Thursday, April 14, 2005

Want to vote in the British election?

Actually, even thinking about US elections is just about enough for me, but some clever folks have created a quiz that gives you a chance to see how you'd probably vote on May 5 if you were a citizen of the UK.

Brits vote for parties that put out pretty detailed "election manifestos" (platforms in US diction). So voters have some idea what the parties stand for. The incumbent ruling party, led by Tony Blair, is Labour, no longer a union or socialist party, but still making claims on working class support. Labour is opposed by Conservatives (what they sound like), the UK Independence Party (anti-European and immigrant bashing), Greens, and Liberal Democrats (liberals who were against the Iraq war.) I don't know as much as I would want to make a decision based on the domestic issues. But if I were there, I know I'd have thought Britain should have taken its nose out of Bush's butt and joined Europe against the war. My results, and a link that you can use to take the quiz, appear below.

Who Should You Vote For?

Who should I vote for?

Your expected outcome:

Liberal Democrat


Your actual outcome:



Labour -40     
Conservative -57     
     Liberal Democrat 88
UK Independence Party -21     
     Green 46


You should vote: Liberal Democrat

The LibDems take a strong stand against tax cuts and a strong one in favour of public services: they would make long-term residential care for the elderly free across the UK, and scrap university tuition fees. They are in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, but would relax laws on cannabis. They propose to change vehicle taxation to be based on usage rather than ownership.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For

By the way, Labour is expected to win because apparently Liberal Democrats are simply not a believable party of government. This is so even though majorities 1) oppose Labour's support for Bush's war and 2) don't trust Tony Blair to tell them the truth. Perhaps we in the States can be grateful that others can find themselves as frustrated with their political choices as we do.

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