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thorne
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May 5, 2005, 3:34 PM
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Hey Tradman,
Have you voted?
Do you think Tony Blair will be re-elected?
And most importantly - Is it true that candidates only campaign for 30 days? It ought to be a law.
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arrettinator
May 5, 2005, 4:14 PM
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In reply to: Do you think Tony Blair will be re-elected? And most importantly - Is it true that candidates only campaign for 30 days? It ought to be a law.
Of course, Bush wasn't re-elected since you have to be elected in the first place to be re-elected. :roll:
edit: and yes it should be law.
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tradman
May 5, 2005, 4:33 PM
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No, I haven't voted yet, I'll do it when I get home.
Yes, candidates only campaign for 30 days, and there are strict laws ensuring equal airtime on TV and radio for all represented parties. In addition, no form of personal attack or slander is allowed, and it's considered normal for at least a quarter of all political billboards and TV ads to not be shown because of this.
It's really boring actually.
:wink:
As to who will win?
Well, my local area is absolutely definitely going to be run by a Liberal Democrat (yeah I know that must sound pretty funny to you guys) because the Labour candidate pulled out three weeks ago since he had no chance, and the Conservative candidate admitted that he lives in London, so he's got no chance either.
The main government, well I personally think it'll probably be Tony Blair again. The Conservative candidate really is Satan, and I just can't see enough people voting for a baby-eating despot like him. Since that's our two options, we're pretty fucked really.
:?
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arrettinator
May 5, 2005, 4:39 PM
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So, how do you really feel about it? :roll:
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duncan
May 7, 2005, 1:18 PM
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Those election results in full:
Most people in the UK are generally happy with the economy and the party in power usually gets returned in these circumstances. For all their faults, Blair and Brown (Finance Minister) give the impression of knowing what they are doing. If it ain’t broke… There was no real opposition. The leader of the Conservatives was strongly associated with the old Thatcher regime, not a good thing for very many people. People voted for Thatcher the decisive leader, even if they didn’t agree with all her policies. The current Conservative agenda is Thatcherite and appealed to their core voters but not to swing voters. Most damagingly, the Conservatives have an air of utter cluelessness about them. They don’t have a Thatcher figure and you wouldn’t ask them to organise a piss-up in a brewery, let alone run a country.
This was a war election. The politicians didn’t talk about it much, but this was the issue that changed many people’s minds. Very many people have been turned off Blair by the perception that he went to war to keep in with Dubya, whatever the ethical or legal legitimacy. Some of this is genuine moral outrage; there is probably a tinge of anti-American feeling too. No-one here likes to be thought of as Bush’s poodle. The middle-class liberals (no sniggering at the back, they are a real political force in the UK!) who had voted en-bloc for Blair in the past were very unhappy with the war and didn’t vote or voted Liberal Democrat. Many working-class traditional Labour voters were worried about immigration and “bogus asylum seekers” after some pretty despicable press coverage in the last few years. Many of them were also unhappy with the war. Some didn’t vote, or voted for the Liberal Democrats and a few voted for one of the small right-wing parties. The same number of Conservatives voted for their party as in previous years, the nucleus of their support.
End result? Some of the Labour vote stayed at home, some of it transferred to the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats go quite a lot more votes and a few more seats in Parliament. The Conservatives won more seats, mostly at Labour’s expense without getting any more votes. Labour got back in but with a reduced majority, which is what most people probably wanted. Blair got a much-needed reality check and will probably resign within two years for Gordon Brown to take over.
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one900johnnyk
May 8, 2005, 2:50 AM
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with the iraq boondoggle out of the picture, what is likely to be the issue on which labour gets judged? if they continue to improve the performance of the NHS or what?
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thegreytradster
May 8, 2005, 4:30 AM
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In reply to: No, I haven't voted yet, I'll do it when I get home. Yes, candidates only campaign for 30 days, and there are strict laws ensuring equal airtime on TV and radio for all represented parties. In addition, no form of personal attack or slander is allowed, and it's considered normal for at least a quarter of all political billboards and TV ads to not be shown because of this. It's really boring actually. :wink:
One aspect of the Brits electorial system I'd like to see replicated here. Not a chance though. The media for one among many makes to much money on it.
In reply to: They don’t have a Thatcher figure and you wouldn’t ask them to organise a piss-up in a brewery, let alone run a country.
In reply to: Many working-class traditional Labour voters were worried about immigration and “bogus asylum seekers” after some pretty despicable press coverage in the last few years. |
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