3rd of May eek

[cheekbones3]

Well, time for a policy-light election post, setting out my prejudices and hopefully sparking a little discussion.
 
Overall position:
 
Labour/Lib Dem coalition, has met with limited success, but is now suffering from the general dislike of Blair. SNP have a lead in the opinion polls, but are unproven. Lib Dems maybe treading water. Tories still irrelevant, especially given their unwillingness to join coalition. SSP will suffer from losing Tommy Sheridan. Tommy Sheridan will suffer from losing SSP. Greens could make headway, but I feel they will struggle to do so.
 
Party opinions:
 
Labour: Incumbent and possibly a bit complacent in recent times, and struggling under the weight of the UK's dislike of Blair. McConnell also appears to be a careerist goon, but there appear to be some ministers who are trying to make a positive difference, although policy-wise, a bit more radicalism is needed. They appear to be championing further investment in the economy and in skills and education, along with R&D. Also lofty ambitions regarding power generation.
 
Lib Dem: I agree generally with tax policies and strength of commitment to local action, if they were again to form a coalition, I'd like them to exert more influence than last time, as they appeared to sell out too easily last time round. Green credentials reasonable. Also proposing a cut in business taxes, which I've long been interested in, to stimulate new growth.
 
SNP: Proposals to use a magic pot of cash from non-existent oil bonus upon independence to pay for various socialist policies (some of which I agree with, but are already costed more sensibly by such as the Lib Dems). Nationalism for its own sake. Erk. Doesn't Scotland already get an annual windfall from the Barnett formula? Isn't this government spend already accounting for any oil bonus that comes into the UK, and isn't the oil income being maximised already by recent windfall taxes? Any separation bonuses I believe will easily be cancelled out by the loss of business confidence, the loss of Barnett income, and shortfalls in taxation as a result. I'd be like a turkey voting for Christmas.
 
Greens: Pro-environment policies great. Supporters of independence. Oops.
 
SSP/Solidarity: Some valid points to make on social welfare policy, but continuing the internal socialist power-struggles of the last few decades is doing them no good at all.
 
Conservatives: Proposals for the Conservative and Unionist Party to separate its Scottish part from the UK party do amuse me so.
 
Who do I vote for then?
 
It comes down to (in my opinion) a tactical vote for Labour to reduce the SNP's strength, although given where I live the SNP aren't that strong, I might just stick with the Lib Dems for my main vote (I think our Lib Dem MSP will be easily re-elected). For the party list vote, a tactical vote may be more relevant. As much as I want a chamber with a split power base, I'd rather worry about stymieing the growing SNP power rather than promoting the smaller parties' power just now.
 
Current thoughts - Lib Dem 1, Labour 2.
 
Opinions?

Comments

[chuma.livejournal.com]

Neatly sums up my thoughts, except that Labour have so consistantly fucked up everything in the last 10 years that I will vote Lib Dem.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

I really don't think they have at all. They've been misguided in spending plans, and obvious foreign policy events aside, I think their biggest failures have been a lack of boldness with the support of the electorate, and a lack of planning for spending.

I get the impression that their achievements are obscured by a general dislike of the Prime Minister.

[chuma.livejournal.com]

The health service is a complete mess at the moment and going to come to a head when doctors start having their contracts run out and no method of re-employment, not to mention no fund to employ the student nurses etc that are coming through the ranks.

The trains that Prescott claimed he would sort back in 1997 are more useless and expensive than ever.

Schools are increasingly sending out kids with no useful knowledge for careers in anything above Fast Food (My oldest sister is a head teacher). Also University students find themselves in £30K worth of debt before they even get a job, and often the high salary jobs the government says that they will get as a result of having a degree just are not available.

The benefits system is so utterly screwed up that people who need help seldom get it, just "tax credits" which most single or older people aren't able to claim anyhow. There are people who are better off NOT working at all and claiming benefits so there is no incentive for them to go back to work.

The prison service is failing and corrupt in the privitise prisons, and there are precious little of them even though Labour were told 10 years ago they needed to build more. This results in people being let out early to avoid even more overcrowding and hence offenders either aren't punished at all or the sentence given is so short that it is considered to be an occupational hazard.

