Who will/did you vote for on 6th May General Election

[Highland Robin]

Oh dear....there is so much I would like to comment on on this thread....I will try to restrict it to what is actually happening now...the fact is that people thought they liked the idea of a balanced parliament, they voted - pretty chaotically, it has to be said - in a way which ensured a hung parliament; and now they don't like what they voted for, because after all is said and done, pragmatism and human beings rule in government.  'Strong government' is the cry, and everyone seems to agree, but threaten the Lib Dems with disaster if they form any sort of agreement in one direction or the other.  And therein lies the problem.  Political reform means a great deal more than a fairer voting system, important as that is.  Nick Clegg sadly lost the plot after his resounding success in the first Debate.  In stead of pressing the case for full scale political reform (and indeed many of the other LibDem policies which make sense) he got carried away with the verbiage about 'a new way' different from the worn-out two party system.  He never gave any insication of what he meant by that except through electoral reform.
But along with electoral reform has to go a whole new way of 'doing' the political thing....and the public know this to be true.  Our distaste about Parliament is not just about expenses, it is about the whole style of Parliamentary debating and decision-making.  It is about MPs who have all sorts of other jobs and interests which in some cases makes them part-time MPs, and however hard they try to control this through the Register of Interests, it is still true that they often become lobbyists for particular interests.  It is about the juvenile behaviour of MPs in the chamber (so that, for instance, the Lib Dems are always subjected to barracking at PMs questions etc).  Its about this apparently constant adversarial, shouting, 'he who bullies most, wins most' rather than an attempt to find concensus.  Arguments, passion, idealism...yes of course.   We all get into that, but 'the National Interest' demands better from those we elect.  But then that also requires us to grow up as well and not to say, in this complex situation, 'if the Lib Dems shore up a defeated and discredited government, I'll never vote for them again' or 'I voted to keep Cameron out, so if he is let in by the Lib Dems, they will never get my vote again'.....

[Nemo]

Labour are supposedly now willing to put electoral reform straight in, no referendum or anything and pack Brown off sharpish. Anyone wonder if Clegg is pulling the world's greatest act of brinksmanship to get huge amounts of concessions out of them?

Or am I just being hopeful?

[Phil_S]

I really don't know what those who voted Liberal Democrat expected. It was blindingly obvious that it was likely to be a hung parliament.
So what did those who voted L D expect them to do ? Clegg said he would not work with Brown before the election so he was either going to work with labour without Brown or with the Conservatives.
Politically it would be better for the Conservatives if he cose to work with labour. It would only be a short while before that arrangement collapsed, & then at the ensuing election the Conservatives would win without a doubt.
However the country needs a decisive strong goverment now. The debt crisis is rapidly deteriorating & it's about time all of the politicians put the country before their own interests. Brown should resign & the liberals should make a decision.
As for proportional representation, the current situation is the biggest arguement their is against it.

[Summerof69]

And if the Lib Dems went with Labour, and SNP and Plaid Cymru, to form this 'Rainbow coalition', once it collapsed, there is no doubt that it would bring a landslide in seats for England for the Tories, as there is one thing that English people hate, is to be told what to do by the Scots and the Welsh.

If it was just an 'English' parliament, the Tories would have won by 56 seats.

[Samdy Gray]

I really don't know what those who voted Liberal Democrat expected. It was blindingly obvious that it was likely to be a hung parliament.

I expect that most people who voted Lib Dem did so on the basis that they wanted their local candidate to become their MP and/or wanted the Lib Dems to win the general election.

I very much doubt that many people who voted Lib Dem even considered what they wanted the party's stance to be in the event of a hung parliament and ensuing coalitions.

[pauld]

Brown should resign & the liberals should make a decision.

Except of course for the fact that the collection of conventions and protocols that we have instead of a constitution don't allow him to resign as PM until we have a new government. That's the problem with getting your news and views from the right-wing press, they don't actually know what they're talking about

[pauld]

no.people complained about it here in swindon.the adver are covering that.

It's a follow-up to their own earlier non-story though. Apparently some people had to wait for UP TO 20 MINUTES! No wonder they said it was just like Iraq!

[alanmayes]

Gordon Brown just announced that he is standing down as Labour leader.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8672859.stm

[Rich Pullen]

No surprises there. I still think the Lib Dems would prefer an alliance with Labour for reasons that go beyond this election.

That was never going to happen if Brown remained as PM.

[donkey]

Gordon Brown just announced that he is standing down as Labour leader.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8672859.stm

Let's get that rainbow coalition sorted then.

[leefer]

Great...if i had known that i might have voted for Labour!

[alanmayes]

Whether you like him or not, he has just made a very good statement from the steps of Number 10.

[Jamiesfuturewife]

Great...if i had known that i might have voted for Labour!

exactly! Think alot of people feel
the same! Can't they appoint someone new then we have another vote?

[Arriba]

took over a poisoned challice from blair,and was always on a loser.
i think he's a genuine bloke.

[leefer]

took over a poisoned challice from blair,and was always on a loser.
i think he's a genuine bloke.

Genuine or not arriba he wasnt elected as PM....he should have stood down 6 months back and let someone else have a go.....in my opinion Labour COULD have been close to winning the election if they had appointed a fresh face.
Anyway it dosnt matter now does it.