Can you elaborate on this statement?
Well I’m going to be the Contrary Mary to Steve’s ‘Woolfie Smiff’
I’m glad (in this country) we’ve finally moved away from the era(s) of ideology and dogma a la Thatcher, to some extent grey pants Major and all those idiot Socialists pandering to self-serving Union excess who preceded them. I’m glad for coherent, consistent economic policies which drive urgently needed social reform.
I like this era of non-ideology driven* practical*, real-world solutions, even if I don’t always agree with a particular policy-route or like people taking those decisions. After feeling most of my life that things were getting worse not better in this country, I have felt [at times in the past 6 years] free from the old ways and the old ideologies that excluded radical thought.
I like, at least for now, feeling like a mainstream European Social Democrat, and having a Government of the same shade – which is, of course, not terribly far from the old-style (Ted Heath) Conservative Party of 30 years ago. Except now the timing is right.
All of that makes me, in US terms, a ‘socialist’, I’d imagine. But pretty much the whole world is ‘socialist’ if you apply a US spectrum. Which no one does.
ruadh
I know you are better placed than me to know the actual workings of the franchise in Ireland and about PR, but this is what I thought. If I’m wrong, then I stand corrected.
We are in IMHO and this is my HO.
If I vote for an Independent who doesn’t get his quota then my vote, carrying the name of Mr Independent goes to whomever I made as my second choice. So, the guy I really wanted to represent me isn’t, but so what, because my second choice isn’t too bad, right? My vote is important and even though I am haven’t gone down the populist route, the powers that be wont hold that against me and I get another bite at the cherry.
If I vote for Mr Independent and he receives his quota, then the surplus after the quota gets redistributed. Not to the second choices of every ballot in the surplus, but to a profile generated by taking a sample from each of the lots of surplus ballots.
And also, if the quota is X and the surplus is X+Y, how do they know which boxes of votes are the Y boxes, to be sampled for distribution and which votes are in the X pile, not to be redistributed?
So while I have helped elect my Mr Independent; if my vote is deemed to be in the surplus it goes to one of the other boys who I didn’t want enough to be my first choice and depending on the sample taken, could be a candidate who is indeed one of the big boys.
That is my HO.
Social democrat. Very liberal on social policy, more conservative economically, but supporting some strong economic regulation (employment rights, environment, industrial relations, consumer protection, etc).
I don’t belong to any party. I don’t agree with the range of policies or approach taken by any of them, although I vote Liberal Democrat as the ‘best match’. I think I’d be close to jjimm, RickJay and Coldfire’s beliefs, although I’m also a fan of the ‘pragmatic politics’ that London_Calling described.
Social Stance - The fewer laws the better. I’m in favor of legalizing everything from drugs to prostitution and allow the police to focus on serious things like rape and murder. Strong advocate of the seperation of church and state although that is a far bigger problem in the US than here.
Fiscal stance - In favor of a balanced budget and small government. Give the money back to the people and business when it is viable.
Misc. stance - Trade Unions added significant value 50 years ago, today they don’t. I don’t support government either owning or sponsoring anything which could reasonably be a private enterprise (healthcare, railways, airlines, utilities etc.). I’d pay good money to see UK politicians actually debate in the house of commons instead of jeering and insulting each other like football supporters. I think government officials should be appointed based on their ability to do the job. I’d like to see military leaders in charge of defence, business leaders in charge of the economy/trade and so forth. It should not be a requirement to be a member of the governing party to be appointed to the cabinet.
No, all the surplus ballots are redistributed.
For the second count they allocate the surplus in proportion to ALL the second preference votes received. On subsequent counts, though, they do pick a “random” Y, which is potentially troublesome. Electronic voting will eliminate this worry and automatically allocate them in proportion.
Conceivably, although how this creates more of a chance of a Big Boy getting elected than a FPTP system would, I can’t figure out. In a Dáil of 166 Deputies there are 13 independents, 1 Socialist, 5 Shinners, and 6 Greens. How does this compare to the non-Big Boy ratio of the US and UK legislatures? Pretty favourably, I’d imagine.
Besides, you know you don’t have to use all your preferences, don’t you? If you don’t want your vote to go to a Big Boy, don’t give him your vote. Simple as that.
Thanks for the info, ruadh.
I see I was wrong.
My concern about Mr Big Boy TD getting elected on my vote was based on my misconception about the redistribution.
Roll on the next election!
Will the electronic voting be in by then, to rid us of that potentially troubling Y surplus?
An economic dry, with bleeding hearted social tendencies.
I’ll resolve the contradictions eventually.
Thank you for all the responses.
curly chick, yes, in fact all constituencies are supposed to have electronic voting by next summer’s local elections (Dublin North, Dublin West and Meath had it for the last general).
