Should Gordon Brown just go the 'whole hog' and make it illegal to vote for any party other than Labour???
925994
There is a terrible stench coming from the Labour party these days, they are corrupt and have become the antithesis of what they were created to be.\n\nBanning opposition political parties! isn't that the kind of thing Stalin or Hitler would do? Then they have the gall to call Nick Griffin a Nazi...
371129
Yes. It is a shame, though.\n\nIf we did not have political parties then we would not necessarily have a dictatorship. You vote for candidates, not just for parties. The candidate represents you as well as the party.\n\nThe ideal system would be having a ballot paper of entirely independent candidates who follow no party, but you can clearly see what they stand for. This way the local man gets a complete say over his representative. He does not have to support a 'party' whom he might disagree with about 80 per cent of its policy (for example, he might vote for a Labour candidate because of its policy on education (!) even though he is against the policy of introducing I.D. cards).\n\nThe problems start when you enter parliament. Parliamentary parties create order through the chaos of a milliona nd one conflicting ideas. They allow people to broadly allign themselves into groups, which allows legislation to be passed or not. If there was no party structure here, there would be chaos, a political free-for-all where it would be impossible to decide what to vote about, let alone \n\nPolitical parties as a concept are therefore a necessary evil for the British political system. However, the parties themselves need an overhaul as they have become very centre-based, appealing to a narrow band of electors. As such, it could be argued that there is too much of a consensus and there indeed is only 'one party', since there is not much of a choice anymore. The parties need to change to cater for the changing needs of the electorate; the vast majority of whom are disenfranchised by their own apathy. While there is apathy, parties can get away with whatever they please and there is no accountability.\n\nIf used sensibly, internet technology could revolutionise the whole process and create a level of accountability that has never been seen in a democracy. In fact, it could create a true democracy! Strange how the politicians have not put this into practice - I wonder why...
786707
I think I will vote BNP too. It's not a race thing, it's a British thing.
638548
There will be a leadership contest.  It's silly to believe that Gordon will be voted in to be the next leader of the Labour Party.  When Tony announces the end of his term you'll see other Labour supporters come out of the woodwork to contest against Gordon.\n\nConsider the Major wasn't Thatcher's choice...
856819
Please pay attention.  The whole propaganda exercise has been to persuade the electorate to accept the idea of state funding for political parties.  By introducing a law in which donors must declare themselves to public view, many have backed off.  All three major political parties in UK have heavy debts in the millions.  These scheming politicians want us to pay off their debts and go on paying into their party funds from out taxes.  Not only will our council tax bills get even bigger so too will other taxes.  You can see already how politicians behave with our money - check out the spiralling out of control cost of the Olympics in London 2012 - now three times the original budget and rising.  The same increases will be applied to state funding of political parties.\n\nVOTE NO!
971133
This solely depends on your own hopes and aspirations,vote snp and take power in Scotland from the labour mafia and watch them shake.Labour know they cant hold the uk without the scots .The negotiations would be intersting,more control over budgets ,perhaps an oil tariff solely for Scotland .Who knows perhaps they might listen to the people and not their own dogma,perhaps it may make them realise that power is in the hands of the electorate and not the labour machine,the tories are an irrelevance in scotland ,if Independance looms watch the tories play the ORANGEcard.
721340
If Blair keeps his promise to retire before the next election, then his successor will come from the Labour Party - most people expect Gordon Brown. Do you believe that New Labour is the Party that will solve the pensions crisis and save the NHS? Or the Tories? - which is the only other likely possibility.\n\nI agree that politicians would be more responsive to electors with a suitable proportional representation system, but only if the electors are allowed to choose between individual candidates. The disgusting systems for Europe, Scotland and Wales, with their party lists, go the other way and make politicans LESS accountable. While you are at it, postal voting on request for all undermines the secret ballot and lets in posibilities for pressurising individuals to vote for vested interests.\n\n\nI am not sure that pensions and the NHS will be the biggest issues at the next election. There is a saying "It's the economy, stupid". The pensions crisis is only one of a number of black clouds on the economic horizon, both for the United Kingdom and the Western world generally.
832772
Gordon Brown will not be in number 10 for that long; the farcical way that the handover from Blair to Brown is handled will make it appear to be a coronation, and not a fair contest.\n\nAlthough I think Brown is intellectually up to the job, I reckon he's blown his chances, because his method of getting the top job makes him look untrustworthy.\n\nI know that David Cameron seems lightweight, but he's got a good chance in the next general election, because people just want a change.
