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2015 General Election
- Thread starter Adam
- Start date
Tim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Air / Blue Fire
On the flip side the SNP did prove that a relatively small party can come from nowhere and take over a nation. They gained 50 seats by winning the hearts of Scotland as a party people wanted to get behind. If the rest of the UK had a similar stand out party that have clear objectives which cover something others don't they could do similar.
In a way UKIP followed that structure, only most of us would rather not follow a party which thinks blocking out Europe is a smart thing to do.
Also I have to note they gave us the chance of a new way of voting but the nation said No (why I'm still not sure).
In a way UKIP followed that structure, only most of us would rather not follow a party which thinks blocking out Europe is a smart thing to do.
Also I have to note they gave us the chance of a new way of voting but the nation said No (why I'm still not sure).
Keeps things nice and entrenched
BigT
TS Member
Thankfully England is majority right wing and the rest are public servants or unemployed. (I class students in that last one)
So the Tories will win the election thank god, you heard it here first.
Bang on the money as usual. Wish I'd of been confident enough to place a bet.
Election highlight for me was seeing Sturgeon's face when she realised all of that work and all of those seats will count for NOTHING when she thought she was going to be king pin and be able to blackmail the English.
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Going back as far as 1945 there has never been a party who has got the majority of the vote. The closest you get in 49.4% and 49.7% for the Conservatives in 1959 and 1955 respectively.
Clearly the current voting system is not totally representative of the country's views. My knowledge of other systems and how they would work is very limited though so I am not going to comment on them.
BigT
TS Member
The first past the post system is designed to give stable majority governments, and in the main it achieves that.
No system is perfect, look at Israel, it's taken a year to form a government, that would be a disaster for the UK.
The Tories will change the boundaries now anyway to make it more fair as currently they favor Labour.
Personally I'd like to see the number of MP'S reduced and then constituencies made equal numbers, I think then you would get a fair reflection of public opionion.
No system is perfect, look at Israel, it's taken a year to form a government, that would be a disaster for the UK.
The Tories will change the boundaries now anyway to make it more fair as currently they favor Labour.
Personally I'd like to see the number of MP'S reduced and then constituencies made equal numbers, I think then you would get a fair reflection of public opionion.
The SNP won 97% of the seats on around 50% of the vote so what's your point?
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
Whilst it used to be true that the FPTP system favoured Labour, their advantage has reduced at each of the past 4 elections and this time around Labour got fewer seats per vote than the Conservatives did.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32601281
The arguments against PR are always shouted loudest by those benefiting the most under the current system.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32601281
The arguments against PR are always shouted loudest by those benefiting the most under the current system.
Tom
TS Member
The first past the post system is actually a gentlemen's agreement between the Conservatives and Labour. Both are against changing it as it allows them to chop and change. As for boundary changes, that is also a gentlemen's agreement by both parties as each has done it throughout history.
The last government was relatively democraticaly elected, something which occasionally but rarely happens under FPTP. In contrast, we now have the least democratically-elected government in decades or even centuries.
People may have found it punish and/or laugh at the the Lib Dems, but their influence will become clear during the next five years.
However, ultimately the Conservative party is a series of coalitions within itself, between fiercely right-wing Eurosceptics which have only stayed in the party because it's the only realistic chance of power, multi millionaire rural estate owners and around a hundred or so half reasonable people. With a majority of only 12, it will be an incredibly tough time for Cameron once the honeymoon period has faded.
One thing that is worth noting is that Blair managed to win a majority in England itself three times. Scotland's position does make things harder, but not impossible. I also think that this SNP landslide will partially be reverted at the next election anyway as that compared with the Lib Dem collapse was likely to be a one-off slap in the face from some voters.
The last government was relatively democraticaly elected, something which occasionally but rarely happens under FPTP. In contrast, we now have the least democratically-elected government in decades or even centuries.
People may have found it punish and/or laugh at the the Lib Dems, but their influence will become clear during the next five years.
However, ultimately the Conservative party is a series of coalitions within itself, between fiercely right-wing Eurosceptics which have only stayed in the party because it's the only realistic chance of power, multi millionaire rural estate owners and around a hundred or so half reasonable people. With a majority of only 12, it will be an incredibly tough time for Cameron once the honeymoon period has faded.
One thing that is worth noting is that Blair managed to win a majority in England itself three times. Scotland's position does make things harder, but not impossible. I also think that this SNP landslide will partially be reverted at the next election anyway as that compared with the Lib Dem collapse was likely to be a one-off slap in the face from some voters.
