Comments on: Election Post

By: Dad

Dad — Mon, 09 May 2005 23:38:47 +0000

So, after all these years away from the UK I finally get to vote for the grass roots party! Actually, when you think about it the electoral map is basically blue where grass does indeed grow!

Seen from a different generation, I could not vote for the Lib Dems as their policies don’t add up, perhaps because they don’t have to. If I hadn’t voted Tory I would have probably voted for Old Labour, if they still existed. There’s something to be said for the bi-partisan system and the down-to-earth rhetoric that both ultimately represent (even if from different perspectives).

By: The Vote Counter

The Vote Counter — Sat, 07 May 2005 15:47:00 +0000

Grudnadian or Independent reader, middle class, recycles wine bottles (though probably drives to the bottle bank in a 4WD gas guzzler), likes to think the Lib Dems are above the usual muck slinging of party politics. Sounds like a Lib Dem lifestyle to me.

The reality is that they employ people who, in the 80′s, would have been working for Sachi and Sachi to get Thatcher elected. In a way the hypocracy of the Lib Dems is even worse than that of New Labour. As a person that voted Lib Dem to keep the tories out I am rather pissed off and feel used. Next time around I won’t bother to support them with my vote.

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Sat, 07 May 2005 10:35:01 +0000

Thinking about it a bit more, it’s interesting that the Tories are the only party with a real grassroots foundation. You can have a Tory lifestyle with the village and the dog and the Barour jacket but can you have a LibDem lifestyle? Is anyone out there living the LibDem dream?

Labour types are easy to identify but they don’t really like their party any more. Given there isn’t a LibDem type it’s understandable they lurch into the false sense of confidence that fanatical ideology provides.

By: Pete Ashton

Pete Ashton — Sat, 07 May 2005 06:11:22 +0000

Vote Counter: The LibDem thing doesn’t really surprise me. Symptomatic of the party system, in that in order to fully support a party you really can’t be having and rational and critical though processes, is that you’re going to be a self important prick, especially if you’re fighting for some abstract noble cause. Fanaticism does make for ugly humans and I don’t think the LibDems are unique in this case. You’ll no doubt find Labour and Tory supporters acting the same in marginals where they can sniff power.

I prefer to think of them as foot soldiers – they do the necessary work, albeit annoyingly, but they’re not actually in charge. If they were the whole thing would fall apart.

By: Dave C

Dave C — Sat, 07 May 2005 02:18:59 +0000

Paxman showed himself up in his attempted interview with Galloway. He couldn’t hide is disgust for Galloway, so much for impartiality of the BBC. It is time Paxman was either sacked or quit, I am sick of him and his ilk on the Today and PM programs on R4. Whilst robust interviewing is necessary they have taken upon themselves to be more important than the people they pretend to interview.

As a Respect member i’m glad to see the party get a seat. It is a shame that Galloway is such an odious prick :( I hope the party will grow beyond him to become a serious left wing coalition.

By: The Vote Counter

The Vote Counter — Sat, 07 May 2005 02:07:26 +0000

Having spent thursday night into friday morning counting votes and rubbing shoulders with the party workers locally I am now more hopeful and yet much much more cynical than I was before.

The process works like this…the counters sit one side of a table and sort the ballot papers and then count them. The party workers sit the other side of the table and watch you doing this, to ensure the process is open and honest and fair.

The independant candidate appeared to have been having a rather good time in the bar, and his workers were totally clueless and had no idea what they were watching us doing.

I saw I Labour guy all night. He is a local councillor and a nice chap and as he knew his candidate didn’t have a chance he was very relaxed all night.

UKIP strutted around being arrogant, full of a self importance totally out of proportion to the paltry number of votes they got.

The Tory people seemed to be typical tories. Either old people or ‘young conservatives’. Whilst I do not support the policies of the tory party the ones I met were all local people and party members and seemed like decent people. The chap sat opposite me watching me count was another local councillor and a very nice old chap and conducted himself very well.

The Lib Dems were a BIG shock to me. The majority were young public school types who had been bused in from London to spin the candidate. Arrogant, self important pricks, who wore designer shirts and spent the evening talking on mobile phones. Basically a bunch of total wankers. The Lib Dems give the appearance as a local grass roots party but in fact seem to be the spinniest spinners of the whole lot.

So after this experience I will NOT be voting Lib Dem again. This may mean that I no longer bother to vote as I doubt there will be a local Green or Respect candidate in my area next time around. But I have seen the lie of the Lib Dems up close and personal, they have carved a nich as the honest centre left party but are in fact a bunch of professional PR types using the middle classes in a cynical fashion.

I am amazed to say that from last nights experience the party that really is a grass roots party is the tories, just not the kind of people I would want to hang out with or vote for.