2015 UK General Election

Kati wrote: Everyone hates the Torries, but I as an outsider happen to really like that party :)

The tories are fairy irrelevant to anyone who earns less than £100K a year, but their campaign revolved around scaring people into believing that voting Labour in would 'undo all the good work of the last five years"

British people are not that bright when it comes to politics I'm afraid, so they voted for another five years of austerity. Labour would have cut too, but the tories planned cuts amount to at least another £33 billion, and despite their constant berating of Labour for borrowing sh*t loads of money they have borrowed unprecedneted amounts in recent years and added a further £500 billion to our national debt mountain. Their cutting of the deficit has also been modest compared to what they said they wanted to do.

They are essentially arseholes.

Well, the Conservatives actually increased their share of the vote *less* than Labour did. What a landslide... I look forwards to the Conservatives pretending they have a mandate to carry on the work they never got a mandate to do in the first place. I also look forwards to David Cameron working with a majority far weaker than Major's one from 92. I don't expect that Cameron has Major's gumption.

The only real success story is the only consistently progressive party on the bill, the SNP (yes, UKIP got a higher share of the vote, but not relative to the number of constituencies they stood in...). The Libdems got justly incinerated by their Faustian pact and will now no longer need to book if they want to hold their party conference in a restaurant. I look forwards to long-discredited New Labour figures claiming their only viable path is a centrist Blairite one in the days ahead.

This election is very regionally divisive. The Tories have once again been almost completely rejected by the north of England. As an adopted northerner, I'm hoping the Great Viking Republic of Yorkshire will want to keep me when it eventually breaks off and invades Somerset with longships.

Edited by TGM: Orb - May 08 2015 at 07:16

Dean wrote: Cactus Choir wrote: NutterAlert wrote: A triumph for the importance of voting. UKIP get 13% and one seat. Would be a travesty had it not happened to a load of racists. Cheerio Nigel. Shut the door as you go. It IS a travesty and will only add to the alienation increasing numbers of people feel about the current political system. One party (UKIP) only gets one MP for well over 3 million votes, while another (SNP) gets an MP for every 20,000-25,000. Absurd and hopefully this will be a catalyst for major electoral reform. Funny. This has been the case for generations and no one have a toss. Whoever the third party is they can get anywhere between 10 to 30% of the population behind them and win bugger-all seats - the Liberals, Social Democrats and Liberal Democrats have been saying this for years but because 2/3rds of the population does not want a "fair" system this will never change.

Yes, thinking about it the Tories getting a totally unexpected majority has probably put the kibosh on any possibility of reform to the system. The current process suits the Tories and Labour and the only catalyst for a change would have been if the electorate continually returned a hung parliament making it impossible for one party government. It'll be interesting to see if people continue voting for fringe parties next time given how worthless their vote was in this election (unless you're SNP of course).



Edited by Cactus Choir - May 08 2015 at 07:26

TGM: Orb wrote: Well, the Conservatives actually increased their share of the vote *less* than Labour did. What a landslide... I look forwards to the Conservatives pretending they have a mandate to carry on the work they never got a mandate to do in the first place. I also look forwards to David Cameron working with a majority far weaker than Major's one from 92. I don't expect that Cameron has Major's gumption. The only real success story is the only consistently progressive party on the bill, the SNP (yes, UKIP got a higher share of the vote, but not relative to the number of constituencies they stood in...). The Libdems got justly incinerated by their Faustian pact and will now no longer need to book if they want to hold their party conference in a restaurant. I look forwards to long-discredited New Labour figures claiming their only viable path is a centrist Blairite one in the days ahead.

Unfortunately if Labour want power again, they will need to return to the NuLab doctrine of sucking up to big business, endless spin and glossy presentation.

The British public do not trust the left when it comes to the crunch. Sadly.

Cactus Choir wrote: Dean wrote: Cactus Choir wrote: NutterAlert wrote: A triumph for the importance of voting. UKIP get 13% and one seat. Would be a travesty had it not happened to a load of racists. Cheerio Nigel. Shut the door as you go. It IS a travesty and will only add to the alienation increasing numbers of people feel about the current political system. One party (UKIP) only gets one MP for well over 3 million votes, while another (SNP) gets an MP for every 20,000-25,000. Absurd and hopefully this will be a catalyst for major electoral reform. Funny. This has been the case for generations and no one have a toss. Whoever the third party is they can get anywhere between 10 to 30% of the population behind them and win bugger-all seats - the Liberals, Social Democrats and Liberal Democrats have been saying this for years but because 2/3rds of the population does not want a "fair" system this will never change. Yes, thinking about it the Tories getting a totally unexpected majority has probably put the kibosh on any possibility of reform to the system. The current process suits the Tories and Labour and the only catalyst for a change would have been if the electorate continually returned a hung parliament making it impossible for one party government. It's be interesting to see if people continue voting for fringe parties next time given how worthless their vote was in this election (unless you're SNP of course).

