Elbow Heaven Election Poll

As election fever grips the nation
On the news there are Mori polls, YouGov polls, ComRes polls, Haris polls, Polls of polls.
It must be time for our own poll !

Eek! ChrissyBoy, that's a toughie. Never used to have a problem knowing who to vote for, but not this time despite watching more political broadcasts than I can wave a flyer at.

Can we have an 'Anarchy' option, please?

Cop out!

Get yer vote cast, Mrs W, and as my dear old Nanna used to say, "make sure you know where to put your cross!"

Essy choice for me. Our sitting Tory MP thought it acceptable to claim 63 grand in order to pay his sister-in-law rent on the property he uses as his constituency home. £63000 in expenses! He has since been ordered to pay back £36000. Whether he was within the "rules" or not, any man who thinks it morally acceptable to claim that amount in expenses does not deserve to be an MP in my opinion. Lib Dems are second in my constituency so they will get my vote.

I must admit I find this election fascinating. The TV debates, whilst bearing more than a passing resemblence to the Political X Factor, have actually highlighted differences in policy. I like a lot of what the Lib Dems say on Europe and foreign policy, and have never had a problem with immigration per se (although the way that immigration has been administered has been appalling) so my inclination is towards them for now. I am, however, far from convinced on their general economic policy, and whilst I like Uncle Vince Cable, the Tory jibe that he has predicted 19 of the last 2 recessions does have an element of truth about it. I await next weeks debate with interest.

mrswoman wrote:

Can we have an 'Anarchy' option, please?

mmm, not sure if they are a registered party !

maybe should have had a 'Don't Give A ****' option though

I'm also not quite sure about the TV debates. I think its good the leaders are put on the spot, but there is a danger of visual appearance / style over substance taking over. Some of the public are so thick, they might vote for someone because they had a nice tie on or something. Anyway that's democracy for you, I'm not sure if i trust any of them to be honest. I'm still reeling from the thought of our public services getting hammered to pay for the bankers bail out, which is going to happen whoever wins !

I'm now at an age where I feel slightly dubious about the whole lot of them. I'm old enough to remember power cuts and the three day week; I saw Labour evaporate under Callaghan, swept away on a tide of Thatcherism; I've seen 18 years of a Right wing government and was told that things can only get better. Some things have. Some things haven't.

It's clear to me now that while ideology isn't dead, the mainstream political parties seem ill-equipped to deal with what's wrong with the country. 30 years of rampant capitalism has denuded governments of the ability to affect economies. Huge sums of money ebb, flow and go down the plughole as the global free market economics experiment hurtles out of control.

We're all spiralling down into a maelstrom of debt, war, terrorism and environmental catastrophe.

Still. Mustn't grumble.

I know who I won't be voting for!

The Lib Dem charge has somewhat confused my decision for who I will be voting for though. I live in Thatcher's old constiuancy - a pretty marginal seat - Labour need a 0.7 swing to win it.

In the local elections I'll certainly be voting for Labour, for local reasons. In the General, I don't know; probably Labour so that the Tories don't get the seat. I'd love the Lib Dems to win the election though.

Lib Dems - I "agree with Nick" on far more policies than the other two main parties.

I strongly feel I should vote, even though I'm in an ultra-safe Conservative seat - http://www.voterpower.org.uk/ashford - and it probably won't make a blind bit of difference.

That'll be Lib Dems for me. I think Gordon and David are basically a pair of squabbling children. Anyway, it's about time we gave the underdog a go.

Mr Woman wrote:

We're all spiralling down into a maelstrom of debt, war, terrorism and environmental catastrophe.

Wer'e doomed I tell you, doomed !

And not only that, Scouting For Girls are at number one in the "hit parade", as we used to call it.

As long as smarmy Cameron doesn't get in. These Eton boys are brought up to believe they are born to rule. Anyone with that amount of charm, ease and self-confidence needs knocking down a peg or two.

