UK election televised debate! |
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thellama73
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 29 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 8368 |
Posted: April 25 2010 at 17:44 | |
I apologize for my ignorance of UK politics, but could someone briefly sum up the different platforms of the parties? I have a feeling that you don't mean words like "Conservative," "Liberal" and "Labour" in the same way we do acros the pond.
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: April 25 2010 at 18:28 | |
All our political parties would be considered "Right" in Romania since none of them are truly socialist, however none of the the three main parties are strictly right-wing either.
I won't comment on Thatcher - the mere mention of her name makes my flesh crawl.
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What?
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 18 2008 Location: Anna Calvi Status: Offline Points: 22989 |
Posted: April 25 2010 at 18:45 | |
The Labour Party would definitely not be thought as a Right-oriented party in Eastern Europe. We do perceive the Centre-Left (Social Democracy), the Left (Socialism) and the extreme Left(s) all as Left. The shift towards (neo?)liberalism of many parties of the Left in Western Europe was indeed felt in the East too, but still we were educated to be partisans of the "true" Right |
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VanderGraafKommandöh
Prog Reviewer Joined: July 04 2005 Location: Malaria Status: Offline Points: 89372 |
Posted: April 25 2010 at 18:49 | |
Indeed, Dean. I don't wish death on many people but she is one of them.
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thellama73
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 29 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 8368 |
Posted: April 25 2010 at 22:34 | |
Margaret Thatcher is one of my political heroes, but since I didn't live in the UK while she was in office, I suppose it's not my place to contradict your death-wishing.
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Icarium
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: March 21 2008 Location: Tigerstaden Status: Offline Points: 34055 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 02:57 | |
today the Russian Pressident Medvedev is in Norway on a State visit, that means i will sit in the coatch (sofa) and watch the news which fallows the event much like when Obama was in Norway.
and yes I have seen glimpses of the british Election debate (which is the first to be sent on television in Britain), it seem like Gordon Brown dosent manage live debates so well as the other two, he do not look comfortable on debate, he looks nervous. |
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Jim Garten
Special Collaborator Retired Admin & Razor Guru Joined: February 02 2004 Location: South England Status: Offline Points: 14693 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 03:26 | |
I know what you mean Chris - Stevenage is a pretty safe Labour seat (despite Barbara Follett's part in the expenses debacle last year) & although I don't think the LD's have any real chance of election, if there was to be a hung parliament, it may just go more smoothly if it were Con/LibDem rather than Con/Lab (at least until the second general election which would probably follow within a year |
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Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
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Chris S
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 09 2004 Location: Front Range Status: Offline Points: 7028 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 03:51 | |
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.........sorry if you vote for 3 dimwits you deserve what you get...........seek out a bigger picture folks.
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...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 31 2004 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 5964 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 04:39 | |
Is this mere trolling or are you actually trying to make a point here? A lot of people in this country don't want the choice to be between "3 dimwits" as you put it, but our f**ked up electoral system leaves us with little choice. How is it the british public's fault that we have an inherently flawed system which benefits the two major (both centre-right) parties to the exclusion of everyone else? Oh, and as for a "bigger picture", what would that be, exactly? |
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Jim Garten
Special Collaborator Retired Admin & Razor Guru Joined: February 02 2004 Location: South England Status: Offline Points: 14693 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 06:05 | |
3 dimwits? I thought I voted for a political party, not an individual.
'Seek out a Bigger Picture' - the fall back position of the conspiracy theorist without the cogent argument in support |
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Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
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VanderGraafKommandöh
Prog Reviewer Joined: July 04 2005 Location: Malaria Status: Offline Points: 89372 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 09:57 | |
Precisely. People forget it's a party we're voting for, rather than just an individual.
Labour do still have excellent politicians too. Like Steve Pound (who I have met and was a friend of my late grandfather). |
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 10:33 | |
I've always been of the opinion that you should vote for the local candidate who would be best suited to represent your views and will do the best for your local constituency in that big house up there in that there London place. More often that not that will mean voting for the candidate that also just happens to be a member of the party you prefer, but not always.
This is probably why I'll never understand why people vote for a candidate who has never actually lived in the area - our current Tory candidate comes from Cheshire and stood for Stretford in Manchester in the 2005 election (and lost), whereas his two opponents are local people. he will "win" because it's a nice safe rural seat. Pah! Politricks - I hates it.
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What?