Dean wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Well, the Conservatives actually increased their share of the vote *less* than Labour did. What a landslide... I look forwards to the Conservatives pretending they have a mandate to carry on the work they never got a mandate to do in the first place. I also look forwards to David Cameron working with a majority far weaker than Major's one from 92. I don't expect that Cameron has Major's gumption. The only real success story is the only consistently progressive party on the bill, the SNP (yes, UKIP got a higher share of the vote, but not relative to the number of constituencies they stood in...). The Libdems got justly incinerated by their Faustian pact and will now no longer need to book if they want to hold their party conference in a restaurant. I look forwards to long-discredited New Labour figures claiming their only viable path is a centrist Blairite one in the days ahead. Spot on Rob. The Conservatives did not gain from Labour, they reaped the reward of the Lib/Dem collapse and benefited from the success of the SNP in Scotland. The Scots have a hollow victory here, they will now be governed by a party that none of them voted for regardless of what paltry powers they secured by losing the devolution vote.

A rarity, I know, but I beg to differ, Dean.

The Tories most certainly did gain from Labour. Witness Balls losing his seat, a staggering achievement for a Shadow Chancellor up against a supposedly unpopular government. He was not the only one. I watched declaration after declaration, and, in seat after seat, even in safe Labour seats, there were swings to Tory candidates. Conservatives gained from both Labour, and the Lib Dem collapse. How much advantage did Labour take from the Lib Dem collapse? Sod all. Labour were truly stuffed, and there is no other place to look to for blame than themselves.

The SNP, if anything, are stronger under this government than under Labour. The fact is that Cameron will simply have to reach some form of accommodation around devo-max, including fiscal independence measures. He will, I think, welcome this, because the fact is that he now has a chance to really strengthen his natural English majority to those so-called Northern powerhouses, the areas where Labour, most certainly under Brown and Blair (I blame the former as both Chancellor and leader more than the latter), completely abandoned any pretence of being the party of the working person in this country, and a damned heavy price is being paid now. The working class are deserting to UKIP in England, and SNP in Scotland, in their droves, and it is this which is the real story and conclusion of this election.

As for my lot, Plaid, deeply disappointing. Not one gain, this up against an even more hopeless Labour Party machine in Wales, where they have taken their core vote for granted for decades ,and delivered bugger all in power. The Tories actually gained three seats. Incredible, really.

A very interesting night, the consequences of which will be felt for many years. My conclusion and final thought? It is desperately time now for a UK wide realignment of the left, a united left. There is, though, no hope of this whatsoever, based upon past experience.

lazland wrote: Dean wrote: TGM: Orb wrote: Well, the Conservatives actually increased their share of the vote *less* than Labour did. What a landslide... I look forwards to the Conservatives pretending they have a mandate to carry on the work they never got a mandate to do in the first place. I also look forwards to David Cameron working with a majority far weaker than Major's one from 92. I don't expect that Cameron has Major's gumption. The only real success story is the only consistently progressive party on the bill, the SNP (yes, UKIP got a higher share of the vote, but not relative to the number of constituencies they stood in...). The Libdems got justly incinerated by their Faustian pact and will now no longer need to book if they want to hold their party conference in a restaurant. I look forwards to long-discredited New Labour figures claiming their only viable path is a centrist Blairite one in the days ahead. Spot on Rob. The Conservatives did not gain from Labour, they reaped the reward of the Lib/Dem collapse and benefited from the success of the SNP in Scotland. The Scots have a hollow victory here, they will now be governed by a party that none of them voted for regardless of what paltry powers they secured by losing the devolution vote. A rarity, I know, but I beg to differ, Dean. The Tories most certainly did gain from Labour. Witness Balls losing his seat, a staggering achievement for a Shadow Chancellor up against a supposedly unpopular government. He was not the only one. I watched declaration after declaration, and, in seat after seat, even in safe Labour seats, there were swings to Tory candidates. Conservatives gained from both Labour, and the Lib Dem collapse. How much advantage did Labour take from the Lib Dem collapse? Sod all. Labour were truly stuffed, and there is no other place to look to for blame than themselves.

Edited by Dean - May 08 2015 at 08:16

Being an outsider, I've been quite surprised to see that the SNP was the third party (in terms of seats won), before the Lib-Dems or even the UKIP.
If Cameron really launches a referendum about the UK leaving the EU, do you think that the Scottish vote could keep the UK in the "other Union"?

The SNP had 6 seats in 2010.  Six!!

Nicola sure woke up with a smile on her face.

Apparently Ronnie Carroll came second from bottom in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency with 113 votes, which is quite an achievement considering he died in April.