Election time!
After 6 weeks of campaigning, today is the day that the UK votes for the next Government. The polling stations opened at 7 o'clock this morning and will close at 10 o'clock tonight.
There's 5 main parties to choose from:
1 - The Conservative and Unionist Party (aka the Conservative Party, or Tories), formed in 1834. They have been in power for the past 14 years with 5 different Prime Ministers (David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak). They are centre-right and their ideology tends to support business by way of free markets and economic growth, with tax cuts for business and the rich. They also tend to support traditional values.
2 - The Labour Party, formed in 1900. They are the main opposition to the Conservatives. Their leader is Sir Keir Starmer. They are centre-left and their ideology usually supports workers and equality, by reducing economic inequality and supporting social welfare. They also have more progressive social values and fight discrimination.
3 - The Liberal Democrats (aka Lib Dems), formed in 1988. Their leader is Sir Ed Davey. They are mostly centre and their ideology tends to support individual rights, particularly with regards to LGBT+ and gender equality. They support some aspects of a free market but also social welfare. They're also strongly pro-European and environmental.
4 - The Green Party, formed in 1990. Their leaders are Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsey. They are left-wing and their ideology focusses on environmental sustainability. They also support local governance and decisions that will consider future generations.
5 - The Reform Party, formed in 2019. Their leader is Nigel Farage. They are right-wing. Their manifesto includes freezing lawful immigration, tax employers who employ workers who are not British, abolish the net zero targets, and introduce a patriotic curriculum in schools as well as banning any 'woke' or Trans ideologies, and scrap the Equalities Act.
There's also the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland, Plaid Cymru in Wales, and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin, and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland.
However, if none of the main parties tickle your fancy, you could always opt for The Church of the Militant Elvis Party, the Cornish Nationalist Party, the Pirate Party, the Women's Equality Party, or the Monster Raving Loony Party, although I don't think they've done so well since Screaming Lord Sutch died. I don't know if Lord Buckethead is standing this year. If you're curious as to which party is in line with your own beliefs, Who Should You Vote For is very useful.
Opinion polls over the past few weeks have predicted a landslide Labour win. The polls close at 10pm and there's an exit poll which tends to have a fairly decent track record as to the final outcome. The results tend to start coming in after 11.30pm. There's always a bit of a race to be the first to declare, the earliest has been 10.43pm in 2001. Most results don't get announced till the wee hours, most of the party leaders won't find out if they've still got a seat until around 4 o'clock. Generally, by 6 or 7 o'clock, the outcome will be pretty certain, just as the country starts waking up to find out who is in charge now.
There's 5 main parties to choose from:
1 - The Conservative and Unionist Party (aka the Conservative Party, or Tories), formed in 1834. They have been in power for the past 14 years with 5 different Prime Ministers (David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak). They are centre-right and their ideology tends to support business by way of free markets and economic growth, with tax cuts for business and the rich. They also tend to support traditional values.
2 - The Labour Party, formed in 1900. They are the main opposition to the Conservatives. Their leader is Sir Keir Starmer. They are centre-left and their ideology usually supports workers and equality, by reducing economic inequality and supporting social welfare. They also have more progressive social values and fight discrimination.
3 - The Liberal Democrats (aka Lib Dems), formed in 1988. Their leader is Sir Ed Davey. They are mostly centre and their ideology tends to support individual rights, particularly with regards to LGBT+ and gender equality. They support some aspects of a free market but also social welfare. They're also strongly pro-European and environmental.
4 - The Green Party, formed in 1990. Their leaders are Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsey. They are left-wing and their ideology focusses on environmental sustainability. They also support local governance and decisions that will consider future generations.
5 - The Reform Party, formed in 2019. Their leader is Nigel Farage. They are right-wing. Their manifesto includes freezing lawful immigration, tax employers who employ workers who are not British, abolish the net zero targets, and introduce a patriotic curriculum in schools as well as banning any 'woke' or Trans ideologies, and scrap the Equalities Act.
There's also the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland, Plaid Cymru in Wales, and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sinn Féin, and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in Northern Ireland.
However, if none of the main parties tickle your fancy, you could always opt for The Church of the Militant Elvis Party, the Cornish Nationalist Party, the Pirate Party, the Women's Equality Party, or the Monster Raving Loony Party, although I don't think they've done so well since Screaming Lord Sutch died. I don't know if Lord Buckethead is standing this year. If you're curious as to which party is in line with your own beliefs, Who Should You Vote For is very useful.
Opinion polls over the past few weeks have predicted a landslide Labour win. The polls close at 10pm and there's an exit poll which tends to have a fairly decent track record as to the final outcome. The results tend to start coming in after 11.30pm. There's always a bit of a race to be the first to declare, the earliest has been 10.43pm in 2001. Most results don't get announced till the wee hours, most of the party leaders won't find out if they've still got a seat until around 4 o'clock. Generally, by 6 or 7 o'clock, the outcome will be pretty certain, just as the country starts waking up to find out who is in charge now.