Slackjaw Politics

[caddyman]

So the LDs have been caned for not holding back the Tories enough, despite being the junior members of the coalition. The public are very unfair; it would have been so much worse without them.

In Wales, Labour are slowly making it a one-party state and in Scotland, the SNP are reaping their rewards for treating it as the local election it is, while Labour's Ed Millipede tried to make Scottish Parliament elections a referendum on UK coalition government. The Scots have the right of it; they know how to vote in Scottish Parliament elections to get what they want and it's different to what they do in UK elections to get their best result. The idiot is Millipede, not Salmond.

The likely death of AV as a first step to stronger voting reform means that the debate will stay closed for a generation - the people will be deemed to have said 'No'. Thanks guys, for a reasoned and informative debate on the pros and cons, which engaged the electorate and brought them out en masse for their only chance at electoral reform.

Result? All the reformist fervour of a year ago will dissipate as the two main UK parties reconsolidate their positions and maintain their privileges at the expense of democracy and representation.


The benefits of your apathy?

See your party with 25% of the popular vote continue to get 9% of the representation. See smaller parties do even worse. See huge majorities built on low levels of support. See majorities built on minority support.

See strong government continue, see democracy slowly whither and die on the vine.

Comments

[littleonionz.livejournal.com]

I think Huhne is currently playing the part of 'last honest man in politics.'

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

I think you are right.

Prepare for a plague of frogs...

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

I voted!

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

Good man!

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Me too.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

For all the good it did us, so did we.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

It is very unfair, I've still yet to hear anyone give me a sensible explanation of what Clegg/the LDs were *supposed* to do when the general election result cam in, coalition with the Tories wasthe only realistic option and given how junior they are they have done damn well I think. But now they are blamed for Tory policies and Labour's legacy. And now the same people who bemoaned are so concerned that poltics be fair, who supposedly like teh idea of coalition andwant the LDs get taken seriously are moaning that they aren't acting like spolied brats and trying to derail everything/hold the country to ransom. They are very junior partners in a coalition, how much did you expect them to get out of that (I'd argue they got a lot already). Grow up people.

Oh and don't even get me started about all the whining 'Clegg lied', have any of these people looked at any manifesto EVER, when are they ever adheared to 100% even in a situation where a party wins outright and doesn't have to bargain. *rolls eyes*

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

The problem is that exactly what was predicted to happen has happened. The LD's have thrown their lot in with the Tories and are getting blamed for everything. Commentators were saying 'if the LD's throw in with the Tories it'll hit them hard for years' and they were right.

They _might_ have had a better chance agreeing to the Coalition with Labour without Brown at the helm. Or they could have refused to join and forced the Tories to try and rule with a minority government, possibly offering to help out in votes in return for a proper PR vote rather than getting in bed with them.

To be honest, for the pro AV lot here the best thing they could have done was to force another election and maybe when that was hung too some form of reasonable voting system would have had to have been adopted... (and while I'm wishing I'd like a pony)

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I am not a Tory and I have fallen out majorly with Labour, these days I tend to vote Lib dem or Green. Jusrt for context.

Coalition with Labour: LABOUR DID NOT COME OUT IN FRONT, doing that would've played into the Kingmaker Clegg accusations and looked like propping up the rotting hulk of Nu Labour, not a good idea. they could have done the minority thing, that was the other option however for reasons too long to type out now as I'm about to go home I think that would have had big problems too. Also do you seriously think they could have bargained for a full PR vote in a minority government Westminster, really ? They'd never have pulled that off, no way.

Be careful what you wish for is all I can think of here

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I have always gone to the polling station, primarily I spoil my ballot as I live in a Tory safe seat so have no actual mandate.

I'm not sure the 'kingmaker Clegg' moniker would have been any worse and at least they would have been keeping closer to expected principles.

In the end the LD's were damned whichever way they turned, I just think they took the worst option for their own parties future.

And no, I don't think they would have got PR out of it, but I think they'd have had more chance than what they ended up with.

The biggest next question will be can the LD's keep their MP's in line sufficiently to keep this going. I don't think Clegg will abandon Cameron, but it's very likely that his party will just stop following him, leader or not, and start voting elsewhere.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

Also, the Labour Party came out fairly early on saying they would not form a coalition with the LDs.

They should have let the Tories try to rule with a minority government, it would have been short and messy but less painful than this tripe.

[agentinfinity.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm a bit bored of the way that the Lib Dems are being scapegoated and the Cons are getting away with whatever they want.

It's disappointing that the whole referendum has been mishandled and over-shadowed by other stuff.

Although what I really want a referendum on is the future of the House of Lords which I have The Fear about massively.

[velvet-the-cat.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm a bit bored of the way that the Lib Dems are being scapegoated and the Cons are getting away with whatever they want."

FWIW I think that at least the LibDems are having a limiting effect on just how much the Tories could be getting away with..

[pax-draconis.livejournal.com]

I'm too angry and bitter to post coherently at the moment. Tomorrow, maybe.