The United Kingdom Elections 2010

[rory_20_uk]

They did get bailed out. Which in many cases means shareholders lost out massively. In banks such as RBS, 0ver 90% of the shares were held by institutional investors, so they lost a whole lot of money. The government bought shares which are now worth (slightly) more than they bought them for - i.e. Gordon has finally invested in something that made a profit! The banks also lost money on having to pay for insurance on debt.

that doesn't mean that as a rule they don't saturate the thinking of the city (mainly as the Unions haven't got the money to do so as they used to - and labour have far less concern where they get their kickbacks from).

Minority governments - I think brown and Blair have shown us how badly majority governemnts can go as they have no need to be accountable to anyone as there are enough back bencher would-be careerists to whip into line to pass practically anything.

[Idaho]

Blair had a massive majority and acted like he didn't. He was very tame in terms of his political agenda. Minimum wage... what else?

I would prefer coalition governments and lots more fringe parties and independents. But then I would prefer local/regional government and a hugely decentralised state.

[Beskar]

Lib dems to get the popular vote, hung parilament, conservatives with most seats.

[Beskar]

I would prefer coalition governments and lots more fringe parties and independents. But then I would prefer local/regional government and a hugely decentralised state.

I would like Regional Government doing the day-to-day politics, with house of commons only dealing with issues of national importance. Infact Regional Government is already there, just ran by Quango's.

Unfortunately, I would like to relegistrate all the existing assemblies too and possibly have a return of Ireland to Britain, but this will most likely never happen.

[Beskar]

Sky News PM Debate about Europe:

David Cameron (Furunclus): Evil Europe, lets bash it with a stick and poke its eyes out!

Nick Clegg (Beskar): Let's work together for a better future!

Gordon Brown (insert user here): While they talk about Europe, I talk about a different subject and attempt to get low-blow shots in.

[Subotan]

Oligarchic, Megalomaniac bully flips out when criticism is levelled at him

[Idaho]

Oligarchic, Megalomaniac bully flips out when criticism is levelled at him

The mask doesn't have to slip much to give everyone an insight into who (wants to) run this country.

[Subotan]

I'd say he thinks he already does, rather than wants to.

[rory_20_uk]

Sounds more like a petulant Daddy's boy to me.

[InsaneApache]

So much for 'clean' politics. Good god.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3X8...layer_embedded

Same old, same old.........

[gaelic cowboy]

Unfortunately, I would like to relegistrate all the existing assemblies too and possibly have a return of Ireland to Britain, but this will most likely never happen.

Ahem never happen is more like

[Beskar]

Looks like there might be a Liberal Democrat victory in the making.

[gaelic cowboy]

Looks like there might be a Liberal Democrat victory in the making.

I think it's more likely either of the two bigger parties will scramble like starving animals for the Libs after to form government

[InsaneApache]

Harriden Harperson all over the place......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...an_24_04_2010/

1 hour 46 mins in

[Furunculus]

Looks like there might be a Liberal Democrat victory in the making.

i wouldn't count on it.

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there appears to be plenty of precedent for a lib-con coalition:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/elec...-councils.html

[Furunculus]

Sky News PM Debate about Europe:

David Cameron (Furunclus): Evil Europe, lets bash it with a stick and poke its eyes out!

Nick Clegg (Beskar): Let's work together for a better future!

Gordon Brown (insert user here): While they talk about Europe, I talk about a different subject and attempt to get low-blow shots in.

that is not what Cameron wants, he has already been very clear on the subject:

1) The referendum lock
2) A United Kingdom sovereignty bill
3) A guaranteed say for MP’s if Ministers want the EU to extend its powers
4) Opt out from the charter of fundamental rights
5) Return of powers over criminal justice
6) Repatriation of control over social and employment legislation

[Beskar]

i wouldn't count on it.

There should be one though, it would really bring in some of the changes Britain needs. I especially want Parilamentary reform.

[Furunculus]

it is certainly possible that the lib-dems could do to labour what labour did to them a century earlier, and oust them as the 'other' major party.

labour is going to get decimated at this election, and if the electorate determine that labour have ceased to be relevant to their aims and expectations then the lib-dems could fill that void.

i like FPTP politics, and i like our 2.5 party system as it forces the incumbents to represent the will of the people constantly as there is always a credible alternative willing to step in.

it is why the lib-dems are so schizophrenic and opportunistic; they are constantly testing the weak points of labour and conservative policy and looking for advantage.

[Banquo's Ghost]

It looks as if Gordon Brown is history, even this far ahead of the actual election. Nick Clegg has put on record that if Labour are third in the popular vote, he will not support them continuing in government if McBroon is Prime Minister.

I thought he would make that move, as it shores up the Lib Dems' last remaining weakness in the eyes of the electorate - that by voting LD, you get Brown. Now, Liberals will be able to vote for their party knowing that Brown is going to be a simple footnote in the historical record.

[InsaneApache]

A simple footnote!

The guy will be remembered as Temüjin. uk. com.

[Idaho]

It looks as if Gordon Brown is history, even this far ahead of the actual election. Nick Clegg has put on record that if Labour are third in the popular vote, he will not support them continuing in government if McBroon is Prime Minister.

