Radio 2 in the Park 2024

[E*F*4L]

well it has been announced that the 6th of May 2010 will be election day here in the UK.

this election is going to be one of the closest ever & the outcome of this election will set the direction of the UK for a longtime, everything from the relationship with the EU, economic reforms, Trident nuclear deterrent, down even to the future of the BBC, all these & much more will be in for big changes depending on which party wins the election.

as R1 is aimed at younger people therefore so is this site, young people should be made aware that they really should use their vote & not let it go to waste, you can find out about the different candidates that are standing for election in your area on-line & what they are standing for, while you may find that you don't agree with what they all say, you may find one that seems to be similar to your political viewpoint, you can however vote for 'none of the above' if you so wish (ticking all the boxes for example) doing that may seem like a waste but it shows that you feel there is nobody to represent you, doing this is better than not voting at all, as there is a growing number of old people called the 'grey vote' who have real power as they are more likely to vote than young people & are more interested in pensions etc, your future is in your hands this election it will impact your life the most !

last year there was a political thread here on UM & some members said they don't see the point in voting, what i hope to achieve in this thread is getting people to vote this election, if one persons mind can be changed so that they use their vote this time (maybe its their first time) this will be a success, there are many members here who are of strong views & others who have studied politics in there various forms, so hopefully there can be a nice political debate here without it ending up in some trivial argument.

hopefully a poll can be added here on the 6th of May (to see if it were up to UM members who would win the election).

who do you think will win the election, who are you voting for, why are you voting for a particular party, what are your priorities are they health, education, immigration, Europe, economy, jobs ?

[DC]

i like turtles.

it dosent matter about votes, as the tories will win anyway.

[Robbie Keane]

I'm voting Labour as anything is better than the Tories.

And if current standings are an indication of what's to come, we'll be heading towards a hung parliament and I'm all for that.

[yorkieboy]

I agree with Alan, if you don't vote not only is it an insult to the people who died for democracy or the fact it looks bad on the country, but it means your can't complain about anything because you had the chance to have your say at the ballot box and you didn't take it.

DC - firstly it's not guaranteed at all it's going to be one of the closest elections in 20 years, but even if it wasn't you don't actually vote for Cameron or Brown you vote for you MP so even if it was a landslide general election your vote is till important locally because it decides who's going to represent you in the house of commons.

I think the Tories will win, I hope they do, I'm not completely convinced by Cameron but I think the current Labour government have brought the country to the knees and I don't think we know the full extent yet, which is why the tories have kept quiet (and also because when they mentioned a decent idea for the economy it got pinched by Labour) as they haven't seen the government books yet.

Also the idea of Ed Balls as chancellor should be enough to put anyone voting Labour.

[DC]

I'm voting Labour as anything is better than the Tories.

same here. labour are far from perfect, but i'd rather have them and keep things the way they are. than have to put up with cameron who clearly knows nothing about running a country. for every argument brown throws at him, all he comes up with is his stupid slogan "5 more years of gordon brown".

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

In many ways they're as bad as each other. No wonder there's voter apathy. The Tories will blatently win, and The Sun will once again claim it was them 'wot wun it'... yeah, I have zero faith in democracy in this country, it's not like we have any kind of Obama-figure who will actually make some changes.

[Robbie Keane]

I agree with Alan, if you don't vote not only is it an insult to the people who died for democracy or the fact it looks bad on the country, but it means your can't complain about anything because you had the chance to have your say at the ballot box and you didn't take it.

EDIT: I respectfully disagree.

[John]

Tough situation. Neither parties have convincing arguments in my opinion. I'm swaying towards Conservative and don't know why. Gordon Brown is a cock, and he's fucked this country up. No way will I be voting labour. I just hope whoever does take charge will have what it takes to get this country back on track, as at the moment thanks to Brown and to a certain extent Blair, this country is in a mess

[Emma]

Arrgh! I am actually quite excited for it. I shall be sticking with my usuals, Conservatives. No-one jump on me for it please!

[SeanMonty]

Wish i could vote

[Nik B.]

I'll be Voting for my Party, the Socialist Workers if I can. Either that or the Liberal Democrats. I don't like how people seem to think this is a two horse race, as it IS up to us who gets in, aso it can only be a two horse race if we say so.

[Robbie Keane]

I would vote Lib Dem normally, but I'm so against the Tories getting into power (since they hate the BBC, hate the NHS, hate blacks and gays, and hate anyone who isn't an upper-class businessman, and will destroy our media sector like it's going out of style) that I'm tactically voting Labour in the hope that enough people think the same way to keep them out of power.

[Nik B.]

While I agree with you completely, I honestly cannot see Labour being any better if they were to stay in. Quite frankly at this rate we're just going to get the devil or his advocate in Number 10. And for once, I'm not referring to Darling.

[DC]

I would vote Lib Dem normally, but I'm so against the Tories getting into power (since they hate the BBC, hate the NHS, hate blacks and gays, and hate anyone who isn't an upper-class businessman, and will destroy our media sector like it's going out of style) that I'm tactically voting Labour in the hope that enough people think the same way to keep them out of power.

ditto. some things are bad right now with labour in power, there is no denying that. but all those who are slagging labour off don't remember maggie thatcher in the 80's. bitch.

