Who to vote for in the election?? HELP!

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Jellibean

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I'm sure there are many people in the same boat as myself and I just want some other peoples views on this...

I am a first time voter. So who is everyone voting for in the election? I've been sitting looking online all morning and it's a nightmare!

I do think its time for a change but there are so many things to consider i am completely bamboozled! And I want to make my vote count.

So... anything anyone can put forward to give me a clear view would be much appreciated. We've just had a big debate at work and now I'm all worked up with still no decision LOL!
 
If you are 'pro' hunting, unfortunately Conservative is your only choice!! I am so tempted with lib dem but must support the possibility of repeal so have to go 'blue'......
 
Conservative. Either of the other two will heighten the chances of a hung parliament which would be horrendous, and if Labour get in again it would be the end of Geat britain IMO :(
 
I don't like Lib Dem's views on immagration or on going into the Euro. I also think people just like Nick Clegg, not necessarily the party or what they stand for, which is not wise. The thought of a hung parliament to me is a really bad idea... Just means we'll have another election soon (which is total waste of MONEY as well as time), but also, to me, means that you're not really voting for any policies in particular, because we as the electorate will not have chose an outright party with certain views, so we'll just get a missmatch... Makes me very uncomfortable. Worst still GB (what a plank, have you heard his latest comment?) would probably be PM.

so to me the Conservatives are the only option. They haven't said anything I disagree with....
 
Did anyone read the article in (can't remember which horse mag it was, sorry) but it was either Your Horse or Horse and Rider, they were asking a member from each party a list of horse related issues...for example the live export, driving hours for people with horseboxes, passports etc

It was a interesting however they all seemed to skate around the question and didnt really give definate answer etc.
 
Im undecided at this point - definately not Coservative though, Im old enough to remember the mess they made of the country last time they were in power - and I have more important things to worry about than a repeal of hunting, its not even on my radar as far as policies go.
 
If you want to vote with your heart, rather than tactically sites like http://www.votematch.org.uk/ and http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/ are very useful.

If you want to know how much your vote is really worth (more out of interest than anything else) than check out: http://www.voterpower.org.uk/

Personally, my vote is unlikely to change anything in my constituency, but I would love to see a hung parliament and real democratic reform being pushed through as a result.

It's one of those things where no-one can really tell you what to do, you just need to put some time into a bit of research and soul searching and working out which issues are most important to you.
 
Will either be labour or lib dems not tory as I am another one who can rmember my working vlass parent struggling under them the last time and the mess that labour had to clean up.

Would tho suggest a new prime minister even if Labour come to power as GB just isnt consumer friendly although My OH will kill me as he likes him coz hes a Scot ;) :rolleyes:

Nikki xxxx
 
KatB said:
Conservative. Either of the other two will heighten the chances of a hung parliament which would be horrendous, and if Labour get in again it would be the end of Geat britain IMO :(
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Completely agree.

A hung parliament would be absolutely disasterous for the economy which is pretty pants at the moment anyway. GB is only intent on spending more (= taxing more) and Nick Clegg doesnt actually stand for anything ... except taxing more than GB.

Sadly, most people will vote for the person they like the look of - not sure that is what the Greeks had in mind when they developed the idea of democracy.

As for the candidates not actually saying anything about anything and skirting round the issue - I would think that is the sign of a "good" politician! The ability to say a lot about nothing.
 
FionaMc said:
Personally, my vote is unlikely to change anything in my constituency, but I would love to see a hung parliament and real democratic reform being pushed through as a result.
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I doubt there will be any real reform if we have a hung parliament - just a load of in-fighting and "deals" being done - I couldnt think of anything less democratic.
 
Lol @ the comments about Conservatives making a mess of the country! (In a lighthearted way - not being nasty). The country's in quite a mess right now :p

GB has to go, and I don't see any way of making that happen other than to vote Tory...
 
Exactly what I was think BB! My parents didn't fair well in the early 1990's, but even they'd agree people are in more of a mess now!!
 
CBAnglo said:
I doubt there will be any real reform if we have a hung parliament - just a load of in-fighting and "deals" being done - I couldnt think of anything less democratic.
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Electoral reform is a pet issue of mine. I never thought it'd gain enough momentum for proportional representation to actually be instigated, but it seems this election is presenting us with a real opportunity. As a politics graduate I could talk voting systems and governance style and systems for hours...
 
Hevs said:
Im undecided at this point - definately not Coservative though, Im old enough to remember the mess they made of the country last time they were in power - and I have more important things to worry about than a repeal of hunting, its not even on my radar as far as policies go.
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That's not a very good measure though. Just voting because of what happened like a decade or two ago is not necessarily good. The people are different! Also, what has Labour really done - I think the mess now is even worse. Gordon Brown said in the 90s that he would never let property prices rise the way it did in the past... (for obvious reasons!!!)... and what happened? Exactly that!!

A change of government after a decade or so can be a good thing. If a government remains in power for too long, they become increasingly lethargic AND corrupt.
 
I am opld enough to remember the mess Labour got us in the last time so nothing much changes. I suppose it boils down to who is your mp and whether they do a good job. So feel sorry for me as my mp is Lembit Opik or Mr Cheeky Girls to his friends!!!!
 
