I’ve just voted in the general election. That’s possible as I have a standing postal vote.
In Norfolk South West the choice was easy. Lib Dem was the only option to keep out yet another Tory. And that probably won’t succeed.
Having said which, if Labour had been the progressive choice with best chance I would have voted Labour.
And in Brighton Pavilion or Cambridge I’d have voted Green — as Green New Deal colleagues with a good chance of election are standing in both.
In some seats in Wales and Scotland I’d have undoubtedly voted nationalist.
Fickle? Not at all. I want progressive politics in this country. Ideally, politics more progressive than any of the three main parties have to offer. I do know that the Tories will be a disaster for the UK. I do know they are seeking electoral reform in an attempt to keep them in power for good by abusing the whole concept f democracy — when I want real, much more broadly based democracy.
I genuinely fear the Tories will bring social disruption to this country.
I fear they will create mass unemployment — deliberately — once they have reformed parliament to ensure that they have a permanent inbuilt majority.
I admit I dread a Tory government.
I also fear a Lib Dem supported Tory government — except that if the Lib Dems hold a balance then the Tory electoral reform won’t happen and I think Clegg will sit out on the sidelines rather than join them in office.
My only hope if Cameron forms a government is that Mervyn King is right, and that labour and other progressives can get their act together in time to deliver the real change this country needs once the full horror of a Tory administration becomes clear.
What is undoubtedly true is we’re living in interesting times.
Democracy could be the real winner.
But however it is looked at, only at cost to the Tories whose anti-democratic instincts are all too apparent.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
The desperation in your voice is apparent, just as Gordon Brown’s was last night. You know the game up is for your politics. You know you’re going to lose.
You’ve made your buck having sold your firm, enjoy a very comfortable retirement now try to assuage your capitalist guilt, having clearly missed out on the Dave Spart/Che Guevara stage of life most people leave behind in their twenties.
You’ve spent the last three years of your life campaigning for what you believe – and it’s going to come to nothing. Bad luck old bean.
Greens in Cambridge? The odd’s are not in your favour. By a long way.
However Green’s are favourites in Brighton.
I’m starting to favour the Tories, as they have the only realistic economic policies. Labour’s policy of spend, spend, spend is doomed, and the Lib Dems’s figures just don’t add up. The focus on tax avoidance is sound in principle, however they would have far more success if they simplified the tax system rather than a policy of persuing offshore finance centres, which is doomed to failure. If they make it harder for the crown dependencies, the money will just move further afield. The UAE or China are going to pay very little notice to Uncle Vince’s plans!
@Peter
What a very silly man you are
Do you honestly think I was doing this for one election?
Do you honestly think I’ll give up on the poor, the disadvantaged, those who the neoliberals want to abuse, and more broadly on developing countries and the abuse they suffer at the hands of multinational corporations and tax havens.
Did you think I’d give up on the abuse of my own profession?
Or the failure of economics.
Or the need for electoral reform?
Yes – Cameron may form a government – and as anyone who has read this blog knows – I’ve not been a fan of brown for a long time. See this. http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2007/06/14/brown%E2%80%99s-decade-was-it-taxing/
And as I make clear above – I’m not a member of any party
But if you honestly think 34% voting for Cameron is me losing then you really are very silly indeed
Well, I’ll give my pennyworth.
The best result for the country is a hung parliament. It is clear that there is no party that can claim any sort of mandate. Of course, that applied equally in 2005 when Labour only got 36% of the vote and were the second party in England, but that’s the past.
The next 10 years are going to involve difficult decisions and other than the LibDems and Tories agreeing on phasing out child tax credits for those earning above a reasonably high threshold and not building another runway at Heathrow, I don’t see much alignment between any of the big 3 parties’ policies. Lots of issues – most notably the environment, simply haven’t been raised. How any party believes it has a mandate to carry out its policies is, in the absence of a big swing next week, a mystery. Cameron would have a mandate to “roll his sleeves up” as its all he goes on about. That’s about it.
What I think should happen, in the interests of democracy, is that whichever parties can form a coalition after the election do so, with a very limited aim. The aim of the coalition should be to produce a thorough estimation of the country’s financial position, free of spin. A simple example: let’s have a figure for unemployment that measures the number of people who are of working age, do not have a job, could work and are not retired (i.e wealthy enough to not work).
