British General Election

[Paul.Power]

I doubt it'll have the same effect on Americans as their election does over here, but we've got an election coming up in a week or so. It's a world event of sorts, so, yeah.<br><br>I'm personally thinking of voting Lib Dem. New Labour aren't doing so great, the Tories would be even worse, the Lib Dems are currently the only vaguely left-wing party that actually have a chance of doing reasonably well.

[Ankaris]

*takes a deep breath, cellotapes mouth together*<br><br>Mrprphrphppphhhhhbhbhbhbpprphprh*.<br><br>* - I dislike politics, and it dislikes me.<br><br>Talking seriously, I have no clue who on earth I'd vote for. None of them grab my interest.<br><br>I know I've fallen into the cynical / apathetic trap, but none of the parties can convince me they want in to truly help the country and not go "LOLZ WE R TEH BEST AGN!"

[TyVulpine]

I don't follow British government (heck, I barely know anything about it, other than Parliment runs the country, and the Royal Family is merely a figurehead.....)

[Ibun]

UKIP sounds like a cool name. Yeah, I'll go with that one. :D

[The_Sparrow_]

Monster Raving Looney Party!!!<br><br>however I'm not British

[Paul.Power]

<!--QuoteBegin-Ibun+Apr 27 2005, 12:52 AM--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (Ibun @ Apr 27 2005, 12:52 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> UKIP sounds like a cool name. Yeah, I'll go with that one. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... iggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd--><br>Of course, voting for UKIP means voting for a bunch of racists who want to take us out of Europe (they're one of the minor parties)...<br><br>"Democracy depends on an informed electorate" has never felt more true.<br><br>EDIT: Tell you what, here's a summary of the policies of most of the parties:<br><br><!--QuoteBegin-A friend of mine from another forum+--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (A friend of mine from another forum)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> <b>The Labour Party</b>: The Labour Party is the one you're most likely to have heard about due to Tony Blair being its leader. It has traditionally been the left wing party of the UK, compared to the Conservatives. It spent years out of government prior to 1997, when it rebranded itself as New Labour, and swung to the right. It defeated the Conservatives quite easily, mainly due to widespread disillusionment with the Conservative government after 18 years.<br><br><b>Conservative Party (also called Tories)</b>: Led by Michael Howard (who, embarrassingly, is from South West Wales where I live), this is the UK's right wing party, and can be considered the UK equivalent of the Republican Party. The Conservative Party is pro-business, believing in lower taxes and increased privatisation, and also isn't too keen on Europe and immigration. The Conservatives Party has struggled with resentment from the UK public over the 1980's, a period marked by economic instability and widespread job losses, but seems to be doing a bit better in the polls than they have since the 1997 Labour landslide.<br><br><b>The Liberal Democrats</b>: Led by Charles Kennedy, they were traditionally the center party, but are now seen as the left-wing alternative to Labour. Their predecessors, the Liberals, were dominant in UK politics in the late 19th/early 20th Centuries, but went into decline after Labour showed up. They don't really stand much chance of forming the next government, but they have become more popular with voters because of their anti-war stance.<br><br>These are the three parties that will probably be more frequently seen about news sites as the UK election nears. There are other parties as well, the most significant being the <b>Greens</b> (environmentalists), and <b>UKIP</b> (kinda like Tories, but with major emphasis on pulling out of the EU). As well, there are local parties, like <b>Plaid Cymru</b> in Wales and the <b>Scottish National Party</b> in Scotland, who basically want greater power, and in the case of the SNP, independence, for their section of the UK.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd-->