The titan arum of british politics

[Mr Soft]

Oooooh! are we having a revolution? Can I be Mme Desfarges, please?

 

oh erm, wait, no. I can't knit! Damn!

 

You can be anyone that you want to be dear.

[rubydazzler]

You can be anyone that you want to be dear.

Thank 'ee, kind sir.

 

But when preaching revolution, remember the fate of les sans-culottes ... it wasn't only the aristos that ended up with Mme La Guillotine.

[andygardener]

Murdochs death throws. That degenerate digger is going into overdrive before he is finally destroyed.

[andyofborg]

I don't think people have really thought this through. Labour isn't electable now and, barring a miracle, still won't be electable in four years time. The Greens aren't going to have sufficient numbers to make any difference.

 

So more people will vote Conservative/UKIP? But then they won't need to appease the bleeding heart Liberals, without the coalition, they'll be able to do exactly what they want to do.

 

 

it depends where the left lib dem votes go, if the left splits away and reforms as the new SDP or they purge the orange book end and reaffirm the lib dems as they were before clegg sold them out then something with a long term future might emerge.

 

but as either of those don't seem about to happen then it depends on what labour does. if labour turns its back on blairism and returns to its roots then it stands a chance of picking many of those votes up. if it doesn't then i think the only real alternative would be the greens, and if they run a good campaign then they might do well especially if they can connect to the younger voter.

 

perhaps the real worry is that the country will divide, with the north moving to labour with the odd lib dem and conservative mp and the south going the other way. if that happens then whoever wins, the argument that they don't have a mandate to govern half the country would be hard to counter and i'm not sure that would be good. i also think such a situation would advance the cause of those who seek to end the union.

 

i doubt many core lib dem voters or those on the left who vote lib dem as a protest or tactical vote would vote for ukip as they are more toxic than the conservatives. the tactical/protest voters on the right might vote ukip but then they have no real reason not to vote conservative or for whatever is left of the lib dem party.

[Mr Soft]

Thank 'ee, kind sir.

 

But when preaching revolution, remember the fate of les sans-culottes ... it wasn't only the aristos that ended up with Mme La Guillotine.

 

I have lost my head a few times in my life, once more would not make any difference.

[rubydazzler]

it depends (snipped for brevity) whatever is left of the lib dem party.

Yes, I agree. There are myriad alternatives. Certainly we're living in interesting times. I think we have more coalitions in prospect, how they'll be composed is anyone's guess.

[andyofborg]

The issue with the LibDems is that nobody likes unpopular decisions, and being in power at the moment means having to make lots of unpopular decisions.

 

it's a bit deeper than that, on balance people eventually forgive unpopular decisions if they understand that they are necessary

 

but the lib dems have contributed to the making of several unpopular decisions which were both unnecessary and contrary to their core policies and many lib dem voters both core and those who use them for tactical/protest vote reasons find that unacceptable.

[Harleyman]

titan arum – the plant that waits for decades to bloom and then does so with a terrific stink before lying dormant for several decades more.

 

guess which party?

 

i don't suppose it's a hard question to answer

 

for the chavs:

 

for the intellectuals:

 

Sounds like the mother of my first wife.

[rubydazzler]

it's a bit deeper than that, on balance people eventually forgive unpopular decisions if they understand that they are necessary

 

but the lib dems have contributed to the making of several unpopular decisions which were both unnecessary and contrary to their core policies and many lib dem voters both core and those who use them for tactical/protest vote reasons find that unacceptable.

That's only your opinion though. It's a bit like seeing court reports, we're not always privy to all the evidence leading to a verdict we don't like or understand. Sometimes unpalatable things have to be done, to prevent other even more unpalatable things happening later.

 

That's why they have sayings like 'uneasy lies the head that wears the crown'. It's a reason why I've given up on even community working, let alone local political activity. Not only can you not please all the people all the time, it's hard to even please some of the people some of the time, because they all want different things. The game's not worth the candle, imo.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Are you so daft that you can't think?

 

I don't give a toss.

 

Actually I do care - and I care acutely (but successive governments have made my vote meaningless)

 

I could, of course, get in line and wait for a free operation *like wot Id get in the UK, but about 4 years earlier.* - buit then again, yopu do have a wonderful national Elf who provides instant fre healthcare at the drop of a hat.