A jolly morning's voting

An unexpected treat landed on my door courtesy of Electoral Reform Services.

Yes, it's Party election time!!

No sign of the one we've all been waiting for, but in the meantime an excellent opporutnity to support old friends, laugh at people's artwork and make instant and probably utterly-unfair judgements about people.

My favourite was the chap who was standing for the peers list who wrote "60 years a liberal" at the top. How can one resist?!

Two names did jump out and me that deserve a vote:

1. Jock Coats for Federal Policy Committee: Jock is known to many of you through his blog. He has an excellent graps of policy and has an answer for almost any problem (the same one, admittedly ;o) and would be a real asset to FPC, fighting for sound liberal economic and social policy and fending off the errors of interventionism;
2. Tony Vickers for the peer's list: Tony is Chair of ALTER and a long serving Liberal Democrat councillor.

I should hasten to add at this point that I am not a member of ATER and my internal jury is still out (if an internal anything can be out) over LVT. But it has been a party committment for a century and yet the policy establishment have brushed it under the carpet in the Cowley Street boardroom every time it has come up.

There are also dozens of other people I know on the lists, but I can't sit here listing everybody and their attributes. That is what your artwork was for!

Anyway. Enough of all that. I've seen a photograph of a women in a barbour so I'm going to send her to Europe!

New parties to split the silly vote

Fans of Monty Python that also read sites such as mine should be familiar with the fantastic Election Night Special.

If so, they may recall my favourite moment, when a rival “Very Silly” candidate splits the “Silly” vote.

Voice Over: Hello, from Harpenden. This is a key seat because in addition to the
official Silly candidate there is an independent Very Silly candidate (in large
cube of polystyrene with only legs sticking out) who may split the silly vote.
Officer: Mrs Elsie Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... (obvious man in drag with enormous
joke breasts)
Voice Over: Silly.
Officer: 26,317... James Walker...
Voice Over: Sensible.
Officer: 26,318.
Voice Over: That was close.
Officer: Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Umbrella Stand Jasper
Wednesday (pops mouth twice) Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable (sound effect of
horse whinnying) Arthur Norman Michael (blows squeker) Featherstone Smith (blows
whistle) Northgot Edwards Harris (fires pistol, which goes 'whoop') Mason
(chuff-chuff-chuff) Frampton Jones Fruitbat Gilbert (sings) 'We'll keep a
welcome in the' (three shots, stops singing) Williams If I Could Walk That Way
Jenkin (squeker) Tiger-draws Pratt Thompson (sings) 'Raindrops Keep Falling On
My Head' Darcy Carter (horn) Pussycat 'Don't Sleep In The Subway' Barton
Mannering (hoot, 'whoop') Smith.
Voice Over: Very Silly.
Officer: Two.
Voice Over: Well there you have it. A Sensible gain at Driffield

Which is why the London elections are proving to be a joy to behold.

The BBC lists the following candidates for Mayor:

• Alan Craig - Christian Peoples Alliance & The Christian Party


• Boris Johnson - Conservative party


• Brian Paddick - Liberal Democrat


• Chris Prior - Stop The Congestion Charge party


• Damian Hockney - One London party


• Dennis Delderfield - New Britain


• Gerard Batten - UKIP


• Ken Livingstone - Labour party


• Lindsey German - Left List party


• Matt O'Connor - English Democrats party


• Richard Barnbrook - BNP


• Sian Berry - Green Party


• Winston McKenzie - Independent

So we’ve got One London splitting the UKIP vote, The Left List scrabbling with the (rosy-) Greens for the disaffected socialist vote, both of whom are also fighting Galloway’s Respect on the GLA list (“The Unity Coalition”? You couldn’t make it up!), more Fascists than you can wave a stick at, and Winston McKenzie, who seems to have been through just about every political party except the Liberal Democrats.

Only Christians and Liberals appear to have remained united (thank God and Gladstone!).

You’ve gotta’ smile.

( “#'We'll keep a welcome in the'#” [three shots, stops singing] )

If all this talk of a Conservative revival is getting you down...

Election Results: Thursday 11th October 2007.