FionaMc said:
Electoral reform is a pet issue of mine. I never thought it'd gain enough momentum for proportional representation to actually be instigated, but it seems this election is presenting us with a real opportunity. As a politics graduate I could talk voting systems and governance style and systems for hours...
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Which is fine in theory, but reality is completely different. I dont think the electorate will be able to force any major reforms because there is a hung parliament - all you will have is the parties trading and doing deals and making alliances in order to get their policies across. And confidence in the British economy is going to plummet. I think it is the worse thing that could happen - I would rather NC was PM (I will also be leaving the country on that day).

I think that voting should be compulsory - what do you think?
 
If it was going to be made compulsory, there would need to be a 'none of the above' option so that people had the option not to vote for anyone if no one represents their views.

Other than that - I say compulsory voting, go for it! Although it could be a bugger to enforce.
 
I don't know if you can get it on the internet, but a couple of weeks ago The Independant had a really good summary table of the 3 main parties ideas on the main issues. One thing I would say is please don't vote conservative just because they want a repeal of the hunting act- a)because just because they get in doesn't necessarily mean a repeal will be passed and b)given the state the country is in atm imo anyway there are a lot of other issues more important issues we should deciding our vote by. :D Anywho I'm voting Lib Dem or Labour as I'm going for a hung parliament :) (and I don't agree with the majority of the conservative policies)
 
I haven't voted for the last 3 elections, and feel disinclined this time. But I think I really should this time, trouble is I'm unimpressed with the choice and wish we could have a 'None of the above' box to tick

The way I see it at the moment;

Gordon Brown: . Architect of the near ruin of our country, the true scale of which won't come to light until AFTER the election
Nick clegg: likeable but has some truly breath takingly batty policies
David Cameron: haven't warmed to him. Policies seem mostly ok'ish but not exactly well thought through in some cases.

All told I think we need a change before labour complete their work and bankrupt the country and so (at the moment) the conservatives seem to represent the best of a bad bunch for me....
 
CBAnglo said:
Which is fine in theory, but reality is completely different. I dont think the electorate will be able to force any major reforms because there is a hung parliament - all you will have is the parties trading and doing deals and making alliances in order to get their policies across. And confidence in the British economy is going to plummet. I think it is the worse thing that could happen - I would rather NC was PM (I will also be leaving the country on that day).

I think that voting should be compulsory - what do you think?
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The lib dems will force it, not the electorate, as they'll be essential to any Government being formed. I imagine those reforms will be pushed through (along with various accountability type laws following the expenses scandal) and then we'll see another election later in the year. Under PR the parties would then just have to work out how to operate differently and cooperatively to get things done even with minority or coalition governments. It suits me because my views are rarely/badly represented by the main parties (Particularly Labour/Tories). PR can return stable, productive governments that represent a wider spectrum of views. As people say, it's time for a change and this is the change I'd choose - I've had enough of mud flinging, combative, no-real-choice politics thanks!

I tend to agree voting should be compulsory (with ballot spoiling an option of course) and that the voting age should be lowered.
 
Unfortunately the election has turned into a "popularity contect" because of these debates that have been televised.

People need to take note of who is standing in their area, and look at who they want to elect there, as ultimately they are the ones they have to deal with "directly " as such, and if you agree with their policies, you will be voting in a government you agree with as a whole.

My local MP is excellent anyway, and is (of course ;) ) conservative.

How anyone who actually loves rural britain can consider voting for Labour again when all they are intent on doing is building on green belt, increasing the population even further and turning their back on English business, is beyond me :(
 
Conservative !! no other option in my opnion!, well in Sclotland there is the SNP but i disagree with Scotland being independant i feel we are not economically stable enough to do so!
 
Hi, there are quite a few useful things online that summarise the different parties' policies on key issues. Good for making a rational comparison of policies, rather than just personalities! Not sure how you do hyperlinks but if you go on BBC News, click on Election 2010 then on the RHS there's a column called 'Making it Clear' - if you click the 'where they stand' link you can compare key policies really easily.

Personally, I'll be voting Labour because they sit best with my values of trying to improve equality and social mobility. Admittedly they've not done enough, but Tory changes like relying on this so-called 'big society' - i.e. charities and businesses - to pick up government slack on education and welfare services really don't convince me and will lead to more unequal opportunities, in my view. And for all Cameron tries to portray himself as a 'compassionate Conservative' I think he - and the rest of his party - remain socially conservative and the fact he would allow free votes on issues like reducing abortion terms and gay rights scares me q a lot!

That's just my personal rant/essay ;) Good luck deciding!
 
Will keep my eye on this post as Im also massivley on the fence but slightly leanin towards conservative. Find it hard to explain why other than that I dont wanna see GB as PM again and been told hing parliament isnt a good thing:confused:
The whole thing has me completey baffled despite having received some good advice both on here and in RL

The BBC website has a good section about this election and theres a chart on there outlining the parties main issues.

I started a post entitled "the big debate" a few weeks ago and some of the replies on there were excellent and worth a read IMO
 
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