I think the second aim of a coalition government should be to have a referendum on the electoral system. It is clear that both Labour and the Tories are divisive parties that large swathes of the population actively hate. The bias towards small, inner city constituencies grotesquely favours Labour, and the right of MPs in Scotland and Wales to vote on matters that do not affect their constituancies is simply wrong (as the Tories trying out the Poll Tax in Scotland was clearly wrong too).
But what we need is breathing space. A six month period where the public are told what the state of the public finances are and each party is given the opportunity to come up with fully costed plans about what they will do in the future. Then, with electoral reform that is supported by the majority of the population, we can move towards having a government that at least has the semblence of having a mandate.
At the moment, Labour is pretending the economy is basically fine as long as they are left in charge. A PR man has told Cameron not to be negative and the result is that people know there will be cuts and tax rises in the years to come but nobody will tell them what they will cut and what taxes will rise. It is a total shambles.
One more thing: we need legislation on electoral coverage. I would only allow opinion polls once a week during an election and would ban endless spin (i.e. the sickening sight of politicians telling us how well their guy did in a debate that we have been able to watch ourselves). Politicians should be required to make their case and then sit back and let people make their minds up without being shouted at by vested interests.
I think Brown is awful, tribal to the worst degree. With a different leader putting forward an actual positive vision (rather than just attacking the Tories) Labour might stand a chance in the next election. But I strongly feel what is needed is a clean break with the past 20 years and its emphasis on media coverage, spin and manipulating figures.
Rant over.
MF
Rather scarily, I find myself in some agreement with you again
The six month hiatus is good – but each must have access to the books
And I’d really rather like to find we have more than three parties in the frame in the end
Richard
This election is one where no-one should speculate on the outcome. There are so many possibilities. I’m sorry, Peter, but a Tory majority govt is not odds-on favourite. A minority Tory govt, quite likely, but only if they can do business with the reps of those many people who opposed them and only if the Tory party will allow them to negotiate. So many variables…
James
Wise words
I agree with you too
It is too close to call
A minority Tory governemnt looks likely
And it will be hell for them
They’ll have to act
they’ll be slaughtered if they don’t because they said they would
They’ll be slaughtered if they do
R
I agree with a vast amount of what Richard – and mad foetus – say here. It looks to me like it’s most likely going to be a minority Tory govt. But that’s OK – they’re unlikely to get any controversial legislation through without significant concessions – especially if they’re at around the 300-seat mark – and it’ll be highly unstable, and unpopular, once the cuts come through. Meanwhile Labour gets the chance to ditch Brown and replace him with someone who can get through 4 weeks of an election campaign without looking like he’d rather be undergoing root canal work at the dentist.
Labour could well be in with a huge majority sometime in the next few years. But if they do, they must not make the same mistake as in 1997. We need proportional representation at the first opportunity. If there is a coalition this time round – even a Lib Dem/Tory coalition – and we get it sooner, then so much the better.
I’m voting Green in my constituency (Witham) as they have a very good candidate, the manifesto is miles better than anyone else’s and it’s such a safe Tory seat you could stick a blue rosette on Robert Mugabe and he’d still walk it.
Given that most of us expected Labour to get its ass completely kicked in this election – maybe by 10 to 15 points – if it does come out like the polls, it feels like a surprisingly good result. But we shouldn’t count our chickens yet… it ain’t over till it’s over.
Howard
I especially like the tax and economics bit of the Green’s manifesto
Can’t think who advised them on that!
You may also recognise some of the numbers
best
Richard
‘labour’ is now progressive? every time workers have raised their concerns about the major neoliberal strategy of undermining labour by labour liberalisation – you have called them ‘far right’
[…] Yes, it’s Ritchie. […]
You said “I genuinely fear the Tories will bring social disruption to this country.
I fear they will create mass unemployment”
I too fear this will happen but it will do so because of decisions taken over the last 10 or more years. The unemployment is already in motion and social disruption may follow whichever party or coalition takes government.
The decisions that will have to be taken may make Mr.King’s statement come true. Whoever comes to tidy up after the last disastrous government they will get the blame for the short-sighted incompetence and decisions made by Blair & Brown.