UK UK snap general election 2017

I was talking to some people online and asking them if they regret being so smug about the US election. :DLots of British people were saying how they couldn't understand how a country like the US could come up with such unpopular candidates, seems ironic now.

I'm glad I voted and don't have to think about it as much. Whatever happens we will get the government we deserve.

Sounds pretty good to me :)

:rolleyes:I would never act that way.
 
I was talking to some people online and asking them if they regret being so smug about the US election. :DLots of British people were saying how they couldn't understand how a country like the US could come up with such unpopular candidates, seems ironic now.

I'm glad I voted and don't have to think about it as much. Whatever happens we will get the government we deserve.



:rolleyes:I would never act that way.

I think that we are all asking ourselves exactly the same question.:p
 
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The only thing that annoys me is people that choose not to vote. I have one friend who is a very responsable person and she never votes in any of the elections.

I think your friend and me might get on very well :p
 
This seems highly unlikely, but perhaps tactical voting could at least make the Tory majority much smaller than it would otherwise be:
A Labour-led alliance of progressive parties could gain enough seats to form the next government, according to a new poll which shows the UK could be on course for a hung parliament after the general election.

There are 50 Conservative seats where the combined progressive vote would be enough to oust the party’s sitting MP, analysis of the YouGov seat projection has found.

To remove them, voters would have to “tactically vote” [...]
Labour-led progressive alliance could win the general election, latest poll shows (31. May 2017)

In the highly unlikely event that the Tories don't manage to get a majority, and the Lib Dems stand by their promise not to enter a coalition with neither Labour nor the Tories, then Labour could still form a minority government if they get support for that from this 'progressive alliance'.
 
I think JC (or whoever advised him) was quite savvy and clever in joining the debate in Cambridge tonight as it makes TM look weak for not joining in. So much for strong and stable.:p

This election has been a shambles, I thought the 2015 election was quite bad and the Brexit ref was really terrible, but this has really taken the biscuit.

I was watching the election debate for London last night and one man in the audience said that Brexit has made him realise the level of ineptitude of the political leaders in the UK. Very true. I didn't used to feel this way, but we don't have the talent we used to have in British politics. This election has really highlighted that IMO.
 
Jeremy Corbyn struggles over cost of childcare policy - BBC News

I cannot believe what is happening with the Labour party.

Is this how we are to decide our next leader? They do 100 interviews/speeches/press conferences, do a perfectly competent job in 99 of them, slip up in 1, and then we highlight mercilessly that one poor one. Deciding who to vote for based on whether they made 1 numerical mistake (or inability to recall a number) in 1 interview is only slightly better than voting for the best haircut.

The media is creating a situation where politicians have to memorise a ton of numbers before an interview. Look at Paxman. Half his questions the other night to both candidates were just asking someone to give a number or fact he already knew the answer to just to see if he could catch them out. Sure, politicians should have to face difficult questions but why the constant grilling and lack of respect from our tragically awful media. And then we wonder why more talented people don't go into politics. There is no respect for politicans.

I don't care that Corbyn couldn't recall a number. Yes, the interview was bad, he has a bad day. But people should read the manifestos and decide for themselves whose is best. What is in the manifesto has been carefully thought out and discussed between various senior party members. It's more important than an off the cuff response to a TV or radio report trying to make a name for themselves by scoring a cheap headline. The TV people may as well throw an egg on Corbyn's face, take a photo, and say we shouldn't vote for someone with egg all over their face.
 
I just watched the latest debate
This one
I thought the leaders/representatives did quite well, it's not an easy job to go up there and debate. I wouldn't have done any better.
I do think the UK election campaign is a bit better standard than the US one. In the US one at the end of a TV debate you could make a list of blatant falsehoods said during an hour and there were many, but in the UK ones that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
I strongly agree with the conclusions of the first link you have posted. In short the conservatives are asking the country to hand them a blank cheque, while Labour's numbers don't add up.
 
One would think making fox hunting a more prominent issue in the election campaign would help Labour?
A new poll by Survation released this morning found that 67 per cent of voters believe fox hunting should stay banned.

Half of all voters say they feel so strongly about fox hunting that a candidate’s stance backing the killings would put them off voting for them.
More: Jeremy Corbyn says fox hunting is ‘barbarity’ and pledges to keep it banned (1. June 2017)

Half of all voters would not vote for a pro-fox hunting candidate. Meanwhile, a significant majority of existing Tory MPs are in favour of fox hunting.
 
I have to stop reading about the election and what British people think! Haha, it has become much more interesting as the polls have narrowed even more. The debate seems a lot more polarised than usual, probably because the smaller parties seem to have lost support to the two main parties.

Basically, I have learned that many people think:

Working class Labour voter = stupid, probably in a low paid job, brainwashed by left-wing media,
Middle class Labour voter = Champagne socialist/ Liberal elite,

Working class Conservative voter = stupid, brainwashed by right-wing media,
Middle class Conservative voter = evil and rich.

:oops:It is quite entertaining to read as some people are just insulting each other.:DI'm going to be glad when this is over.
 
Working class Labour voter (poor) = votes in their own interest, wants to pay less taxes and get more benefits
Middle class Labour voter = votes because of social injustice and inequality and environment

Working class Conservative voter = wants to stop immigration and stay secure
Middle class Conservative voter = votes in their own interest to make more money
 
For those curious about what's going on with Diane Abbott, this blog entry could be good for thought:
This is not a recipe. I wrote this as a series of tweets today and readers asked for it as a blog post, so here it is. Our politics may differ, so feel free to skip straight back to the recipes if that’s what you’re here for.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DIANE ABBOTT.
We need to talk about Diane Abbott. Now. (EXPLICIT CONTENT)
 
The center in British politics has all but disappeared, leaving the country as polarized as the U.S. - The Washington Post

I cannot believe how wildly different the polls are. I still think the Conservatives will win this.

I assumed most people would come to the same conclusion as I did, that it was better to have a continuation of the same (vaguely competent) government during the Brexit negotiations. I was thinking if we did get a hung parliament, what would happen? There is no way a Labour government would be able to start Brexit negotiations on the 19th June. It took the Conservatives about ten months to come up with their Brexit plan!