Ugh!
Election stuff behind cut
(Well that's if I got the cut right, as I've got a habit of getting it wrong).
I am gutted! Reading East fell to the Tories - with a majority of 475 making us one of the most marginal constituencies in the country. It does at least vindicate my vote as tactical voting clearly would have made a difference here. Unfortunately, not quite enough of us tactically voted.
Funnily enough, in Reading, I don't believe that Labour actually lost because of the war although that naturally would have been a feature. I think last year our council (which is almost solidly Labour for anyone wondering about it being true blue country) didn't lose any seats as they had an anti-war stance.
Regrettably, I think (and this is a view shared by some local labour activist friends) that Labour lost because of the candidate. The Constituency party was very brave and I applaud them for it, but picking a candidate with two convictions for cottaging was always going to be an issue. These convictions may be from many years ago, but if people are just looking for a reason not to vote for someone, then there it is. Now locals are saying that he had "too much baggage" to be a vote winner in a constituency with a strong Muslim vote. Actually, I have no idea how strong as everything in Reading is so localised. I live in a very mixed locality - full of students, different ethnic minorities and even the occasional person who was actually born in Reading (these are few in number!), but just a few hundred metres away, the deomographics might be quite different.
But everything has taken it's toll on the end result.
In National terms, I'm quite pleased with the result (and it seems as though it will be very close to my prediction, although as my prediction was based on plucking figures out of the air, that doesn't really say much). The LibDems have gained a lot of the vote, the Conservatives have gained more than I would have liked, but they are still weak. Labour is still there, but hopefully chastened. I do hope that the arrogance will disappear, and listening to people's concerns will have play a part in British politics: or am I being too idealistic?
Of course, I really do think we should have Proportional Representation - as Labour wanted before they got in 1997, but there is no way on Earth that they would do that now.
Oh well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that together this Parliament will help the Government to make a better, fairer society - both in Britain and abroad. If they do that, I don't care what party they are from.
(Well that's if I got the cut right, as I've got a habit of getting it wrong).
I am gutted! Reading East fell to the Tories - with a majority of 475 making us one of the most marginal constituencies in the country. It does at least vindicate my vote as tactical voting clearly would have made a difference here. Unfortunately, not quite enough of us tactically voted.
Funnily enough, in Reading, I don't believe that Labour actually lost because of the war although that naturally would have been a feature. I think last year our council (which is almost solidly Labour for anyone wondering about it being true blue country) didn't lose any seats as they had an anti-war stance.
Regrettably, I think (and this is a view shared by some local labour activist friends) that Labour lost because of the candidate. The Constituency party was very brave and I applaud them for it, but picking a candidate with two convictions for cottaging was always going to be an issue. These convictions may be from many years ago, but if people are just looking for a reason not to vote for someone, then there it is. Now locals are saying that he had "too much baggage" to be a vote winner in a constituency with a strong Muslim vote. Actually, I have no idea how strong as everything in Reading is so localised. I live in a very mixed locality - full of students, different ethnic minorities and even the occasional person who was actually born in Reading (these are few in number!), but just a few hundred metres away, the deomographics might be quite different.
But everything has taken it's toll on the end result.
In National terms, I'm quite pleased with the result (and it seems as though it will be very close to my prediction, although as my prediction was based on plucking figures out of the air, that doesn't really say much). The LibDems have gained a lot of the vote, the Conservatives have gained more than I would have liked, but they are still weak. Labour is still there, but hopefully chastened. I do hope that the arrogance will disappear, and listening to people's concerns will have play a part in British politics: or am I being too idealistic?
Of course, I really do think we should have Proportional Representation - as Labour wanted before they got in 1997, but there is no way on Earth that they would do that now.
Oh well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that together this Parliament will help the Government to make a better, fairer society - both in Britain and abroad. If they do that, I don't care what party they are from.