Tactical voting is of interest to the major parties because it maintains their dominance over the political scene. There is always ‘an issue’ at each election which the major parties use to persuade voters into voting tactically for them. This squeezes out the minor parties and this is seen in the UK and USA where …
Category: General Elections
Christians and political party loyalty
Brexit has tested Westminster party loyalties to breaking point and it is testing the raison d’être of these parties. There is a realignment along Brexit lines and this General Election is clearly about Brexit – unless one is a Tory. Boris Johnson and the Tories are clearly fighting for their party rather than the country, …
Political statistics
In the 2016 UK Referendum, whether to stay in the European Union, 17.4 million people voted "Leave". It was the largest vote in UK history. It seemed clear that Britain wanted to leave the EU and that this would happen. The tail wagging the dog However, we live in an era when the tail wags …
Representative democracy
Brexit has demonstrated the importance of voting for the person whom you want to represent you in the House of Commons. The current situation of a minority Government bound by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 has highlighted the following issues: Direct and Representative democracy Should an MP honour the wishes of the country in a …
Polarised politics?
The political pundits tell us that European politics is polarising the country. They did not say so when the Conservative and Labour Party shared government between them over the past 100 years. Was this not polarisation? So, is polarisation good or bad? Would these pundits rather have polarising debate or a one-party state? Besides, what …
Keir Starmer’s short memory
The Labour Party is in danger of repeating the mistake of the Lib Dems. When the Lib Dem Party in alliance with the Tories after the 2010 General Election broke its pledge not to raise tuition fees, it led to electoral decimation, collapsing from 57 to 8 MPs in the House of Commons in the …
Locking in aggressive political gains
The co-convener of the Scottish Greens in the Scottish Parliament has said that those who disagree with homosexual marriage should be prevented from becoming MSPs. During the debate on passing the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Bill he argued against political parties selecting candidates who do not accept homosexual activity. The BBC reported …
Fat cats in the public’s eye – what is fairness?
Fairness was catapaulted to the top of the agenda in the last General Election campaign. Since then the debate is on - what is fairness in our society? "It's not fair!" announces the youngest child with all the authority of a top judge. Where did the child learn this judicial skill? In 2010 Wayne Rooney …
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How do we hold politicians to their promises and Manifesto pledges?
The national debt is being used by politicians to justify massive changes of policy which did not appear in the election Manifestos of the main political parties. The Lib Dems are the biggest casualties, and the public suspects that the Tories are using this opportunity to cut benefits and excesses in the system which could …
Continue reading How do we hold politicians to their promises and Manifesto pledges?
U-turn skid marks
Vince Cable, MP, announced that the Lib Dems have U-turned over student tuition fees, joking that the roads to Westminster are covered in skid marks. Yet, unusually for him, he became quite angry in the House of Commons and said that it was time for the opposition to “come to terms with reality”. Did reality …