Horsham DC, Holbrook West
LD Belinda Walters 602 (43.9; +11.1), Con 554 (40.4; -6.5), BNP 163 (11.9; +11.9), Lab 52 (3.8; +0.2), [Ind (0.0; -16.6)].
Majority 48. Turnout 32.2%. LD gain from Con. Last fought 2007.

Chippenham TC, Pewsham
LD Mark Packard 493 (58.8), Con 346 (41.2).
Majority 147. Turnout 19.5%. LD gain from Con.

I think these speak for themselves :o)

The lonliness of the long distance blogger

It is a cold and lonely world, blogging on election day.

I was at work all day, and at the Safer Neighbourhood Panel meeting this evening, so I could not help out.

As a result, I am one of the only blogger left blogging. The rest of you are now poised, waiting for the count to start.

Good luck. You deserve it. And I envy you all the thrill of election day.

Don’t hold your breath

Rumours have been flying around for some time that Gordon Brown might call an early general election to take advantage of the Brown Bounce, a surge in the polls as the voters take a big breath of the fresh air that Gordon will represent after replacing Tony Blair.

I’ve been rubbishing this suggestion for some time. Apart from its echoes of another Labour bounce that we were promised, the voters are becoming increasingly aware that the most bouncy thing about the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the rubber cheques he has been writing.

So I hope the boys in Campaigns haven’t blown the whole of the budget just yet, because according to The Times Gordon Brown has explicitly ruled out an early election. On ITV yesterday he pouted

“I didn’t hear the Conservatives calling for a general election the minute
that John Major took over in 1990… Nor did people say that on the other
occasions in British history.”

The analogy is apposite, as the Tories were highly unpopular in 1990. However, Major had the advantage of being relatively unknown when he took over, unstained by the previous ten years. Not so Brown, who is up to his neck in the authoritarianism, spin, sleaze and ultimate failure of ten years of New Labour, while at the same time being personally responsible for unprecedented levels of taxation, high borrowing and vast amount of off-the-balance-sheet public debt.

My bet remains that Gordon Brown will delay the next general election for as long as possible, hoping that he can somehow convince the world that he is actually a good Prime Minister, if only we give him a chance.It looks like it’s not just those expecting an early election who should not be holding their breaths.

POLL: Who would you choose in the second round of the French presidential elections?

Okay. This is a first, and it may all go horribly wrong, but...

It's poll time!!

And the question is this: Given that the choice is between an unreconstructed socialist with a winning smile and a right-wing moderniser who wants to liberalise the economy but stick it to immigrants, who would you choose in the second round of the French presidential elections?

Or, if you disagree with the analysis above, how about just telling us who you would support anyway.

Who would you support in second round of the French presidential elections
	Nicolas Sarkozy
	Segolene Royal
	I would rather emigrate
Free polls from Pollhost.com

For the record, I am aware that this may also prove an embarrassing indictment upon the amount of traffic this poll recieves, but I'm prepared to take that risk in the interests of... er... I don't know. Entertaining my regular reader, I guess.

But worst of all, you've let yourself down

ALDC have released the latest set of by-election results. See if you can spot what is missing from the first two on the list:

By-Election Results: Thursday 25th January 2007.

Cumbria CC, Brampton and Gilsland
Con 717 (61.4; +13.6), Lab 363 (31.1; +2.9), BNP 88 (7.5; +7.5), [LD (0.0; -24.0).
Majority 354. Turnout 23.3%. Con hold. Last fought 2005.

Isle of Anglesey UA, Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog
Ind 449 (57.7; +21.0), PC 273 (35.1; -28.2), Lab 56 (7.2; +7.2).
Majority 176. Turnout 50%. Ind gain from PC. Last fought 2004.

I'll give you a clue, if you're stuck:

Coming on the back of the Barrow in Furness District Council by-election, the first of the new year and another no-show by the Lib Dems, this is a pretty poor show. The one in Cumbria is particularly galling as we appear to have had 24% of the vote last time.

Come on, people! Sort it out! Is a paper candidate and a couple of Foci too much to ask?