Intractable problem
I heartily support smoking bans, but then they hit nargile cafes! How to solve?
Meanwhile, as the European Parliamentary elections approach, I've had campaign material from the Greens, the Conservatives, UKIP, and twice from the LibDems. The LibDems have given me the most to think about.
They claim they are the party in the EU Parliament pushing hard for action on climate change, and in fact the first line from the letter I've just received from one of their Parliamentary Campaigners says "It may seem incredible today but Mill Lane could well be under water before too long." (Mill Lane is the street I live on.) They also have the obligatory picture of polar bears captioned: "They are losing their homes.... If you tolerate this then your children will be next." They are "For tough actions on the environment to prevent climate chaos [great], Against post office closures and the Heathrow Third Runway [great], For international action to protect local jobs and business [fine], Against the internment of British citizens in Guantanamo Bay [fantastic], For European cooperation to fight organised crime [fine], Against collusion in CIA night-flights to secret torture camps [fantastic]." In other words, they are, or in my area are selling themselves as, exactly what I want.
Except.
Both of the LibDem's communications claim there are only 474 votes between them and Labour "in the new Hampstead and Kilburn seat." I am absolutely certain this is obfuscation because there is no Hampstead and Kilburn seat in the EU elections -- London is the area, and several MEPs are elected for London as a whole by proportional representation.
Which brings me to the other thing that really rubs me the wrong way which is that there is a PS to the letter: "You only get one vote this time, please don't waste it on a party that cannot make a difference around here." There is no such thing as a wasted vote, and it frankly pisses me off to be told that I am wasting my vote if I vote Green, which is what this PS is clearly aimed at. Moreover, it is again completely misleading, almost, I'd say, to the point of being deceptive, to argue that a vote for a Green candidate in the EU elections won't elect a Green candidate. Because with PR, it will. There is a Green MEP for London. Here name is Jean Lambert and she was elected by votes cast for the Green Party in the last EU election. With other Green MEPs in the European Parliament, I fully believe she is making a difference for the environment in Europe. Greens club with other Greens in the EU Parliament and therefore I expect their views on fighting climate change are very similar, and they can be effective in so doing. The LibDems, on the other hand, tend to join the Liberal and Democratic Union in the European Parliament. "Liberal" and "Democrat" being very wide monikers, I'm going to hazard a guess, without checking the MEPs from other countries that join that group, that they'll have pretty widely diverging views on climate change and how to tackle it.
If the LibDems are as strong as they claim on the environment, and if their party-wide stance on the issues they mention is the same as their stance in lefty Hampstead and Kilburn, I would have been tempted, probably even likely, to vote for them in my area in the general elections if I thought they'd beat Labour. But frankly, no-one, LibDems included, will ever have a chance of winning my vote from the Greens in an election with proportional representation, and the campaigning they're doing for the EU elections is seriously making me re-think the possibility of voting for them when Gordon Brown gets around to calling an election here.
Meanwhile, as the European Parliamentary elections approach, I've had campaign material from the Greens, the Conservatives, UKIP, and twice from the LibDems. The LibDems have given me the most to think about.
They claim they are the party in the EU Parliament pushing hard for action on climate change, and in fact the first line from the letter I've just received from one of their Parliamentary Campaigners says "It may seem incredible today but Mill Lane could well be under water before too long." (Mill Lane is the street I live on.) They also have the obligatory picture of polar bears captioned: "They are losing their homes.... If you tolerate this then your children will be next." They are "For tough actions on the environment to prevent climate chaos [great], Against post office closures and the Heathrow Third Runway [great], For international action to protect local jobs and business [fine], Against the internment of British citizens in Guantanamo Bay [fantastic], For European cooperation to fight organised crime [fine], Against collusion in CIA night-flights to secret torture camps [fantastic]." In other words, they are, or in my area are selling themselves as, exactly what I want.
Except.
Both of the LibDem's communications claim there are only 474 votes between them and Labour "in the new Hampstead and Kilburn seat." I am absolutely certain this is obfuscation because there is no Hampstead and Kilburn seat in the EU elections -- London is the area, and several MEPs are elected for London as a whole by proportional representation.
Which brings me to the other thing that really rubs me the wrong way which is that there is a PS to the letter: "You only get one vote this time, please don't waste it on a party that cannot make a difference around here." There is no such thing as a wasted vote, and it frankly pisses me off to be told that I am wasting my vote if I vote Green, which is what this PS is clearly aimed at. Moreover, it is again completely misleading, almost, I'd say, to the point of being deceptive, to argue that a vote for a Green candidate in the EU elections won't elect a Green candidate. Because with PR, it will. There is a Green MEP for London. Here name is Jean Lambert and she was elected by votes cast for the Green Party in the last EU election. With other Green MEPs in the European Parliament, I fully believe she is making a difference for the environment in Europe. Greens club with other Greens in the EU Parliament and therefore I expect their views on fighting climate change are very similar, and they can be effective in so doing. The LibDems, on the other hand, tend to join the Liberal and Democratic Union in the European Parliament. "Liberal" and "Democrat" being very wide monikers, I'm going to hazard a guess, without checking the MEPs from other countries that join that group, that they'll have pretty widely diverging views on climate change and how to tackle it.
If the LibDems are as strong as they claim on the environment, and if their party-wide stance on the issues they mention is the same as their stance in lefty Hampstead and Kilburn, I would have been tempted, probably even likely, to vote for them in my area in the general elections if I thought they'd beat Labour. But frankly, no-one, LibDems included, will ever have a chance of winning my vote from the Greens in an election with proportional representation, and the campaigning they're doing for the EU elections is seriously making me re-think the possibility of voting for them when Gordon Brown gets around to calling an election here.