Election 2010 - Con/Lib Government

[Supergrunch]

The test doesn't work for me, either, so I can't find out which party represents my views the most. In general I'm a liberal socialist, meaning I believe in the freedom of the people as well as a large public sector.

 

As far as I can gather from this thread, it seems like the UK voting system follows the American voting system somewhat in that votes are "lost" because of the way total votes are counted. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Try refreshing the test a few times, that made it work for me.

 

And yep, it's a little like the American system but not quite as bad. Parliament (or more specifically, the House of Commons) is split into around 650 seats (it was 646 for the last general election, not sure how many it'll be for this one), each of which represents a geographical area, known as a constituency. Each party then puts forward candidates for each seat, and you vote for the candidate you want for your constituency, although in practice people instead tend to vote based on the government that they want. The winning candidate in each constituency then gets a seat in parliament, representing their party. After all constituencies have been counted, the party with the majority of seats wins - with a majority, any proposal can be put through parliament as they have the majority of the vote. If there's no majority, then you get what's called a hung parliament, and things all get more complicated.

 

So yes, many constituencies are, say, invariably Labour, and so if you're in that constituency and vote Conservative but Labour still get in, your vote will have no influence on the overall result of the election, though it will of course unsuccessfully influence the choice of candidate for your constituency.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Supergrunch

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Right, that's what I gathered as well. I hate that system. I'm happy that we have a more direct democracy in Denmark: We can vote for local politicians or simply for the party we support, but in any case the vote ultimately goes to the party and is thus never lost.

[Jimbob]

Just did the test, and based on my results i should be voting for Labour.

 

I only did what the test asked me to do, which was to click on the policies i agree on and not the party. According to the survey, i'm Pro-Conservative on Crime, Labour on Economy, Lib Dem on Environment and Labour on NHS/Healthcare.

 

Still, Elections in my eyes means we can finally get our say on who we want to run Britain. No vote, no say really.

[ReZourceman]

I wish I could run for Priminster.

[MoogleViper]

I wish I could run for Priminster.

 

I hope this is a shit pun that I don't get.

[ReZourceman]

Afraid not. I'd like to have a shot at it.

[Raining_again]

We'll let him run for priminster, if the title even existed...

 

Is that one of your comic book heros?

[Coolness Bears]

Unfortunately I'm not politically wise in anyway.

 

If someone asked me to vote for them and offered me a plate of biscuits, I'd go with that.

 

It's scary how easily influenced I am by food!

[weeyellowbloke]

Well, I think I'll be sticking with the Lib Dems. I like the Greens, but I generally don't find their policies that realistic in terms of being able to implement them. Survey pretty much backs what I thought 75% Lib Dem and 25% Labour on the score of Economy, Education, Environment and Welfare (when I finally got it working).

[MoogleViper]

It's scary how easily influenced I am by food!

 

I'll give you a biscuit if you [action edited out due to illegality in the United Kingdom]

[Jimbob]

I wish I could run for Priminster.

 

Oh dear, could we imagine a Britain with ReZ running it.

 

Manditory viewings of "Comedy Rainbow" just to begin i would imagine really.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Oh dear, could we imagine a Britain with ReZ running it.

 

Manditory viewings of "Comedy Rainbow" just to begin i would imagine really.

Suddenly the BNP seems more sensible.

[Jimbob]

Suddenly the BNP seems more sensible.

 

So does UKIP as well.

[Supergrunch]

So I looked up the UKIP educational policy in its entirety. There's a lot of good stuff (like the higher education reform, higher standards for exams, and scrapping of all unnecessary coursework), but also some really batshit stuff especially relating to sex, like scrapping sex education below the age of 10 (i.e. when it's actually necessary), and advocacy of US-style abstinence education. So they're not getting my vote, especially coupled with the fact that I'm pro...ish Europe these days.

[Daft]

The bigoted Tories can fuck off.

Labour can fuck off for bringing the education system in this country slowly to its knees and giving corporations direct power over everyone's home with their new Digital Economy Bill.

 

And every other party is pretty much a wasted vote.

 

Thank God for democracy...

I'm emigrating.

[DuD]

I've taken the test as I really don't have much of a clue as to what each party is offering at the moment.

