Who Should I Vote For?

Neil · 10-04-2005, 19:14

Ok, so I don't know much about politics but think I should vote this time.
I was hoping you lot could help me out with this. I am married with 2 children and one on the way. I have 2 children with my ex-wife who I pay child support for. I work full time. Drive. Own a house. Don't smoke. Drink a little.

Here are a few questions I am sure you can help me out with:

Who can I vote for in Hyndburn?
Who should I vote for and why?
Who should I not vote for and why?

Margaret Pilkington · 10-04-2005, 19:26

Neil, this is a tough one.......and I don't think anyone can really answer it for you.
I think you have to ask yourself what are the important things in your life......obviously because you have children, then there are issues around their education and well being.
There may also be environmental issues in your area......wheelie bins, recycling etc,street cleaning......policing issues etc.
Make yourself a list of questions and when the candidates come canvassing.....ask the questions on your list. If the candidates don't come knocking then direct your questions to their web site.
Choose the candidate who answers the questions to your best satisfaction.

That is my formula anyway......unless I go with the PIN method!

chav1 · 10-04-2005, 19:41

from what i ear the CSA is getting scapped but i havnt heard any party say what they are going to replace it with

personaly i would go for reverting back to the courts they did a betetr job

as for who you should vote for all i can advise is not to decide upon what partys prommise in the run up to the election but as to what they have done the past few years

labour always prommise good things to get votes but have a record of doing the exact opposite after the votes are counted in

conservitives - their record speaks for its self

liberals - kennedy stood up and said britain dosnt open its doors wide enough and we need to double our intake of asylum seekers so hes lost my vote instantly

no one can decide but you m8 its one of those decisions only you can make

cashman · 10-04-2005, 20:15

check out the MONSTER RAVING LOONEY PARTY, screaming lord sutch died, but they can't be any worse than whats on offer!

wayneyboy1942 · 10-04-2005, 20:16

Neil I'd never tell anyone which way to vote

,all I'll say is read the leaflets that come through the door,choose a party that will do the things you want,just make sure you vote,I hate people not voting as so many people gave so much so that we can!

Acrylic-bob · 11-04-2005, 06:22

First things first. No one can or should tell you who to vote for. Where you place your vote is a matter for you and your conscience.

Having said that, I agree that it is a difficult decision to make and one that is not made any easier by the adversarial nature of British politics. There are times when the level of political debate barely rises above "Oh yes you did - Oh no I didn't" level of a Christmas pantomime.

A sensible person, with an unlimited amount of free time, would sit down and carefully read through the acres of newsprint that has been and will be devoted to the subject. Opinions and arguments will be carefully wheighed and examined and a conclusion will hopefully be reached before polling day. Sadly, as a member of the wage earning classes, time for the contemplation of the intricacies of political debate is, at best, limited. Given this lamentable state of affairs, perhaps I might suggest a different strategy to adopt as as a solution to the problem.

Some of you may have heard me expound this theory before, but I think it bears repeating and it may be of assistance.

We know from often bitter personal experience that the main parties seldom if ever honour the commitments made in their election manifesto's, or if they do it is seldom in a way that is easily recogniseable and when they fail it is often hard to pinpoint exactly why and even harder to apportion criticism or blame since the target is so diffuse.

Perhaps it might be better to approach the issue from the opposite direction. Choose who to vote for not on national policies, which are vague and amorphous and can be easily manipulated after the event by unscrupulous party machines, but on purely local issues. After all, since you are asked to choose a person to represent the views of the borough in paliament, party politics should be a secondary consideration.

Imagine yourself to be the Director of a company called Hyndburn Plc and you are interviewing candidates for a sales job. The job pays £170,000 p.a. (including expenses, benefits etc.) and is to run for five years.

Naturally, as an astute businessman, you will want to know exactly what credentials and experience the candidates have to offer and how they intend to promote the interests of your company, year on year. You will probably also want to insist on performance targets too!

So here are your two main candidates:

Greg Pope (Lab) Has done the job before. By his own admission he cannot understand a train timetable and has shown a not altogether healthy interest in the individual rights of goldfish. Incidentally, he has voted against the government on only 30 out of over 800 occaisions.

James Mawdsley (Con) Has spent fourteen months in solitary confinement in a Burmese prison. Decided to chuck his degree in favour of travel (It broadens the mind) and appears more concerned with the inequities of Burmese and North Korean politics than anything else.

Which of these is going to give Hyndburn Plc the leg-up it so desperately needs? The choice is yours.

WillowTheWhisp · 11-04-2005, 06:49

Not a lot of choice is there? Sometimes I can't help feeling that we simply settle for the best of a bad lot. We could do with some additional competition here and some people with the courage of their own individual convictions. OK, they may not succeed and they may not change central government policy but you have to start somewhere.

Sorry Neil, that wasn't very helpful was it? All I can do is agree with what other people have said. You have to weigh up what is most important to you as an individual and as a family and then look at or question the candidates and find out who comes closest to fulfilling those requirements.

entwisi · 11-04-2005, 07:24

I've mentioned this before but I think we should have a box on the ballot slip for 'None of the Above is fit to govern'. I too feel I must vote in order to be able to pass judgement when they mess up. However I am really struggling to find a candidate whose personal campaign and whose party politics will make my life any better. I've often sat and thought what policies 'The Common Sense' party should have. I'll start another thread so see what people think.

Ian

Neil · 11-04-2005, 07:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

So here are your two main candidates:

Greg Pope (Lab) Has done the job before. By his own admission he cannot understand a train timetable and has shown a not altogether healthy interest in the individual rights of goldfish. Incidentally, he has voted against the government on only 30 out of over 800 occaisions.

James Mawdsley (Con) Has spent fourteen months in solitary confinement in a Burmese prison. Decided to chuck his degree in favour of travel (It broadens the mind) and appears more concerned with the inequities of Burmese and North Korean politics than anything else.

Which of these is going to give Hyndburn Plc the leg-up it so desperately needs? The choice is yours.

Thanks for the info Bob. Now I am really confused as who to vote for

Time to do some more reading I think.

I remember talking with a friend a few years ago about how our voting system works. He mentioned a method, I can't remember its name but someone will tell me, you vote for the party not candidate. Votes added up and if Labour have the most votes they run the whole country at national and local levels. This appears at first to be a good idea. HBC can't blame Labour for not enough money because they would be Labour and so on. One party in charge so only one party to blame.

Any views people.

Acrylic-bob · 11-04-2005, 08:44

That wouldn't be "proportional representation" would it?

garinda · 11-04-2005, 08:54

James Mawdsley is staunchly anti abortion. Meaning like his chum Ann Widdicome he would like to see not only a reduction in the time limit for it , but for it to be made totally illegal again.

Second reason not to vote for him, being chums with Ann Wiiddicome.

Neil · 11-04-2005, 08:57

Thats it yes thanks.

Any views on it?

Acrylic-bob · 11-04-2005, 08:59

Doris Karloff is a very good Catholic woman......which, on consideration, is about the most that may be politely said of her.

entwisi · 11-04-2005, 09:01

Due to the way that the boundaries are currenty set it currently stands that Labour will get back in with less than 35% of the vote whereas the Tories/Lib Dems need more than 40%.

yerself · 11-04-2005, 09:02

I posted this link some time ago. For those undecided who to vote for, try it: http://www.politicalcompass.org/. It may give you an idea of your political leaning, it may surprise you. Give it a go.