[Closed] Voting in tomorrow's (theoretical) general election

None of the above.

Why? There is no left wing socialist option!

None of the above because hopefully, in a year's time, it's Somebody Else's Problem.

cheers for making me depressed

No problems. Share my mood! 😉

I'd struggle....

I'd rather die than vote Tory, so that's one less.

I've always been a Lib Dem supporter, but since they've become more Tory than Tory and jumped on the poor bashing bandwagon, they're out as well.

So, that leaves Labour, who have also become more Tory than Tory and jumped on the poor bashing bandwagon....

There aren't any other parties left who can win a general election or make a dent in a coalition....

none of the aforementioned candidates are standing in my constituency, so I can't vote for any of them.

fortunately the ukip idiot isn't standing there either.

Ed, for me. Crap, but less crap I think, and slightly more closely aligned with my politics.

Greens.

Easy, Labour.

I think it'd be Green for me. But I would need to go and do some research.

Why isn't it required by law to vote [with, of course, a "None of the above" option]?

Labour/Green coalition?

I'd like to see a labour party which stayed a wee bit more true to it's roots. With some MPs who have some experience of life outside university and politics. I couldn't vote Tory under ant circumstances. Lib Dem? They've lost any credibility they once may have had. I wish Vince Cable would join Labour.
So, to summarise, none of the above.

Labour. But I'd be happier if Ed wasn't at the helm.

I wish Vince Cable would join Labour

Me too.

anyone but the BNP or EDL
they're all the same. even Bliar used to wear a blue tie.

I'd stand myself as an Indie and vote for me. That way, I would not have to moan about poor representation in my ward if I won and could feel justified in thinking that the winner (if I lost) was not worthy of office.

I've found that voting only encourages them...

...I dunno, ransos – not voting seems to encourage them too.

It's lose-lose as far as I can see. 👿

There is truly nobody worthy of the vote. Politics is now utterly pointless. They all represent the same neo-liberal consensus, regardless of party.

I'd probably hold my nose and vote labour, as at least while they're busy keeping the rich happy, representing corporate interests,, making our society more and more unequal, and punishing the poor, they don't look like they're really, really, really enjoying it! Unlike the Tories, who are clearly loving every minute of it.

I really, really wish there was a realistic alternative. The SNP have showed what happens when there is. A party that actually had even the whiff or some principles about it would be a welcome novelty.

Plaid Cymru. Quite seriously the only party that's even close to my own left-wing libertarian position, according to [url= http://www.politicalcompass.org/ukparties2010 ]the Political Compass[/url]. I know that the Greens appear there, but they're a bit one-issue.

I'd have to vote labour, even though they're pish. Lib dems obviously impossible to vote for, tories raging ****s, and an SNP vote in my seat would be wasted. But I'd not be choosing labour, I'd just be rejecting everything else.

But if this is my theoretical general election tomorrow, can it not be after my theoretical Yes vote yesterday? In which case, we'll have the parliament we elected not one imposed on us by english voters like every tory government since the 1950s.

I find the state of politics a little more depressing than ever now. Blair promised much but delivered only illusion. When the mask started to slip he bailed and handed the reins to Brown who eagerly accepted. During the election campaign Clegg seemed the standout candidate preaching reason and a middle path. No overall result and Clegg decides to thrown his lot in with Conservative due to personal differences with Brown.

Post election, Clegg and his bunch of bastards (particularly Danny Alexander) proceed to abandon their principles for a seat at the big table. Labour on the other hand elect a half wit as a leader and demonstrate no clear policies or forward thinking.

The Tories are gleefully kicking the economically and socially disadvantaged and making them the scapegoats for all ills. Nothing unusual in that apart from Cameron, Osbourne and Duncan-Smith seem to be deriving far too much pleasure from the process.

This is the first time ever where I can really see no real option to vote for.

I don't like rampant capitalists or socialists. Just extremists with different agendas to me. I want a common sense party without any left or right dogma, so none of the above for me too.

All of your replies confirm what I thought - nobody has any faith in ANY of our political parties.

And yet, whenever I don't vote guys remind me that "people died for my right to vote". Who were these people? And, how would they feel about their sacrifice in 2013?

I'm not going to vote for anyone who's not old enough to, or capable of growing proper facial hair. 😉

Twirl that mighty moustache, Pinkster, and I'd definitely vote for you. 😉

I don't like rampant capitalists or socialists

I don't think you'll find any socialists in our main political parties, they're all falling over themselves to claim the centre right ground these days....

