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@bq
I apparently live in the most corrupt place in the British Isles as far as politics goes. It used to be a huge Labour safe seat, but since the last time it's a choice between the Respect party, who have proven with Galloway to be nothing but a machine for getting a prize cunt into parliament, or Labour, who I would not vote for in a million years, even though I quite liked Oona King. (If the Dispatches episode the other week is to be believed, both the Respect party and the local Labour party are effectively controlled by the Islamic Forum for Europe anyway, and the only thing they'll be fighting for with any conviction is a caliphate.)
I seriously cannot believe anyone would vote to say "Gordon, everything you've done has been great - keep doing it for another 5 years", no matter how much they may detest the Tories. It is necessary in a democracy to throw those in power out when they exercise it badly. I have this not-quite-fully-formed notion that the disgraceful way that Labour have behaved recently is not only because they have had an uninterrupted 13 year spell in power but because they followed a government that also had a similarly excessive stretch. Having seen what Thatcher's mob were able to get away with I reckon Labour are going just that little bit further. Maybe we should be like the Americans and ban leaders from serving more than 2 terms of office.
However I don't agree with tactical voting. If you hate Labour but hate Conservatives more, vote for someone you don't hate. You should vote for the party that best represents what you believe in - success by minor parties usually has an effect on the policies of those in power. When the Greens pushed the Lib-Dems into 4th place during Major's government we very quickly saw the emergence of environmental politics from the mainstream parties who saw the value in the green vote.
You'll all have guessed that I'll be voting Conservative but it's not just to get Labour out, but because I believe in smaller government, smaller less intrusive state, lower taxation, the free market economy, and more local devolution of powers, which are traditional Conservative values, and I really think that this country needs that approach right now if it is to sort out the mess Gordon Brown has got it into. I don't agree with all that the Tories stand for but they are the party that most represents my own convictions. Given what I have said above about where I live this will of course be a wasted vote and will not affect the outcome one jot. Respect or Labour will get in.