[E*F*4L]

i used to vote Conservative, but i'm not going to this time, as David is way to much like Tony Blair untrustworthy, also my constituency was Conservative until the last election when the Lib-Dems won & i must say that i am very impressed with what she has done in her time as MP, some of the things the Lib-Dems stand for i do agree with & some i don't like Europe however i think that the Lib-Dems would try & lead the EU which would be better for the UK than the Conservative's or Labour squabbling about in the background, as soon as David came out after the Lisbon Treaty was signed & said there was no point in a referendum he lost my vote, he knew there was no chance he could keep his promise so he shouldn't have said it in the first place.

[kyle_y]

I would vote Lib Dem normally, but I'm so against the Tories getting into power (since they hate the BBC, hate the NHS, hate blacks and gays, and hate anyone who isn't an upper-class businessman, and will destroy our media sector like it's going out of style) that I'm tactically voting Labour in the hope that enough people think the same way to keep them out of power.

This! Although to be honest I'd rather vote for the Greens or Lib Dems but it seems as if a vote for them would be a waste in what is essentially a two-horse race between the Tories and Labour. And quite frankly Labour is the lesser of two evils.

if you don't vote not only is it an insult to the people who died for democracy or the fact it looks bad on the country, but it means your can't complain about anything because you had the chance to have your say at the ballot box and you didn't take it.

I agree that everyone should make use of their right to vote in a democracy but I believe that choosing not to vote is as much a valid political act as marking 'X' in one of the boxes on the polling card.

Also, does anyone know whether I have to apply as this would be my first time voting or if I am already automatically registered to vote.

[E*F*4L]

I agree that everyone should make use of their right to vote in a democracy but I believe that choosing not to vote is as much a valid political act as marking 'X' in one of the boxes on the polling card.

i have to disagree, by not voting you are basically saying that you don't care, but if you mark X in all the boxes you are showing that you don't support any of the candidates or that you feel none of them represent your views, i know that some members don't see the point in this but it is a far better option than choosing not to vote at all, there is a video that explains it on youtube

Also, does anyone know whether I have to apply as this would be my first time voting or if I am already automatically registered to vote.

you have to apply (they should have sent a letter to you when you were 18 ) anyway these should help;

http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=364&LGIL=0 http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/voter-registration http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

you have do register before the 20th of April !

[kyle_y]

you have to apply (they should have sent a letter to you when you were 18 ) anyway these should help;

http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=364&LGIL=0 http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/voter-registration http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

you have do register before the 20th of April !

They must have forgotten about me

Thanks Alan!

[Viv]

I am voting Labour. I don't really rate Gordon Brown, but I feel the Conservatives are a WORSE option, as Cameron is gonna come in like a raging bull, trying to overhaul everything with no money in the country to back it up.

Apparently, Emma, to fund training schemes for the young unemployed, he is going to cut incapacity benefit. What does that tell you about a person, eh. Think.Before. You. Vote.

And get the long-term unemployed to clear up the parks... What's that gonna feel like to a person with a DEGREE. Bloody degrading.

I do get the point that there are spectacular amounts of people on benefits in this country, and something needs doing, but the gung-ho (with no money to back it up) approach ain't gonna solve anything.

And I actually wrote recently to a local conservative MP (and got no answer). Pig ignorant.

I agree with Mitchell (above).

[Viv]

it dosent matter about votes, as the tories will win anyway.

There's no guarantee. I don't know if polls can be relied upon, as the people haven't actually physically voted yet, so no-one knows what could happen next.

Some considerable time back, in the 90's, all the polls were suggested labour was gonna go into Power, and they simply didn't at all.

[Bumble_85]

Arrgh! I am actually quite excited for it. I shall be sticking with my usuals, Conservatives. No-one jump on me for it please!

Can I ask why?

[Viv]

Tough situation. Neither parties have convincing arguments in my opinion. I'm swaying towards Conservative and don't know why. Gordon Brown is a cock, and he's fucked this country up.

Don't they all do that though, John... I mean, it's been Conservative v Labour for years, and each one certainly does no better than the other.

[yorkieboy]

I agree that everyone should make use of their right to vote in a democracy but I believe that choosing not to vote is as much a valid political act as marking 'X' in one of the boxes on the polling card.

Also, does anyone know whether I have to apply as this would be my first time voting or if I am already automatically registered to vote.

Politicians think they can get away with things like the expenses scandal though because of the low turnouts we constantly get in elections implies that people aren't interested in politics and what the politicians do. Of course politicians (MP's or Leaders) are never going to have exactly the same views of you and you might not like any of them but it's about chosing the least worse one. Personally I think the current government have brought the country to it's knees and I'm not completly convinced by the Tories but I can understand why they've kept quiet because everytime they come up with a half decent idea it's nicked by Labour, also they haven't seen the government books (just a few stats) and I don't think we, or the tories, know how serious the defecit is in and doesn't want to make too many promises.

I'd never spoil my vote because I think there's always going to be differences in the parties but I agree with E*4*L that it's equivalent to voting because it gets the turnout figure up.

[yorkieboy]

Oh yeah any chance of a poll, like that UM election?

[John]

I think a poll here would be interesting, it would give us an idea which party is popular on a small scale. Would also be interesting if that passed on to a larger scale and reflected the rest of the country...