I find current politics equally compelling and revolting at the same time. Last night's QT summed it up. I would happily have pressed the mute every time Chuka Umunna and Justine Greening spoke. It's the obvious bollocks that they spout and the utter contempt with which they treat those they 'represent.' Its easier to dismiss Greening, but Umanna has leadership clearly in his sights. I wonder it he will change his mind on zero hours contracts by then?

I told my MP that her vote on Syria would determine my support next time. She voted the wrong way IMO so that's one crossed off. Oh, heck, what's left...

Hoping that Uncle Vince joins the Labour Party - some death wish!?!?

OP, don't get distracted by Cleggies yellow tie. Look for the secret cross-bwpench hidden club. We are not meant to know about this hidden alliance but they are becoming increasingly brazen. The giveaway? The purple tie - watch next PMQ. An interesting group, and why purple!?!?! 😉

None of the above.

I'd probably look at smaller parties and see if any of them had any policies I liked beyond thing vaguely worded to offend the least number of people, get them voted back in and maintain the status quo.

Having said that, my local MP made a good speach on the cycling debate and has when writen to actually composed a letter in response rather than just hit print on a generic response template.
But then she's labour and I hate whinging lefties 😉

Lets for hypothetical purposes say that there was an SNP candidate contesting every seat in every area of the UK, would you vote for them if you thought they might get into power? To take it a bit further, would your voting decision be changed if they dropped the scottish bit?

OP, don't get distracted by Cleggies yellow tie. Look for the secret cross-bwpench hidden club. We are not meant to know about this hidden alliance but they are becoming increasingly brazen. The giveaway? The purple tie - watch next PMQ. An interesting group, and why purple!?!?!

I'll check it out. Interesting development, this purple tie.

None of the above.

Maybe a STW party is the answer? We seem to have all bases covered. 😀

Anyone seen this? http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

It's a little survey that shows who you actually should be voting for based on which policies you support. Interesting that about a quarter of respondents should be voting for the Greens.

Proportional Representation anyone?

Amazingly, [url= http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24711/jenny_chapman/darlington ]we have an MP[/url] who was born and raised here, lives here, has kids at a state school here, who has had a real job before becoming an MP and was a local Councillor for a few years. And she rides a bike.

I'd always voted Lib Dem in general elections. Not because I thought they'd ever win here, but because a vote for them was seen as a vote for civil liberties (ID Cards, etc.), for free higher education, and because they opposed the Iraq war. The candidate in recent elections was also a nice guy (the fact that he seems to have cut all ties with the party since they voted for increasing uni fees validated my opinion of him) who has bought me a pint more than once. And because my Labour MP was Alan Milburn.

Tomorrow, I'd vote Labour because they're the least bad of the mainstream parties and because I think Jenny is doing a good job.

If we had a system other than first-past-the-post, I'd probably vote Green, then Labour.

I'd always voted Lib Dem in general elections.

Same here when they had honest faces.

I suppose I'd vote Labour... although I can't stand our MP (the so-called 'Dame of Dereliction' Louise Ellman) and don't have any belief in the new version of Labour... It wouldn't matter anyway. Labour always gets in where I live, so a protest vote would be both futile and unsatisfactory.

Labour always gets in where I live, so a protest vote would be both futile and unsatisfactory.

Your vote isn't 'wasted' if your choice doesn't get in. Voting for your preferred candidate shows support for their policies, which may influence the other parties. It's not a competition to try to guess the winner.

Labour.

So, 35 posts in and not a single Conservative amongst us... unless I missed something.

So, 35 posts in and not a single Conservative amongst us... unless I missed something.

That's pretty telling eh? So just who did vote for that set of upper class, in it for themselves and their rich mates, ****ts?

According to that link I posted, they would be the least popular choice based on policies (apart from UKIP/BNP, but they're not real parties, are they?)

I'd ring all of the local MP's and find out who is most opposed to the destruction of our greenbelt and then vote for them. Most issues aren't really party-political. All MP's should have a free vote on every issue, otherwise what's the point?

Most issues aren't really party-political. All MP's should have a free vote on every issue, otherwise what's the point?

A free vote? Thats not going to work, is it? How is the Hedge fund manager to know that having taken his massive bung, and the promise of a highly paid job when you're voted out, that you can deliver the policy he's just told you he wants? If your MP's start developing ideas of their own? And won't just just rubber stamp what you bloody well tell them too?

I once thought about setting up the No Parties Party (tough on political parties; tough on the cause of political parties)... maybe I should have carried it through. 😉

After looking at cleanerbybike's link

Anyone seen this? http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

Most issues aren't really party-political. All MP's should have a free vote on every issue, otherwise what's the point?

