OMG .... shocked at the election results

[Rainee Bows]

Well i for one am pretty shocked at the election results , was expecting more of a lib dem showing :(

Certainly wasnt expecting a tory swing like that which happened....

what happened did people vote through fear of labour getting returned in power and were cajoled by media coverage into voting conservative just because otherwise its considered a wasted vote ?

are we in this country that scared of change that we are wiling to suffer 5 years of tory inspired carp ?

or maybe there are genuine reasons for people voting tory, does anyone think they are going to be better for this country ?

or is a hung parliament the best result we could possibly expect given the political climate ?

what do you think of the potential lib/tory mash-up ?

Personally i would rather see a lib/lab mix supported by the 'others' , any thoughts any one?



Rain
xxxx

[Baa]

I can't say I'm shocked or disappointed. The hung parliament has been predicted for some time and is not necessarily a bad thing, actually I hoped and welcome it.

I did think the "debates" on the telly might have an undue influence on voters but fortunately it appears not, thank goodness. It was an entirely unfair event with many other parties never getting a chance to discuss their side. What amazed me was the turn out, in the region I counted votes for it was 69.43% turn out, when previously we were looking at around 43% but also the amount of grown adults who chose this as the first time to vote.

I don't think the swing to conservatives had much to do with the media, they do have an influence but people have a tendency to be loyal and others wanted to chide Labour and there are the floating voters who for their own reason chose their party. Personally I chose what I considered the best MP for the region I live in, I'd like to think many others did the same, others may have liked Cameron's tie colour, who knows.

Had it been a vote against Labour, I think the Conservatives would have won outright. In 1979 and in 1997 were classic examples of votes to oust previous governments, and at the same time both winning parties ran a stellar campaign I honestly don't think it happened this time on either counts.

Liberal policies have worried me to the point where I would have considered defecting to another country had they got in. I saw nothing other than electoral reform that had any promise. I think the Liberals had a poor showing because of the immigration question, it's been a massive subject this time around and I don't think their policy was presented properly, there was a point where I saw Cable lost for words for a second on that question, but it was long enough to be noticeable. I don't think anyone had good PR or well rounded policies.

So why when the reports are doom and gloom for hung parliament do I welcome it. It has shown the political parties that none of them have any strong, favourable policies. It also means it restores the power to the house and not one party, the woefully forgotten area of politics is now brought to the forefront ... us.

Landslides always sideline a large percentage of the population, Thacherism was good for this region but I agree it wasn't for others just as Blairism was good for others but killed off swathes of industry and businesses here was torture for my former career and Brownism just rubbed us in the dust on the bottom of the governmental shoe. This is a strong Liberal and Conservative region.

What I'd like to see now is all the parties who have been chosen to represent the people in a coalition and actually discussing the best way forward together. It won't happen of course but I do think the parties need to take note of this election and really consider looking at doing the right thing by us and choosing the best people for the job regardless of party.
 

[jamhun]

Personally I chose what I considered the best MP for the region I live in,

Totally agree with you Baa, especially the statement above.
Unfortunately I was one of the nonvoter's, not because I didn't want to vote, but because I did not know who to vote for (I don't vote for a party).
I didn't know who the local candiddates were, as I had never heard of them before. They did not state on their leaflets what they would do for me, only what the others would not!

Therefore I can't criticise anything to do with how the election ended, I don't have the right to, as I didn't vote. How many other people are there in the same position as me?



James

[Baa]

Totally agree with you Baa, especially the statement above.
Unfortunately I was one of the nonvoter's, not because I didn't want to vote, but because I did not know who to vote for (I don't vote for a party).
I didn't know who the local candiddates were, as I had never heard of them before. They did not state on their leaflets what they would do for me, only what the others would not!

Therefore I can't criticise anything to do with how the election ended, I don't have the right to, as I didn't vote. How many other people are there in the same position as me?

You have every right to criticise IMO, you looked at your candidates and when you couldn't see someone to represent your views, exercised your right to not vote. As far as I'm concerned choosing not to vote in these cases is better than choosing because you've always voted Labour or Conservative etc even if you don't currently like the policies or the candidate.

What makes me consider someone has no real right to whinge is when they don't vote because they don't. It's their choice and their right to choose not to vote but in never even considering taking part in the political process, which you have clearly done, they have effectively decided it's someone elses responsibility to make their choice for them.

Anarchists excluded of course