A Five Year Parliament

I don’t fully accept the notion that “the people have decided” when it comes to election results, especially the idea that Britain somehow chose a hung parliament last week.
Most people made up their own minds and voted individually -- only a minority were wishing for an inconclusive result. And none of them was expecting such resounding coalition deal.
I can’t help thinking that a lot of floating voters treated the entire process as a TV talent contest like the X-Factor and American Idol.
They imagined it was just for this year, and they’d get a chance to vote again next year.
Maybe they will, but the odds are that David Cameron has played a blinder, and they’ll be stuck with their decision for five years.

A Deal

It looks as though there’ll be a deal before the day is out.
It almost makes you want to believe in a proportional voting system, with single transferable votes and perpertual coalitions.

But these are very special times.
There’s thirteen years of Britain’s economic and social decline under Labour to sort out. And of all parties the Liberals can least afford a second General Election this year.
So whilst I’m happy to sup with the devil at Westminster, Britain’s third party -- with it’s childish campaigning methods -- is not welcome in Surrey.

The Cameron-Clegg deal will either make or break the Liberal Party.

Don’t Attack LibDems

One of the great oddities of British politics is that small protest parties can win large numbers of votes by attacking the two mainstream parties. The more hypocritical the attack on policy, and the more personal the abuse about the opponent the better.
However the British love of the underdog means the reverse does not apply. In fact any attack on the LibDems can be counter-productive, as David Cameron found out during the third TV debate, when he criticised the LibDem's ridiculous amnesty for illegal immigrants. His rating immediately plunged.
It is frustrating to explain to Conservative voters why LibDem lies must go unanswered, but that’s just the way it is.

Today’s LibDem Lie: This will be almost the last LibDem lie feature -- unless next week’s election results in a realignment of British politics, and the LibDems cease to be a protest party, and return to the mainstream two-party system.

Hung Parliament

Few people seem to understand the constitutional position in the event of a hung parliament.

For a start Gordon Brown carries on as Prime Minster. He does not have to resign until he were to lose a vote of confidence in the House of Commons. It’s nothing to do with how many seats (or votes) each party has.

Britain’s third Party does not get to haggle over policy, though now doubt Labour will try to bribe them. If they decide not to keep Gordon Brown in power they are automatically locked in to back David Cameron as Prime Minster. They can’t pick and choose policy. Take it or leave it.

Failing that, we have another General Election, brought about by Liberal indecision.

British Election is Called

Five years we’ve been waiting, and the election is now underway.
Because they are so infrequent, British elections tend to be complicated, with floating voters expected to weigh up a huge range of issues, and live with their decision for a long time.
This election is different, because the Conservatives have a simple message, something politicians give their eyeteeth for.

Voting for anyone else could mean a hung parliament, and five more years of Gordon Brown.
So vote for a positive future . . . vote for change . . .
Vote Conservative.

The campaign to win back Kingston & Surbiton is launched with Eric Pickles and PPC Helen Whately (and myself in the centre of the back row). Kingston is a seat needed to give David Cameron a working majority.

Less Nudity Please, We’re British

The Blair Babes were hopeless at arresting the tide of permissiveness during he last 13 years, so let’s hope Cameron’s Cuties will be tougher.
The Noughties saw a massive rollout of strip-joints across Britain after Labour relaxed the planning laws in 2003, allowing lap dancing clubs to masquerade as ordinary bars.
One is now threatened in Staines High Street, though so far ways have been found to prevent them popping up in Spelthorne.
I’m not sure we need to go so far as Iceland last week, who with almost half their legislators female, have made it illegal for any business to profit from nudity by its employees.

Five More Years of Brown?

As I speak to people up and down the land (yesterday in north Manchester), the answer comes back the same:

We do not want five more years of Gordon Brown.

Funny thing is when you ask them if they’ll be voting for Cameron’s Conservatives they don’t seem quite so sure, as if there is some kind of third option for Prime Minister -- which they have to agree there isn’t.
A vote for any of the minor parties is a wasted vote when it comes to turfing out Gordon Brown.
That is the conundrum the opinion pollsters face, complicated by a serious flaw in their methodology.
You see, when you ask floating voters how they voted five years ago they genuinely can’t remember, and so make it up -- and say Conservative if they’re leaning that way now. So their opinion is excluded by the pollsters when they weight the raw data to match the actual result in 2005, skewing their prediction for 2010.
Best hang on for the exit poll at 10pm on May 6th.