Brits: How Are You Voting?

[Drogue]

Originally posted by TheStinger
You have every right to diagree with it but really the issues should be debated rather than the labelling that is going on.

Very true. My problem with the UKIP is that the Euro elections do not decide if we stay in Europe. We are in Europe, and to move out would be a Westminster decision. I agree with their position, but while we're still in Europe, I'll vote for a party that will do well for Britain in Europe. The UKIP candidates don't vote on important, hardly speak or question policy, and are generally inactive. If you want to get out of Europe, vote for them in an election that will decide it. They have one manifesto pledge - to get out of Europe, which is something they cannot fulfill. In other words, they have no policies that relate to the Euro elections. If sending a message is more important than having a candidate that actually does their job, then vote UKIP. I'll send a message when it comes to the consitution, the Euro, and the national elections. Elections that can actually change how the UK relates to Europe.

It's not a respectable policy for this election, even though I agree with it, because it's unfulfillable. It's something these elections don't decide at all. If they get 100% of the vote, we'll still be just as in Europe as we were before, but with MEPs that don't vote or care.

[Drogue]

Oh, and Lib Dems winning

[child of Thor]

I voted Labour last time, but after a letter to my local Labour office(i had addressed it to Tony Blair, but obviously he wasn't going to read it), i explained why i could no longer support them.

And it just feels about time to give someone else a go at trying to manage our country - Conservitives had a good old crack at it when i was growing up, Labour(or rather Blairbour!) have let me down with the meek way they've let a stalinist(ironic) take over the party.

So for me its the Lib Dems all the way, partly i'm interested to see if the traditional 'third choice' of our political system will acctualy make a better go of it than the traditional ones. If not then our political system will push me in the direction of someone like the greens(as i like trees ) or the raving looney party if i'm not feeling concerend about the enviroment at the time

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Monk


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.

kiss my ass

[Solly]

I like this poll. It goes to show how blatantly biased this site is when it comes to its sample of British voters - any other country seeking to see what Brits think would be advised to ignore the majority of people here.

[MikeH]

Yeah, we're mostly well educated and intelligent liberal voters not uneducated Sun reading morons.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by duke o' york
It bloody is!

I put the flag on this forum first, and because it's our flag, then it's our country! What's wrong? Too slow to plant your flag?

Stealing forums through the cunning use of flags. Tsk tsk.

Well I checked out the parties, and I'm torn. Torn like an old sweater.

I think I'm leaning toward lending my fictional vote toward the Conservatives or Greens. But I am intrigued and confused by the Lib Dems. Someone in the thread said they favored the free market and deregulation, but were socially liberal. Others dispute that. Is that true or not?

But I don't like the LibDem's big pro-EU push.

[*End Is Forever*]

It depends which Liberal Democrats you talk to, Ozzy. In inner cities, they'll portray themselves as a social democratic alternative to Labour. In the shires and the south-west, they're "Tories-with-a-smile". Their success is largely down to a combination of hard work on the ground (entirely commendable, and very difficult to combat), quicksand policies, and disillusionment with the other two parties rather than a coherent policy platform; a large chunk of LibDem votes are votes against other parties rather than an overwhelming endorsement of the Party.

Interesting side-point: numerous surveys have shown (despite the LibDems obvious and open federalist tendencies) that LibDem voters are almost as Eurosceptic as Conservative voters. One wonders when this will catch up with them.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Park Avenue
I like this poll. It goes to show how blatantly biased this site is when it comes to its sample of British voters - any other country seeking to see what Brits think would be advised to ignore the majority of people here.

I hear some whining and crying on here -- is someone's diaper wet?

[*End Is Forever*]

Well, he does have a point, the poll isn't representative of the British population... but then I certainly didn't ever expect it to be...

[Drogue]

Ozzy:
Depends how you define the axis. The political compass put them a little right, and a little liberal. I think they're pretty centrist economically, but that's about the size of it.

They want more civil liberties, like decriminalizing cannabis. They want more state accountability and proportional voting. I'd say that makes the pretty liberal, certainly more so than the largely anti-gay Tories (against section 28 and gay marriage) and the 'father-knows-best' Labour.

They want better environmental regulation, better public services, and possibly a little more tax to pay for them, but they also want deregulation, privitisation, and a simplification of tax and benefit structures. In the end, an individual would probably end up paying a little more in tax, but most of the public service benefits would come in efficiency and deregulation.

Economically you can either vote for:
Labour - Burocratic, inefficienct and filled with self-set targets, though good with the economy. Tax and spend.
Tory - Want efficiency gains, market forces and less welfare, but higher pensions. Would remove targets, improve choice, and lower tax, but probably at the detriment of some public services. Any gains would result in lower tax, not better services. Would remove uni fees by making fewer places available. Don't tax (ish) and sort-of spend.
Lib Dem - Like Tories, want efficiency gains, but would use them to improve services. Want to simplify tax system (raise income tax, lower 'stealth' taxes) to help pay. Would remove uni fees by more funding. Tax and spend.

Originally posted by *End Is Forever*
It depends which Liberal Democrats you talk to, Ozzy. In inner cities, they'll portray themselves as a social democratic alternative to Labour. In the shires and the south-west, they're "Tories-with-a-smile".

And both would be socially left, economically centrist, mainly. It's hard to put them left or right, economically, since they want better services, environmental regulations and possibly more tax, though they want to deregulate, privitise and use market forces more.

In the city, they'll campaign on better services, in the south, on deregulations and efficiency. Probably best described to an American as as close to the Democrats as the UK gets, but strong on environment and weaker on workers' rights.

[*End Is Forever*]

"What's wrong with communism?" asks LibDem activist

[Solly]

"Well, he does have a point, the poll isn't representative of the British population... but then I certainly didn't ever expect it to be..."

Certainly not. This forum is full of elitist ****s who think themselves head and shoulders above the rest of the country just because their arguments make sense to them. And you're likely to find these middle-class elitsit twerps voting for Lib Dems or parties with such attractive names as Respect.

[Drogue]

Respect, an "alliance of communists and Islamic fundamentalists", is a part for middle-class twerps? Twerps I'll give you, middle-class you'll have to justify somewhat.

If by elitist you mean happens to have had a good education, and doesn't get it's opinions force-fed by the Sun, then yes, we are a bunch of elitists. So having a good education is a bad thing? Having thoughts for ourselves that don't just come of the pages of tabloid newspapers is a bad thing? Or do you just mean people that don't have mindless prejudices, and actually think critically about social policy?

[Drogue]

Originally posted by *End Is Forever*
"What's wrong with communism?" asks LibDem activist

So now we take part of a post by someone who happens to be posting on a Lib Dem forum, call them an 'activist', and try to smear a party of millions with it. If I find a Tory voter who asks the same question, as most people do at some point in their lives, would that be a reasonable Tory smear? No. Also, it was a question, not a statement of support. I've asked what's wrong with communism before. The answer being a lot, but it's still a question. Moreover, communism is an economic doctorate. You can have anarcho-communism, and you can have authoritarian communism. Hence the "I thought you guys were supposed to be "Liberal"?" comment is also wrong, even were it a statement of support for communism, which it wasn't.

Who cares that a person, who may or may not support the Lib Dems, asks a question about communism? It shows naivity, possibly, but it's a a question many ask.

Smear campaigning