I’m quite liberal, in the small-l left wing, bleeding heart, basket-weaving, red-under-the-bed way. Especially in the U.S sense. I’ve voted in two elections and I’ve voted Green in both of them.
I don’t want to tie myself to any political party, however. Poltical parties aren’t always right, and I find it best to go into an election with a set of ideals and find the party that best matches those ideals.
While I am pretty much completely in agreement with liberal thought, this is a (perhaps not unexpected) coincidence. I make up my own mind on issues, and these almost always coincide with the liberal outlook.
I am progressive, and perhaps this is the only time I find myself in conflict with the left. Some sections of the left (usually hangovers from the 60s who seem more concerned with talking than doing) can be a little anti-progress at times - especially where business is concerned. However, I usually agree with their basic outlook, and I am by no means a fiscal conservative. I just think that economic and human rights, or economic and environmental concerns do not have to be mutually exclusive. Many seem to disagree; the left preferring to go with the human rights/workers’/environmental side while the right leans to the business side.
Still, I’m really quite left-wing. Read some of my GD posts. 
I don’t believe that it strictly is. But a Labor PM would never appoint a Tory to his cabinetl, even if he could. Just the way it is.
L_C, I’m glad we at least agree on where Blair is in the political spectrum (I’ve always thought Ted Heath was a pretty close match.) But, while I agree that too much ideology and dogma is a bad thing (whether from left or right), there is such a thing as having some principles … I worry about the amount of public funds gurgling down the black hole of dodgy PFI schemes (I’ve no problem with PFI when it delivers the goods, but this process of insulating businesses from failure with taxpayers’ money has got to be the worst compromise you can think of between free-marketeering and state control), I don’t like the way New Labour’s been imposing artificial targets on schools and the NHS, rather than attempting to address fundamental issues, and (doom-laden voice on) I smell the dead hand of Thatcherism behind such things, you mark my words, nowt good will come of it.
And I reckon freedom for Tooting is a bloody good idea. See you on the barricades, old chap.
Sod Tooting, I still want a passport to Pimlico.
This is fascinating. I thought that since there were so many dang parties in parliamentary systems, that meant that everybody could find one they liked and so was part of one. I take it there’s no primaries or anything where the members get to winnow down a field of candidates, not with those short campaigns.
My main question is, however, WTF (or where) is Tooting and whyfore is it bein’ repressed? 
I’m liberal on social issues, and i guess centrist on economic ones. While i believe free markets are the most efficient way or organising economic activities i don’t think it necessarily produces the most desirable outcome hence government regulation and sometimes intervention is required. Having said that, government invervention should only be used when it is truly necessary - i would class health, education and transport as being in this class.
Basically i think the outcome is more important than the ideology - use left wing economic policies in some sectors, right wing ones in another. I quite like the sound of Democraten 66 that Coldfire mentioned above.
I’m not a member of any political party, but i usually vote Liberal Democrat.
Steve, I find the entire PFI public debate hopelessly partisan and hugely complex, not to mention it always regurgitates the old ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ methodology.
One thing I am pretty clear on is that it has always been Gordon Brown’s pet project, it’s almost entirely his baby and it’s the one thing (okay, perhaps not the ‘one’ thing) Blair won’t overrule him on.
Quite why that is isn’t clear, all I can come up with is Brown making it the ‘breaker’, the point at which he’d declare open war on Blair and set the dogs loose (of which he has a powerful and growing kennel).
I suppose there’s also the Red Ken aspect (at least in relation to the Tube), Blair might see electoral value in opposing Ken, or electoral value in not siding with Ken.
Irony abounds in Brown – the unreconstructed cold war socialist – feeling the need to impress the City with his giant-sized capitalist bollocks, but there we go. Unprincipled shit!
Thank God the rest of ‘em are principled . . . <cough>
I’m not a member of any political party.
I have always voted for the Labour party, although I have many misgivings over the present government. There is no way however that I could vote for the Tories. I, also remember the damage Thatcher did to many sectors of our industry in the 80s.
V
I don’t know, I’m strong on social justice and strong on pragmatism which means I can never consistently agree with any one politcal party. I also think John Major was the most underrated British PM ever.
I don’t think’ll vote Labour as I know my MP and I think most there’s just to many careerists in that party, I’d consider voting Conservative if they ditched IDS and went for one of their pro-Euro MPs, instead of allowing Labour to push them towards the right. Liberal Democrats I’m unsure of.
I’ll probaly vote for the Tooting Popular Front if they field a candidate at the next General election.
Democratic Socialist (as opposed to Social Democrat).
New Democratic Party (NDP/NPD)
(and still trying to decide if the British Labour Party should get kicked out of the Socialist International… what is this “Third Way” faeces… then again, the Labour rank and file probably didn’t recognize a (capital L) Liberal when he appeared amongst them.
Could any citizen of the Evil Albion (UK) explain the joke about tooting?
Many thanks.