politics

[eleanor2]

are you interested in politics. do you have a preferance tony blair or gordon brown or none.do you vote or are you fed up of politicians.have you got a favorite politician.i am actually not a political person.i vote for my party.the one i was bought up with.

[Oola]

Yes I vote, but it seems to be a harder decision to make with each election. Maybe I'm getting a bit older and wiser (cynical), but I find it hard to actually believe any party is going to deliver all that it says it can.

I don't necessarily vote for the same purposes as you eleanor2, I tend to go with who has the policies that I think address the issues I have at the time, and who I genuinely believe to be the most trustworthy and 'in touch'. Tony Blair was a great salesman, Gordon Brown not so much. Whilst he's quite solid and stoic, he lacks charisma that I believe a leader of a nation needs. As I've said before, I also have a problem with the fact that I've had no say in whether the man running this country is right for the job.

As far as fave politicians, I do like Dame Shirley Williams and Lembit Opek (despite the whole Cheeky Girl/Sian Williams thing) who I heard speak in London a few years ago. Tony Benn was supposed to speak but his wife had died of cancer the night before, and so Lembit stepped up and proved a real hit.

[eleanor2]

thing is i dont really trust politicians.but we do tend to have a parties ideals taught us as we grow up.my mum also taught me to respect my country,royalty,authority and elders.some of that wouldn.t go amiss in this country today. i really believe we are blessed to have our system of democracy.it might not be great but its better than most.

[lily]

I've posted on another category re feeling really disillusioned with Brown. There seems so much spin and corruption no matter which party is under scrutiny, yet I feel if and when there is another election, I should vote. Maybe it's a female thing, I remember my grandmother telling me about the suffragettes so I've always felt my right to vote has been hard won.
I've heard Ann Widecome speak and was very impressed, she talked about one of her books at the Dartington Lit fest and dealt with some heckling extremely well

[jazzactivist]

I am keen on politics and aways vote in local, Scottish, UK and European elections, as I think that women fought hard in the past for the right to vote and it is our role to ensure that right is exercised. Like Oola, I have real trouble deciding which party to vote for, as none of them seem to offer policies or an identity that I think are wholly right. I can be dithering right up to the time when I put my X in the box/es. In the end, I opt for the party that appears to have the most policies that put people before profit. I think that it is important to vote for the political party that you prefer, not to carry on a family tradition, as times and circmstances change.

As far as Blair and Brown go, I was delighted to see the back of Tony Blair as he seemed more interested in his media image than in policy, and took serious decisions without consulting anyone. I think that Gordon Brown is much better, although a bit disappointing lately, as he has the right type of seriousness and gravitas for the role of PM. I think that there should be a return to serious politics with the most experienced politicians for each position, as politicians are meant to be working on the electorate's behalf not auditioning for a boy band.

I am afraid that I don't agree with you Eleanor2 about respect for Royalty and our elders, as the Royal Family cost this country a lot of money and don't contribute very much to benefit average people. If we have to have Royalty at all then it should be the type that they have in Europe where they live very ordinary lives that don't cost too much, and they carry out a proper job with a job description and set hours. Also, older people are not necessarily the most knowldgeable or experienced people in our society, so just respecting them for living a long time isn't enough. It depends on what they have done with their lives, and what they do now to try to help to change things for the better. For example, it was people who are now in the oldest age group who introduced and supported cheap supermarket shopping, and they are still the hardest group to convince to return to shopping more ethically and abandoning the supermarkets, even though there is much more information available now about the wider ethical issues that need to be considered when shopping. My view is that everyone, regardless of age or status, should be respected and involved in society and decision-making.

[eleanor2]

i always vote too.because we are blessed to live in a country that gives us a vote. i am not impressed at the moment with politics.but we can highlight issues by demonstrating.without getting shot.so thats another thing to be thankful for.

[eleanor2]

hi jazz we wrote at the same time.i suppose i am glad mum instilled these things in us.the old people around us on our council estate were quite nice.yet all us kids could have made their life a misery.but we were always respectful.which makes me feel happy cus i have fond memories of the old dears.i like royalty to i feel it makes our country a bit more special (as long as they are honourable) my mum also instilled buy british and i sure have a hard job now but i do manage it sometimes.

[Pippa]

Jazzactivist , loved everything you wrote above and agree, you have expressed yourself far better than I ever could.

[gothfairy]

I agree with Jazz too, and believe that women fought long and hard for us to be able to vote, and so we should otherwise what would be the point? But I don't vote the way I do because my parents voted that way, they never foisted their opinions on me in that respect but allowed me the freedoms to make my own decisions when I was old enough, and armed with sufficient information. Nor would I vote the way my husband does... I vote the way I feel is right for me, for whatever reasons, but my political views, like my religion, are private to me.
However I would say that like many people on here I am disillusioned with Gordon Brown of late, simply because of the sneery smug way he looked across at Cameron and his lot when Mr Darling announced 'his' plans re inheritance tax. To that point I had thought he was above such childish behaviour, but it seems they are all little boys deep down and can't resist acting like them.
I would also say that it is a shame we have no strong, female characters in the front line of politics. Like her or not, Mrs Thatcher was a strong women, not afraid to speak her mind, full of passion - only Ann Widdicombe comes close to her in that respect, and she is retiring next election.

