The 2010 General Election Thread: Week 2

[danielf]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

But surely if the Lib Dems believe in proportional representation, in the event of a hung parliament, they should ally with the party that had the most votes in this election?

I don't see why. It makes far more sense to side with a party (if any) that is willing to push through electoral reform so the results of future elections represent the popular vote more accurately.

I see - they only believe in proportional representation if it helps them......

Originally Posted by foreverwar

But surely if the Lib Dems believe in proportional representation, in the event of a hung parliament, they should ally with the party that had the most votes in this election?

Why though? In a PR system you don't have to ally with the party that has the most seats. You can allay with another safe in the knowledge that the combined parties won more votes than the largest one.

Anyway as danielf said, they are far more likely to go with the party that will allow them to push the change in the electoral system. Although they have more common ground with the Tories on civil liberties. I think those are the two issues the Lib Dems are more focused on...

[danielf]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

I see - they only believe in proportional representation if it helps them......

On the other hand, if the current polls are an indicator of the outcome, I'd think that all parties should have a serious think about reforming the system as the current one is untenable (imo).

I agree with you, daniel.

[Flyboy]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

But surely if the Lib Dems believe in proportional representation, in the event of a hung parliament, they should ally with the party that had the most votes in this election?

But that wouldn't necessarily give them access to the power needed to change the system.

Eeeh the betting sites have changed and i bet they will change even more come next 10 days , if your feeling brave theres money to be made here . I cannot believe but hope im wrong that the Be in my community we work together and as one but for free Mr D.c will somehow fiddle his way in ooooh slimy toads frogs and newts enter my head as soon as i see the conniving shmuck on tv.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by bjorkiii

Eeeh the betting sites have changed and i bet they will change even more come next 10 days , if your feeling brave theres money to be made here . I cannot believe but hope im wrong that the Be in my community we work together and as one but for free Mr D.c will somehow fiddle his way in ooooh slimy toads frogs and newts enter my head as soon as i see the conniving shmuck on tv.

Does this post come in English?

---------- Post added at 15:03 ---------- Previous post was at 14:59 ----------

Originally Posted by Flyboy

But that wouldn't necessarily give them access to the power needed to change the system.

Of course it wouldn't but it would avoid accusations of hypocrisy. Sadly I don't rate their chances of getting the system changed.

Labour are hardly likely to want to change a system where they can come 3rd in the popular vote and still have the most MPs. The Conservatives are likewise going to be reluctant, changes that don't directly benefit them are unlikely to gain traction.

---------- Post added at 15:05 ---------- Previous post was at 15:03 ----------

Originally Posted by danielf

On the other hand, if the current polls are an indicator of the outcome, I'd think that all parties should have a serious think about reforming the system as the current one is untenable (imo).

Agreed. From that point of view I hope that the election goes down the route of Tories and Lib Dems being 1st and 2nd in the popular vote while Labour are 3rd yet have the most MPs. That would put the issue into very clear focus and both force a closer look at electoral form and a fundamental change in thinking.

Downside said hung parliament will get nothing done until that fundamental change in thinking is done.

As Peter Kellner put it in the New Statesman (not the most pro-Tory publication out there) late last year

But whatever assumptions are made, two things are clear. First, Britain's political geography is tilted heavily in Labour's favour. Labour needs only the barest lead in the popular vote to win an overall majority: not so the Conservatives. It is quite possible for the Tories to win a million more votes than Labour, and still end up with 20 fewer MPs.
Second, the gap between the overall-majority goals is vast: anything between a Labour lead of 1 per cent and a Tory lead of 10 per cent is likely to give us a hung parliament.

Which isn't quite the same view proposed in the Labour Party Manifesto 2010

The cost of politics to the taxpayer must be minimised, but we reject using this as an excuse to *gerrymander constituency boundaries in the interests of one political party.

I believe the phrase used by the "kids" is ROFL.....


*Gerrymandering - boundary delimitation (redistricting) in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral purposes

[Ignitionnet]

Well of course they don't want to gerrymander constituency boundaries, they're just how they want them now

WhatAreTheOdds video

Update - Paxo interviews David Cameron this Friday, 8:30pm; after Eastenders, and just before Ashes to Ashes.....



Timing is everything......

[Ignitionnet]

I can't seem to see that a date has been set for the PM's interview with Paxman. Anyone?

Ah found it, to be broadcast 30th.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Osem

I think Clegg's refusal to give any indication who his party would be likely to support in the event of a hung parliament may come back to haunt him. At the moment he seems to be trying not to put off the large number of red and blue waverers who're seemingly thinking about the Lib dems as a serious option. As decision time comes closer, however, I think he may just lose a proportion of both unless he nails his colours to the mast.

His dithering and indecision remind me of Brown

Originally Posted by bjorkiii

Eeeh the betting sites have changed and i bet they will change even more come next 10 days , if your feeling brave theres money to be made here . I cannot believe but hope im wrong that the Be in my community we work together and as one but for free Mr D.c will somehow fiddle his way in ooooh slimy toads frogs and newts enter my head as soon as i see the conniving shmuck on tv.

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

Does this post come in English?

.

I tried babel fish but it gave up.

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Sirius

His dithering and indecision remind me of Brown

I don't think it's dithering and indecision. He's just keeping his options open, which seems like the wise thing to do in his position.

There may be other reasons lurking in Nick Clegg's past......

In an interview with the "Cambridge Student" last month he states

(Q) What was your political stance when you were a student here in Cambridge?
(A) I actually wasn't that political, I was probably a lot more left-wing - I mean I very much consider myself a progressive politician - but I think I was then, and certainly after I went to Cambridge and studied at other places, I was probably more left-wing then when I started than I am now. But I wasn't attracted to party politics like lots of the other undergraduates. I didn't have any answers; I still kept finding my way round.

Whilst on the ConservativeHome blog site, there appears to be evidence he was a member of the Cambridge University Conservative Association when he was a fresher - Link

Perhaps he's a Tory "sleeper agent"?