The home office is in disarray and being split up because they cant handle immigration and are too busy spying on the general population with a pointless and insecure identity card that is costing hundreds of millions to implement

Pensions are totally screwed leaving people having to retire in poverty or work well into their 70's to afford to live.

Then you have all the wasted money in failed computer systems, screw ups with the House of Commons, Cash for Honours fraud and thats even BEFORE we think about Iraq, "Terrorism" and it's effect on our civil liberties and the poor sod shot in the head on a tube train.


In short... What achievements out of curiosity?

[chuma.livejournal.com]

Should probably add, I would never vote Tory and in 1997 voted Labour. I just believe this government IS Tory, just under another name. Only wish Lib Dem were better organised and had a decent leader, but they are still the lesser of all evils.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

And I've never voted Labour, and am as likely to now as ever!

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

The health service is doing pretty well I think, apart from the issue of staff, and that's what I was referring to mainly by the poor management of the extra cash available. In many other ways, the cures that are available nowadays are miraculous, just the details of management and cleanliness and staffing need sorted.

Trains (I've been travelling regularly on them since 1995) are much nicer and cheaper than they were on the routes that I use them. I spend less now than when I had a young person's railcard.

Some schools are doing very well, but there's a lot of muddled thinking certainly, exams are always getting easier and the bringing up of the worst instead of the freeing of the best is always foolish. Yep student debt is rubbish too, but there's at least means-testing. I'd rather bump up taxes and reduce uni numbers, increase funding for further education/training and get marginal students doing something useful instead of dossing for a crappy degree.

Benefits have helped the poorest, but the pay-off is that the laziest can also survive, and the minimum-income guarantee makes it unattractive to get work. I don't have an idea of how to sort this out at the moment!

The prisons are in trouble because of idiotic pandering to the right, throwing more people in gaol instead of investing in rehab etc etc, which I believe is a much more effective way of dealing with many offenders. At the moment we seem to let of lot of people rot, to everyone's expense, probably two or three times over (prison cost, costs of crime).

Yep, other Home Office stuff is bollocks too and terrorism is an excuse for a loss of civil liberties, which I do not care for at all. This has not been good.

Pensions have been made worse by taxation and the dot com crash, I think they could have been helped more certainly, and the state pension should be better too.

Wasted money I don't like too, not sure what you mean about Commons screw-ups, and yep, the pandering to American policy is nonsense. Trouble is, I see a lot of these issues as almost inevitable under any government - market forces dictate a forced hand, the USA being behind a lot of it.

Positives are that the economy has been good, a lot more investment into public transport and infrastructure and health, but unfortunately a lot of bad organisation too, typical public-sector problems. I think that their reversal of the seeming national downgrade that was happoening under the previous government was reversed, now we just need some right-thinking and some balls from those in power! Has to be said too that a lot of those problems are more British than Scottish, the issues here are different and possibly better dealt with, although that's another can of worms.

[chuma.livejournal.com]

My sister is a nurse and I can tell you it is NOT doing well at the moment. In fact you shoudl ask Vic (Dagliv) who is a doctor about the way they have treated doctors of late - forcing them to go miles out of their way for interviews only to scrap the results and say they will not be re-employing anyone until the system is sorted, meaning there will be no jobs and when their contracts run out, they are unemployed. Expect some protest marches, not for pay, but just to get jobs at all!

Trains, well I suggest trying to get a train from Edinburgh to Birmingham. If you buy on the day it will cost you £80 for a single. That is THREE TIMES the cost to go by car, and this government wants to make the environment an issue???

Schools... bring back the old BTECH *nod* Give it a nicer name if you must! :)

Benefits just seem to help those who don't need help more than those who do and inconvenience them too.

Prisons: Yeah you have a point, but there has to be a deterent and giving people 8 years for murder isn't one. Agreed though, rehab is a good way to go.


And your positives. Aye the economy has stood pretty tall it must be said. I still do not agree about the funding in Health, and public transport is easier to invest in if you no longer have control of the trains...

