The Country Has Spoken

So Labour has won its third consecutive term, but did so with a greatly reduced majority (66 down from 161-ish). I think this was always going to be the predictable outcome. Given the circumstances, at least it is not as bad as it could have been. Labour's reduced majority means that there should be enough opposition, including from Labour rebels, to counter Labour being able to force bills through. But neither is it anything to get excited about - disturbingly, both the Conservatives and the BNP have managed to increase their seats.

I was finding it very difficult to decide which way to vote - there is no way I would have even considered voting Tory, or Labour. I wanted to use my vote wisely. Make a protest.

Because of our anachronistic, supposedly democratic system of "first past the post", it means we were always only ever going to get a choice of between the bad, and the worse; Tony Blair or Michael Howard. I can definitely see why people would rather spoil a ballot than vote for either of them! But spoiling ballots in my opinion will not change the status quo because in the meantime, the small number the voters who do turn out to vote will get complete say over who runs the country ...and they could vote Tory for all you know!! Eeeek!

If those who spoiled their ballot or abstained had voted Lib Dem, we might have seen some moderately more promising results. Voting Lib Dem is the only real alternative... but thats hardly saying alot.



And people are always predictably neophobic when it actually comes down to it, and vote in the same dictatorial idiots that they always do *sigh*.

I would have felt my own personal political preferences be better represented by voting for one of the minority leftist parties, such as the Greens. However, until we reform our electoral system and get proportional representation in this country, a vote for the Greens at this time is more or less a "wasted" vote (no matter how optimistic I am, the pragmatist in me knows that society is not yet at the point where it will vote Green en masse). And I won't be holding my breathe waiting for that to happen.

Oh well, on the bright side, it looks more than likely that Blair will be given the boot any day now, and Michael Howard is on his way too.

One thing that still puzzles me though is I don't know why people are more positive about Blair's obvious successor, Gordon Brown, than they are about Blair. Afterall, Brown voted strongly for introducing foundation hospitals, tuition fees, terrorism laws, and of course, the Iraq war. He was Blair's 2nd in command. If the public distrusts Blair so much - why on Earth is Brown any better??