General Election

[PullMyFinger]

Or SNP for self determination.

Cue Charles................... :)

[+Wanderer]

And what are the different economic policies between Labour and Tory? You couldn't fit a cigarette paper in the gap.

My understanding this time round was that we were to vote on which leader's wife we fancied...or have I been reading the papers wrong?

[PullMyFinger]

And what are the different economic policies between Labour and Tory? You couldn't fit a cigarette paper in the gap.

My understanding this time round was that we were to vote on which leader's wife we fancied...or have I been reading the papers wrong?

Is that wife or harem? I need to know if it's France or Italy I need to be in?

[SMEE]

How does voting for SNP in General Election work? I thought we were voting for UK govt.....so its unlikely anyone in Englandshire will vote SNP, so is it not a wasted vote? Or...are we in Scotland voting for the Scottish Govt? I have never voted before so not sure how it all works.

[Renegade]

How does voting for SNP in General Election work?

If they win the constituency, they get the seat in the House of Commons like the rest of them.

I thought we were voting for UK govt

We are.

.....so its unlikely anyone in Englandshire will vote SNP,

They are a Scotland only party, they don't have English candidates. In the same way that we don't have a Plaid Cymru candidate to vote for.

so is it not a wasted vote?

Not necessarily. The SNP have a few Westminster MPs already (Alex Salmond being one of them).

Or...are we in Scotland voting for the Scottish Govt?

No, this is for Westminster, Scottish parliament elections are at another time.

I have never voted before so not sure how it all works.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Renegade

[Yngwie]

My understanding this time round was that we were to vote on which leader's wife we fancied...or have I been reading the papers wrong?

I've met Sarah Brown and in terms of personality she is as bland as her appearance.

Sam Cam is hardly a Carla Bruni, but thankfully is not a Cherie Blair either.

And Nick Clegg's wife, Vince Cable, is just not my type.

[EWS]

How does voting for SNP in General Election work? I thought we were voting for UK govt.....so its unlikely anyone in Englandshire will vote SNP, so is it not a wasted vote? Or...are we in Scotland voting for the Scottish Govt? I have never voted before so not sure how it all works.

Unlike America, we don't actually vote for our Prime Minister, we vote for our Member of Parliament (MP) who then in turn elects a PM on our behalf. Essentially, we are electing a proxy for all our votes. So, if you vote for a Labour candidate, he will in turn elect Gordon Brown as PM and so forth. The idea is that all the members will elect their own leader as the PM, and the party that has most seats, gets more votes for their leader and thus he is elected PM - unless two parties decide to form a government (such as Labour and Lib Dem) and then they would elect one leader (usually the party with more seats).

So my only advice for you is to vote for the candidate in YOUR area that YOU believe will serve YOU best. Ignore the leaders, and focus on the local issues, since the manifestos don't really affect us most, and most are just waffle anyway.

This is also one of the reasons why they want to change the voting system, as the popular vote may not decide the PM.

Regards the Scottish Elections, they usually occur in the middle of the Westminster term, however, due to a long Westminster Parliament, they are due next year.

[PullMyFinger]

How does voting for SNP in General Election work?

If they win the constituency, they get the seat in the House of Commons like the rest of them.

And in doing so have a say (vote) in the way things are run at a national level. Labour, Tories and LibDems will tow the national party line.

I thought we were voting for UK govt

We are.

There is no rational reasoning for selecting different parties for different elections, SNP are about safeguarding Scotlands interest and ultimately gaining independance from the Union.

.....so its unlikely anyone in Englandshire will vote SNP,

They are a Scotland only party, they don't have English candidates. In the same way that we don't have a Plaid Cymru candidate to vote for.

Not only is it unlikely, it is not possible as the SNP have no candidates in other constituent countries.

so is it not a wasted vote?

Not necessarily. The SNP have a few Westminster MPs already (6) (Alex Salmond being one of them).

If you are happy with the current politcal map of the UK and content to have minimal powers devolved to an extra tier of government in Scotland with their hands tied behind their backs then vote for one of the 3 national parties.

Or...are we in Scotland voting for the Scottish Govt?

No, this is for Westminster, Scottish parliament elections are at another time.

We are voting for the UK Westminster government, who control the Scottish Holyrood government. The two are inseperable and will continue to be so until we gain independance or dissolve the Scottish parliament again.

I have never voted before so not sure how it all works.

And I thought you were an old fart like me. :D

Give me shortbread and tartan anyday of the week. :D

[+DoofersDad]

And what are the different economic policies between Labour and Tory? You couldn't fit a cigarette paper in the gap.

My understanding this time round was that we were to vote on which leader's wife we fancied...or have I been reading the papers wrong?

I thought so too. This was reinforced with the rumour that John Terry has said he is going to stick his X into every box he can.

