Why shouldn't I vote lib dem?

ninky_2

i think the libdems have some good ideas. clegg has shown himself to be issue motivated and also has an international outlook (and background) which i feel we really need. too much parochialism in british politics still and the world is moving on.

i, however. won't be voting libdem. i think my local labour mp is pretty good all things considered (david lammy) and i'll be sticking with them. we could do worse than a lab/lib coalition after the election.

please not the tories.:eek:

StevieJ

Spartacus_Mills wrote: »

Why are they third runners, well there is an element of it being a wasted vote in a two horse race which is a shame. But given that Labour and the Tories have moved to the centre over the last 20 years they are naturally moving onto the Lib Dems territory.

It seems to me that the LibDems moved to the left of Labour once Mandy and Blair got their feet under the table.

kennyboy66_2

I'll be voting Lib Dem this time.

Don't like the candidate that Labour fielding.

Tories have no chance in my area - as the Lib Dems are fond of trumpeting. Every leaflet they put out will have a graphic with "The Tories - they can't win here"

Lib Dems marginal favorites (5/6 betting fans!) but will surely be shorter if Ricky Tomlinson stands and splits the Labour vote.

JayScottGreenspan

I don't buy the "wasted vote" argument to not vote Lib Dem.

I've lived in many different constituencies, but I've never lived in a marginal constituency. Every single time I have voted it is in full knowledge that it will not make a blind bit of difference to the outcome. Why not vote Lib Dem, if that's who I prefer?

ninky_2

i don't get the "wasted vote" argument at all. if one party is more or less guaranteed to get in in your area then surely voting for them could be seen as equally "wasted". by reducing the margin by voting for a party you think actually has better ideas (even if they don't get in), you are helping to shift the political agenda and show support for alternative ideas. all votes are equal whether they are for the winning candidate or another candidate.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

What are your local candidates like Graham? In the last election I did an online search for each party and "my borough" and the LibDems were the only ones to have a website clearly outlining their policies for the area. They're all generally a bit more tech-savvy now, and my local MP (Tory) has quite a decent online Q&A section. I wished I lived in a marginal seat though, where they'd all be desperately wooing you. Must make you feel very special....

Linton

After watching the chancellor's battle what was clear to me was that the days of stark ideological differences between the parties are over.

For example all the "chancellors" accepted without qualification that an important role of government was to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor - something that would have Mrs T and her colleagues rotating rapidly in their graves (were they in them).

Accepting there is no real philosophical difference between the parties, or it is small compared with the ideological differences within the parties, one now comes to competence. But any party will have a mixture of good and bad. And the good and bad change over time as individual's political fortunes wax and wane. Someone seen as competent this year may be out of favour next.

Vince Cable comes over well on TV, and that seems to be the most important qualification these days. On the other hand I believe to do a good management job one needs a mean streak.

Where does that leave us? Perhaps we are back to where we always should have been - with the individual candidates.

markharding557

Everyone should vote for who they believe in and not because of who might win.
Voting according to this fear of who might win benefits only the major two and is bad for democracy as a whole

Spartacus_Mills

kennyboy66 wrote: »

I'll be voting Lib Dem this time.

Don't like the candidate that Labour fielding.

Tories have no chance in my area - as the Lib Dems are fond of trumpeting. Every leaflet they put out will have a graphic with "The Tories - they can't win here"

Lib Dems marginal favorites (5/6 betting fans!) but will surely be shorter if Ricky Tomlinson stands and splits the Labour vote.

Please do. I have a tenner on the Lib Dems to take that seat.

Linton

A._Badger wrote: »

I didn't mention the Tories - that was your straw man. I simply pointed out the tank-sized hole in your claim that the recession was due to the activities of US banks. I pointed out the failure of NR and the government's complicity in lending policy.

Is it worth trying to have a sensible conversation, or does it always resolve to 'Tories - yah-boo'?

I believe that the failure of NR was not particularly because of their lending policy - their default rate was not very high, certainly not of US sub-prime proportions. The failure was primarily due to their business model which led to them being over dependent on access to short term money from the world's money markets. When this dried up because of the US problems NR were sunk.

A company's business model was not seen by anyone at that time as a concern of government.

Tories yah-boo is the easiest response (and it is very easy) to the "things are unusually terrible now - it's all the government's fault" people who wont listen to any considered argument to the contrary.