I'm trying to educate myself about British politics.  I've been poking around on the British Conservative Party's website, looking to get a sense of what they're all about.  I see that they like to be green, which I like, but I can't find any other big picture motivations.  Do they have a manifesto somewhere that I could read?  What do you think of that David Cameron fella?
198730
Obviously, the Tories want to run the country! Right now there isn't much between the two main parties - they tend to criticise the other without actually saying much. I guess the last Conservative leader who actually had a specific ideology was Margaret Thatcher. But she was loved and hated equally.\n\nThere's a bit of a difference between what Americans would term conservatism and what the British would say. Convervatives here are more subtle - you wouldn't find them outlawing abortion or the teaching of Darwinism in schools, for instance. It's more about letting the economy do it's own thing as opposed to Labour who are more socialist.\n\nDavid "just call me Dave" Cameron seems to be alright. He makes a big thing of playing down his public-school middle class image (here the term public school means private, not state funded, don't ask!) which others tend to rib him about. The lastest Green drive seems to be a publicity thing. Only a couple of weeks ago Labour launched a campaign calling him a chameleon for changing policies so often - claiming that he's gone from 'blue' ie tory to green, red - labour and yellow - liberal democrat in copying their policies.
448662
At the present moment in time, neither.\n\nThe most recent poll published in the UK on November 7th suggested that at the next election Cameron will poll 36%, Brown will poll 33% and Campbell will poll 20%. This means that the Conservatives would have a lead of 3% over Labour (indicating a swing of 3% to Con since 2005).\n\nWhen you run those numbers through an election calculator you get the following forecast House of Commons:\n\nLabour 304 seats (despite being 3% behind the Conservatives)\nConservatives 263 seats\nLiberal Democrats 51 seats\nOthers 32 seats\n\nLeaving us with a hung parliament and the Liberal Democrats having the balance of power.
432786
I feel some of their policies are correct.  If they got rid of the extremist, nazi, skin head elements then they would be taken extremely seriously.  I'm sure if Britain had a referendum on whether or not to allow any immigrants to enter the UK, it would be an overwhelming NO.  Mainsteam political parties are terrified of being accused of racism.  Your vote is your own and no one should be able to brand you of anything because you have exercised your right to vote
532721
"What are your views on the Republican party?"\n\nThey are on my "least favorite" list right now, considering they've spent the past 6 years flushing America down the toilet.  The Republican Party is the whore and it's pimps are greedy corporate conglomerates, self-serving special interest groups, and the wealthy elite.  The sad thing is that the Democrats are almost (but not quite) as bad.  The 2 main parties have become a sad joke, full of corrupt politicians bought and owned by the corporate lobbyists, and serving the almighty dollar instead of the American people.\n\n"List your party as well (if any)."\n\nAs I mentioned above, I'm fed up with the 2 main parties.  And there is no party that best represents my beliefs, so I guess I'd consider myself an independent.  I love the Green Party's stance on social justice issues, environmental issues, consumer rights, and regulating corporations but some other parts of their platform are too liberal for me.  The Libertarian Party's views regarding the preservation of our civil liberties, privacy, freedoms, etc are awesome.  Their economic views are pretty warped though.  Once in a great while the Democrats do something I see as productive and worthwhile.  However, it will be a long, long, long time before a Republican gets another one of my votes; no confidence left in them.
5406
The conservatives have ALWAYS been more outspoken when it comes to public forums.  They are under the belief that they are speaking from a place where the country started...the original and/or right place for the country to be.  The problem is, the liberals are out there working there butts off getting the work done while the conservatives are out "speaking" against the changes taking place.  \n\nSo, you see, the conservatives voice will always be abundant and they will always be the first ones to jump on the bandwagon....therefore they are the voices you hear most.  However, the reason for an apparent lack of liberal voices here is significant only to represent the number of liberals that are actually DOING something about the things asked here on this site.\n\nMake sense?  Hope it helped.
462139
Well, it should not be seen in terms of "blue" or "red" -really, if you look at an actual demographic map (such as the one Time magazine recently printed) it's in various shades of purple for the most part.  Essentially, it was a generalization, and, like most (if not all) it is false.\n\nThis is more of a backlash against the GOP for a) taking their base for granted, b) failing to do anything of significance for the past two years, and c) an attempt to register annoyance with how the President's run things since his reelection.\n\nThe Democrats won, no question.  But before the more liberal among us celebrate, I would point out that the way the Democrats won was, by and large, running candidates which appeal to moderates and conservatives, instead of more decidedly left-leaning candidates.  And, going back to demographics for a moment, the overall trend is an increase in the number of people at all levels identifying themselves as conservative (but not necessarily Republican).  What it means is that the Democrats have had to move to the right in order to win, and strike a more moderate tone.\n\nPersonally, I think they've needed to do this for quite some time.  But if they try and promote decidedly left-of-center policies now, I don't think the result will be what some seem to expect.  I think moderation is returning to politics, and hopefully, civility will not be far behind.
