lolitics
Timing is everything when it comes to announcing the date of the general election. Hold it too soon and you're seen as wanting to run away from the economic problems. Hold it too late and the economy will have already crumbled, leaving your party with very little support. For once, it seems as though Gordon Brown has actually managed to judge the timing rather well. Not only is the gap between Labour and the Conservatives about as small as it's going to get, the economy has managed to avoid a second dip so far solely thanks to life support - in other words, being propped up by the government.
So now that it's been announced, I thought I'd share some of my political views with the world.
The tl;dr version: When David Cameron took the helm of the Conservatives, there was almost no doubt that I'd be voting for them. At this point in time, however, I have some doubts about the Conservatives. Having said that, I have much greater doubts about Labour and the Lib Dems, so I'm still planning to vote Tory.
And now the long version
If you'd asked me a year or so ago who I'd be voting for in the General Election, I'd have no hesitation answering in favour of the Conservatives. There were three main reasons:
1. Back in the '80s, the Tories were faced with paying off the huge credit card bill of the previous Labour government. They became very unpopular in the process, but they continued on for the sake of long term economic stability (and interestingly, still managed to win elections along the way). However, once they'd cleared the balance, Labour came along again and not only maxed out the Great British credit card, but also managed to double the credit limit so they could spend even more. Back to square one.
2. I found myself agreeing with many of David Cameron's ideals, such as his view on the importance of the family unit, and the impact it has on the development of children. This was one of the first topics he raised on winning leadership of the party. He also talked about reducing the size of the state, thus reducing the amount of intervention and interference in people's everyday lives. This is in clear contrast to Labour's 'blameless culture' ideal, which involves increasing the size and responsibility of the state. "I racked up huge amounts of debt and now I can't afford to pay it back. It's the government's fault because there was insufficient regulation to prevent me from doing so. Therefore, it's the government's fault". Whose fault is that, really? It's about time people became accountable for their actions and, in some cases, their outright stupidity.
3. Since David Cameron became leader of the Conservaties, the party as a whole became more coherent, in that its members were aware of the party's policies, and all broadly shared the same views. They had a vision, a mission, a strategy, a goal. Call it what you will, it was certainly the first time since being eligible to vote that I had seen the Conservatives offer a complete package, rather than merely a congregation of squabbling children.
So what's changed?
While points one and three above still apply, I've barely heard any mention of the policies that initially convinced me of the credibility of the Conservative party under David Cameron's leadership. Perhaps it's because Labour kept stealing their ideas that they figured it wasn't worth bothering, but I'm not entirely convinced of that. I think the simpler answer is, the Tories have returned to simply refuting everything Labour says, rather than presenting their own alternative views, because that's what grabs attention.
"Boo! Labour is wrong! Hiss! Gordon Brown is an idiot! Vote Tory instead!" may not present much in the way of constructive criticism, but it still makes a point and, unfortunately for Labour, I do somewhat agree with it. And I still plan to vote for the Conservatives. Given the choice between the two, I think the state of Britain - be it financially, socially or technologically - is more likely to deteriorate under a continuing Labour Government, especially with Gordon Brown leading the way.
But wait, this isn't just a two-party system!
True. One may consider it more as a three-party system, but I don't fully trust the Liberal Democrats. I like a lot of the things they say (how can you not like them when their policies include so many crowd-pleasers?), but I've always believed that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And if you compare their policies to either Labour's or Conservative's, they usually seem to be offering the best of both worlds, but without any of the disadvantages. I'm sceptical for two reasons:
1. Their policies are dependent on the other parties. It's rare that the Lib Dems will spark debate on hot political topics, but will be very quick to join in once the other parties have stuck their necks out. It seems like they're content on chasing rather than leading.
2. There's a lack of detail on how their head-in-the-clouds policies will actually be implemented should they form the next government. Too many times I've heard Nick Clegg say, "We will set out our plans to..." without ever setting out those plans. Admittedly, all parties are guilty of this to some extent, but the Lib Dems seem to be forever "planning to make plans". Either set out your plans and tell us what they are, or, at the very least, tell us when you'll going to come up with some plans! Oh, and by the way, after the election is no good.
One final thought...
