UK Local Elections / European Parliamentary Elections

[Michael Z]

So I went and participated in four separate elections today. London Mayoral elections, London Assembly, Local Council, and European Parliamentary elections.

One thing that does bother me as I watch the election coverage unfolding on television is the rise of the UK Independence Party. To me they seem like the nastiest bunch of Little Englanders, a party whose sole policy rests on the wish to take this country out of the European Union. I find it absolutely disgraceful that anyone would want to pursue a policy like that, after all our continent has been through. We spent centuries fighting wars with each other simply because we spoke slightly different languages or believed in slightly different things or fancied this or that bit of each other's territory. The EU, for all its faults, is a wonderful thing in principle. It ensures that countries which were once at each other's throats can co-operate in harmony and peace. And yet some idiots want leave all that behind, go back to the Europe of yore, the Europe of Hitler and Napoleon, and worse some people are perfectly willing to cheer them on. It's a disgrace.

The EU is far from perfect but it is better improved upon from within. Not by ignoring all the good it has achieved and leaving it altogether. Not that this will ever become government policy of course, but a good performance by the UKIP may result in a rightward shift in the general policy on Europe, and that can only be a bad thing.

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[Michael Z]

The UKIP better not get a seat. It would be bloody embarassing in my opinion.

I said my piece on the UKIP. But yes, they are a total embarassment.

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Yeah, I was watching that too. I did like the elderly couple though, they were kinda sweet.

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Ken will probably be re-elected, albeit by a very narrow margin. If some of the polls are to be believed he's neck-on-neck with Steve Norris. Shame that Simon Hughes isn't doing so well in the polls, he was actually my first choice mainly on grounds of his public transport policy (he wants to lower tube fares, which is definitely a big issue for me). I bumped into him when he was campaigning in Hyde Park and he seemed like a genuinely nice and affable fellow. He comes across much better in real life than on television, where he just appears stiff.

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Yes. They call it "standing on our own two feet." Classic example of Little Englanders, right there. Living in a cosmopolitan place like London it's easy to forget that there are still people like this in our country.

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I can't stand Kilroy-Silk either. In fact I loathe the man. He is a total opportunist, and that's about the nicest thing I can say about him.

[Michael Z]

Erm...Go Tories and LDs...>P

Can't decide which I'd like to see win.

Pull for the Tories. We need all the help we can get, especially with those raving mad UKIPers running around stealing all of our votes!!!

Do you think a good (or even semi-decent) performance by UKIP will reignite the Tory party's internal quarrels over Europe? I personally would hate to see that happen, because we need a credible opposition now more than ever, not one which keeps destroying itself over a single issue like Europe.

[Michael Z]

Erm...Go Tories and LDs...>P

Can't decide which I'd like to see win.

Pull for the Tories. We need all the help we can get, especially with those raving mad UKIPers running around stealing all of our votes!!!

Do you think a good (or even semi-decent) performance by UKIP will reignite the Tory party's internal quarrels over Europe? I personally would hate to see that happen, because we need a credible opposition now more than ever, not one which keeps destroying itself over a single issue like Europe.

The UKIP has the potential to destroy everthing The Conservative Party has worked for. The current form of our party is still in infancy. If Labour is to fully work for the people it needs us to keep it in check. If we get embarassed by these loonies we can kiss our hopes of a quick comeback goodbye.

I totally agree with that, a scenario like this would be extremely unhealthy for our democracy and only add fuel to Blair's autocratic tendencies if the Tories remain in a dysfunctional state. Still - Tory and "old" Labour, quite the unlikely alliance there. But anyway, let's hope the UKIP is simply an overhyped fad which won't be able to translate headlines into election figures.

[Michael Z]

BNP has picked up 4 seats in Bradford

Bugger.

That is extremely worrying.

First Epping Forest, now Bradford (of all places). How many seats did the NSDAP BNP win in total?

I'd be lying if I said the rise of the far right didn't bother me.

[Michael Z]

If you've been watching the 1 O'Clock news Al, you will probably be screaming because the BBC have pretty much called the next general election for the Tories.

The BBC are still bitter over the Hutton Report. They're trying to cause a panic among Labour MPs so they get rid of Blair. I mean, look at this:

"How bad is it for Blair?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3796497.stm

Dunno about you guys, but to me it seems the BBC may well have a little agenda going on here.

[Michael Z]

Yes I know, scary thing is, they did better than that in my constituency, 12.4%.....

Oh well, Labour still comfortably carried it..... I must find and remove those fascists though..... A friend of mine (he is a Conservative) actually likes their policies.....

I have a nasty feeling about people like UKIP and the BNP, bearing in mind that most Germans didn't take Hitler seriously either during the mid-1920s (in fact the majority of Germans saw him as a laughing stock).

It probably borders on hysteria to suggest that what we see now is in any way comparable to the rise of European Fascism in the 1920s, but there are some historical similarities which do bother me. All it would take is a major economic crisis like the great depression and I may well have to consider emigrating to New Zealand.

[Michael Z]

Urgh Bexley & Bromley Results:

 NAME PARTY VOTE % +/- % VOTES  
  Robert Neill CON 40.4 -6.8 64246  
  Duncan Borrowman LD 18.9 -2.8 29992  
  Heather Bennett UKIP 16.8 0 26703  
  Charles Mansell LAB 15.6 -6.4 24848  
  Ann Garrett GRN 5.1 -3.0 8069  
  Miranda Suit CPA 2.1 0 3397  
  Alun Morinan RESP 1.1 0 1673


UKIP beat Labour, 16.8% For crying out loud!!!!

In Bromley? Hardly surprising, to be honest.

[Michael Z]

Havering & Redbridge:

Jeremy Evans CON 34.6 -3.0 44723  
  Keith Darvill LAB 21.7 -8.3 28017  
  Lawrence Webb UKIP 14.2 0 18297  
  Matthew Lake LD 10.6 -2.3 13646  
  Malvin Brown RA 5.4 -6.4 6925  
  Ashley Gunstock GRN 4.7 -1.6 6009  
  Abdurahman Jafar RESP 4.0 0 5185  
  Juliet Hawkins CPA 2.3 0 2917  
  David Stephens TW 1.6 0 2031  
  Peter Thorogood IND 1.2 0 1597

Ah, my local results.

UKIP in third place??? At any rate, what exactly does an anti-European party have to do with local issues?

[Michael Z]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3799861.stm

The BNP beat the Greens in the Mayoral Race. Not good, not good at all

No, it isn't.

[Michael Z]

Darren Johnson was the Green Candidate
Julian Leppert was the BNP candidate

Truth be told, Darren Johnson was an extremely lacklustre candidate for the Greens. He never aroused much sympathy in me. That and he took part in what had to be one of the worst party political adverts in history (some hip hop group rapping "Vote Green, keep it clean!" etc. It was extremely cringe-inducing and didn't do the Green Party any favours.)

[Michael Z]

Kilroy-Silk is this country's Jorg Haider.

[Michael Z]

He *does* look like Haider...

Their views are roughly the same too. In fact, see little difference between UKIP and Austria's Freedom Party. Or, for that matter, Front Nationale, Vlaams Blok... they're all symptoms of the same disease. Petty nationalists who want to drag us back into the dark days.

You can't imagine how angry I am with the British electorate right now.