It's slightly less than two months to go until the UK general election and I'm already a little obsessed with the ups and downs. It helps that I get to keep track of things for work as well. (If you're interested try www.quakervote.org.uk)
There are several interesting factors about this election. For a start we know the exact date whereas in the past, elections usually happened every 4-5 years, and we wouldn't know the date until the Prime Minister asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament, at which point purdah would begin and the date would be set. In 2011 the Fixed-term Parliament Act provided for fixed-term parliaments of five years in length, unless a vote of no confidence in the government is passed, or the House of Commons votes to hold an election with a two-thirds majority. It'll be interesting to see what the long-term effects of fixing the duration of Parliament will be; it has been suggested that knowing the date of the election has meant that politicians are electioneering much earlier and that the business of the House has stagnated, although this may also have been a fixture of elections coming up to the fifth year of a term.
The other fascinating aspect of this election is that it's almost a certainty that there'll be some form of coalition government after 7 May. The election is therefore more about the general direction of travel rather than specific policies, although election manifestos will be released after 30 March (the date of dissolution). So far, the mainstream parties have been using the politics of fear in an attempt to prevent people voting for their smaller rivals.
Like many people of my generation, I don't feel loyalty to a particular political party despite having strong political views. I do, however, know who I won't be voting for. Lots of research has been done on the reasons that people vote the way do, and whilst there's lots of talk about tactical voting, people tend to vote either on the specific policies the party would implement in government, or they vote to send a message about the sort of society they want to live in (more on The Spectator blog).
Personally, I'm pretty torn. I don't like the current direction of this government or the rising inequality in society, but I'm not yet convinced by the direction or the policies of the parties I'm considering and my heart and head are split on the issues. Good job I'm helping to organise hustings so I'll be able to figure out in person.
There are several interesting factors about this election. For a start we know the exact date whereas in the past, elections usually happened every 4-5 years, and we wouldn't know the date until the Prime Minister asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament, at which point purdah would begin and the date would be set. In 2011 the Fixed-term Parliament Act provided for fixed-term parliaments of five years in length, unless a vote of no confidence in the government is passed, or the House of Commons votes to hold an election with a two-thirds majority. It'll be interesting to see what the long-term effects of fixing the duration of Parliament will be; it has been suggested that knowing the date of the election has meant that politicians are electioneering much earlier and that the business of the House has stagnated, although this may also have been a fixture of elections coming up to the fifth year of a term.
The other fascinating aspect of this election is that it's almost a certainty that there'll be some form of coalition government after 7 May. The election is therefore more about the general direction of travel rather than specific policies, although election manifestos will be released after 30 March (the date of dissolution). So far, the mainstream parties have been using the politics of fear in an attempt to prevent people voting for their smaller rivals.
Like many people of my generation, I don't feel loyalty to a particular political party despite having strong political views. I do, however, know who I won't be voting for. Lots of research has been done on the reasons that people vote the way do, and whilst there's lots of talk about tactical voting, people tend to vote either on the specific policies the party would implement in government, or they vote to send a message about the sort of society they want to live in (more on The Spectator blog).
Personally, I'm pretty torn. I don't like the current direction of this government or the rising inequality in society, but I'm not yet convinced by the direction or the policies of the parties I'm considering and my heart and head are split on the issues. Good job I'm helping to organise hustings so I'll be able to figure out in person.
Comments
Post a Comment