In this case it is code for cutting government jobs. They want to get local people to do more, and if the local people are doing the job, there’s no need for the government employee.
If I could vote in UK elections in NI, I’d go with the Alliance Party or the SDLP, in Scotland, the SNP, in Wales, Plaid Cymru, in England it would probably be the Lib Dems. I haven’t seen those latest debates but most Lib Dems I’ve seen have presented themselves very well, Cable et al.
It is purely academic though of course.
Curious you’re aren’t supporting Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland considering you support SNP and Plaid Cymru.
I’m a nationalist not a republican.
I think political identification in NI is more complicated than in Scotland or Wales - supporting Sinn Fein doesn’t say quite the same thing as supporting the SNP or Plaid Cymru.
Me, I’d be a Lib Dem voter, except that I didn’t get my registration form in in time. So I’m not going to be a voter at all this time, sadly. The recent opinion polls have amused me greatly though - Nick Clegg must be thrilled that he got to take part in the debates!
Unsurprisingly the LibDems are running away with the SDMB vote. I too have ticked their box in this poll. But this time they’ll only be getting ‘moral’ support from me. I’m too late for registration, nor am I that enthused about them. Nor do they have a chance in my constituency.
(Yeah I realise ‘not voting for them because they won’t win’ is bass-ackwards, but it’s the sad reality in an FPTP system, in which my particular constituency this time is a pure red/blue race. Last time round I lived in Richmond and I damn well did vote LibDem then.)
Well deadline for registration’s not until tomorrow- so if you print out the form on that website and take it to the council office in time you’ll be able to vote, you know its worth it!
Also if you live in a safe constituency and want to vote Liberal Democrat I would definitely urge you to go ahead. The more dramatic the number of votes they get compared with the number of seats the more likely we are to see public outrage drive electoral reform.
Think of it more like a referendum 
My friend, I said this in another thread: if you have a look at their stated policies, and the views you espouse, you’ll find you are pretty bloody far away from them. Pro UHC, state pensions, etc. etc. Just because they have the name “Conservative” doesn’t mean they’re conservative in the manner you understand it. If they stood in the US you’d actively be campaigning against them. Did you take the policy orientation poll in that other thread? I think the results may surprise you.
[Moderator Note]And on that note, I’m asking y’all to take this debate with Curtis LeMay elsewhere, please.[/Moderator Note]
That’s a good point actually. Well, kind of. I certainly get pissed off whenever I see the disparity between the share of the vote, and share of the House of Commons. But it looks like most people don’t give a shit. If most people vote blue or red, as they do, PR isn’t really in their interests.
Having said that, you MAY just inspire me to get off my arse.
Seriously. George Galloway an idiot maybe, but Benn? Please. :rolleyes:
Agreed. Benn’s a very intelligent and eloquent guy.
I’m a Tory at heart, but due to boundary changes their candidate has no chance of winning the seat where I am registered to vote, so I am going to vote LibDem. I was going to say “reluctantly”, but it’s not, really - while I want the Tories to win a majority, and my vote will hopefully prevent Labour winning that seat, I think a hung parliament would not be a disaster, and I’m all for electoral reform so that we move to a partial-PR voting system. Also, I think Vince Cable is the most sensible politician out there at the moment.
Interesting that none of the voters who have opted for Labour in this poll has even attempted to justify their choice - I assume this is because they know they can’t and are voting Labour either because they still think of it as the socialist party, or they can’t bear the idea of a Tory government. I hold both of these views in complete contempt.
I’m curious - given that people have voted lib dem in this poll more that every other party combined, how many people have actually read their manifesto? I did that this afternoon and even though I’m a member of their party there were a few things that surprised me.
So what I have gathered about the 3 parties involved is the following.
First is the Labour Party’s Gordon “Dammit, I put up with Blair for ten years, you owe me!” Brown.
Then you have the Conservative Party’s David “I’m not that posh, really! Ignore the limo.” Cameron.
Finally you have the Liberal Democrat Party’s Nick “Oh dear god, we might be relevant this time!” Clegg.
How far off am I?
I’m voting Labour because we have a very good constituency MP.
Edit: And your assumption is ridiculously patronisng and offensive.
I don’t think anyone is thinking the last one, and with regard to the other two it’s more like “No-one else in this country knows how to run things and I’m damn well not going to let a bunch of whiny voters stop me now” Brown and “Don’t let the fact that I never associate with anyone other than public school Oxbridge types make you think I’m out of touch with every day people” Cameron.
I don’t see how your caricatures are hugely different from those of Carl Corey. I interpret the one about Nick Clegg as fair comment on the increased scrutiny that Lib Dem policies are subject to now that they are suddenly doing better in the polls.
Interesting that not one Briton is backing the Tories.
I think that the identity of the poster who has said they would vote Tory speaks volumes too. 