How do you intend to vote in the General Election?

[Genersis]

Basically, In the general election Labout won with LibDems second and SNP third. The difference between LD and SNP was really a handful of votes.

I got leaflets with out of scale charts showing LD only just behind Labour and the SNP and Tories way behind.

They campaigned on devolved issues for a Westminster seat. Issues Westminster has no authority over. They were hot issues for the local populace but not one the candidate could realistically do anything about. (e.g. The Forth Road Bridge has 10 years of life left to it and will be shut to HGVs in 5 years unless it can be repaired. It can't they're now planning a replacement. The closure of A&E services at Dunfermline's Queen Margaret Hospital meaning a near 20 mile trip to Kirkcaldy is another example. - The point is Transport and Health are a devolved issues. The FRB is under the control of the Holyrood parliament, not the Westminster one, as is the NHS in Scotland)

And it went on like this. Not personal mud slinging (as is the traditional dirty battle), but certainly muddying the waters on what policies they stood for. I got very little detail about policies that Westminster would deal with and lots of detail on policies that the LD candidate wouldn't be able to vote on.

The other parties & candidates at least stayed on topic... or tried to.

Doesn't suprise me. Still probably going to vote for lib dem though.

It's hard to belive one vote will make a diffrence. It probably won't, but at least it HAS the potential to make a diffrence.
If you don't atempt to vote you can't complain about the outcome of the election, can you?

PS:After reading over this post It sounds a tad silly:redface:

[fredv3b]

If you don't atempt to vote you can't complain about the outcome of the election, can you?

While that may be true in theory I am unaware of anyone ever actually practising it.

[colinmackay]

Perhaps, they were campaigning about how they would or would not run somebody else's NHS (the former Honourable Member for West Lothian's question remains unanswered).

Indeed - For 31 years it has remained unanswered.

Incidentally, I thought his successor in that seat, Robin Cook, was far more honourable. I may not have agreed with him on many things, but I was deeply impressed with his convicion and stance on Iraq. I was sad to hear he died suddenly and unexpectedly.

And I don't think that Scottish politicians should have a right to vote on matters that are devolved in Westminster. It just causes schisms between Westminster and Holyrood.

Personally, I thought the English Regional Assemblies idea was a good one, but I was voted against in (I think) the north east so the idea seems to have fallen out of favour else where. (I may be wrong, I don't keep up with English politics)

[fredv3b]

Robin Cook was indeed an honourable MP, if not an honourable husband. But what was dishonourable about Tam Dalyell?

The votes of Scots MPs have so far not been an issue, the Labour majority has been such that, as far as I am aware, only twice was a rebellion large enough that they required Scots votes in order to win. I am more concerned about the fact that a Scots MP sets the budget for English health, education, etc. safe in the knowledge someone else gets the blame for such difficult decisions amongst the voters of his own consitituency. Things may become more inflamed in the next Parliament, if Parliament is hung, then Cameron might well have a majority amongst English MPs, so in effect the devolved regions will be forcing a coalition government on a Conservative England.

Personally, I thought the English Regional Assemblies idea was a good one, but I was voted against in (I think) the north east so the idea seems to have fallen out of favour else where. (I may be wrong, I don't keep up with English politics)

Prescott, only ever proposed Regional Assemblies in name, what he proposed in practice were Regional Talking-shops with almost no actual powers. Nobody wanted them, there was a referendum in the North East, but it could have been anywhere. The great majority that could be bothered to vote, voted no. The EU is very keen on English Regional government, then they would be able to fit Britain properly into the Council of the Regions. The trouble is that in terms of the political identity(ies) of the people of England, the 'English Regions' do not exist. I am proud to be from Yorkshire (even if I am not Yorkshire bred), but I have no political solidarity with my fellow Yorkshiremen against, say, the South West. Any attempt to divide England into regions inevitably descends into drawing arbitary lines, to which people on both sides will object. Sorry, rant over.

[colinmackay]

But what was dishonourable about Tam Dalyell?

I never said he was dishonourable. Just that Robin Cook was more honourable. It was more a swipe at the fact that all MPs are called the "Right Honourable" regardless.

Honour is earned. In my eyes Robin Cook did that. Tam Dalyell did not. Mind you, Tam Dalyell irritated so many people he never really got in a position where he could made any gesture as grand as Robin Cook.

[marshlander]

... The Lib Dems always present themselves as the cleanest of the clean. And while Vince Cable seems to have his head screwed on, I was living in Dunfermline and witnessed one of the dirtiest by-election campaigns waged by the Lib Dems and as a result I saw their true colours. I used to be sympathetic to them, no longer...

The lessons of Bermondsey, 1983, still not learned then :frown:

Bermondsey by-election, 1983 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[princealbertofb]

OK Guys, not being versed enough in British law and politics, what is a by-election? Who are you voting for? How is it carried out?

[colinmackay]

OK Guys, not being versed enough in British law and politics, what is a by-election? Who are you voting for? How is it carried out?

A by-election is where a seat is lost due to the incumbent dying or resigning or otherwise losing the right to represent their consituents.

Basically, when that happens a by-election is called so that the people of that area can vote for a new representative.

It, however, doesn't happen for some positions. We have a mix of first-past-the-post (where by-elections happen) and a version of proportional representation (where there is a party list, and if a representative of a party that is voted in can no longer represent their consituents, they just go to the next person on the list for that party).

Westminster is 100% first-past-the-post and require by-elections.

[joseph]

i got mony of gordon brown and like for move house and disabilty mony. soit is a good primeminstier.and i like him

[IanG]

I'll be voting Labour again.

Despite my distaste for the control freakery and disgust at the outright lies Tony Blair told in order to bolster Dubya's intention to wage war at any cost, I still believe that Gordon Brown is the best man for the job.

Yes, keeping the banks afloat was expensive and the government definitely needs to be as strict as possible when it comes to recouping the money, but allowing the banking system to collapse was a non-starter in my opinion. The last time a British government abdicated its responsibilities for the free market was when Thatcher's regime allowed our industrial infrastructure to collapse. It took the best part of a decade for a new economic order to impose itself, whereas I believe it was only Brown's decisive action that kept the nation from an even deeper fall into economic chaos.

As for gay-related issues, the passing of the bill to allow civil partnerships has to be the biggest change for us since legalisation back in the 60s. I know the debate as moved on to whether religion will be allowed to play a part in civil ceremonies, but for me it's the legal recognition that counts not the church's blessing. Besides, heterosexual couples who have a civil ceremony aren't permitted the religious aspect either so it seems fair enough that we shouldn't have it either.

I think that the Tories are still the same old Tories no matter what noises they make to the contrary. They don't have seem to have any economic answers beyond making desperate cuts to public spending. I don't believe for a minute that Cameron would want to repeal the Civil Partnerships bill, but I'm certain that it wouldn't have even been passed if the Tories had been in power.