Election Debates

[DanaC]

We're full swing into General Election campaigning in the UK - I haven't really mentioned it much thus far because it kinda makes me want to break something - but heyho, can't exactly ignore the fucking thing entirely - whatever the shabby state of politics in this country, I'll be at the ballot box putting my X on the paper when the day comes.

So anyway - there's been all sorts of rumblings about televised debates between the party leaders - this has been going on for about a year, but gathered momentum a couple of months back - party leaders refusing to do them unless certain terms were met, then the goal posts were shifted and the new terms met etc etc.

We have had leadership debates over here in recent elections, but they still feel a relatively new addition to the campaign landscape. I figured since televised debates seem to be a much more expected part of the American election process you guys might find the Brit attempt of interest.

By the time all the conditions had been met, it ended up with a seven way debate between all the leaders of all the parties, rather than between the three main parties.


here's the full debate:



here's a couple of snippets for those who don;t want to trawl through the whole thing :p





And for the political animals, here's the post debate Question Time discussion show - a panel of prominent politicians from the main parties and journalists, with questions from the studio audience - a more energetic kind of discussion with some really interesting audience perspectives :

[Carruthers]

This week is manifesto publication week. Given that campaigning has been going on for the last three weeks, the cart would appear to have been put before the horse.

Yesterday, the Labour Party published its manifesto and today it is the turn of the Conservatives and Greens. No doubt the Liberal Democrats and UKIP will follow in short order.

This might amuse...

[elSicomoro]

I was surprised to see this American-ness in British politics. You REALLY don't want to copy much of our stuff. If David Cameron shows up on Graham Elliot or MTV, I'd run.

[DanaC]

Oh heck - our politicians have always tried to get down wiv da kids on popular telly shows. It's usually frightful - though some of them do ok.

The election debates could be really good - but they're a bit gimmicky.

Here's another view of the election, this time courtesy of John Oliver:

[DanaC]

Round about now is when I am, yet again, questioning the sanity of my former party in electing Ed Milliband as Leader.

The leadership battle, a few years ago now, came down to a fight between the two Milliband brothers, Ed and David.


First David Milliband: the interview starts at around 2:30





And this is who the party chose - his younger brother, Ed:

[DanaC]

HIGNFY is heavily skewed to election coverage at the moment, so I'll post this week's show here:

They cut off the very start of the anecdote at the beginning - she's telling Ian that she bumped into him some years ago while out on a drunken night



PLease to excuse the giant border - go full screen and it's watchable

Also - as an aside, I love the host forthis week, Stephen Mangan - and I totally have a girl-crush on Camilla Long

[DanaC]

Well it's polling day tomorrow.



This is one of those hateful elections, where I am primarily voting against something, rather than for something.

Tomorrow I will go to the ballot box and with something of a heavy heart stick my cross next to the Labour candidate's name. I don't even know her name. Our MP retired this time around so there's a new candidate - I have taken zero interest in the party's machinations and selection processes. I've seen it from the inside once before, for our sister constituency. It's not a pleasant process.

I really just want the current crop of utter bastards to be pushed out of government. I'll take the other, marginally less awful bunch of bastards instead.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by DanaC

... stick my cross next to the Labour candidate's name. I don't even know her name. ...

Harriet Jones

[DanaC]

Hehehehehe. Yes.

[Sundae]

Just got an email from Nick Clegg, which is sweet of him considering he must be busy today. Not that my LibDem vote really counts in Otley; by all accounts the incumbent is a shoo-in.

I did my duty this morning anyway. It's a shame when only people making their protest votes are motivated and give the extreme parties something to boast about. As they did in Aylesbury in the Council elections (a UKIP councillor? what's he going to do, get Quarrendon out of Europe?!) and as someone's parents are doing in this General Election. Aylesbury won't shift from true-blue because of their two votes, but who wants to put a smile on racists' faces?

ETA the above doesn't apply to Dana's vote, obviously.
I am voting differently, but for the same reason. I'm not pro Lib Dem, but I'm not anti. They meet my political ideals better than the current coalition, and why split the vote in this area by ticking Labour?

