So, politics...
It has to be said, that while I've voted from the moment I could (at least in general elections, perhaps my record in local ones is a little worse), this is the first election to really grab me attention and hold it.
Perhaps it was the fact it came riding in on the heels of the Digital Economy Bill, perhaps it was because many more people I know were discussing and commenting, perhaps it's because of the tv debates... all of those and probably more.
Before the election I went and checked out the headlines for the three main party's manifestos (in various places, rather than just one... I'm too scared of journalistic bias), and did a number of online quizzes and tests. And the results seemed to contradict each other.
Political compass had me down as a liberal lefty - Gandhi being the closest example politician. However, when I did tests which compared my beliefs to the specific manifestos, I got the expected result of the first spot going to the Lib Dems, but then Labour got pushed into third place by the Conservatives. I don't know whether that says most about me, Labour or the Conservatives...
My background perhaps makes me more willing to take and dissect the result without feeling tainted somehow (as I know a lot of friends would feel). Partly because I don't really believe in party politics, having come from Jersey, a place without them. When I first came to live in the UK and started to understand how the political landscape worked, with people being almost forced to toe the party line rather than voting how they believed (prime example of course being the Digital Economy Bill), and with the constant war on the opposition's policies and ideas no matter their validity... I was surprised and disappointed. Also I've had parental influences from both sides of the house - my mum, had she been allowed to vote, would always have picked conservative, John's parents were dedicated Labour supporters.
All of which makes it utterly unsurprising that I'm someone that wants electoral reform - even if I think the actual system chosen needs careful evaluation, and I half hope that the referendum being discussed at the moment has more than one option available (the other half hopes not, because it'd end up far too complicated for most people to chose between).
And so, finally, the election result. It's what I hoped for.
The Lib Dems, no matter how much Cleggmania got raved about, were never going to win - my pragmatic side accepted that fact way before the night. But this way they were put in a position to have real influence, and reform may be possible for the first time in my lifetime. I also think that the Conservatives have been impressively generous in their offer, more than it seems (to an outsider) than they needed to be. It gives me hope for real cooperation, and an acceptance of another party's policies - far less of a them and us landscape. And of course Vince Cable is involved in trying to dig the economy out of the toilet, which I believe we need.
So yes, I have hope for this coalition, and I'm not at all disappointed at the result.
Perhaps it was the fact it came riding in on the heels of the Digital Economy Bill, perhaps it was because many more people I know were discussing and commenting, perhaps it's because of the tv debates... all of those and probably more.
Before the election I went and checked out the headlines for the three main party's manifestos (in various places, rather than just one... I'm too scared of journalistic bias), and did a number of online quizzes and tests. And the results seemed to contradict each other.
Political compass had me down as a liberal lefty - Gandhi being the closest example politician. However, when I did tests which compared my beliefs to the specific manifestos, I got the expected result of the first spot going to the Lib Dems, but then Labour got pushed into third place by the Conservatives. I don't know whether that says most about me, Labour or the Conservatives...
My background perhaps makes me more willing to take and dissect the result without feeling tainted somehow (as I know a lot of friends would feel). Partly because I don't really believe in party politics, having come from Jersey, a place without them. When I first came to live in the UK and started to understand how the political landscape worked, with people being almost forced to toe the party line rather than voting how they believed (prime example of course being the Digital Economy Bill), and with the constant war on the opposition's policies and ideas no matter their validity... I was surprised and disappointed. Also I've had parental influences from both sides of the house - my mum, had she been allowed to vote, would always have picked conservative, John's parents were dedicated Labour supporters.
All of which makes it utterly unsurprising that I'm someone that wants electoral reform - even if I think the actual system chosen needs careful evaluation, and I half hope that the referendum being discussed at the moment has more than one option available (the other half hopes not, because it'd end up far too complicated for most people to chose between).
And so, finally, the election result. It's what I hoped for.
The Lib Dems, no matter how much Cleggmania got raved about, were never going to win - my pragmatic side accepted that fact way before the night. But this way they were put in a position to have real influence, and reform may be possible for the first time in my lifetime. I also think that the Conservatives have been impressively generous in their offer, more than it seems (to an outsider) than they needed to be. It gives me hope for real cooperation, and an acceptance of another party's policies - far less of a them and us landscape. And of course Vince Cable is involved in trying to dig the economy out of the toilet, which I believe we need.
So yes, I have hope for this coalition, and I'm not at all disappointed at the result.