(no subject)

[maple_clef]

There's nothing left to be done, and not much to go on by way of concrete results. One seat returned, and an exit poll (which I hope is wrong).

We're in for a gripping election night!

There have actually been reports of many people being unable to vote, as polling stations were overwhelmed by latecomers, so I wonder if (in the case of a hung parliament) there will be a re-polling. Certainly a good case for it.

I just really hope David Cameron is not our new Prime Minister.

ETA: Fiona Bruce, why so cheery at the prospect of a hung parliament?! /bizarre

Comments

[miss-daizy.livejournal.com]

I've been wanting to read about this today but then my day went haywire. Is there a good website to check in and see what's up? We get BBC World News on one of our stations (and thank God, because it's really better than a lot of other news programs we get here) but I think I missed it tonight.

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

The BBC website is pretty good - they have a live election page here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/default.stm

At the moment, only three seats have declared - most are still being counted, so you haven't missed much - just lots of people discussing exit polls and potential results!

[miss-daizy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've got that open now. If not Cameron, who do you prefer?

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

To be honest, although he's a bit of a dud personality-wise, I think Gordon Brown would provide stability in the short term. I like Nick Clegg (and his shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable), too, so a coalition Labour/Lib Dem government (which is probably the only way Labour would retain power, going by current polls).

The issue I have with the Conservatives is that they talk about fairness and tax cuts, but in practice (and in their manifesto) these are given to the richest people. The most vulnerable in society always lose. I don't trust them to make the big cuts (that are needed, admittedly) in a responsible and fair way, basically...

I'm curious - what has the coverage been like (has there been any?) over in the US?

[miss-daizy.livejournal.com]

There's been some talk of it but there's never enough in-depth coverage of international issue easily available. The US Press had a love affair with Tony Blair; much less so with Gordon Brown. So it's framed a bit through that lens with mentions of his supposedly cool relationship with Obama. I have seen a bit about the Conservative issues. I think there's interest here in seeing if our closest ally is going to trend Conservative just as we trend away. Honestly, though, there was a lot more talk of Canadian and British political systems during our health care debate. Given the simplistic nature of political thought, if you go Conservative it'll be seen as a rejection of the "big government" system and hence another reason to fight back against the increasing tide of socialism that's threatening the very fabric of our society. *rolls eyes* Because everything is about us, us, us.

Although we know little about the issues, Craig and I love to watch your PM take questions from the Parliament. I think it's great that he has to come in and answer questions and get answered right back, with the booing and cheering and arguing. It's such a step out of the pomp and circumstance so it seems strange and appealing to us.

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

It's great that there is access to the debates. There's a whole channel devoted to it, in fact!

I think it's going to be a complicated result; whoever wins, there won't be a clear mandate - even in the event that the Conservatives win, it will be a very small majority... I think the feeling that people want change hasn't (as the Conservatives clearly hoped) translated to big gains for them.

Interesting to hear about the perception of Gordon Brown... He's far less media-savvy, so I'm not surprised he has a lower profile overseas... Tony Blair was a master showman, and a more presidential sort of PM...

[dipsas.livejournal.com]

Gaaaah... Seven a.m. and still not much clarity - we're in for a day of deliberations, it would seem.

[maple-clef.livejournal.com]

a day of deliberations

If not a long weekend... I just hope something positive comes of all the confusion! Electoral reform, perhaps.