[Carruthers]

It's unfortunate that General Elections are now such negative experiences when so often we find ourselves voting for the marginally less worse party or casting our vote tactically in order to keep a candidate out rather than voting another one in.
It beggars belief that we still cling to the first past the post system where an MP can be in the position of having more people voting against him/her than voted for him/her.
That peculiarity manifested itself in the governments of both Mrs Thatcher and Mr Blair whereby they were elected on the basis of achieving 42% or thereabouts of the popular vote.
Governments elected by proportional representation are often said to be weak, but at least have the merit of representing the distribution of votes cast.

Anyway, whoever takes up residence at No 10 is going to need a large dose of good luck and the agility to dodge the copious quantities of ordure heading his way.

[Lamplighter]

<snip>Governments elected by proportional representation are often said to be weak,
but at least have the merit of representing the distribution of votes cast.

Anyway, whoever takes up residence at No 10 is going to need a large dose of good luck
and the agility to dodge the copious quantities of ordure heading his way.

As much as I despise the GOP, I end up arguing that a 2-party system is still
better for the U.S than 3rd-party candidates and/or coalition governments .

Of course, the GOP has been reversing the old axiom to
"the devil we don't know might be better than..."
And too, we don't (yet) have a sovereign who could sort out all the tangles.

Sending the Brits a wish for the best of luck...

[BigV]

Your cartoon illustrates something very interesting I heard from what I think was an American reporter on the ground in the UK discussing the relative quiet yesterday. If I remember correctly, yesterday, the day before the election, no campaigning is allowed. That's shocking enough, but the real kicker is personified by the expressions of exhaustion on the faces of your politicians. The story revealed that the election campaign was *six weeks long* and that "...most people here will tell you that is interminably long".

Oh, yeah. Riiiiiiight. Just this week we had that announcements from at least four new candidates for President for an election that won't be held until some eighteen months hence, November 2016. Six weeks is a YouTube video by comparison.

[tw]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I really just want the current crop of utter bastards to be pushed out of government. I'll take the other, marginally less awful bunch of bastards instead.

I thought this was the election where Brits decide if the UK was to still be a world power. Or to withdrawl from the EU and substancially reduce its military. Is that not the real question on this ballot?

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by BigV

Your cartoon illustrates something very interesting I heard from what I think was an American reporter on the ground in the UK discussing the relative quiet yesterday. If I remember correctly, yesterday, the day before the election, no campaigning is allowed. That's shocking enough, but the real kicker is personified by the expressions of exhaustion on the faces of your politicians. The story revealed that the election campaign was *six weeks long* and that "...most people here will tell you that is interminably long".

Oh, yeah. Riiiiiiight. Just this week we had that announcements from at least four new candidates for President for an election that won't be held until some eighteen months hence, November 2016. Six weeks is a YouTube video by comparison.

It's a difficult one to judge from this distance, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but I suspect that campaigning in the US proceeds at a relatively civilised rate until fairly near the election.
Over here campaigning has proceeded at breakneck speed for the last six weeks sorely testing the party leaders and others, not to mention the patience of the long suffering electorate.
That's DanaC, Sundae, your humble correspondent and about 45 million other knackered souls.

Campaigning continues up to the last minute but not on polling day. By coincidence there was a report on the radio about half an hour ago concerning this.
Apart from the requirements of the Representation of the People Act, broadcasters impose upon themselves guidelines that restrict reporting on polling day between 0600 and 2200, ie start and finish of voting hours.
They confine themselves to factual reports and nothing that could be construed as campaigning. For instance, all the main party leaders and spouses have been shown turning up to vote and that's about it.
I think that the Nation views this absence of coverage as a welcome respite from the whole wretched affair. Of course, at the stroke of 2200 the shackles fall away and normal service is resumed by the broadcasters.

Should you be of a particularly masochistic outlook, you might wish to go to the BBC website at 2200BST/1400PST and listen to Radio 4. Eight hours of non-stop coverage of the results await you.
Under normal circumstances I take a tablet at about 2030 in order to relax me in preparation for sleep.
I am seriously contemplating taking two.*


ETA As an example of straightforward factual reporting, this page is as good as any:

Election 2015: Millions vote in UK general election




* It's OK. That's well within the dosage outlines.