elections? start

whens the next local elections start?
curious if your voting are you voting for the same party or diffrent + reason

I'll only vote if theres a 'none of the above' box. I'm sick to death of all politicians as theyre nothing but a bunch of lying, deceitful, arrogant, greedy, hypocritical, self serving bastards who put there own selfish personal needs and political clap trap ideologies before the country and citizens they swore to serve

Originally posted by bodrul
whens the next local elections start?
curious if your voting are you voting for the same party or diffrent + reason

- The campaigns are now underway and the vote is on May 4th.

Why would anyone not want to vote Labour?

[edit on 7-4-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

Some are next year, depending where you live

(strangely, i dont get to vote until 2007 due to Canterbury holding the location election then )

I will as per-normal, ruin the ballet or vote for the local independent party. I'm not sure which one I'll do yet, depends how bored I am on the way to work when I vote.

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey

- The campaigns are now underway and the vote is on May 4th.

Why would anyone not want to vote Labour?

because they dont keep their word
and milk us dry of our hard earned Cash

this time i will be voting Libral or conservative (depending on which has good ideas on improving my local area)

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey
Why would anyone not want to vote Labour?

ermmm....

we may want Liberty

Originally posted by bodrul
because they dont keep their word

- Example(s)?

and milk us dry of our hard earned Cash

- "Dry"!?

It would seem that you don't have kids of your own (so no child benefit, working family tax credits or child care tax credits) and have no experience as a working adult under a tory government (they are not - despite their propaganda - 'low taxing').

this time i will be voting Libral or conservative (depending on which has good ideas on improving my local area)

- The tory party as the party of social improvement!?

They (like the liberals) don't even have any actual policies at the moment and besides claiming to be lower cost councils (enormously debatable depending on which method of accountancy you use) what else do they offer?

===========================================================

Originally posted by infinite
ermmm....

we may want Liberty

- I'm all ears as to how your 'liberty' been curtailed by this Labour government?

ID cards?
Pffffhhhhhh.
Typical closed minded OTT simplistic single issue bandwagon (as most of 'those' kind of issues are wont to be, sadly)
They're not even here for several years yet (after the next general election at the earliest).
Hardly relevant in this years council elections.

........and anyway if 'liberty' is truly your major concern then you'll find your personal freedoms have increased under this Labour government (most significantly when the European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into British law).

But no credit for that at all then, huh?

[edit on 10-4-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

I will vote lib dem in the local elections, they are the best people for my area.
I vote labour in the general elections.

We really need to rejuvinate our democracy.


Dan

I'll destory the ballet again.

I spent most of today and yesterday going over which of the political parties that I agree with, and as per-normal I agree with aspects of every party. Like the majority of people seem to...due to this, I won't compromise on any of my morals or beliefs and vote for a party which won't uphold these.

Party Politics - The Death of the Educated Man.

Originally posted by Odium
Party Politics - The Death of the Educated Man.

- On the day that there's another 'game in town' you be sure to let us all know Odium, huh?

Meantime may I offer my sympathies for your (self imposed) disenfranchised status.

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey

Originally posted by Odium
Party Politics - The Death of the Educated Man.

- On the day that there's another 'game in town' you be sure to let us all know Odium, huh?

Meantime may I offer my sympathies for your (self imposed) disenfranchised status.

So what should I do then? Decide that I'd rather have some of what I agree with and things I do not brought into power?
This is the problem with Party Politics, people are left voting out groups they do not like rather than voting in groups they do.

But people do feel genuine apathy and disenfranchisment with the current political system.

In reality there is very little difference between the main political parties. Perhaps this is a good thing that we have such a stable system, yet you cannot deny that people are caring less and less about how they are governed.
This is not necessarily their fault. People are not properly engaged in the political process.

Dan


EDIT: Spelling

[edit on 12-4-2006 by bigdanprice]

I'm not scoffing.

But I am 100% certain it, for many, has never been very much different.

Even in the days when the parties were utterly different one was always left pondering over which bits of one or other amounted to a program more suited to your own personal views.
I doubt too many found a 'total' match.

Is it important for people to have an interest in their governance unless its bad?
People want to get on with their own lives in the best possible way, with as little government involvment in their lives, and have world class services for the least amount of money.

With our current system, there is very little way the man on the street can effect national desicions.

Dan

Originally posted by bigdanprice
Is it important for people to have an interest in their governance unless its bad?

- I'd say it is preferable but not particularly unexpected that they don't if it isn't.
(if you see what I mean)

People want to get on with their own lives in the best possible way, with as little government involvment in their lives

- Quite.
No matter how enthused political 'wonks' are the simple fact is most people have real lives to be getting on with and be interested in rather than obsessing about politics.

and have world class services for the least amount of money.

- ....and good job too.
It is 'our' expectations and demands that 'drive' better value and service ultimately.

With our current system, there is very little way the man on the street can effect national desicions.

- I can't agree with this Dan.

I think there is a political and media 'class' hard at work telling us that this is so (cos it helps demotivate people and keeps people out of the decision making process).

But part of this is down to the establishment of an 'orthodoxy'; a feeling that the big issues have been settled.
This kind of attitude dawns every now and again (think the political orthodoxy of the 1950's and 1960's).

It is never especially lasting and even during it there are no the lack of differences some claim.

A small 'for instance'........
More working families in the UK today get far more real and tangible assistance from this government than any which went before (and vague claims that the others 'would probably have done it too' - despite no evidence of that whatsoever - hardly count).

That may mean little or nothing to those not in receipt of that assistance but it does not add up to 'no differences' either.

[edit on 12-4-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

I am glad we agree on most points...
My point about not being able to affect national desicions, is
i) the way we elect the prime-minister and the government
ii) protest , such as those for the iraq war, where disregarded.

Though labour were not voted out, because of no viable alternative and in fact their domestic policies on the whole have been a great success. You will never get a party in our current political system that represents your views. PR could help aliviate that position, though a more bi-partisan form of government could be a way to rejuvinate democracy.

The problem is politics is a complicated issue, and people have such busy lives, they cannot engage with it at every level

Dan

Originally posted by bigdanprice
My point about not being able to affect national desicions, is
i) the way we elect the prime-minister and the government

- Naaa, I can't go along with this one Dan.

If you are a party member you do get a vote to select the leader (who may well become PM) and others to senior party positions (who will most often go on to become cabinet members/Ministers).

Depending on the state of party democracy (and to be fair even the tory party are opening this one up to their general membership) you will also get a vote on party policy (which, in most cases, will become government policy).

ii) protest , such as those for the iraq war, where disregarded.

- I'm not sure this is 100% either.
OK, the war happened but I'm not sure one can say a majority were against it, there was a huge opposition that is true, but a majoity against?

PR could help aliviate that position, though a more bi-partisan form of government could be a way to rejuvinate democracy.

- Does this not put us back to a situation where some will complain there is no difference between the parties though?

The problem is politics is a complicated issue, and people have such busy lives, they cannot engage with it at every level

- I suppose it is also fair to say that the days of 'mass movements' in the UK seem to have gone (for now).

In one sense I can see the pity that people don't seem to feel so moved on 'the issues' but on the otherhand maybe it's also a sign of our good fortune and political maturity to recognise we are lucky enough to live in a place and time where ones' well being is not all about ones' personal views and your political views aren't cause for imprisonment, torture or death.

Northern Ireland is a salutory reminder that even in the UK that has not been the case always, even recently, and there are plenty of places in the world today where that is still the case.