[starchief]

Everyone should take this:

http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/

I knew a 'True Blue Tory' who ended up a Scottish Socialist on this.

SNP isn't a wasted vote if the candidate gets elected. Especially in an election that is so tight that the government (whoever it may be) is going to struggle to get a majority in the HoC.

And to add, it also means more power for the other smaller parties, like the Lib Dems in particular. The Greens have a decent chance of getting a seat. BNP no chance, despite the scare-mongering. Are you aware the Greens are a bigger party (more votes) and both are dwarfed by UKIP? It's ridiculous the BNP get massive publicity, when the Greens get next to zero and UKIP only slight more.

Without looking it up, anyone name the Greens leader? Anyone name the leader of UKIP? And now the BNP? Chances are virtually no-one got the first, a few the second and most the third. Just not democracy in action.

Edited April 15, 2010 by starchief

[PullMyFinger]

Everyone should take this:

http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/

I knew a 'True Blue Tory' who ended up a Scottish Socialist on this.

SNP isn't a wasted vote if the candidate gets elected. Especially in an election that is so tight that the government (whoever it may be) is going to struggle to get a majority in the HoC.

And to add, it also means more power for the other smaller parties, like the Lib Dems in particular. The Greens have a decent chance of getting a seat. BNP no chance, despite the scare-mongering. Are you aware the Greens are a bigger party (more votes) and both are dwarfed by UKIP? It's ridiculous the BNP get massive publicity, when the Greens get next to zero and UKIP only slight more.

Without looking it up, anyone name the Greens leader? Anyone name the leader of UKIP? And now the BNP? Chances are virtually no-one got the first, a few the second and most the third. Just not democracy in action.

Your link's questionnaire is UK wide and therefore excludes SNP in much the same way as the rest of the country does. Scotland doesn't matter to them although we would have the power to lord it over them in a hung parliament if we returned a majority of SNP MPs.

[Johnboy]

I've voted SNP for several years now, and was very pleased when they toppled the ghastly Scottish Labour Govt/ at the last Scottish Parliamentary election.

However given that they are now intending to increase spending on promoting the gaelic language throughout Scotland to ?21million a year has caused me to think again.

This is just a ludicrous waste of tax-payers money when there are so many other areas where money needs to be urgently spent - roads, for instance.

Only 1% of the Scottish population speak this language, which they now laughingly describe as the "mother tongue"

The sitting candidate in Inverness will get my vote this time around.

[Joe DiMaggio]

Everyone should take this:

http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/

I knew a 'True Blue Tory' who ended up a Scottish Socialist on this.

SNP isn't a wasted vote if the candidate gets elected. Especially in an election that is so tight that the government (whoever it may be) is going to struggle to get a majority in the HoC.

And to add, it also means more power for the other smaller parties, like the Lib Dems in particular. The Greens have a decent chance of getting a seat. BNP no chance, despite the scare-mongering. Are you aware the Greens are a bigger party (more votes) and both are dwarfed by UKIP? It's ridiculous the BNP get massive publicity, when the Greens get next to zero and UKIP only slight more.

Without looking it up, anyone name the Greens leader? Anyone name the leader of UKIP? And now the BNP? Chances are virtually no-one got the first, a few the second and most the third. Just not democracy in action.

This as most of this election is English based as quite a few of those questions aren't relevant to Scotland. I seem to get more and more fed up with general elections with its English focus on every aspect. Also the Scottish Labour Party launched it's own manifesto :D what the hell is that all about!? They are the same party as Labour in England and as it's supposed to be the government of the UK then the Labour manifesto should be the same in England and Scotland as its the same people they are governing, unless they plan to implement certain things in Scotland and don't want that to be widely know in its English manifesto and vise vera, it's the same tax money they will be spending. Also I was a bit supprised when Nick Clegg was saying that Alex Salmond is irrelevant in England and a two bit politician there as like him or not and support the SNP or not, he is still the First Minister of Scotland and that just smacked of dissrespect to Scotland and the parliament here and if Scotland is irrelevant politics in the UK the the Lib Dems won't be getting my vote. I doubt he would have said that about a leader of any other government or assembly in the world.

[+DoofersDad]

Without looking it up, anyone name the Greens leader?

After a couple of frivolous posts I suppose I should take this thread seriously. However sceptical people may be of the motivation of some of the politicians, the fact remains that these folk make the laws that shape our lives. It matters that we use our vote and it matters that we do so to vote for someone or some party that is genuinely wanting to make the world a better place rather than voting for short term personal gain.

For that reason I will be voting for the Greens whose leader is Caroline Lucas. Those who watch Question Time may have seen Ms Lucas on a few occasions and she has always been most impressive. She consistently gets more applause from the audience than other panelists for her commonsense approach on all issues.