 

My Results:

 

BNP - 33.33% - Crime, Health, Welfare

Lib Dems - 22.22% - Economy, Education

Green - 11.11% - Environment

UKIP - 11.11% - Europe

Labour - 11.11% - Immigration

Tory - 11.11% - Democracy

 

Pretty inconclusive results, but at least it's given me a starting point for researching my vote before May. Thanks Chair

[killthenet]

I got 50% Labour/50% Green, but I will be voting Labour in the election. I don't want to risk the Tories gaining a stronghold.

 

If we get a hung parliament my only request is that Vince Cable becomes the chancellor of the exchequer. If Politics were Football, Cable would be David Beckham.

 

You know, as in he's popular and a nice guy and he makes good business decisions.

[Iun]

UKIP has things to tell too, but I hate the pointless self-removal from the EU. Why burn bridges? I'd prefer to be in the bosom of all the essential countries of the world.

 

...you consider Luxembourg to be essential?

 

Crap, I took the test: 50% BNP. 25% UKIP, 25% Green.

 

Hmm.

 

I don't agree that immigration is at the heart of all our social problems, but I do think we should withdraw from the EU Human Rights treaty and replace it with one of our own.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Iun

[MoogleViper]

So I looked up the UKIP educational policy in its entirety. There's a lot of good stuff (like the higher education reform, higher standards for exams, and scrapping of all unnecessary coursework), but also some really batshit stuff especially relating to sex, like scrapping sex education below the age of 10 (i.e. when it's actually necessary), and advocacy of US-style abstinence education. So they're not getting my vote, especially coupled with the fact that I'm pro...ish Europe these days.

 

I do like the sound of a lot of UKIPs policies. I just don't want a leader who is a Lord and an ex-tory.

[darksnowman]

I'm voting Green.

 

Everyone take this test. Interestingly, the majority of people choose Green party policies.

 

I did this, not thinking about what four subject areas I selected. Results:

 

25.00% Labour

25.00% UKIP

25.00% Green Party

25.00% Lib Dems

[Paj!]

The test works best if you choose all the categories.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

I took the test, and it just sent me back to square one without showing me any results. I didn't really feel it was that good, anyway. I'm more interested in the parties' general ideological viewpoints on certain areas, and those weren't always easy to figure out from the policies listed.

[Ellmeister]

...you consider Luxembourg to be essential?

 

Crap, I took the test: 50% BNP. 25% UKIP, 25% Green.

 

Hmm.

 

I don't agree that immigration is at the heart of all our social problems, but I do think we should withdraw from the EU Human Rights treaty and replace it with one of our own.

 

What EU Human Rights Treaty. There is no such thing.

 

If you are referring to the ECHR treaty that we joined prior during the 1950's, which is what the HRA 1998 subsequently goes on, then you sir, are unfortunately mistaken

 

Only human right idea that has only just come into effect is the effects of the Lisbon Treaty. The effects of which we have not been able to experience so I don't believe that you are judging the human rights part on that?

 

As far as I'm concerned, leaving the EU is a massive mistake.

[danny]

Tbh, Labour without Brown is probably the best option. But the only way to get rid of Brown is to have Labour lose the election. On the other hand, that means 5 years of the Tories.

 

YAY FOR DEMOCRACY

 

Not true. It just needs people in the labour party to grow a set of balls. Plenty of people seem to have talked about bining him. But very few have actually come forward t odo something about it. Remember you do not vote for PM you vote for your MP/Party, it is down to the party who they make leader.

 

Have you ever wondered how much it costs to canvas the country with these leaflets? Or where that money comes from? Labour essentially get their blank cheque from the Unions and the Tories get it from peers like Lord Ashcroft. The lack of such canvassing from smaller parties is simply down to the fact that they can't afford it. They can't secure huge backing because they are unlikely to get in to power and thus any large financial backers are unlikely to get any return on their investment.

 

Well i know what the BNP stand for maybe the Lib dems should be a bit more creative with there press work if they cant afford to do it the conventional way.

[Supergrunch]

Well i know what the BNP stand for maybe the Lib dems should be a bit more creative with there press work if they cant afford to do it the conventional way.

To be fair, it's a lot easier to publicise extreme and controversial ideas than it is detail the moderate policies typical of the Lib Dems. Indeed, even the negative publicity for the BNP has caused them to be a lot more (in)famous of late. And they're currently on a publicity drive and have been since the European elections, so I'd imagine they're spending an awful lot on publicity; the Lib Dems are already better known and better liked and so don't need to take similar measures.