Election 2010 - Con/Lib Government

[ipaul]

Jason Bourne, or you could just have more than one phone.

 

The reason Nick Clegg has done well is because he's been put on an even level with the other parties now. It seems much more like a 3 horse race than a 2 horse race now. I wouldn't be overly surprised if Lib Dem got voted in. I think Clegg would shit himself in shock, and panick when sitting in no.10

 

Oh yes you would. Everybody would be absolutely astounded if they got in with a workable majority. I'll be surprised (pleasantly) if they manage to gain seats.

[Razz]

It's a crying shame that Nick doesn't realistically stand a chance in this election. It'll be good in the long run I feel but not so much a chance for now. He's not perfect, but he's definitely the lesser of the evils. He has my vote, I don't care if people say "Yeah but it's a wasted vote." Stfu, it's not if you actually want to do something about trying to avoid a dichromatic blue and red government for the next however many years.

 

I was leaning towards Conservative at first, the LGBT arguments I found personally were hollow and do not at all warrant the outcry it received from LGBT groups, but I hate this whole DIY government bollocks. That's what you're paid to do, so don't pass the buck on to the rest of us. In some respects it's a nice idea but realistically people don't have time to live their lives and then on the side run a post office, NHS trust, school or what have you. Cameron as a leader isn't a good idea. It's all very well to say you've changed as a party, but your Eton mind set and upper class bias is still there, you're out of touch. Their views on taxing are tired and unfair.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Razz

[Supergrunch]

I'm sorry, I'm not going to bother with the rest. Giving a couple of arbitrary examples does not form a solid argument.

I didn't give two annecdotal examples; I gave 9 examples, 6-7 of which were entirely non-annecdotal and the remainder of which were just highlighting several serious problems I've come across in individual exams. Yes, it's not a scientific study, but none of us are in a position to do that and it's still a hell of a lot better than simply asserting the alternative conclusion.

 

Anyway, I agree with most of what people have to say about exams. I understand they were invented by Cambridge several hundred years ago, as a replacement for the old Tripos system which involved candidates being interviewed while sitting on a stool (there were too many undergraduates to continue this). Which isn't to say it should be conserved, but it's also incredibly difficult to find a decent method of assessment that's actually feasible.

[ipaul]

Unweighted polls are showing the Liberals on 35%, Tories on 36% and Labour on 27%. If the Lib Dems manage to keep all this momentum going, they'll probably gain a seat. I hate FPTP.

[Razz]

What's more annoying is people who don't vote.

[Daft]

Who do you vote for when you're completely disenchanted? (In the Weberian sense.)

[Fierce_LiNk]

Who do you vote for when you're completely disenchanted? (In the Weberian sense.)

 

 

Vote for Pedro. I wish I could.

[MoogleViper]

Who do you vote for when you're completely disenchanted? (In the Weberian sense.)

 

These guys.

[D_prOdigy]

[ipaul]

On that very point:

Cameron knows a black man. Or does he?

 

Businessman Neal Forde, 51, says Conservative leader got details about him wrong while discussing immigration in televised election debate

[The fish]

Latest polls suggest that the Lib Dems have leapfrogged Labour. Whilst nice, it's somewhat irrelevant due to our massively out of date electoral system, which, oddly, will put Labour with the most seats.

[Daft]

General Election 2010: inconvenient truths for leaders who got debate facts wrong

[McPhee]

Looking at news sites today, it's starting. The Tories are turning their campaign of slander and fear on the LibDems. Conservative bloggers, columnists and reporters have started declaring that a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote for Brown. Good job guys, just keep rounding up those protest voters for another few weeks, showing them that all other roads lead to Brown and you'll be in power!

 

Slightly unrelated; I wonder how much of the electorate are actually voting 'for' a party they like rather than just voting 'against' a party they dislike?

 

Oh yes you would. Everybody would be absolutely astounded if they got in with a workable majority. I'll be surprised (pleasantly) if they manage to gain seats.

 

Almost impossible. Even the most optimistic of polls only has them with 34% of the electoral vote. For that the LibDems would get around 116 seats out of the 650 available. They're still going to be the smallest party unless they can push 37%+ (where the big seat gains will start to kick in) and won't get a majority unless they can gain as much as 50% of the electoral vote.

 

When it comes to the day I'd be surprised if they gain more than 20 seats to be honest. The rumours say that they'll be running for victory in the next election, not this one. At the present time they're just trying to force a hung parliament so that they can try and influence a change in the voting system that we have here in the UK. Hung parliaments, minority and coalition governments don't last long here in the UK, the reigning Prime Minister tends to get fed up quickly and call a fresh election with the hope of securing a majority. When this happens they'll start fighting for the top spot, the system is too biased against them for it to be achievable now.

Edited April 17, 2010 by McPhee

[The fish]

When it comes to the day I'd be surprised if they gain more than 20 seats to be honest. The rumours say that they'll be running for victory in the next election, not this one. At the present time they're just trying to force a hung parliament so that they can try and influence a change in the voting system that we have here in the UK. Hung parliaments, minority and coalition governments don't last long here in the UK, the reigning Prime Minister tends to get fed up quickly and call a fresh election with the hope of securing a majority. When this happens they'll start fighting for the top spot, the system is too biased against them for it to be achievable now.

 

My personal prediction for the Lib Dems is a hung parliament this time, in which they push through the voting reforms. A second general election will follow as soon as possible, in which they'll become Her Majesty's Opposition against the Conservatives, to be followed by government next time around.

