Re: Local elections 2012
 

Well I had to choose which single councillor I wanted to represent my ward. I had three options: Labour, Conservative, or Liberal Democrat. In the last election I voted Liberal Democrat across the board and yesterday I voted Labour. I don't like Labour at the moment, I think Ed Miliband is a terrible leader of the party and I wanted Labour to do poorly at the polls in order for him to be kicked out.

However I also wanted the Liberal Democrats to see their vote collapse, to have a bloodbath and lose councils and councillors across the country. I wanted them to see that they will pay with their party for supporting the conservative policies that their voters were strongly against. I voted Liberal Democrat in 2010 because I was concerned about the gradual erosion of civil liberties under the last government, now the Liberal Democrats will likely support the Conservatives in bringing in a database of all our communications. The very same database they and the Tories claimed to be upset about when Labour tried to do it. Also, What happened to the 'freedom bill', designed to roll back Labour's policies? Meet the new government, same as the old government.

The Liberal Democrats are spineless, gutless, unprincipled cowards* and I hope they lose badly today.

Not that I get angry about these things.....

*and yes I am aware you could make a case that voting for policies that will seriously harm your party isn't cowardly but screw em

Re: Local elections 2012
 

For the first time in my life I didn't vote, my thinking now is that nothing will change until people stop voting then the politicians will have no mandate and will be forced to change the system to a system that is more for the people and less for the benefit of the politicians themselves.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Now got two teenage Councillors in Gosport.Turnout as bad as ever.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/loc...ults-1-3806790

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Go Gosport!

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Let's hope they prove the doubters wrong.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

This is what my brother posted on FB
Sadly I think this is spot on. :(

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Nice thinking, let's hope it comes to pass.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

As long as I can remember they were often about parties, sometimes a independent wins on the back of a local campaign based on a big local issue. Sometimes a party candidate can buck the trend of their national party based on their reputation but most of the time voters and commentators focus on the parties.

I literally cannot remember the name of the candidate I voted for. I didn't know their name when I went in, I didn't know it when I came out.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

A cracking result for the Lib Dems...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-17951118

I had the choice of a Tory, a lib dem, a couple of Labour clones, some SNP peeps and a bunch of independents. No UKIP up this neck of the woods.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

I don’t have many details about this right now but an extremely trusted source of mine has said there’s a story doing the rounds that one of the regional mayoral candidates stopped for a photo opportunity where he gave a homeless person £20 but as soon as the press left he and 2 of his heavies went back to him and demanded it back. Apparently this story may well officially break over the weekend.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Mr Cameron and Cleggy got hammered today, the only good thing is that Boris could win London Mayor which is a total waste of time.

It might be local elections, but the people up and down this country are sick and tired of the coalitions promises, and the total let down of what of what he is doing to the country - l firmly believe that there should be a vote of no confidence put into the house of commons, for the way Cameron has run the country.

Cameron will be on his backside.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Rant, grumble, throbbing forehead veins, mutter, ramble, repeat ad nauseum......

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Errr ok. So in this vote of no confidence who will win? The majority (coalition) or minority (not the coalition) ?

MPs might be lazy, possibly corrupt and self serving but mostly they aren't stupid. The Lib Dems especially won't be turkeys voting for Christmas by calling a mid term general election.

Labour lost over 1000 seats in 1999 during similar elections, remind me how they did at the next general election?

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Delighted to see the coalition being appropriately punished for their incompetence.

Doubly delighted to see the Liberal Democrats suffer so much. They've shown themselves completely out of their depth in government.

Triply delighted that Boris, socially liberal but in pretty much every other way conservative, so outperformed his party while 'liberal conservative' Dave saw a poor result. My only real regret is that it wasn't much worse for him.

Sadly I doubt much will change though. Dave is too arrogant to take the hint that rather than continuously lurching to the left he should be trying to move the electorate to the centre-right, and Nick will be in full-on panic mode trying to look for something, anything, to throw his supporters.

I think his resignation would be the best idea to be honest.

EDIT: I do love how differently two people see a situation, Arthur likely complains about the impact of the cuts as the source of coalition incompetence, for me it's the lack of cuts in many things, the cutting of the wrong things, and tax rises.

Re: Local elections 2012
 

Agree with this. They have only looked at costs not the consequences. So have cut where things are very cost effective creating even more cost later.