of cannabis, pro-choice). They're also anti-war and pro-Europe.

I'd be a little wary of the deregulation stuff... but other than that, they sound all right. And legalizing da chronic is a good way of getting my vote!

[Jamski]

I'd love to see a day where the Tories become the 3rd party of British politics

Me too!

-Jam

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by *End Is Forever*
He lost by one vote after some Plaid Cymru scaremongering, and hardly tried to hide the fact that he was a Tory anyway. He'd already been elected to a Welfare Sabbatical as an open Tory, something which I believe is pretty much unique in Student Union politics...

All Tories should be open. In the sense that they should be cut open with a sharp knife and eviscerated

[Sava]

WHen I see "Tory" I think of Colonization and fighting the evil British scum for independence!

[Provost Harrison]

Feel free to fight the Tories as much as you like

[Jamski]

All Tories should be open. In the sense that they should be cut open with a sharp knife and eviscerated

You freak

Use a frickin' blunt knife.

-Jam

[*End Is Forever*]

Drogue,

I'll come to the LibDems in a second...

I wouldn't just catagoise them as that. They're Anti-war, anti-Europe, Anti-business, pro-immigration. Populist somewhat, but in the opposite way of the BNP and UKIP. They're trying to pick up people disaffected by the war, mainly.

Let's have a look at the groups making up RESPECT. They're mainly drawn from three areas - George Galloway and cult following, the Socialist Workers' Party (who disowned the Socialist Alliance to join RESPECT, leaving the fringe socialist groups like the AWL high and dry) and the Muslim Association of Britain.

George Galloway is a bit of an oddball. He's a social authoritarian (vehemently against abortion, for example, though no-one ever picks him up on that), not as much of a socialist as he claims (he voted for foundation hospitals!), and anti-war rather than pro-peace. In short, he's in it for himself.

The Socialist Workers Party are undoubtedly extreme-left (slogan "one solution, revolution") but they're also an ideologically-weak attempt at a mass-member communist party. In short, this involves populist cries which are anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-capitalist. They're little more than a minor irritant in student politics.

Now I've no doubt that there are moderates within the Muslim Association of Britain, but that doesn't distract from the fact that they're largely strictly small-c conservative Islamists who most left-wing groups would decry for their positions on abortion and women's rights amongst a host of others. There are also strong allegations of links of some of their senior members to the far more sinister Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian-originated fundamentalist sect.

It's a truly bizarre coalition, one based on electoral gain and anti-Jewish feeling and little else. When George Galloway spoke in York those who tried to ask difficult questions were howled down and chased out, their were disgusting elements of anti-semetic abuse, and I had a blazing row afterwards with people who openly said they were members of Al-Muhajiroun.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Feel free to fight the Tories as much as you like

okay... since Provost hates them... I SHALL HATE THEM BECAUSE PROVOST IS AWESOME!

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Sava
I'd be a little wary of the deregulation stuff...

It's mostly about cutting red tape. The Chancellor, even though (IMHO) he's done a great job with the economy, has complicated things. People don't know what they're entitled to, and how to get them. Lib Dems want to simplify it. Also, remember the UK has much more regulation than the US. I don't want to deregulate as much as the US has, but neither do the Lib Dems.

[Drogue]

Originally posted by Jamski
Sorry. Conservatorys it is then.

[Monk]

Originally posted by MrFun
Dear Sava,

Since you are not a UK citizen, why did you feel that you had to qualify your admission of not knowing what the parties stand for with the word "but?"

Grammar Nazi

Dear Nazi,

Not a Grammar Nazi myself, I should probably be wary of correcting one who supposedly is, but it does seems to me that since the question mark is yours rather than part of Sava's statement, it doesn't really belong between the quotes.