508735
Sadly, he has no one to challenge him. There are people within the Labour Party who are up to the challenge, however we don't get to choose them. Party's should realise that we, the voters have the right to say who leads our parties. But they squabble between their own factions and select who they want, often by who will benefit them personally. He wants to make an International name for himself and seems more concerned with how others of the world view him than his own. If the people say no to the sale of Telstra, he sells anyway. If we say no to the privatisation of our utility services, he says I know better. If we say no to overseas companies buying out our own he says it's money in the bank for Australia. The problem is Australia and Australians in general don't see theses benefits unless they are in the high end of town, or the top end of the economic platform. One needs to be confident in that job, granted, but confidence stops way short of pompousness and arrogance. And who do we have in the wings, Mr Peter I'm better than John Howard, ask me and I'll tell you Costello. I love my country passionately, I wish he would think more about the average Australian.
1082284
I thought about this and it isn't easy. There are arguments for going either way (labour or conservative). \n\nArgument for voting labour - people mustn't get carried away by the David Cameron effect. Sure, he's young, energetic, good looking (for a politician!) and talks up all these big changes in the tory party. But think about it, so was Tony Blair all those years ago when he took over as leader of the labour party and then became prime minister. Labour seemed like a fresh, modern alternative beacuse people where fed up with the incompetence and sleaze of the conservatives. It will only happen again!\n\nArgument for voting conservative - But now the boot is on the other foot! conservatives seem like the fresh, modern alternative compared to labour's incompetence and sleaze!\n\nTo give you an answer, I would vote conservative against my better judgement. Its time up for labour, the lib dems aren't a realistic choice and neither are any of the other minor parties. Simply, what goes around comes around. Whatever party is in government always ends up the same. Plus change is a good thing - its healthy for democracy. We couldn't have yet another 4 year term of the same political party. Traditionally I'm not a tory and never have been. I voted labour in 1997 (I was 18) and have voted for them since. I simply think change is a good thing at the momemt. We just have to give a new government a chance. that's all
405908
I don't think any one should vote for a party. Vote for the person with the best Ideas & vote your conscience
622918
If you can have someone like Tony Blair in office and have nobody bothered, why worry about Ken Livingstone? Admittedly he's a buffoon and has said the wrong thing, but then so have a lot of other famnous people (Prince Philip is the worst!). Let's sack the lot of them and have a democracy!
825278
I live in Scotland and 100% agree with you. The present system is grossly unfair and unjustifiable. Scottish MPs should not be allowed to vote or even debate bills that do not relate to the whole of the UK. BLiar's health and education bills would not have passed if the scottish labour MPs hadn't voted for them. Yet the Scottish parliament determines health and education issues in Scotland and English MPs have no say over them.
435620
DOH!!!! What to you think!  They whole reason for existing is to make Britain white. They want to deport all non- ethnic Britons.  OF COURSE THERE ARE RACIST!\n\n\nHave you seen their manifesto, been to one of their meetings!
716292
He wasn't a great P.M before the war and would never have been one.  You only have to look at the non-elected scum he surrounded himself with, Mandelson, Campbell and the rest.  He has introduced more repressive laws than any other single party we now live in a police state!  The number of petty little officials than can dictate to and fine the general public is horrendous.  My family helped found the Labour party and to see this once great party reduced to the mess it is now and the trash leading it is heart breaking!  He is without doubt the most dishonest and disliked prime minister ever - the irony of it all is that we didn't vote for him in the first place if Britain had proportional representation he would never have been in power!  He won't go gracefully he and his horrible wife have their noses buried too deep in the gravy boat!  Please America don't refer to her as our First Lady, she is mearly the wife of the prime minister and as such has no position, the description lady is open to debate!
752321
Gordon Brown supports Raith Rovers. Hardly going to shed his image as a dour scotsman, so he's recently started supporting england in a desperate attempt to get middle england's votes at the next general election
724339
Voting should not be compulsory, as it will force individuals who are completely uneducated on the issues to make a selection simply based on being required to. \n\nIt's like in public schools now, when they REQUIRE children on free/reduced lucnh to get milk... regardless of whether they are lactose intolerant or simply despise milk...it is a waste. \n\nAlthough voting should not be compulsory, Election Day should be national holiday, requiring most (if not all) businesses to close, thus increasing participation through increased opportunity. \n\nOR\n\nElection Day with Pay programs should be instituted, where companies would be required to provide you the day off as long as you brought a verification that you voted. Then those who don't care can go to work, and those who care, or simply want a day off, will go vote. \n\nWe have the lowest voter participation of true democratic societies, and that is sad. Voters have been disenfranchised through corruption and the massive amounts of money spent on campaigns by special interests and corporations.\n\nThe majority of citizens feel thatvoting is simply a matter of voting for Lackey #1 or Lackey #2...and thus do not vote. \n\nWe should also allow ANY political party to run for office, as long as they get enough signatures on a petition... and not ungodly numbers! \n\nWe have two parties and that is not enough, Britain has dozens of parties and this diversity FORCES compromise and cooperation rather than the LEft vs Right option in the US. \n\nWhy can't I be a Socially responsible Conservative, or a Economically conservative Liberal? \n\n*sigh*...