The 2015 General Election

[tonyh29]

If they were unpopular though then odds are anyone from the cabinet would be tarred with that same brush.

David Miliband seemed to be popular , outside the trade Union members at least , and that was despite his involvement in torture flights ... So I think the general public have short memories as arguably we are seeing with polls for this GE

[Chindie]

Listening to the radio on the way home from work and apparently Cameron has said he doesn't want a third term if elected this time…

So if you vote Tory you'll be voting for a PM, who will change mid term and with no idea who that will be. Cameron as a second term PM would be seriously undermined (as was Blair as soon as he announced his intention to step down but at least everybody expected it to be Brown this is worse.)

You know I keep saying that neither of these parties seemingly wants to win this election, well this hasn't changed my mind one bit

Why would it change mid-term? If the Conservatives win this election it'd mean he'd stand down after the next election in 2020.

The new leader would need to be in and have established a 'standing' as leader both by the party and by the nation (if they have any intention of winning). That would mean a mid term change.

You would also have the issue that Cameron's standing and legitimacy would be questioned and no longer respected, particularly in the domestic political sphere, if it was widely known he's on his way out, which again would force the party to change sooner rather than later.

On paper it shouldn't be like that, as technically our vote is only for a party, but practically it doesn't work like that. The Tories would have a new leader mid term. They'd be nuts to contest an election with a completely new face front and centre.

Would they? Or would it give them a good opportunity to freshen up their image after 10 years? They're highly unlikely to be popular at that point - it will give them an opportunity to present themselves as a clean break, if it so suits them to do so.

The issue would not be so much whether the leader is tarred by the Tory stench, I think.

My point was the public would not vote for an unestablished face, and so on. They wouldn't vote for someone who hadn't shown themselves capable as a party leader and also had time to reveal more of themselves in the limelight.

Hence, if it is the case Cameron has no interest in a third term, they will replace him midterm in the next Parliament to establish a new leader in good order to contest the best election. Who that leader is, I've no idea (there are numerous awful choices, and many bad ones, it is the Tories after all), but it's very unlikely they'll be someone who isn't already in the upper echelons of the party and therefore is likely already tarred with party's current predicament.

[bickster]

If the Tories form the next government or part of it, then they will be ripped apart internally in the next couple of years anyway as they've promised a referendum on the EU, that in itself will divide the party into an unholy mess, They'll need a new leader at that point to pull everything together again and well before the next election is due.

[Demitri_C]

so its either that or the SNP tear labour apart

 

great choices for the future eh?

 

cant think of a more uninspiring time for bolitics

[Jon]

 

 

cant think of a more uninspiring time for bolitics

Really?

 

I find the way politics and voting (hopefully, we will see) appears to be fracturing really quite fascinating. Politics is becoming the most interesting and inspiring it has been for decades. It was inspiring during the Thatcher years, but for the wrong reasons. One could be inspired by the opposition to the evil one, even though she managed to crush almost all opposition and certainly did for the Labour Party (although perhaps they did for themselves). 

 

But now, we can see the potential break iup of the 2 party system, and the emergence of multi party polictis in the Uk for the first time ever. The voting system doesn't help in this regard, but despite that, you could see several parties coming together post GE to form some kind of progressive coaltion (hopefully), and that really would be inspiring (for me anyway).

 

Social media has massively helped in this regard, as has greed, the banking crisis, "we're all in it together" etc. Injustice, greed, poverty etc can no longer be so easily concealed. It's very difficult to silence people on western social media.

[PaulC]

I have to say I find politics uninspiring these days. Yes the two leading parties will get a smaller share of the vote which may give some of the smaller parties an influence but thats half of the problem. Before I voted Labour because I believed in their policies. Now I believe in none of the parties and I'm sure there are many voters who feel this way and because of that we will get an hung parliament and another coalition. 

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

In many ways the slow death of party politics is a good thing, but at the same time I'm a tad wary that the changes we need to put in place (regarding inequality & the environment) can't really be tackled without some form of social movement. The idea of 'progressive blocs' is probably the best hope for the time being, but I don't think the electoral system as it is would facilitate the kind of breakthrough smaller parties would need to win seats and form said blocs.

[blandy]

The biggest problem is, as said above, the voting system is a major problem, but the only people who can change it will be people wo get elected because of it.

So until Labour and Tories both come to accept that they can never get a majority, their self interest will see it remain.

We're a long way off getting one that's fit for purpose.

[tonyh29]

Anything Dave can do , so can Ed

Labour leader Ed Miliband has categorically ruled out serving a first term as prime Minister, we can report today.

Speaking to reporters, Ed said that there comes a time when a politician runs out of ideas and voters get sick of them and it’s best to move on when that happens.

“You have to step aside and let new talent with an original raft of policies and fresh drive take over,” he said.

“The Labour Party probably has some talent who can step into my shoes, well, whenever they like, really.”

“Does anyone know what my brother is doing these days?”

Miliband joins several other senior national politicians in ruling out a first term, including Nick Clegg, Natalie Bennett and Nigel Farage.

Meanwhile, SNP leader Alex Salmond has said his price for propping up a Libdem/ Green/ UKIP/ SNP/ DUP/ Labour coalition government would be that he gets to be Prime Minister and nobody else would be allowed to play with his train set.

“And I want a pony”, he added.

http://newsthump.com/2015/03/24/ed-miliband-rules-out-serving-first-term-as-prime-minister/ Edited March 24, 2015 by tonyh29

[tonyh29]

Salmond at it again today , basically saying he will force the Tory party out with a block vote of no confidence

 

anyone think he is going to swing undecided votes towards  the Tory party with his arrogance ( with the help of some levels of scaremongering in the press etc  ) , or do voters not really care ?

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

He just wants to piss off the English and make it easier for Scotland to go independent. So far the Tories and the media have fallen for it. Canny old git, he is. Westminster politicians have no idea how to tackle him, aside from making absurd and unfeasible last minute promises.

[tonyh29]

I think you are giving him far more credit than he deserves , he's the only man to lose an election as a result of Gordon Brown , that's akin to losing to the Italians at war

[MakemineVanilla]

PMQs was hilarious today with the Tories setting a trap for Miliband on VAT and he jumping straight into it.

[tonyh29]

Cameron ruined it by doing another kitchen joke though  ... it was amusing last week but a bit tedious this week

[chrisp65]

Would the whole thing be better if they had to sit straddled across a log, suspended over a paddling pool?

[tonyh29]

if the paddling pool is filled with hungry crocodiles then yes 

[bickster]

With Eddy Wareing commentating

[bickster]

And each team allowed to play their double points Clegg card

[Marka Ragnos]

I vote in the UK and in the US as a dual-nat. Always Labour in UK. My voting district is a Labour lock (Jeremy Corbyn as MP).

[blandy]

PMQs was hilarious today with the Tories setting a trap for Miliband on VAT and he jumping straight into it.

That's not how it came across to me, MMV.

 

Parties rarely if ever "reveal" a manifesto pledge in PMQs. They tend to reveal things occasionally under pressure (felt pressure due to currently being in a weakened percieved position). If they want to announce something, they tend to set up media thingies, and trail it in all the press.

 

To me it came across that the Tories felt the VAT thing was a potential weak spot, and so Cameron said it on the back of that - i.e. it was less a "trap" and more a rapid response to a weak position.

 

The overall level of it today was not quite as bad as last week, but not much better. Little/No attempt to answer any question, and just attempted point scoring, rather than any explanation or engagement. So, so poor.