A hung parliament with the Lib Dems holding the balance of power could be an interesting outcome. Their price for support could very well be proportional representation instead of our outdated "first past the post" system. Let's take a few faltering steps towards real democracy. Warts and all.

Mr Woman wrote:

A hung parliament with the Lib Dems holding the balance of power could be an interesting outcome.

A valid point Mr W !
Was just watching the news analysis of the current polls translated into seats, which would turn out like that. Basically the Tories would get a hiding. The lib Dems however would be nowhere near their own majority though, the pundits reckon they would need to be like at 40% before they could even dream of getting close. So like you say, the agreed price for a coalition may be greater proportional representation which would help the lib dems next time round.

I think Labour are secretly pleased the Libs are doing so well, because the tories were so far ahead a month or two back, that they would have had a clear majority. In principal i've nothing against a coalition, in theory we would have much more negotiation and agreement between parties before anything went through. So a middling of the road, would need to be found. Whether this would lead to ineffective actions is debatable. Who knows for sure, but our SNP and the welsh independents could also play a part.

I've always voted Lib Dem, it started off as the only other viable choice in the area, but now it's because they're are the best of what's available and i think the country needs a shake up, be that hung parliament or under dogs!

Bigotgate: oh dear oh dear oh dear Gordon!

The sad thing is that whilst I dislike the two-facedness of the episode, I understand that politicians cannot really say what they think about the people they meet, particularly at election time. I also understand the frustration of "debating" with people who hold - to me - such unpalateable views on other creeds and cultures.

The other problem with this whole affair is that it once again gives the polititians a reason not to discuss the economy and how the heck they are going to address the nation's deficit without tearing the heart out of public services. Me personally I'd start by taxing anyone earning over £250K 60%, and anyone earning over a £1million 70%, whilst ending the nom-dom loophole, but then I'm just an old leftie at heart.

So, for me, this actually makes me like Gordon Brown a bit more - although it would have been better if he'd said it to her face.

Still not getting my vote though Mr Brown.

Mr_K wrote:

So, for me, this actually makes me like Gordon Brown a bit more - although it would have been better if he'd said it to her face.

This!

Undecided yet? I was sent a link to this online questionnaire which may help you decide which way to vote...

whoshouldyouvotefor?

And another one Mr Woman: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7541285/How-should-I-vote-in-the-General-Election-2010.html

Those surveys are quite good, but i'm not sure if i'd rely on them as a decision making process
You could have some fun making an alternative one of those.

Mr Woman wrote:

Undecided yet? I was sent a link to this online questionnaire which may help you decide which way to vote...

whoshouldyouvotefor?

Obviously I won't be voting, however I have been keeping an eye on the election in the news, and have discussed it at length a few times with my father-in-law and other relatives living in Scotland. Seems as if it'll be quite close, not a landslide for anyone by any means. Very curious to find out how things turn out tomorrow! BTW, I took the poll that Mr Woman posted the link to, and my preference, apparently, was overwhelmingly for the Green Party. Good job I'm not a British citizen, if that's the case, as I'd be well and truly disappointed with the result of the vote!

And whatever you do, GO OUT AND VOTE. It's your democratic duty.

At the very least, casting your vote gives you the moral right to complain about the next shower of greedy, self-serving career politicians, whoever that might be. Not voting means you aren't bothered. Not being bothered means you have no right to complain.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Well, We can officially see that our poll is not reflective of the bigger picture

What happened to the Lib Dem surge ?
Can the conservitives form a minority government ?
Will Labour hang on with a contrived LibLab coalition ?

These questions and many others..... will be pondered by Sky News relentlessley all day i'm sure !

ChrissyBoy wrote:

What happened to the Lib Dem surge ?

It's cold comfort to Nick Clegg but their share of the vote was actually up 1% on 2005 - which considering they lost 5 seats shows exactly how nonsensical the first past the post system is.

I was surprised Labour did as well as they did to be honest - probably down to anti-Tory tactical voting, or "better the devil you know".