Who to Vote For?
So, the election is coming. And the question for anyone who doesn’t blindly follow a party without thinking is who to vote for.
Of course, ideally I’d be able to vote for the party I am a member of – the Libertarian Party. But that party is still very much a work in progress, and realistically a lack of candidates means I won’t be voting for them at this election. Which leaves me in the very unedifying and utterly depressing position of trying to figure out which of the useless main parties should get my vote.
Now, I don’t expect one party to absolutely represent my views. I don’t agree with everything that the Libertarian Party says or does. A certain level of pragmatism and compromise is required if anyone wants to be a supporter, let alone a member, of a political party. The same is true of voting. You can’t expect the party you vote for to represent you in every possible way.
Yet I feel so detached from all the parties vying for my vote that it seems next to impossible to choose who should get my vote. Each party appears to be craptacular in its own way. To break it down a bit:
The Labour Party: Well, voting Labour is moronic, as I've explained before.
The Tories: Despite being an ex-member of this party, I can’t see what the Tories actually stand for. Other than not being Labour. And when you throw in their tendency to drift towards social conservatism, it becomes very difficult to rationalize giving them my vote with being a Libertarian.
The Liberal Democrats: They have the most misleading name in history, since they are neither liberal nor democratic. And for every commitment they make to liberty (such as opposing ID cards), there is a corresponding drift towards pathetic left-wing, bash-the-bankers rhetoric. Besides, any party that contains social democratic choppers such as Vince Cable and Simon Hughes is not worth considering for more than about 13 seconds.
UKIP: Despite occasionally posturing as a libertarian party, UKIP come across (despite a handful of reasonable members) as a bunch of Tories rejected by their natural party for having a bee in their bonnet about Europe. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with their basic policy on Europe. But I struggle with ideas like banning the burka. It is the sort of mindless attempt at populism that completely undermines any rhetoric about being a party of freedom.
The Green Party: Yeah, because I can stomach the Green Party’s mix of socialism and reactionary politics without wanting to chunder. Oh, wait…
The English Democrats: As far as I can see, this lot are like UKIP, but 50% less professional and 75% more loopy. So that’s a no, then.
The BNP: Given I am not a nationalist, socialist or racist, this bag of simian misfits is the worst of all the options. Voting Labour is moronic; voting for the BNP is repugnant and moronic.
So where does that leave me? On the one hand, I could vote for the person I believe would be best able to represent the issues in my constituency. But I’m not planning to live here in the long-term, and I would hate to have a vote for a competent Tory candidate, for example, being construed as a vote for the utterly incompetent and lacklustre Tory leadership.
For the first time ever, I find myself in a position where I don’t know who to vote for. Maybe that will change in the run-up to the election, and one of the parties listed above will inspire with their campaign. But as things stand, that seems about as likely as Gordon Brown stepping down from his job tomorrow, and admitting that he just wasn’t up to it. And I keep on coming back to the option of spoiling my ballot paper. Hell, I’ve even worked out how I would do it – drawing a box at the bottom of the ballot paper and writing “none of the above” next to it – and giving that option the dubious benefit of a wasted vote.
Labels: BNP, Green Party, Lib Dems, Libertarians, LPUK, Next Election, Nu Labour, Tories, UKIP, Voting
posted by The Nameless Libertarian @ 9:11 am
8 Comments
8 Comments:
I think many people will be tempted by the 'Get Rid Of Brown' Conservative vote, even if they don't necessarily share their principles (whatever they might be).
Yes, you're right. And I think that the Tories are counting on that happening. It is almost their election strategy.
Very similar position, very.
I know its wrong to mock the afflicted, but I couldn't help but chuckle at "this bag of simian misfits".
A good post.
God knows who I'll vote for, probably UKIP, as I don't want to be part of a european stalinist superstate. The thought of being a part of that scares me almost as much as the thought of voting for the BNP.
"I can’t see what the Tories actually stand for"
Because the whingers on the right can't see through the rhetoric necessary to get elected to actually find out.
1. School Choice: enough reason alone to vote conservative.
2. A radical localising agenda including directly elected police chiefs. Enough reason alone to vote conservative
3. an as yet undefined great repeal bill, to include the repeal of the hunting ban
4. no ID cards or database.
5. a more liberal stance on DNA
6. Defence of Trial By Jury.
7. IDS's social policy work may be an aspiration at this stage, but elements of it are making it into policy and will involve the greatest shake-up of personal taxation since the war.
That's off the top of my head, without looking
Sure they're not Libertarians. Hence the name, Conservative Party. Not Libertarian Party. But they're much, much better than Labour.
You fucking "Blue Labour" cunts are doing the wrecker, Brown's work and you're too fucking stupid and blinkered to see it.
You fucking "Blue Labour" cunts are doing the wrecker, Brown's work and you're too fucking stupid and blinkered to see it.
Temper, temper, Jackart. Do you want some help putting your toys back in the pram?
First things first, I have never used the term Blue Labour. Ever. I don't believe that the Tories and Labour are identical, even if there is a broad post-Blairite consensus on the limits of political debate.
Secondly, I'm not doing Brown's work for him. In fact, I spend a lot of time on this blog attacking Brown. However, the fact that I hate Brown does not automatically make me a Tory. You say I am doing Brown's work for him - well, I reckon people like you are the reason why Cameron is saying fuck all, because he can rely on your vote regardless.
Also, I'm fully aware that the Tory party is not the Libertarian party. I don't expect it to be. However, given it fundamentally isn't Libertarian, it can't expect my vote either.
As for the policies you list, some of them are being offered by other parties. Others - like IDS's crude attempts at social engineering based largely on his social conservatism and religious beliefs - should be the anathema to any Libertarian. Any why - this close to the election - are things like this supposed great repeal bill still not being elaborated on? Either because they don't exist of because the Tories are too cowardly to stand up for what they believe in.
Which is the point. Don't fool yourself that the Tories now have to follow a particular rhetoric to get elected. They don't. The cycle of party popularity has come full circle. People are now open to the Tories in a real for the first time since about 1992, while Labour are the ones who are despised. Offering a bold agenda would not damage Tory chances in anyway. In fact, if anything is holding their poll lead on Labour from further expanding, it is their inability to explain what they actually stand for.
I don't for one second believe that the Tories are reliant on someone like me in order to win the next election, but if they are then they are fucked. Because at this rate there is not a hope in Hades of them getting my vote.
TNL
It's only important if you live in a marginal constituency, but not that important.
I suppose what's unusual this time is that unlike the last couple of times the government became 'unpopular' - Labour in the '70s, Conservatives in the 90's - the government 'in waiting' were offering something positive (however it actually turned out) this time though, like you say, the conservatives seem a bit reticent - seemingly relying purely on the dislike of labour rather than dislike + hope... anyway, matters not to me - i live in a conservative 'safe seat' (+20% margin - populated with 'traditional' sheep, sorry, voters) so meh, i'll probably vote lib dem or spoil my paper again (i feel i should vote, regardless of how futile it is). ho hum.
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