As for Scottish problems other than British... I fail to see the differences. People care about the same things here as they do in England, only there is the whole independence crap overshadowing it. I would be half tempted to say "have your independence" on the condition that when it all goes horribly horribly wrong, the SNP disband.

[henriksdal.livejournal.com]

Opinions? England really can't play cricket *weep*

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

We just got a boundary!

[henriksdal.livejournal.com]

Does not make up for 127-8.

*weep*

[year-x.livejournal.com]

Monty's doing his best!

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Apart from that waft and catch behind...

[year-x.livejournal.com]

hmmm... spoke too soon!

[deililly.livejournal.com]

It is bizarre. SNP has somehow got my name this year and have been phoning and sending stuff. Smell slight desperation off this. Be interested to see who offers the lifts to the polling station this year :P

I am still torn though. Strong labour area. Not a fan of independence. Wishy washy policies promoted by all excepting those howling for independence. Who does that leave me with :S

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Indeed, the fear of strong opinions is eternally tedious.

[deililly.livejournal.com]

The thing that really gets my blood boiling is the ceaseless commentary about what the other guy is doing instead of what they would actually do themselves. The whole 'see how crap they are? You don't want them!' argument gets right up my nostrils even worse that the wishy washy crap. Tell me what you would do. Tell me clearly how it would work. And I will bloody vote for you.

(sorry am on idealist high horse today)

[yodd.livejournal.com]

This is whay I haven't voted for years.

I'd rather hear why I should vote for you, rather than why I shouldn't vote for everyone else!

[year-x.livejournal.com]

Yep, sums up my views fairly well too. I do like the SNP, but only for their pig-headed refusal to see reality through their fog of romanticism.

I'm just pissed off about Trident right now, so have difficulty voting for any party who supported that.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Aye true, I do see that as their dark side, being apparently deeply tied to the commercial powers in terms of such as Trident and public-private partnerships in general. Trouble is, I see this as a symptom of modern democracy - money wields more power than ever...

[dryriser.livejournal.com]

For the first time in my life, I see me voting strategically. I'm that sick of a labour government that feels no need to listen to its electorate that I will vote for whoever I feel is most likely to unseat the incumbent, unless the incumbent is not labour (I've moved since the last election, so forget who's who in where) in which case I shall vote Lib Dem in order to further their chances of an overall majority. For all the claims that Scottish Labour are a different beast to their English counterparts, they'll tow the whitehall line when it comes down to it.

It worries me that the SNP actually have a chance of getting in (borrowing's 12% of GDP? No problem. Honest...), then again, I also find it entertaining that the green party want an independant Scotland that would rely on oil income...

Ach in the end, they're all crap. Was it Pratchett or Adams that said that the desire to become a politician should automatically disqualify someone from standing for election...?

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Aye probably one of the two. Maybe it should be like jury service...

[gregorioandrea.livejournal.com]

I've been liberal (don't laugh, Tony) all my life, but it was only until the devolution that I felt as if my vote actually counted for anything. All hail proportional representation.

In other news, I'm astonished the SNP haven't renamed themselves the Braveheart Party or something like that. It'll be murder if those lobotomised freaks get control ...

[dryriser.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm definitely all for PR. I'm also highly against the SNP ever running this country, independant or not...

[ghostsmut.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Labour will always be a big fat steaming number two. ;)

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

Just like the rest of them...

[luckylove.livejournal.com]

I'm still not sure that I even understand the election thingy. Two votes? I'm confused. Mark and his parents have tried explaining it but I just don't get it. As I probably won't ever understand it and I don't like any of the parties (the ones I might've voted for want independance and that'll never work in our favour) I'm seriously considering spoiling my ballot paper. Either by sneezing on it, bleeding on it or vomiting on it. I think I know just how much lithium is required to pull that one off. Or if I can't find my lithium, prawns will be equally as good.

I think this is the crappest election in which I've been able to vote. They're all equally crap.

Current plan, if someone talks me out of spoiling stuff, is Lib Dem and Green seeing as how there are two votes. *still confused*

I also think my drugs are really messing with my head.

[cheekbones3.livejournal.com]

First vote, old style for one person in your constituency. Second vote for party in the region.