I thought he would make that move, as it shores up the Lib Dems' last remaining weakness in the eyes of the electorate - that by voting LD, you get Brown. Now, Liberals will be able to vote for their party knowing that Brown is going to be a simple footnote in the historical record.

I think the libs should publically kill the idea of tactical voting. They should appeal to people to vote for them wherever to send a message. Say that in this election the total share of the vote is significant.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

It's certainly one of the most unknowable elections for many a year. It's anyones to win or lose. Except Brown that is. He's toast.

This is, unsurprisingly, under-reported here. Would it be possible for Brown to win by having both other major candidates split more or less evenly and allow his party to edge both of the others out narrowly? Or do the polls suggest that that is an impossibility?

[Idaho]

IA is very partisan.

It is entirely possible that Brown will win. I still think that Labour will scrape a win out of it.

[InsaneApache]

IA is very partisan.

It is entirely possible that Brown will win. I still think that Labour will scrape a win out of it.

Hehe, you noticed! Bless.

The nightmare scenario is that Labour come third, yet hold more seats than the rest, so ergo our 'Great Leader' carries on as before. That's democracy for you.

[Myrddraal]

But the Lib Dems have ruled that out no? If Labour come third they will be dependent on the support of the Lib Dems to form a government, and the Lib Dems have said that in this situation, they will only negociate with Labour if Brown steps down as prime minister.

Latest polls:

.	Tory	Labour	Lib Dem
YouGov/Sun	33	28	29
Opinium/Express	34	25	28
ICM/Guardian	33	28	30
ComRes/ITV/Independent	32	28	31
Average	33	27.25	29.5

Very closely matched, very tight. Labour definately aren't toast, there's less than 6% between them and the Tories by the average.

[Myrddraal]

I know polls can be deceptive, but looking at those figures a hung parliament seems increasingly likely.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Interesting, this shows Labour consistantly coming third, but not far enough down to be wiped out. The situation is extremely worrying, I predict another election in less than three years.

[Subotan]

It may cause economic chaos, but by God is it going to be fun

[Myrddraal]

Could it even happen that the Lib Dems form a government with the support of the Labour Party? It seems very unlikely. According to the UK Polling Report Swingometer, if there was a uniform swing across the country to match the latest polls, the result would be:

Tories : 254 seats (+56)
Labour : 267 seats (-89)
Lib Dem: 98 seats (+36)
Others : 13 seats (+1)

Of course, the super massive assumption there is the uniform swing bit, but it does illustrate the difficulty in winning seats for the Lib Dems.

[tibilicus]

My personal feelings regarding the poll data I've seen the past few days, I think it's still to soon to say anything is certain. I think this weeks debate will be crucial, provided people tune in, which they should, as it is on BBC1. I say this because it's really make or break in terms of the lib dem surge. As an electorate Britain generally votes in a very familiar way. To me this means that if Clegg wants to hold onto this level of support, he needs to cement himself in the minds of voters as a viable option. Whilst the support for the lib dems is currently huge, I suspect many of those saying they will vote lib dem aren't 100% behind it and could still break for either of the two parties if they get cold feet about Clegg in the final week. To me this means that in the final debate Clegg really has to shine. Not, just come out on top by a margin like the second debate but deliver a substantial performance which is better than the other two. It wont be possible for him to emulate the first debate but for me, If he's to win the level of support the polls are suggesting, he needs to be decisive. I think that if Clegg fails to do this, we could see the temporary lib dem support crumble.

As for the tories, their strategist needs a slap. People don't generally like negative campaigning, which the tories are now using and I think it wont result in the poll boost they desperately want. Also changing their electoral strategy to target more Labour seats with just over 2 weeks till polling day? To see the tories throw away a lead in this manner is laughable. Cameron was a PM in waiting a couple of months back, now he's struggling to persuade the electorate that he's even the best out of a bad bunch. Cameron's inability to coherently explain any of his policies is also making him look bad. I get the idea of the "big society", why not just drop the gimmicky face and tell us how it is, the spin just makes it all seem like rhetorical . Another classic example is a recent campaign broadcast attacking Labour. Apparently the tories think the deficit can be cut and the ecenomic situation solved simply by cutting QUANGOS and cutting up senior civil servants credit cards, give us a break Dave.


Labour are positioned to come out of this ok, even if they do perform badly on election day. As a political party, I fully believe that Labour, being the snake it is wont die. Everyone thought it was dead in 1983 but no, it climbed its way back up from the underworld and regenerated as New labour. Even if they do end up in the wilderness for a couple of years, we will see them again some day. Also, interestingly, the Labour vote is holding solid in Scotland. I have no idea why but I actually hope it stays like that. The SNP should be denied as many MP's as possible seeming they refuse to allow Scottish cuts even though the whole of the UK needs cuts. Alex Salmond also thinks he is a modern day Robert De Bruce, he's so desperate to be known as the man who" emancipated" Scotland that he's prepared to try and shove independence down the Scots throats, no matter how disastrous it would be for them under the current economic climate. I'm also opposed fundamentally to any party which wishes to see the disintegration of the union (N.I is different but now is not the time or the place to explain my view on that).

So that's my thoughts at this current stage. Basically the ball is with Clegg. He needs to make the surge translate into actual votes.