Your political inclinations - who do you vote for?

[EuroTroll]

Let's all come out of the closet and learn more about one another, why don't we?

Who do you vote for, generally? What are your political views?

Me, I see my political views two-dimensionally: there's the social dimension and the economic dimension. I'm very much a social liberal. I'm pro-euthanasia, pro-gay marriage and adoption, pro-abortion - basically pro-choice in all respects. The economic dimension is more complicated. I've voted for right-wing parties all my life, but at the next general election, I think I will vote for a left-wing party. Why? Because I've changed my mind about what the right path to prosperity is. I think right-wing economics eventually lead to prosperity for the very few - the too few. Society as a whole is better off IMO if there is more redistribution of wealth than there currently is in my country.

Luckily, I have four serious parliamentary parties to choose from. Isn't it a pity that in America, you only have a choice between two parties?

[gadjo_dilo]

I don’t have political views. All politicians are the same and all they do is for their own interest. In the past I was so naïve to vote for personalities that I liked. Now I understand that even if the bulletin of vote is as thick as Yellow Pages the battle is between 2 or 3 main parties. It was a time when I gave up voting because nothing would be changed. These days I always vote and always my vote is a negative one. I mean I don’t vote for X because I like him and have any expectation from him. I vote him because I can’t stand those who have the power.
Ironically, as I work for a governmental institution all these changes affect my work

[henners88]

I have to confess I don't really follow politics as much as I should. I usually ask my Dad who he votes for and I do the same

[EuroTroll]

I have to confess I don't really follow politics as much as I should. I usually ask my Dad who he votes for and I do the same

So, what are your Dad's political views? Do you both vote Conservative, Labour, or Lib Dem?

[henners88]

So, what are your Dad's political views? Do you both vote Conservative, Labour, or Lib Dem?

My father votes Conservative.

[Dave B]

At the moment in the UK it comes down to a choice of the Liars, the Complete & Utter Liars, and the Promise Breakers. There's also the Delusional Fantasists creeping up on the outside. It's frankly rather depressing.

[EuroTroll]

At the moment in the UK it comes down to a choice of the Liars, the Complete & Utter Liars, and the Promise Breakers. There's also the Delusional Fantasists creeping up on the outside. It's frankly rather depressing.

And which do you prefer, Dave?

[Mark]

The Conservative Party are detestable and always have been. They are a hangover from the past when the UK was ruled by the aristocracy and their sole aim is maintain and increase the wealth of the wealthy, the only conessions they make are as to not hurt those lower down the food chain just in case they lose votes, not that anyone other than well off would ever vote Tory, but the press have been known to turn on them.

The Liberal Democrats used to be they were the middle way party giving a sensible mix of both Labour and Tory policies, if a little over emphasising the green aspect for my tastes. But it turns out they are just as slimey as the Tories, perhaps more so are they are prepared to abandon their principles in order to get a little bit of power, promises made before the election dropped like hot bricks.

Labour - overall their intentions are in the right direction. A sensible amount of tax together with spending to make the country a better place for the majority. Unfortunately Gordon Brown did a lot of damage to the Labour party, firstly and most seriously he stood back and let the housing bubble and the banks spiral completely out of control, with the resultant crash we are paying a heavy price for now and will do for at least a decade more. Secondly he was disasterous as Prime Minister. If he'd let Blair continue to 2010 or called a snap election we wouldn't have a Tory government now - but then we'd still have him so...

The current leadership is no better, no matter how many rousing speaches Ed Milliband does he still looks like a 12 year old shouting his lines out in a school panto. They had an excellent candidate in David Milliband, who had the stature to be seen as potential Prime Minister from the start, instead they went for the idiot brother - as a result cripping the Labour party and most likely keeping them out of office for the remainder of the decade.

[Dave B]

And which do you prefer, Dave?

I actually agree with pretty much everything Mark wrote between our posts. I'm generally liberal (with a small "l") but have never voted for them because it's always seemed like a waste, and certainly wouldn't vote for them all the time Clegg the Liar is in charge; so I vote Labour on the grounds that they're the least worst, but I agree that Ed Milliband is a weak leader who constantly misses the gaping open goal that the coalition's steams of hopelessness leaves.

[Rudy Tamasz]

I believe the currently political system based on electoral competition between political parties representing right-wing and left-wing ideologies is getting increasingly irrelevant. It was good enough for 19th and 20th centuries but it no longer does the business. The society at large went far ahead in its development while politicians remain stuck in the past. Their parties no longer represent their constituencies. They only use the old rallying cries like 'freedom', 'equality' etc. but largely exist to cater to their establishment.

The new political paradigm is shaping up, but it is not yet evident. I think it will be less ideological, more personalized and increasingly technocratic. People will care more about the quality of performance of a given office or an official than about the ideology that they swear by. It means that the erosion of parliamentary democracy will continue and the real power will drift towards the executive and maybe judicial branches.

In base my actions on this reasoning. Belarus is not really a democratic country and I quit voting years ago. I am perfectly capable of holding most government officials I deal with accountable for their actions using existing opportunities and referring to all the right laws and bylaws. I'm trying not to be mean, though, and resort to legal proceedings when everything else has failed. I also try to rely on my own resources more than hope for the government to address my issues. That's my personal politics of sorts. It may sound unilateral and isolationist, but that's what it is.