UK election results

[ecuworrier]

SNP take over in Scotland

libdem vote collapse

Labour main party in Welsh Assembly

Conservatives appear to do pretty well

Greens become major party in Brighton and Hove

anyone following any of this or is it a bit irrelevant... are there any implications of the various changes and features?

GOD BLESS!

Peace and Love,

[AndyHB]

SNP take over in Scotland ... Labour main party in Welsh Assembly

Good to see Labour getting in a pasting in what they have long regarded as one of their 2 strongholds.  Find it both amusing and sad to see their standing in Wales when, by the Welsh Assembly's own findings as well as independent reports, the quality of the health and education services in Wales have dropped dramatically since devolution - under Labour in both Westminster and Cardiff for 90+% of the time.

libdem vote collapse

read Plaid and Labour in Welsh and Scottish elections respectively: not sure about N. Ireland.

anyone following any of this or is it a bit irrelevant... are there any implications of the various changes and features?

The Scottish vote will inevitably lead to a referendum in Scotland on independence.  Not sure that that will necessarily pass, though.  Not sure of how Ed Milliband will be able to spin what has been a fairly mixed bag for Labour - after all, if the Welsh Labour Party in Cardiff continue down the road of the last 8-12 years, there will be a growing division between the UK and the Welsh parties.

[ecuworrier]

sounds like you're quite pleased with the result in Wales then

the labour vote did not collapse in Scotland it just did not improve or attract the 'protest vote'

dunno about plaid cymru not sure what they stand for somehting to do with devolution....

the collapse of the libdem vote with apparently no effect or sometimes an improvement on the conservative vote... is kindov interesting cos well are the conmen in blue rosettes made of teflon ; is our electorate actually quite like the conmen in blue rosettes ; or is the red bend just completely irrelevant and unmarketable in middle (little) inngland... i do feel a little sick wondering if our political system has the capacity to deliver good and effective governance.... 

GOD BLESS!

Peace and Love,

[AndrewF]

LibDems took a pasting - no doubt about that - but in most cases they were the only option in the area for people to kick who were opposed to the govt - it will be a while before they recover from this I fear. Bad for politics as a strong third party is a good moderating influence I think.

[AndyHB]

Not sure that a year is really enough to judge anyone and their programmes.  Most economists believe that it takes at least 18 months, probably nearer 24 before any real change is properly judge-able.

I suspect that, if the economy is stable again by 2014, the Lib Dems will actually gain considerable kudos in the lead-up to the election in 2015.

[AndyHB]

sounds like you're quite pleased with the result in Wales then

Why would I pleased about the result in Wales, ecu, when the party who has - according to independent reports - overseen the reduction of quality in the health and education services since 1997 is the biggest party?  The only good thing is that they haven't won an overall majority.

[AndrewF]

"I suspect that, if the economy is stable again by 2014, the Lib Dems will actually gain considerable kudos in the lead-up to the election in 2015."
That is what they are relying on - lets hope they are right!

[ecuworrier]

you sound pretty sympathetic to them ...


i'm not entirely convinced about what role a third party in an adversarial system can have the only reason there is a third party in our system (and there are to be fair many more smaller ones) is due to the new kid on the block attracting loads of new and many first time voters that rejected the statusquo....   

local elections though are another kettle of fish....

it seems though that public perceptions of what has been going on in the houses of parliament has had a bearing... what do you think though about the way that the liberals have been seen to carry the can...

if their role is a positive and moderating one then surely we should be getting that message is it us who is ignorant or unfair or what surely the moderators should be seen as heros?  how do you see it that the tories vote stood up?




GOD BLESS!

Peace and Love,

[AndyHB]

i'm not entirely convinced about what role a third party in an adversarial system can have the only reason there is a third party in our system (and there are to be fair many more smaller ones) is due to the new kid on the block attracting loads of new and many first time voters that rejected the statusquo.... 

ecu, there have been 3 larger parties in the UK for approaching a century now, and during that time the Liberals/Lib Dems have either held power in their own right (a couple of times) or supported a minority government of both colours, not to mention the all-party government that led this country immediately after the 2nd World War (if I remember my history correctly).  It has nothing to do with a 'new kid on the block' syndrome.  I suspect that, as time goes on the block power of the Labour and Tory parties will be slowly whittled away by parties such as the Greens and the Lib Dems.

edited to remove remaining chunk of original post!!

[Boudi]

yes, these new kids came out in the 80s, like rara skirts.  they seem to take their heritage back to the whigs.....

[AndyHB]

yes, these new kids came out in the 80s, like rara skirts.  they seem to take their heritage back to the whigs.....

and didn't part of them come out of the Labour Party?

[Boudi]

to make a new and better politics for a bright and hopeful tommorow......which must have been yesterday

[AndrewF]

Yes Ecu, I am sympathetic towards them - I think they are probably the best of a bad bunch out of the big three.
I think there is a large proportion of their supporters who will realise in due course how much worse it would have been had they not been there, but I also think that they are taking a bashing because of the student fees issue - which is not really fair as they would have stopped it if they had they had the chance.
as to why the tory vote stood up as well as it did - I have absolutely no idea!

[AndyHB]

as to why the tory vote stood up as well as it did - I have absolutely no idea!

Seemple, Andrew.  They are the only party whose supporters have had the majority of their wants acted on.  A year is really too early for most people to make up their minds about the rights and wrongs of a party that is elected to power