So, it’s election time in the UK again – I think I’ll go to sleep for the next few weeks.
Does anyone really care who wins -except of course the current members of parliament; they’re out of a job if they lose. What do they do if they lose their seats? Does it mean they can’t to sit down any more? What has their parliamentary experience given them?
– they can argue against anything the opposition say even if they actually agree with it
– they can shout loudly, and act like unruly school boys
– they can defend their party’s policies even if it’s obvious to everyone that they are not working
I’m at a loss to know what job they are qualified to do. Any suggestions?
It doesn’t really make a difference whether labour or conservative win the most seats (not an overall majority). Today the parties are more or less the same – both in the middle. That’s why the opinion polls show the election to be so close. Neither party has much influence over what happens in Britain in the medium and long term: that is determined by what happens in the rest of the world, certainly economically. When I went to school half of the world map was coloured red: the British Empire. Rule Britannia is now only a song sung at rugby matches and on the last night of the proms.
A large number of the seats in parliament are considered to be safe i.e. not expected to change party. Estimates vary depending on who you ask, surprise surprise, but well over half of the 650 seats are staunch Labour or Conservative (not to forget, which is easy to do, the few held by the Liberal Democrats). It’s probably true to say that the election could be decided by what happens in as little as 60 constituencies.
It always amazes me why anyone would volunteer to stand in an absolutely safe seat, with a guarantee of failure? There are a few masochists of course, but if we ignore them, there still seem to be enough people willing to put themselves through the hard work only to be embarrassed in the end. And there’s always the Monster Raving Loony Party and the Serve More Gravy with Meat Pies Party (I made up the last one) to swell the numbers.
Living in Switzerland it’s easy of course for me to make these comments on what happens in politics in UK. As a non-citizen I do not have a vote in Switzerland. Is it something I miss? Absolutely not; especially in Switzerland because the country is always run by a coalition (no, not of gnomes).
I suppose the one big difference in this election is Nigel Farage and the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Just how big a difference remains to be seen. Will UKIP take seats from the Tories? Those extreme right wing Tories who have been waiting for an opportunity take Britain out of Europe, close the borders and send all the immigrants home will probably vote UKIP. But there’s no chance that UKIP will be in government, and, hopefully, not have even enough seats to influence policy. The policies of UKIP will lead to social unrest in Britain on a scale not seen before.
Everything points to another coalition, but between whom? Conservative/Lib. Dems. again – I think both parties have had enough: Conservative/Labour – sounds like getting into bed with the enemy, but could be the best thing for the people of Britain; Conservative/UKIP – for me the most dangerous combination; Labour/SNP – probably only on the condition that the idea of independent Scotland is reinstated, which the people of Scotland correctly rejected.
If I was living the UK there would be only one factor that would determine who I voted for: the promise by the Conservatives to hold a referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union if they win. This should not even be an issue for discussion: Britain must stay in the EU. The decision is far too important to be left to Mr and Mrs British, who will vote based on how they perceive membership affects them personally. It is necessary to take a broader view and ask what will be good for the future economic prosperity of Britain? There is only one answer to that question. So, I would be voting Labour, Lib. Dems. or maybe even the Monster Raving Loony Party (I’m only joking. I think).
If Europe were in a better shape economically, if Europe had a uniform fiscal policy, if Europe could agree on deep-rooted issues such as the current immigration catastrophe, if Europe had a common legal enforcement policy, if…, if…, then yes, it would make sense for the UK to belong to a strong allegiance of countries (such as airline companies and their alliances). But none of the above exists, some of which will never exist. All Europe has managed so far is the standardisation of the size of a tomato, whether grown in Denmark or Spain (Europe should worry more about the negative ecological costs of transporting the same size tomato from one end of the continent to the other – another debate you may say). No, Europe is finished as a means of creating a stronger economical region. The only two countries holding Europe together are France and Germany. France for ideological as well as historic reasons and Germany to (re)gain power, albeit through more pacific channels than those which previously resulted in human disaster. Who is buying up just about everything on sale in Greece nowadays, other than the Chinese? Europe as a union was not able to solve what should have been a far more ‘European’ solution. There’s no European leader as such (thankfully you might say), and financially, Europe is led by a bunch of ex-Goldman Sachs executives, who are probably as warped as the company itself, with offshores that more than likely have nothing to do with the discretion claimed but indeed, tax engineering.
Europe is dead, long live Europe!
NEW 
If Europe were in a better shape economically, if Europe had a uniform fiscal policy, if Europe could agree on deep-rooted issues such as the current immigration catastrophe, if Europe had a common legal enforcement policy, if…, if…, then yes, it would make sense for the UK to belong to a strong allegiance of countries (such as airline companies and their alliances). But none of the above exists, some of which will never exist. All Europe has managed so far is the standardisation of the size of a tomato, whether grown in Denmark or Spain (Europe should worry more about the negative ecological costs of transporting the same size tomato from one end of the continent to the other – another debate you may say). No, Europe is finished as a means of creating a stronger economical region. The only two countries holding Europe together are France and Germany. France for ideological as well as historic reasons and Germany to (re)gain power, albeit through more pacific channels than those which previously resulted in human disaster. Who is buying up just about everything on sale in Greece nowadays, other than the Chinese? Europe as a union was not able to solve what should have been a far more ‘European’ solution. There’s no European leader as such (thankfully you might say), and financially, Europe is led by a bunch of ex-Goldman Sachs executives, who are probably as warped as the company itself, with offshores that more than likely have nothing to do with the discretion claimed but indeed, tax engineering.
Europe is dead, long live Europe!