[eleanor2]

with me i suppose its my parents idealisms i inherited.i must say they are mine too.my hubby was bought up to vote completely different.yet i could not vote the way his family does.saying that our local counciler is brilliant. i have never met such a hard working caring man for his community. in local elections i vote for him.he is independant. he got that many votes he didn't have to go for re-election.he was automatically in for 3 years i think. he is what politics should be about.caring for everyone whoever they are.

[jazzactivist]

As you have all said, the important thing is to think about the policies that we want to vote for, and do it! It is the best way to gain some control over the laws and political identity of our country. I agree with you Eleanor2 that sometimes you may have to vote outwith your preferred choice of Party if you know of a political representative who is caring, passionate and able to get things done. In the last general election the Conservative candidate here knocked spots off all the others for contacting every household in his huge constituency to find out which issues were important to us and then being seen to be actively supportive of these issues even in the remotest areas. He has a great track record for getting results too. I really struggled with that one, but in the end couldn't vote for him on principle, as I believe that the Conservative government introduced the unhealthy attitude to money and success that we now have to live with (not that life was perfect before or after!). My neighbours voted for him, though, which was very unusual for them, and he did win the seat and is still very good.

It seems to me that one of the main problems in the UK is that people are encouraged to keep to a tradition where we are secretive about which political party or candidate we support. The process of secret ballot is often taken to mean that who you voted for must always be kept secret, and this actually discourages genuine public debate. This isn't the case in other countries where people are proud of which party they support and which candidate they plan to vote for, or easily enter into discussion about their shortcomings and what should be done. I think that this is why so many people in the UK say "I don't do polictics".

[gothfairy]

I didn't realise it was a 'tradition' to keep one's political beliefs to oneself, just something I had a right to do. If everyone did it, then there would be no PPC's, for nobody would turn up if they kept their views and political leanings to themselves! But just because I do, doesn't mean I don't talk about it in more general terms, and I think to say that this 'secrecy' stifles public debate is, with all due respect, wrong. Surely you can talk about a subject in general without allying yourself to one party or another?

[jazzactivist]

Hi gothfairy, I think that coming from a country where an equal vote for everyone was so hard won, and where mentioning some political alligences was illegal and punishable by jail or death, it is odd to come to the UK and discover that people seem very secretive about which political party they support or candidate that they voted for given that this is supposed to be an open democracy. It seems that some people police themselves and one another when there is no need to, and I think that it does stifle public debate as when people do talk about politics it is always in general terms and don't seem to relate the policies of the different parties directly to their lives. Attempts to encourage a more personal debate quickly leads to silencing comments like "we don't talk about politics or religion at the dinner table", "political talk causes trouble" etc. It seems to me that it is a tradition in the UK, as I remember my parents saying that it is impolite to ask people who they voted for, and many of the older people whom I come into contact with say the same type of thing. I agree with you that there are, of course, people who talk openly about their politics, but there is still a general feeling here that it's not really the done thing. Voting for a certain political party or candidate externalises your own beliefs and values, or the compromises that you have to make, so sharing these with others can't really be a bad thing, can it?

[gothfairy]

I agree that there is nothing wrong with sharing your beliefs and values with people, talking about things which matter to you and why, but I don't see why that has to go along with political talk, saying who I vote for. I think a bit of mystery about someone is always intriguing anyway.
I have also heard that in certain classes it's 'not the done thing' to talk about politics or religion at the dinner table, along with your own personal health issues, what you earn, sex and various other subjects which make for lively and interesting discussions! My friends know my beliefs about some of the important issues in our lives, but we don't discuss which party we feel particularly drawn to. Mind you, that doesn't stop us having a go at the politicians!

[Oola]

I have to say I think it's interesting to find out political parties that other people vote for, as I think I can be quite bad for stereotyping the parties and their voters. Finding out who votes for who, and why they choose to vote can always give a new perspective on a particular policy or politician.

I always thought that Poll Tax was 'a very bad thing' - having grown up just seeing the mass demonstrations on TV. Then someone explained to me why they still voted Tory and thought Poll Tax was a good idea, and although I still don't wholly agree with it, in a way it does make a bit more sense to me. Particularly with my council tax, I find it incredibly annoying that Rich and I pay the same amount as a whole family that use more than double the council's services just a few doors down. But then our county council is a whole other debate.

[eleanor2]

i hope no-one minds me putting threads on like this.it is the sociology student in me. i never take offence at any-ones beliefs,politics or values as long as they dont harm anyone. i love other peoples point of view and respect our needs to follow our own pathway in life.i wonder if other s think that all parties compromise their values at times.i think we could do with a party that tackles high inflation.soon we might price ourself out of the market.does anyone think we are pricing ourselves out of jobs.meaning immigrant labour and outsourcing to other countries

[Oola]

no offence taken here at all! it's good to have a meaty discussion :)