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Chris S
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 09 2004 Location: Front Range Status: Offline Points: 7028 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 12:49 | |
The " Bigger Picture"..........High Finance i.e Blair's/Labour's foray into Iraq for example. Was it oil or was it a terrorist they were after?
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...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
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Lizzy
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: March 15 2010 Location: Schnitzelland Status: Offline Points: 4675 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 14:47 | |
We only started to think in terms of left and right only in the past few years, but still, if you ask people on the street about ideologies, then doctrines and then policies they look at you like WTF(lute). They associate left and right with parties because of the discourse of the party elites, not policies. Reminds me of the inter-war period where policies were taken regardless of their left or right specific and regardless of the party in power. I'm still amazed that some people, in this case lots of British, decide who to vote for based on policies. When will I see that happening over here? |
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Property of Queen Productions...
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lazland
Prog Reviewer Joined: October 28 2008 Location: Wales Status: Offline Points: 13634 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 15:03 | |
I'm in Wales now, but I did see Bishops Stortford win the Amateur Cup in 1974 (last ever of that competition) - I used to live in Harlow, so it was quite close. I would ALWAYS encourage tactical voting to keep the Tories out. My constituency is a three way marginal between Labour (present incumbant), Tories, and Plaid. As a member of Plaid I will be voting for them, but there are a lot of areas where tactical voting is the only option. Best thing about this election is that we might, at last, get PR as a result of the Clegg/LibDem love ion - so that EVERY vote will count, no matter where you live. There is a huge progressive majority in the UK, and never again should the Tory regressives hold power with an iron grip with a minority of the votes (and I include New Labour in that). |
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 31 2004 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 5964 |
Posted: April 26 2010 at 16:58 | |
Thank you for clarifying that, though now you seem to be implying anyone who votes for any of the three main parties in this election is somehow oblivious to the questionable nature of the Iraq war; an implication which I vehemently disagree with. The Lib Dems consistently opposed the war before, during and after the invasion, so their record is clean on that issue. A vote for the Lib Dems does not show ANY ignorance of "the bigger picture", as you put it. Re: Green party. Yes, there is a Green Party candidate standing in my constituency but under FPTP a vote for him would sadly be utterly wasted. Here's the stats on my constituency. A vote for the Greens would be completely ineffectual in this area. |
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Jim Garten
Special Collaborator Retired Admin & Razor Guru Joined: February 02 2004 Location: South England Status: Offline Points: 14693 |
Posted: April 27 2010 at 02:21 | |
This is an argument I've had with myself many times - do you vote for a candidate/party just to keep the other candidate/party out even though you may not necessarily agree with the policies, or do you vote for a candidate/party where you do agree with the policies but have to acknowledge they have no chance of being elected?
Although Barbara Follett was involved in the expenses shenanigans last year, I have to grudgingly admit she's not done too bad a job so far as Stevenage is concerned; having said that, she has now stepped down in favour of a newbie, Sharon Taylor... so (to return to my previous post) do I vote for Labour as they've done as well as could be expected since 1997, or LibDem as I think they'd form a better coalition with the Cons??? |
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Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 31 2004 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 5964 |
Posted: April 27 2010 at 05:22 | |
Exactly. This is why FPTP is such a blinkin' useless system. A vote for Lib Dems could actually be quite significant in the long-term, as a hung parliament could lead us towards serious electoral reform. If we switched to a system where everyone's vote was equal then at last the public could vote on policies alone and tactical voting would be a thing of the past. |
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harmonium.ro
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 18 2008 Location: Anna Calvi Status: Offline Points: 22989 |
Posted: April 27 2010 at 09:02 | |
This is very interesting: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/18/clegg-media-elite-murdoch-lib-dem
I don't agree with that. The public space was much more ideologically vibrant in the 90s, when the society was very divided by traumatic experiences of government (and lack of it), of heritage, etc. It was necessary for one to define him/herself ideologically. Are you with the Right, the historical parties, the monarchy, the right to own private property, the free society etc. and again dictatorship, or are with the (ex)communists, the old regime, the "social silence" way of thinking, the etatist government, etc? Now it's all down to much more practical policies... and I think it's better that way. The old kind of debates were just smoke curtains made to divert people for caring about actual, practical reform. |
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Vibrationbaby
Forum Senior Member Joined: February 13 2004 Status: Offline Points: 6898 |
Posted: April 27 2010 at 10:19 | |
What is needed in the UK is DAMAGE CONTROL. I think the Queen should take over. Look, here in Canada William Shatner ( Captain Kirk ) is the favourite for the next post as Governor General.
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