All these protests are making me laugh. People now up in arms because "the wrong party got in", so the voting system must be wrong! Thing that makes me laugh even more, is that if we have a system which looks at the number of votes, that would put UKIP as the 3rd biggest party with about 80 or so seats in parliament. And you can guarantee, if that happened, then people would still be protesting and rioting on the streets and calling for change.
Whether people like it or not, more people voted Conservative. End of. And I don't believe people voted for them because they thought they were the best choice for the country, I think people voted them back in for three reasons (1) they offer stability at the moment with regards the economy and (2) no one had a ruddy clue about the policies of the other parties (3) the fear of a SNP/Labour coalition.
Conservatives - people see a stronger economy, and less upheaval if they are voted back in. As a poltician whos name escapes me said on Friday, "oh well, we wont see much change then". Might have been Nick Clegg actually.
Labour - no one liked Milibland, in particular the fact he seemed to then hitch up with that to$$er Russel Bland, he was not a prime minister, was too weak, and his stone stab was so vague and lacking any depth as to how they would achieve their goals it became the Labour party tombstone.
Lib Dems - I think the Lib Dems (for the first time in my life) actually spoke some sense and were more clear on things than the other parties, but, no one trusts them anymore after their u-turns in the coalition. Its a shame as Nick Clegg looked genuinely upset as he stepped down.
UKIP - While many agree with their policies on controlling immigration, many didn't on leaving the EU, and I don't think Farage's performance on the TV debates helped him much either. If anything, UKIP were the protest vote.
Greens - Their leader should have also resigned on Friday last week after her appalling performance during TV and radio interviews. Its ok to say you will do something, but unless you cant tell people how you will fund it, your just going to look stupid.
SNP - People didn't want a coalition with Labour and the SNP, so voted for the likes of the Greens and UKIP (mostly UKIP).
So yeah, Conservatives got in again, but only because I don't think there was actually any other choice this time around. I knew they would get back in .... but I didn't think they would have any majority. While I think in some ways they will bring some benefits, the continuing austerity cuts do concern me.
Whether people like it or not, more people voted Conservative. End of. And I don't believe people voted for them because they thought they were the best choice for the country, I think people voted them back in for three reasons (1) they offer stability at the moment with regards the economy and (2) no one had a ruddy clue about the policies of the other parties (3) the fear of a SNP/Labour coalition.
Conservatives - people see a stronger economy, and less upheaval if they are voted back in. As a poltician whos name escapes me said on Friday, "oh well, we wont see much change then". Might have been Nick Clegg actually.
Labour - no one liked Milibland, in particular the fact he seemed to then hitch up with that to$$er Russel Bland, he was not a prime minister, was too weak, and his stone stab was so vague and lacking any depth as to how they would achieve their goals it became the Labour party tombstone.
Lib Dems - I think the Lib Dems (for the first time in my life) actually spoke some sense and were more clear on things than the other parties, but, no one trusts them anymore after their u-turns in the coalition. Its a shame as Nick Clegg looked genuinely upset as he stepped down.
UKIP - While many agree with their policies on controlling immigration, many didn't on leaving the EU, and I don't think Farage's performance on the TV debates helped him much either. If anything, UKIP were the protest vote.
Greens - Their leader should have also resigned on Friday last week after her appalling performance during TV and radio interviews. Its ok to say you will do something, but unless you cant tell people how you will fund it, your just going to look stupid.
SNP - People didn't want a coalition with Labour and the SNP, so voted for the likes of the Greens and UKIP (mostly UKIP).
So yeah, Conservatives got in again, but only because I don't think there was actually any other choice this time around. I knew they would get back in .... but I didn't think they would have any majority. While I think in some ways they will bring some benefits, the continuing austerity cuts do concern me.
Harv
TS Member
It is actually very surprising that Bennett is still leading the Greens.
She inspires zero confidence in many, many potential voters.
She had a disastrous campaign, interviewing terribly and proving herself a poor orator.
She lost her seat. (Yes, it was a difficult one for her to win, but still another reason to go).
A change of face is now absolutely vital for the Greens to move forwards. A million votes may have been a step forwards for them and a huge landmark in many ways, but they need to up their game if they want to be heard in 2020.
She inspires zero confidence in many, many potential voters.
She had a disastrous campaign, interviewing terribly and proving herself a poor orator.
She lost her seat. (Yes, it was a difficult one for her to win, but still another reason to go).
A change of face is now absolutely vital for the Greens to move forwards. A million votes may have been a step forwards for them and a huge landmark in many ways, but they need to up their game if they want to be heard in 2020.