UK Politics

So, 7 people have left Labour. As my politics is fairly centralist, I support them and hope they are soon joined by others from whatever party. I hope they form a new centralist party. Come the next election, I expect another coalition which, I hope, is more on the centre than the extremes of both Conservative and Labour parties.

Right shift

In recent times, there seems to have been a swing to the right in the UK and the rest of the world and a sense that our politicians are "out of touch".  The victory of Mr Trump and his "make America great again" speeches are indicative of this. There is a danger that several European nations could move to the right this year.

Here in the UK, we have no effective opposition. The Labour Party opposition is in disarray and faces two difficult by-elections.

This swing to the right may be temporary, but all parties in all nations need to wake up and be aware.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38704082 .

Politicians - don't you just love them?

Like many, I now just switch off when I hear politicians, of all persuasions, making "promises".  Most of these are just election hot air.  Nowadays, I simply turn off as I just know they are empty words.  Mr Cameron was going to limit net inward migration to 10000 a year (no ifs , no buts - remember?). Ed Miliband is also making promises which are unlikely to be met. And what about the NHS?  Most parties have promised an extra £8 billion with little idea how this will be funded. What the NHS needs is better communications and less waste!

At the moment I am still very much a "floating voter" with little idea who to vote for.  What I do know is I shall be ignoring those promises and voting tactically.

Labour fear mongering?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31790067 .

Ed Balls is claiming that, if the Conservatives get back into office there will be very large cuts in public spending.  I have no idea if this is correct or not.  What is clear is that further drastic cuts are probably needed whatever the flavour of government.  As a nation we have to live within our means.  No ifs, no buts.

Lies?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31253409 .

It seems all politicians make rash promises before a General Election and then find out lots of reasons to sidestep them after they win power. I am no Conservative friend, especially after the news on the HSBC bank today, but the latest "promise" on paid paternity leave from Labour I take with a pinch of salt: pure electioneering gimmicks.

Career politicians

There seem to be far fewer UK politicians who are there for genuine altruistic reasons. Maybe it was never so and ALL politicians are/were there for their own gain?

I think not. In the past there seemed to be far more politicians in positions of power because they genuinely thought they could help build a fairer and better world. These days the House of Commons seems filled with toffs who went to public schools, work in share dealing or the big banks, make a career (on the side) of politics because they may be able to modify policies to their personal gain. Sadly, I think this applies to politicians of all parties. It is dangerous to generalise I know. I hope that those to whom we grant power to create and modify our laws do so with care,humility and for good reasons. It would be a very sad day if we totally lost faith in our Parliament.

Should Ed Miliband (Labour leader) step down?

As a real "floating voter" I honestly have no idea which party I shall be voting for in the General Election next year.  I have some sympathy with some of the policies of each party. We need to cut our deficit (we are living beyond our means), we need some control over our population explosion (mainly as a result of net immigration), the EC is still a mess etc.. I have no idea whether or not we should quit the EC. There are good points and bad about it. It is not what we joined years ago and I feel it lacks something.

At the moment, I am not happy with the leader of the Labour Party. Ed Miliband, who was elected Labour leader some years ago.  He seems poor: his speeches and actions seem weak and ineffective. There is some pressure for him to be replaced, but by whom? I scratch my head trying to think of a better Labour leader to replace him. The choice is poor. We lack real charismatic leaders in waiting. All seem to be "also rans".

No single party fits "my bill". In a way another coalition government would be good.  UK General Elections are "first past the post" unlike the recent European Elections in which I voted Green, but voting for the Greens in a General Election is likely to be wasted, in this constituency certainly.  I need to vote for a party that has a realistic chance of being "first past the post". That means voting Conservative, Liberal Democrat or Labour. Although I quite like David Cameron, I feel the Conservatives are more in favour of the rich, whereas Labour is more concerned with "the common man". Lib Dems, we are told, will lose lots of seats. I cannot abide UKIP, who seem a "one issue" joke party.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29935172 .

David Cameron's speech today

Well, I think it very unlikely I shall vote Labour in the General Election next year.  I have voted labour several times in the past. I don't like Ed Milliband (at all) and he left out vital parts in his recent Labour Party conference speech on the deficit and immigration.   At the moment, I am inclined to vote Conservative as they seem to have the better policies. I wish the Conservatives were less "toffs" though. In truth,whoever gets elected will have a tough time. I am not voting UKIP.

The difference between the 2 main parties is really not that great. As a "first past the post" election, tactical voting will be called for. I'd like to vote Green but think this will be a wasted vote in a General Election.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29433919 .

Never trust a politician?

The last time I voted Conservative was in a local election some 40 odd years ago. I am what people call "a floating voter" as I vote according to my conscience and a have voted Labour, Lib Dem and Green in the past. Although I have sympathy with some Labour policies, I find it hard to trust the current Labour leader  who seems ineffective to me. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29335450 .

At the moment I am very undecided who to vote for in the General Election next year.  Maybe when their policies are better explained I'll be able to decide. Voting Conservative rather goes against the grain - their policies do seem to support the well heeled, but they have done a reasonably credible job so far in the coalition government in the last 4 years. Labour is likely to have stoked the National Debt even more. This worries me for the future.

The basic message is we have to learn to live within our means as individuals and as a nation.   Whichever party truly believes this and has the right policies will (probably) get my vote.   It is a long time since we ruled the world and had an empire that allowed us to exploit it.