[Karna]

Hi

Well a lot of us in the UK told you guys in the US to get rid of Bush, and you ignored us (largely) I thought I'd just invite you, and any other international posters out there to give an opinion on our forthcoming elections. Who do you think we should vote for and why?

Policy summaries

Karna

[billycotton]

Never mind what those from outside think we are what matters and I as a englishman will be voting for the the British National Party.
The main parties have lied and failed this country for decades,its time to have a real change and the BNP will provide that change.

[Ombrageux]

HAH! HAH! HAH!

Because what serves your pseudo-nation will best serve you? Pathetic.

[bradley]

our public services will fall into disrepair, we will live under unprecedented levels of oppression, the tabloids will dictate policy more than ever, but at least those damn brownies'll be gone, eh! yes - vote BNP!

[redcarpet]

Why wouldn't state services

fall into disrepair

due to LD policy which doesn't oppose PFIs and promote privatisation?

[Clansman]

It will come as no surprise to anyone that I will be voting SNP. NOt that it will have much effect in the general election. The real chance to move the independence movement forward substantially will come in 2007 wiht the scottish elections.

[Hairy]

Well as I'm a Labour Party member there's no prizes for guessing who I'm going to vote for...and BNP, are you serious? What logical alternative can they possibly provide?

[Clann]

I'll be voting for Sinn Féin. Right enough, the BNP? Is your leader not in jail yet?[/i]

[Tim]

I shall be voting Conservative.

Thoughif any of you are voting by post, you should rather say who you hope to vote for, not who you will vote for.

[Mac]

In my contituency, it's all postal votes, and the gigantic (albeit painfully necessary) mass of bureaucracy has to be alleviated before I'll be able to express my vote for the first time. At the moment, I'm leaning towards a Labour vote, although I'll need to scour through the Lib Dem's manifesto before making my final decision.

[Ombrageux]

Go Lib Dem. Sure they're a bit too left-wing on the economy, but at least they're pro-liberty and post-modernist.

[bradley]

lib dem because Labour's swing the right must be counterbalanced

[Monkeydust]

The main parties have lied and failed this country for decades,its time to have a real change and the BNP will provide that change.

Nice party!

I think I can remember a few quotes from that documentary featring registred BNP members and candidates.

Upon being asked what his dream would be, a BNP member said "standing outside the mosque on a Friday, and just gunning them down - all them Pakistanis."

This one didn't even make sense: "A dog born in a barn is still a dog. A Pakistani born in Britain is still a fucking Pakistani".

One of the members in the documentary even admitted to assaulting and stamping on the face of an Asian without provocation.

But, like I said, nice party (you racist fuck).

due to LD policy which doesn't oppose PFIs and promote privatisation?

Redcarpet is quite right.

The Libdems have some good policies yes, but in terms of public services they're all for the expansion of privatization and the Private Finance Initiative...which makes me sick.

lib dem because Labour's swing the right must be counterbalanced

Is voting Lib-Dem really the best way to do it?

I read an article by Monbiot today that convincingly argued for voting for one of the minor parties in order to counterbalance current trends - have a look here http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2005/04/19/signal-your-opposition/

[Mac]

Interesting. Perhaps need to find out the stance of my local MP on the war in addition to reading the Lib Dem manifesto.

[N^G]

im *probably* going lib dem for this election. However Scotland 2007 will be a different story and ill *probably* go back to voting SNP (or even scottish socialists if they ever get their act together and stop coming across as a shower of gung ho activists) for that one depending on how the next couple of years go.

I sure as hell dont want labour, and I sure as hell dont want conservatives, unfortunately it looks increasingly likely that as usual it will be one or the other of them. In the event of a hung parliament however it would be extremely useful to have a relatively powerful lib dem party

[Mac]

I really don't think there's any need to fear a Conservative revival at this election. As Monbiot points out, the first-past-the-post system dictates that the Tories will need a significant and telling majority in the election to gain even a hung parliament, never mind a slight advantage.

[Ombrageux]

1st past the post might help the Tories indirectly, if and only if, the split leftwing vote in a lot of constitutencies leads to Conservative MPs.

[Mac]

What of the possibility of Tory moderates defecting to New Labour? I know that this is not as publicised or as substantial as the possibility of a split amongst traditionally left-leaning voters. Not that I think Labour should attempt this mind ...

[bradley]

MonkeyDust I enjoyed that article. Thanks.

A few things to note. AFAICS, it's argument against voting LibDem is based around the following points:

- flip-flopping/"slipperiness". Not much to be said about this, but this type of pragmatism may not be demonstrated by a aprty that is voted into opposition, not third fiddle. It's hard to say, and this attack could probably be applied to a lot of parties
- "By choosing the Liberal Democrats, you are sending an equivocal signal. Are you voting for them because you think Blair is too right-wing, or because you fear Old Labour might resurface?". This is a weak point; there is obsolutely no sign of Old Labour anywhere on the horizon. It's not an equivocal vote at all.
- "Are you choosing them because you are a liberal Tory who detests Michael Howard, or is it because you can’t make up your mind, and they represent the middle position?" The lib dems aren't the middle position any more. they're the left position.
- "There are, in other words, too many reasons for voting LibDem; Your voice is lost in the noise of conflicting intentions, and your decision becomes unintelligible"; these days it's safe to say that a vote for a more minor party is even more likely to be ignored. Sorry if I'm a bit skeptical of the influence of a vote for a minor party in a FPTP system!

I don't like Respect; My course and probably future career (biochemist) means I clash with the Green's position on cloning (lib dems too, but not so much); and the SSP and Plaid Cymru are too geographical

I'll have to see what the Independents in my constituency are like; but as my sig suggests I'm likely to vote Lib Dem to Mr Monbiot's displeasure

[Just Some Guy]

As a member of the Lib Dems it isn't exactly brain surgery to work out who I support

Quite frankly they're the best of the bunch by a long way, although I'd particlarly like them to lean more towards the right on economical issues.