Chavs inherently vote Labour because they think of political parties like football teams... "My Dad was always a Labour supporter, so I've been brought up to support them too. I hope they beat Margaret Thatcher United and win the Election Cup Final again this year, because then I can go out and get shit-faced to celebrate". Since chavs are breeding like fucking rabbits, I fear that if Labour aren't toppled at the General Election this year, the chances are they never will.
So now that it's been announced, I thought I'd share some of my political views with the world.
The tl;dr version: When David Cameron took the helm of the Conservatives, there was almost no doubt that I'd be voting for them. At this point in time, however, I have some doubts about the Conservatives. Having said that, I have much greater doubts about Labour and the Lib Dems, so I'm still planning to vote Tory.
And now the long version
If you'd asked me a year or so ago who I'd be voting for in the General Election, I'd have no hesitation answering in favour of the Conservatives. There were three main reasons:
1. Back in the '80s, the Tories were faced with paying off the huge credit card bill of the previous Labour government. They became very unpopular in the process, but they continued on for the sake of long term economic stability (and interestingly, still managed to win elections along the way). However, once they'd cleared the balance, Labour came along again and not only maxed out the Great British credit card, but also managed to double the credit limit so they could spend even more. Back to square one.
2. I found myself agreeing with many of David Cameron's ideals, such as his view on the importance of the family unit, and the impact it has on the development of children. This was one of the first topics he raised on winning leadership of the party. He also talked about reducing the size of the state, thus reducing the amount of intervention and interference in people's everyday lives. This is in clear contrast to Labour's 'blameless culture' ideal, which involves increasing the size and responsibility of the state. "I racked up huge amounts of debt and now I can't afford to pay it back. It's the government's fault because there was insufficient regulation to prevent me from doing so. Therefore, it's the government's fault". Whose fault is that, really? It's about time people became accountable for their actions and, in some cases, their outright stupidity.
3. Since David Cameron became leader of the Conservaties, the party as a whole became more coherent, in that its members were aware of the party's policies, and all broadly shared the same views. They had a vision, a mission, a strategy, a goal. Call it what you will, it was certainly the first time since being eligible to vote that I had seen the Conservatives offer a complete package, rather than merely a congregation of squabbling children.
So what's changed?
While points one and three above still apply, I've barely heard any mention of the policies that initially convinced me of the credibility of the Conservative party under David Cameron's leadership. Perhaps it's because Labour kept stealing their ideas that they figured it wasn't worth bothering, but I'm not entirely convinced of that. I think the simpler answer is, the Tories have returned to simply refuting everything Labour says, rather than presenting their own alternative views, because that's what grabs attention.
"Boo! Labour is wrong! Hiss! Gordon Brown is an idiot! Vote Tory instead!" may not present much in the way of constructive criticism, but it still makes a point and, unfortunately for Labour, I do somewhat agree with it. And I still plan to vote for the Conservatives. Given the choice between the two, I think the state of Britain - be it financially, socially or technologically - is more likely to deteriorate under a continuing Labour Government, especially with Gordon Brown leading the way.
But wait, this isn't just a two-party system!
True. One may consider it more as a three-party system, but I don't fully trust the Liberal Democrats. I like a lot of the things they say (how can you not like them when their policies include so many crowd-pleasers?), but I've always believed that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And if you compare their policies to either Labour's or Conservative's, they usually seem to be offering the best of both worlds, but without any of the disadvantages. I'm sceptical for two reasons:
1. Their policies are dependent on the other parties. It's rare that the Lib Dems will spark debate on hot political topics, but will be very quick to join in once the other parties have stuck their necks out. It seems like they're content on chasing rather than leading.
2. There's a lack of detail on how their head-in-the-clouds policies will actually be implemented should they form the next government. Too many times I've heard Nick Clegg say, "We will set out our plans to..." without ever setting out those plans. Admittedly, all parties are guilty of this to some extent, but the Lib Dems seem to be forever "planning to make plans". Either set out your plans and tell us what they are, or, at the very least, tell us when you'll going to come up with some plans! Oh, and by the way, after the election is no good.
One final thought...
Chavs inherently vote Labour because they think of political parties like football teams... "My Dad was always a Labour supporter, so I've been brought up to support them too. I hope they beat Margaret Thatcher United and win the Election Cup Final again this year, because then I can go out and get shit-faced to celebrate". Since chavs are breeding like fucking rabbits, I fear that if Labour aren't toppled at the General Election this year, the chances are they never will.