274673
Im from the UK. Let me explain to everyone here what the BNP actually is.\n\nThe British Nationalist Party is a party widely known in Britain as the "New Nazis". Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this party has radical views on ethnic minorities, refugees and the like. They are not widely supported in the UK, which shows that the British public have SOME political sense.\n\nIn the interest of fairness, anyone interested should have a look at their website (below).\n\nThere is a bigger chance of world peace being achieved than there is of me voting for the BNP.
235262
I'll recommend you the website of the Conservative Party of the UK.\n\nwww.conservatives.com\n\nOr if Blair is your 'cup of tea'\n\nwww.labour.org.uk
360147
New Labour are looking at ways to form a one party state. Since the difference between New  Labour ,Conservatives and Liberal are negligible, there is no opposition, so, when you vote, you vote for the same policies. New labour has already paved the the way for secret policing and is now paving the way for the removal of free speech to stop parties like UKIP and the BNP from speaking out. I am afraid we are in big trouble unless there is a dramatic shift from mainstream parties to more Nationalistic parties.
354712
No.\n\nI may vote Liberal Democrats or the Green Party because I feel that their policies are closer to my line of thinking.  I am also tempted to spoil my ballot with an appropriate political statement.\n\nIf the BNP stand in my constituency, I will probably vote Liberal Democrat since they are quite popular here, and anything to keep them out!\n\nEdit - the BNP are the British National Party, who believe in white supremacy and keeping out asylum seekers.  Asylum is - and should be! - a human right, and the BNP are liars and thugs.
452966
I've read many of his articles on FindLaw, where he discusses some of the issues raised in the book. \n\nFrom what I can see, he's a very intelligent and loyal conservative who is saddened by some of the things being done to his party.
504531
One of the things we ought to do right away is give them less airtime and press coverage.  For example, the Chancellor of the Exchequer going on loudly about how bad it was that the BNP got off a race charge in court, is not doing any good.  Bringing the issue back to court is not going to do any good either - it will serve only to make martyrs of the BNP leadership.  Already, as a result of the trial I have begun reading their manifesto on line.  Am I a Nazi?  NO.  Am I racist? NO.  But until the trial I had paid scant attention to the activities of the BNP.  One is aware of course that the BNP is now the official opposition on the council of Dagenham.  The more people go on about the BNP the more likely their message is to spread.  Just like any disease, it's catching.
572306
What is the ideology of the US Libertarian Party? I've not heard of it, but I'm from Europe so I may be able to help you out.
393155
For other uses, see Tory (disambiguation).\nThe term Tory (from Irish Gaelic tóraighe, an outlaw or guerrilla fighter, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms — literally meaning "pursued man") applied to the Tory Party, the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. To this day it is often used as a shortened form for Conservatives. Its usage also applied to the pre-1965 Scottish Unionist Party which operated independently of, although in association with, the Conservative Party in England and Wales.\n\nA similar usage for 'Tory' exists in Canada to describe its Conservative Party. It was also used during the American Revolutionary War to refer to British Loyalists in the colonies. During the American Civil War, supporters of the Confederacy extended the term to Southern Unionists.\n\nThis term is used as a shorthand for Conservative Party. Others still do not regard the terms as synonymous and some, such as the late Enoch Powell, proudly regarded themselves as "Tories", precisely because of its supposed reactionary or die hard connotations. This is particularly true of Monarchists, who refer to its use as one in favour of personal execution of royal powers.
504420
the British Labour Party was from it's conception, a left wing socialist party, which championed workers rights.  However, as the UK became more prosperous their left-wing message, fell from grace.  Following on from the Conservative PM John Major, Tony Blair came to power on a mandate of policies which were slightly right of centre.  This had a greater appeal for the majority of British people, but many old Labourites felt as if the party had 'sold out' the grass-root members.
167411
Yes. Where shall we send them? Come up with something, quick! By the way, it's not conservatives. The conservative party has been hijacked by a bunch of paranoid, end times, suicide politicians who have been planning their takeover for years! \n\nhttp://www.thefourreasons.org/
536185
Not true.\n\nJust CONSERVATIVE is dirty.\n\nLOL