2015 Elections : Who is voting for who and why ?

[Smudger]

Don't know if this will sway anyone, but Katie Hopkins has said she'll leave the country if Milliband gets in. +1 for Labour then...

Didn't she see what happened when Phil Collins said the same in the 90s?

I fully believe 'celebrities' threatening to leave the country has a major influence on how people vote.

[Saracen]

Get thee behind me, Sata..... erm, Smudger.

[Stringent]

Is there any form of comeback on pledges that were made in a manifesto if the party got into government they would carry out, and then don't? Seems like there should be. You have failed this city. Arrow in the head. Sorted.

[kalniel]

Is there any form of comeback on pledges that were made in a manifesto if the party got into government they would carry out, and then don't? Seems like there should be. You have failed this city. Arrow in the head. Sorted.

You don't get elected again, unless you convince the electorate there was as good reason for breaking the pledge.

[scaryjim]

The comeback is - don't vote for them next time. Have you not seen how the LibDem share has tanked over the last 5 years?

I already know who's won in my constituency. Same person who's won it the last 45 years. I'm waiting for Buffy to swing into town and try to stake him

[Saracen]

Is there any form of comeback on pledges that were made in a manifesto if the party got into government they would carry out, and then don't? Seems like there should be. You have failed this city. Arrow in the head. Sorted.

The legalistic answer to that is, perhaps surprisingly, no.

Neither parties nor individual politicians are in any way, except subsequent voter backlash, bound to follow through on manifestos. They are not contractually binding, and should be seen as, in a charitable light, aspirations. In a less charitable, but in my view more accurate, light .... what they need to say to get elected, and not necessarily what they either believe or intend to do.

And THAT is my main problem in deciding who to vote for.

We are electing a representative. Someone to make decisions on our behalf, exercising their own judgement. They are NOT commited to doing what their constituents want. Many MPs have, over the years (and a couple, to my face) pointed out they are representatives not delegates. We DO NOT elect them to do as we wish, but we are picking someone to decide for us.

The logic, I guess, is that we don't have the time, access, information or research staff required to make informed decisions, so we elect someone that, in theory, shares our world view that will make the decisions on our behalf that we would make if we were properly and duly informed.

But when those candidates and parties are evasive and deceitful in what they say, prior to the election, how the flaming hell are we supposed to determine who supports our world view?

And if, as seems often to be the case, they say one thing to get elected and do something else, even the polar opposite, once elected, and WE have NO power to do anything about it for 5 years ..... at which time we get fed another load of politically expedient bull do-do by professional deceivers that are hoping (correctly, much of the time) that we've forgotten the bull do-do they fed us last time .... are we supposed to have any faith in any of them, or the "system" they occupy?

[shaithis]

...and that is why everyone I know who doesn't vote any more, stopped voting in the first place (myself included).

Once you have been lied to a couple of times, you feel the entire voting system is futile. We really cannot effect change in a controlled manor.

[HalloweenJack]

voting locally for my local mp - Stephen Lloyd

hard working libdem - went against the whip on votes , and resigned when the tories broke a promise over the local roads.


also it was labour who introduced tuition fee`s in 1998.

[Saracen]

... We really cannot effect change in a controlled manor.

It's a bit like an elitist private club - you have to be a member to change the rules, but once you're a member, it's not in your personal interest to change the rules.

In fact, not so much "like" such a club, but (maybe excepting the Lords) the ultimate example of such a club.

[Galant]

For the first time ever I find myself in a position I often criticised - I'm not sure I could vote for anyone.

Putting it more softly, I want to vote, but I'm finding that I'm at a lost to feel confidence in any major party.

This is mostly for two reasons:

1 - Based on recent performances I no longer feel as though any major party or leading politician has integrity and so it feels like a whoever wins will do whatever they want without regards for promises or emphases as per their manifestos or campaigns etc. TLDR - No-one's trustworthy.

2 - AND/OR - I don't hear any party or leading politician expressing values or an approach I can believe in.

TLDR - I feel as though I can neither agree with nor trust in any party or individual and the whole thing is feeling more and more like a big game to elect career politicians.

I've a few other thoughts about how I, or anyone, might be able to move past this point and find a way to vote, but I haven't the time right now. Suffice to say that this is where I found myself to be this year.

[Stringent]

You don't get elected again, unless you convince the electorate there was as good reason for breaking the pledge.

Thing is they do get elected again. People have short memories.

I am also finding it difficult to know who to vote for. I'd rather vote for an independent, but I can't even find a comprehensive list on who is standing in my constituency. On the YourNextMP site it lists Tory, Labour, Lib Dem and UKIP as standing, but I have had a leaflet through about an independent saying he is as well. So, I can't even find a definitive guide so I can do a little research. But all in all, its probably looking like UKIP this time round.

[kalniel]

Thing is they do get elected again. People have short memories.

But other parties don't. I'm pretty sure the Conservatives are still blaming any unpopular economic decisions/effects on Labour 10 years past.

[Saracen]

But other parties don't. I'm pretty sure the Conservatives are still blaming any unpopular economic decisions/effects on Labour 10 years past.

Neither Labour nor Tory parties are honest about our past, though.

The Tory perspective is that ALL the economic problems were Labour's fault. Drivel. A good part of it was the impact of the sub-prime crisis.

But Labour's stance is it was ALL due to external economic factors, like the sub-prime crisis. Equally drivel. Labour's spending and debt control was out of control well before that crisis, and so we were singularly ill-prepared to weather the storm when it hit. Tory criticisms over not fixing the roof while the sun shone are entirely apt.

Neither party are honest. The Tories want to pretend it's all Labour profligacy, and Labour want to pretend it's nothing whatever to do with them.

By and large, for decades, we've lurched from extreme to extreme. Labour do loads of populist spending, which in their ignorance people lap up. Then, the bills come home to roost, and fiscally tight Tories come in, trim public sector fat, get the finances under control, which is what we elected them for, and are thanked in a similar way to a temperamental 5-year old that doesn't like the taste of the medicine. So we re-elect Labour.

And repeat.

The truly idiotic thing is that we keep repeating this tired old pattern, but expect the results to change.

[opel80uk]

By and large, for decades, we've lurched from extreme to extreme. Labour do loads of populist spending, which in their ignorance people lap up. Then, the bills come home to roost, and fiscally tight Tories come in, trim public sector fat, *whilst making sure the richest in society continue to get richer at the same time as telling everyone we're all in it together.

*I've FTFY. It may help understand the temperamental 5-year old bit.

[Saracen]

*I've FTFY. It may help understand the temperamental 5-year old bit.

If true. Which it isn't.

[opel80uk]

If true. Which it isn't.

Do you really believe that?