To an extent, but it'd make Parliament pretty unworkable, though that could be a good thing.

MPs vote on a huge number of issues and I doubt they'd have the time or intelligence to become experts on every issue, so having parties tell them how to vote makes sense.

Those vote for policies things are rigged.

The one I did before told me I should vote for the one major party that I'd never ever vote for in a million years. Indeed the only time you'd catch me thinking of voting for that party is if BNP/EDL stood a realistic chance of winning the seat, and that party candidate was the most likely challenger.

In general, they're rigged to Green party or similar.

How are they rigged, and what's the point?

In general, they're rigged to Green party or similar

The population of the UK are generally left-of-centre libertarians, who are supportive of the welfare state and free health care. The green party are the party who best fit these ideals.

For some strange reason we keep swinging between the blue tories and the red tories in elections.

The Left-Right-Authoritarian-Libertarian 2D scale is quite revealing (or BS) too.
Some parties are much further left or right than you'd imagine, and indeed those that one would normally view as the middle ground are actually further left or right than those parties traditionally viewed as the left or right.
And my position on there was frankly quite worrying.

Tory as Labour ****ed up so badly they really shouldn't be given another chance to soon.

They are doing some fairly scummy things to be fair but what have labour to offer ? some thing along the lines of "we will spent even more money that we don't have ?" - actually if they said this I would be more inclined to vote for them.

Although apparently I should be voting Labour according to VoteForPolicies - oops

I'd happily vote for Dave (Again).

All pretty depressing stuff... But how would your utopian Government do things differently?

Could there actually be a proper alternative to the 2013 line up?

roger_mellie - Member
After looking at cleanerbybike's link

Anyone seen this? http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/
looks like I should be voting Green, which surprised me.

Oh God..Just did that..50% BNP, 25% Cons, 25% Green. Admittedly it was done in a hurry, but I like myself rather less as a result. 🙁

I'd have kept that one quiet, LenHankie! Seriously, dude.

In recent years I've voted Green, I see no reason to change. Although I would seriously consider supporting the National Health Action party if they were targeting my local MP.

I would vote Plaid Cymru if I lived in Wales.

But if my local MP was one of those extremely rare Labour MPs who still has a [i]proven[/i] commitment to representing the interests of ordinary working people, then I to vote for them. I would never under any circumstances vote for a New Labour MP/candidate.

I think I would probably rather vote Conservative than New Labour, at least they represent more open and honest Tories than the lying cheating fraudsters who infiltrated and seized control of the Labour Party.

I got labour on that website (but thats dependent on parties sticking to their manifesto pledges)
really depends on the local candidate the last labour candidate here was voted out after her and her Hubby's 1.7million expenses faux pas

camo16 - Member
So, 35 posts in and not a single Conservative amongst us... unless I missed something.

I think of myself as a bit conservative. As in, I am interested in looking at the sources when thinking about questions, and I believe that the past should be more sympathetically considered when establishing policy in the present.

But economically, I'm a bit of a tempered free market sort of guy at the same time as I believe that the community (read: state) should take care of its most vulnerable. The state just needs to stay out of my home.

ernie_lynch - Member

I would vote Plaid Cymru if I lived in Wales.

But if my local MP was one of those extremely rare Labour MPs who still has a proven commitment to representing the interests of ordinary working people, then I to vote for them. I would never under any circumstances vote for a New Labour MP/candidate.

Respect, Ernie.

Ukip. Seeing as im a southern higher rate tax payer would normally vote Tory but they are such a bunch of sickening lefty socialists these days, no thanks.

Ukip. Seeing as im a southern higher rate tax payer would normally vote Tory but they are such a bunch of sickening lefty socialists these days, no thanks.

Got to be a wind up

As I live in call-me-Dave's constituency I'd be drawing a cock and balls on another ballot paper as there is no chance that a vote for anyone else would make any difference, but there is a very small chance that another spoiled ballot paper may be counted!!

From a personal POV the Lib Dems are slightly less unpalatable than the rest, but then I do like to go against the trend. However we do have a Tory MP who actually appears to be half decent, and last time the Lib Dems put up a self-serving career politician who's election leaflets were mainly about smearing the opposition (he also appeared to have no irony meter, commenting on the Tory candidate not being local - however unlike him she'd actually lived in the constituency for a few years) who I couldn't possibly have voted for. Oh and before you ask, any chance of me voting Labour (which is markedly higher in theory than it used to be) is somewhat scuppered by the horrific idea of Ed being in charge - in a crisis is he the man you want taking the important decisions when he doesn't appear capable of choosing which breakfast cereal to eat?

tory for me..

but there is a very small chance that another spoiled ballot paper may be counted!!