The Greens have consistently got a high vote in elections where there is proportional representation and it is really nothing short of criminal that when they get in the region of 10% of votes in some elections (and have been considerably higher), they get no seats in a UK parliament of over 630 members. If I felt the Lib Dems had a real chance I might vote for them because I feel they would deliver on some level of electoral reform.

[EWS]

If I felt the Lib Dems had a real chance I might vote for them because I feel they would deliver on some level of electoral reform.

If everyone who says that votes for the Lib Dem, they would get into power.

[+DoofersDad]

If I felt the Lib Dems had a real chance I might vote for them because I feel they would deliver on some level of electoral reform.

If everyone who says that votes for the Lib Dem, they would get into power.

OK then. Lib Dems it is!

[SMEE]

Does it really matter who we vote for...they ALL seem to make empty promises and never held to account!

[EWS]

Does it really matter who we vote for...they ALL seem to make empty promises and never held to account!

That's what the general election is for.....

[PullMyFinger]

Does it really matter who we vote for...they ALL seem to make empty promises and never held to account!

Yes it does, complacency is nota strategy to change things. Stop being a victim of the syatem and become part of it.

[MrsICTFC]

If I felt the Lib Dems had a real chance I might vote for them because I feel they would deliver on some level of electoral reform.

If everyone who says that votes for the Lib Dem, they would get into power.

OK then. Lib Dems it is!

Exactly, my husband said to me that he would want to vote for lib dems but he thinks it would be a waste and would rather pick between the main two. However, I said if everyone thought like that then of course they would never get in. So he will now vote for lib dems, just like me.

[EWS]

Unashamedly stolen

Tim from Bristol: If you were to come into power, how would your party change a broken light bulb?

Nick: We'd ensure that the people have the power to replace light bulbs when they break and also see to it that replacement light bulbs are much more energy-efficient and long-lasting.

Gordon: While we could replace a light bulb, the reality is that no light bulb is broken. Light bulbs today are also the brightest and most efficient than they've ever been.

David: Thank you for asking this vital question. A lady wrote to me last week telling me how every light bulb she has in her house has broken over the past 12 years of Labour government. Every single one. Only the Conservatives can bring real change to British light bulbs.

Gordon: The only reason the Tories would bring in new light bulbs would be to make David's face look even shinier. The fact is, new light bulbs would only hinder Britain's economic recovery and that is something Labour is unwilling to let happen. How would the Conservatives finance this exactly?

David: Recent studies have shown that it's not the broken light bulbs that need changing. The real issue is, why do we even need light bulbs in the first place? I'll tell you why. It's because Britain is dark and it's only getting darker. Not a day goes by where it doesn't become so dark that it doesn't become inevitable that at some point you will have to rely on a light bulb to even walk around your own home. Why has Labour allowed this continue for so long and why are they so in denial about it?

Gordon: We are not in denial, we just have the experience and the wisdom to realise that we are not alone in this problem. The rest of Europe knows, even America knows, that darkness is a global problem that affects everyone. However, this is not a problem that will just go away overnight. We all need to work together, both across our parties and with the wider world community to overcome darkness in a way that is fairer to everyone.

Nick: You know, the more you two talk, the more apparent it becomes that neither of you have a real understanding of this at all. Broken light bulbs just need replacing with new ones. It's as simple as that

David: And where would you find the capital for these 'simple' plans to change light bulbs? You can't talk of slashing ?16bn of expenses and then say that you'll do it by giving everyone free light bulbs for life. The numbers just don't add up.

Gordon: I'm sure Nick will agree with me here, what Britain's light bulb infrastructure is solid, long-term investment in ensuring that Britain is prepared for when light bulbs break. We need continuous investment in Education, the NHS and the armed forces so that we able to prevent light bulbs from breaking. This is what Labour has done and is what it will continue to do. The Conservatives can talk all they want about change, but when it comes down to it the only people to benefit from their plans is the top 5% earners. This is why Labour has made a personal promise to every citizen that when their light bulbs break we will guarantee them access to an electrician within 2 weeks, and a light bulb changing operation within 3 weeks. David can't make that promise, and Nick can't make that promise.

Nick: What? Tim, going back to your question; broken light bulbs can be replaced with a new one. There is no need for any extra bureaucracy or politics.

Gordon: I agree with Nick.

David: I'm sorry Gordon but I just can't agree with you on that. I agree with Nick and look forward to working with him in the future.

[starchief]

Excellent - forwarded that onto a few people. David Cameron especially to a T.

[Johnboy]

If I turn on one more news programme over the next 24 hours, and hear any more analysis of that mind-numbingly boring debate between the three party leaders on last night's TV.... I just might not be responsible for my future actions.

[EWS]

I found it rather interesting and entertaining actually and cannot wait for the next one

[Sorted]

I found it rather interesting and entertaining actually and cannot wait for the next one

I agree with Nick !