Final election round up: Smash the system in their stupid faces.

So, it's almost time. Not that it's going to really end for a while as the leader's of the main parties have stubbornly refused to accept that it's going to be a hung parliament and have been busy drawing 'red lines' all over the place, insulting all the others leaders & Scotland, meaning that a formal coalition is very unlikely, and even getting enough MPs to back a government will be tricky.

In the final weeks candidates have been doing and saying stupid things, leading to them being suspended. Yet they will still appear on the ballots. For example, the Lib Dem candidate challenging Jeremy Hunt has been suspended, meaning the NHA party (http://nhap.org/candidates/) could have a chance to cause an upset, but people will still be able to vote for him despite it really being a wasted vote. It's against the law to even tell people at the polling station that he's no longer standing, the ballot papers can't be altered.

FPTP obviously doesn't work anymore. When the views of 20% of the population are likely to be represented in parliament by 3 or 4 MPs, something has to change. Might as well make have an elected House of Lords while we're at it. Hell, why not get rid of Lordships and the like altogether, this is 2015 after all.
But we're stuck with it tomorrow, so vote for what you believe in, even if it's a lost cause. The closer we've got, the more people (Russell Brand, Owen Jones, etc) have started to say that you should vote for the party you'd rather protest against. Since when did we actively vote for what we want to protest against? Nonsense. Plus, if a sizeable chunk of votes move away from the smaller parties to Labour, it'll make it harder to force change as Labour will be able to point at the results and say 'If people really wanted change, why didn't they vote for it?' Read Armando Iannucci's excellent article: here. Then go read everything else he's written in the last few weeks, most of it is brilliant.

The Tories have been desperately trying to convince the country that a government with the backing of most MPs will be illegitimate unless it's theirs. Just plain bullshit. If you have the backing of a majority of MPs, you get to govern. It's how the system works.

There will be major cuts to welfare whoever is in charge, thanks to Labour voting through the Tory bill that legally limits the spending (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/05/revealed-coalition-plans-to-slash-welfare-for-sick-poor-young-and-disabled). The Tories haven't worked out where they'll make their cuts yet, but ask us to look at their track record of finding things to cut and trust that they'll be able to do it. I do trust their record. I trust that they'll screw over the most vunerable again. Read The Austerity Delusion by Paul Krugman

Labour keep talking about being best for 'hard working people'. What about those who can't work? The sick, the young, the old? Don't you care about them anymore?

Everyone seems to think that millions more apprentices are the answer to everything.Working for a year at £2.73 an hour doesn't sound like an answer to much to me. They will 'encourage' employers to pay a living wage, instead of just making the minimum wage the minimum that you can actually live on. £8/hour minimum wage by 2019 or 2020(depending on party)? The current living wage is £7.85, so £8 in 4 or 5 more years of rising living costs is just not good enough.

No surprise that the rental market is so screwed up when you realise that almost 1 in 4 MPs make money from it (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/06/number-of-mps-who-earn-from-renting-out-property-rises-by-a-third) Some are even renting out homes that were part subsidised by parliamentary expenses. I think I can see where to make an easy budget cut.

The one issue that affects all others is the environment, and it's been completely ignored. UKIP deny climate change, the 'greenest government ever' favours fracking over renewables and Labour just don't seem to give enough of a shit to commit to anything. More reading: here, George Monbiot article: here

Tomorrow, go vote. Vote for what you believe in. And then prepare to fight for those beliefs over the next 5 years because trying to change everything once every 5 years isn't enough, the pressure needs to be constant. Smash the system in their stupid faces.

More Reasons to Vote

Following on from http://truthbeauty-freedomlove.blogspot.com/2015/04/reasons-to-vote.html

Midnight is the deadline to register, tomorrow is the deadline to get a postal vote - https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and send your friends and family to the link too!

8. Think your vote will make no difference? Voting for independents and smaller parties helps get them to 5% of the vote, saving their £500 deposit, making it much easier for them to build up support in the future. It might take a while to make a difference, but it's a start.

9. Think you'll be busy or forget on the day? Get a postal vote, pop it the next post box you walk past, easy.

10. Last time there were more non-voters than supporters of any of the parties. Those millions of votes could change things.

11. Politics will happen to you, whether you vote or not, so try to control it.

12. If you're part of a demographic with low voting rates, politicians think it's safe to ignore your needs.

13. Safe seats are only safe because people accept it. Get out, vote for what you believe in and no seat will be truly safe.

Reasons to Vote

1. You actually believe in one of the candidates.

2. If not the candidate, at least the party.

3. To decrease UKIP's share of the vote.

4. Election day is a Thursday. You really have plans for a Thursday?

5. Nothing will change if you don't vote for change. OK, probably nothing will anyway, but at least try.

6. You really like putting Xs in boxes.

7. Most places will also have local council elections. Got issues with rubbish collections, traffic, parking, local services? Then these are your chance to do something about it.



Not got a polling card yet? Then you might not be registered, make sure: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Make sense of it all

Election websites that are actually useful:

Register to Vote

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Everything else is pointless if you can't vote!


Vote for Policies

https://voteforpolicies.org.uk

See which party's policies you actually agree with. Don't think anyone is worth voting for? Give it a go, you might be surprised.


Full Fact

https://fullfact.org

See if anything politicians say is actually true...


Common Decency

http://www.commondecency.org.uk

Fed up with parties and just want to vote for someone decent? Common Decency will help you find them.


The Public Whip

http://www.publicwhip.org.uk

Check out the results of every debate, see how often your MP actually bothers showing up. For example, since switching parties, UKIP's 2 MPs have almost halved their attendance. Guess it's not a party for hardworkers...


They Work For You

http://www.theyworkforyou.com

See what issues your MP has supported and voted against.


Why Vote 4 Me

http://www.whyvote4me.co.uk

Find out who your options are.


Channel 4 Fact Check

http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck

Channel 4 news fact checks claims.

So it begins....

Today is the first 'official' day of election campaigning, after weeks and weeks of 'definitely not campaigning, nope, not at all'. Instead of posting countless articles to Facebook during election season, i'll try to round everything up in my seldom used blog. (I'm off work sick, I need something to keep me entertained!)

First things first, If you aren't registered, you can't vote. So register. Go. Right now. It's quick and easy - https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote You have until April 20th.

The system changed last year, so you might think that you already are, but actually aren't. Even if you think you won't vote, give yourself the option.

Think it's pointless voting? Last time over 15m people didn't vote. If those people vote this time, it could change everything.

In the end, Skunk Anansie say it best...



Full election playlist to come...