Spoiled ballot papers are counted, but there is no way of knowing whether they were spoiled deliberately or the person got confused, eg put more than one cross, scratched one out, etc.

I believe most spoiled ballot papers are not the result of a protest measure, so your ballot paper with a cock and balls will simply be counted as one more daft/confused voter. It certainly won't be instrumental in bringing down the existing political system. Still, I'm sure it'll make you feel better - and that's important 🙂

One term of the tories to save money, sack everybody and get us out of the financial mire then two terms of labour to spend the saved money on services, health care, education and benefits. This system only fails when labour is kept on for a third term! Silly silly electorate.

Still, I'm sure it'll make you feel better - and that's important

Drawing Cocks-and-balls always makes me feel better, especially on anything official/important (which is probably why it's best that I don't get too involved with politics) 🙄

EDIT: if it was up to me we'd have images like this on the front page of the Financial Times:

[img] [/img]

Well good to see that the IMF is criticising the government for pushing austerity too far and inflicting needless pain on the economy

..kind of sums current political and economic debate up (or genuine lack of it) when....

...they are talking about a French socialist government who have really implemented austerity!!! 😉 in the end there really is little difference since politicians merely react to events around them and few have genuine strong convictions these days.

(oh and after a relatively quiet summer for the euro, a warning that Europe's debt situation is getting worse)

Did you post that comment on the wrong thread THM ? The OP asked how would you vote if there was a general election tomorrow.

I struggle with long sentences and I'm voting for Binners. 😀

I vote Anarchy

Or Binners, so long as he doesn't force me to eat at McDonalds or Greggs

Can you vote for anarchy though? It's just a stick and a low hood, plus intent to anarch, no?

None of the above and if it's anything like the last election with grinning ****in idiots outside the voting office attempting to shake my hand for their vote whilst offering promises to look after my interests then i expect i'll be asked to keep my opinions to myself otherwise leave the premises by the officers in charge or i will be charged with public disorder, Democracy?.....Ha!...that'll be ****ing right in this country.

like the last election with grinning **** idiots outside the voting office attempting to shake my hand for their vote whilst offering promises to look after my interests

If you mean outside a polling station then they were certainly in breach of electoral law.

i'd vote tory..

i'd really like to vote for a labour party that represented the views and asperations of working folk.. not middle class chattering teachers and pc hungry nursing managers but honest muckers, like the lady who cleans the chicken oven at tesco or the bloke whose now at work changing an axle on a public service bus

this country needs a reprsentative of the meek and humble the mild mannered the honest and true.

i want someone to lead not someone who goes to parliament to ask permission to tell someone off for murdering thousands with illegal weapons someone who got his job for who he/she is not someone who got in because people thought he was his brother..

dennis skinner he's the man.

if you'd truly like to vote for a representative of "genuine working folk" If such a group exists then voting tory is as far removed from this halcyon reality as possible - the sooner folk wake up and realise we do not live in a democracy the better for us all, rip it up and start again as the saying goes.

I'd vote for Veritas.

I was actually thinking about this recently, the concluson I came to was Lib Dem

Ed Balls reminds me so much of William Pitt the Younger from Blackadder.

It's all Lib Dems fault.

Voted green last time, see no reason to change this time

No Ernie, the last post was not posted on the wrong thread (but I imagined that it could be misinterpreted - it was not a criticism of Hollande per se, he has enough of that already!I was merely illustrating my previous point that there is v littleto choose between major parties in the UK or elsewhere. The right and the left are essentially doing the same thing, their policies are broadly the same and they are both reacting to events rather than leading the economic and political debate. On top of this you often have the ironical situation where parties actually do more of that their opponents would do eg Hollande's austerity package is arguably more aggressive than Osborne's. Poltitics is turned on its head! But what's new there? Reagan was one of the great spenders in the US and republicans often spend more than democrats.! The history of politics is littered with examples of XXX wingers implementing more YYY wing policies (at least in terms of government spending) and vice versa. Beware the rhetoric!

Hence the other red ED thread is relevant - isn't it time the unions formed a new party to represent their interests? The main parties are lodged so firmly in the same ground that any vote becomes largely irrelevant unless the MP is able to focus on local issues that are relevant to the individual voter.

Well that's 2 votes in the bag. Looks like I best start getting a manifesto together. They reckon George Osbourne's will offer tax cuts as an electoral bribe, but what about free sausage rolls? From the newly appointed Minister for Pies?