[Emasher]

I wouldn't count on another election happening so soon if you get a hung parliament. We've had one in Canada for years now, and we're only really getting elections every 2 years. And after a while, people get tired of the elections, and the parties (aside from the most right wing ones) end up going broke.

[The fish]

I wouldn't count on another election happening so soon if you get a hung parliament. We've had one in Canada for years now, and we're only really getting elections every 2 years. And after a while, people get tired of the elections, and the parties (aside from the most right wing ones) end up going broke.

 

Last time we had a hung parliament, another election was called as soon as legally possible, we/the two main parties don't like hung parliaments here.

[Daft]

Yeah, it works in other countries but here, not so much.

[ipaul]

My personal prediction for the Lib Dems is a hung parliament this time, in which they push through the voting reforms. A second general election will follow as soon as possible, in which they'll become Her Majesty's Opposition against the Conservatives, to be followed by government next time around.

 

That's quite a nice scenario actually, I like the idea of that happening. I don't think Labour will disappear though.

[Pestneb]

I like a lot of Lib dem policies, but there are one or two that are simply disastrous to me. Also their manifesto seems very vague to me. It's easy to make nice sounding claims when you don't go into detail about how you are going to acheive them.

Labour I don't hate any of their policies, but I dislike most of them generally, and the ones that are ok are mirrored by lib dems/conservatives anyway. also not liking this government from what I have seen.

conservatives I like a few of their policies, particularly in key areas for me, but they still have one or two bits that suck.

 

really this election the choice is

1)change of government (con)

2)hung parliament (lib dem)

3)stick with current government (lab)

4)protest vote (any other)

 

McPhee : Brown thinks a vote for lib dems is a vote for him. he walked out of that debate living up to his name, clegg was in pain from having Brown that far up his backside, it was painful for me to watch. Brown knows he has no chance of winning enough votes to stay in majority power, so he's looking to prepare a coallition with lib dems. Even when clegg came out on top after the debate gordon continued sucking up. It is painfully obvious, although perhaps the other side of that is to try and convince lib dems to vote labour.

 

I don't like the lib dems approach to the euro, I'm not europhobic, but hate the euro with a passion, so faceless and impersonal, I know its convenient, but going on holiday with euro's feels like going on holiday with monopoly money.

and the anti trident policy, it's a lovely sentiment, but really removing our entire nuclear arsenal and our entire military makes more sense to me. I don't like the fact that we have trident, but I do see the logic of having it as a deterent against states. Sure additional threats exist, but it's a bit like a bee keeper deciding that as it's raining today they'll remove their protective clothing and take an umbrella instead whilst they collect honey. They may stay dry, but the umbrella isn't going to stop the bees stinging them, and one they're stung they'll probably wind up getting a bit wet too.

[ipaul]

 

I don't like the lib dems approach to the euro, I'm not europhobic, but hate the euro with a passion, so faceless and impersonal, I know its convenient, but going on holiday with euro's feels like going on holiday with monopoly money.

 

Well what a sound economic argument.

[The fish]

Well what a sound economic argument.

 

Sadly, the quality of people's argument bears little resemblance to the weight of their vote.

 

It's getting annoying hearing about 'uniform swing' all the time. It's not even a generalisation, it's fantasy. This is especially true now: in my home town's constituency (though no longer mine), the Conservatives are the masters, holding the seat since its creation. However, not a single person I have spoken to any where in the town or its constituency-mate have expressed a desire to do anything other than vote 'anything but Tory'. The 3rd safest seat for the Conservatives in the UK might just fall into the hands of the second party here, the Lib Dems. Now won't that be fun?

[Guy]

I don't like the lib dems approach to the euro, I'm not europhobic, but hate the euro with a passion, so faceless and impersonal, I know its convenient, but going on holiday with euro's feels like going on holiday with monopoly money.

 

I feel exactly the same, dude. Euros feel really cheap and there's no cool secret Queenface or shiny Disney VHS tape hologram to enjoy. I'm certain we'd adjust after a while but I'd prefer to delay our inevitable switchover as long as possible.

 

Still very tempted to vote Lib Dems though. Certainly won't be voting for Cameron's huge face or that toad Gordon Brown.

[Molly]

Although it's the next constituency along from me, I find the situation in Buckingham quite troubling. John Bercow is running to be re-elected as Speaker and as such, is running unopposed by the ''main parties''. A convention I really don't understand. He is being opposed by Nigel Farage, former leader of the UKIP party. But I can't see him as a real alternative, from what I've seen, he's an incompetent waste of space.

 

Hilarious. But still, tragic.

 

So in Buckingham you can vote for the house-flipping John Bercow, Numpty Nigel Farage, the BNP or some unknown independents. Democracy?

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

It never ceases to amaze me what people can get away with saying in direct debates. On the other hand it's a refreshing gust of honesty from people whose true opinions and utterances are rarely completely obvious.

[Guy]

It never ceases to amaze me what people can get away with saying in direct debates. On the other hand it's a refreshing gust of honesty from people whose true opinions and utterances are rarely completely obvious.

 

Truth. There's something so transparently aggressive and hostile about Mr. Farage in that video that I find equal parts refreshing, ridiculous and hilarious. Just once I'd like to see some big guns in politics start squaring up to one another and before you know it the entire gang is fistfighting.

 

Molly, none of those seem like good options. Buckingham is fucked...ingham.