May 5th

[uvjunkie]

The BBC news site has created this very handy potted guide to the election with a concise guide to the policies of the various parties in a format where you can compare tham at a glance.

The poll tracker has labour and the conservatives neck and neck. The Metro this morning had the lib dems way out in front but is only published in London,

Comments

[elgynstoy]

Chill dude, we voting. We voting Lib Dem (and I never thought I'd hear myself say that).

[uvjunkie]

I think I may vote for them too this time, though I havent chosen for sure yet.

[littlemissk]

the only thing i'll add to that, is that a spoilt ballot is more effective as a method of protest against politics in general than not voting at all.

[prelati]

I take your point, and usually vote, but have a hard time finding anybody I feel any confidence in at all. I'm not a democrat - strikes me as the tyranny of idiots.

You can't get away from the old adage that politics is show business for ugly people, in which case voting feels a little like joining the applause.

Show me one election which was decided on a single vote, and your argument holds water. My arguments is that if the greatest impact you can have on your environment is to put a cross in a pre-prescribed box, then you're a pretty feeble creature.

[uvjunkie]

Votes do count. Maybe not one on its own but if everyone had that attitude then democracy would be thrown out the window and only people who felt strongly about something would vote. We'd end up with someone like the BNP.

As my friend Gareth (bileandvitriol) posted on Mat's (msavigear's) Journal Here "Whatever you do, vote. Vote Green, vote Socialist Worker, vote Natural Law, vote Raving Looney - but don't stay at home. Democracy is the government of those who turn up, and if the polls show that the government of the day is a massively unpopular one which is only in power through an artefact of the first-past-the-post system then they will govern with less excess and enthusiasm for trampling your rights."

I think it is important to vote whether you vote for a party that stands for something you do believe in to raise the profile of their policies or whether to show the elected governement that you protest against theirs your vote is important.

[shaunotd]

Although here we come back to msavigear's recent point: who do you vote for when they're *ALL* promising policies to which you strongly object?

[ultrareality]

Stand for election yourself, or acquire a fully-automatic weapon and body-armour.

[uvjunkie]

If I can't choose between the main parties I generally vote green. As I said the other parties may champion greener issues if they feel there are votes to be one by doing so.