I better shut up now. Give me some vodka and I'll be trying to get you all singing the Internationale .
It no longer matters greatly to me what the outcome is, but looking back over the last century there have been lots of coalition governments, most of them fairly unstable. The current one already looks rather creaky at times and I wonder if it would exist if they had not set down the date of the next election. The result of the last election showed that the people who bothered to vote were not that sure what they wanted taken as a whole. The last government had exhausted it's credit limit in terms of money and popular support. The Tories were talking the doomsday picture up and the Liberals were trying to position themselves somewhere to the left of the Labour party. No wonder that none of the alternatives were attractive. The result showed that there could have been a minority government, followed by another election very soon after. I cannot really see how AV will change things. My Dutch neighbours tell me that it is normal in their country to effectively be without government for six months while deals are done between different parties as they never get a clear result, so what you actually get in policy may be totally unlike anything seen in any manifesto.
The thing is that in a democracy if the people do not want to give power to ne party - and last year they clearly did not then why should one party claim the right to govern. People might not like the coalition - fine then vote in sufficient numbers for the party you want - and hope they get in - if they don't then you get a compromise government - no real problem with that is there?
Because it is always the party that gets the majority of seats that is given first chance to form a government under any system. It maybe that they have to try to go alone, or bring in some of the most unlikely partners. When talks were going on after the last election wasn't the Labour party trying to get the Welsh and Scottish nationalists to support them to make up the numbers. Just be glad that the same system does not operate in the UK as here, where you can be dragged out to vote two Sundays on the trot.
No OFH - the right to try to form a government falls in the first instance to the outgoing government party - which is why Labour tried to form a government with various small groups even though the Tories had won most seats - but not enough to give them a majority on their own.
Each individual cannot vote "in sufficient numbers"...and there is not a single thinking entity called "the people". It's a common assumption by political commentators that the people have done this or that. They haven't. Many different opinions, prejudices and experiences have driven millions of individuals to vote in individual ways. It sounds good to suggest they did so as a result of some sort of collective will, but it simply doesn't happen like that. It's very much like the concept of 'society'...it's convenient for simplifying things but it assumes a process which simply doesn't happen - what I believe sociologists call reification. Apologies, I must drink less wine and get off high horses
Technically correct Leo, but in practice the party with the most seats gets first shot at getting a majority. There have been some very strange coalitions over time. In the 1920s when such things were common, you actually had people within the same parties standing as coalition and anti-coalition candidates. Theo, that is very good. I will reflect on it while I have a very hot soak.
Problem with compromise governments or hung parliaments is that it takes a lot longer to get anything done .................which I suppose is no bad thing sometimes.
True Norway, although the coalition can't be accused of taking its time. Quite the opposite, at times haste has forced the government into Maggie's favourite driving manouvre.
In Jersey, we have 3 levels of States Members - Deputies, Senators (who are the only ones who are eligible to become Ministers) and Connetables (Parish Constables - the Jersey equivalent of Mayor). There are no political parties. A few years ago some "like-minded" politicans got together to form the Jersey Democratic Alliance and they put up a candidate for each of the 30 seats and only 1 got elected.
I'm not 100% on this, but didn't Brown have to wait till the Tories had made their offer before he could make his?
Just been round my Mum and Dad's. Dad said that he first voted in 1959. He's only once voted an MP in! It made me think. I first voted in 1987. I've never voted an MP in. So Dad's been voting for 52 years, me 24 years, and in that cumulative 76 years of voting, we have voted in 1 MP between us. Not convinced about AV though!
Actual leo theres virtualy 0 chance hitler could have ruled germany in first past the post. The major rightvwingnparty pulled the nazis in to get a few votes in(its scary when you look at the ratio) more to get a majority. There are many reasons why he got to power but the mechanism is clear
We have a strange first past the post system. Usually there are many candidates and the votes get cast around all over the place. Many voters do not bother to go to the poll in this first round. If a candidate from the first round gets 50% or more of the vote he/she is elected. If no one gets that support a second round of voting takes place a week later. Only the two with the greatest number of votes stand, and then it is a straight choice.
Roo have you been at the history books again , it is a good idea to look at history though as it givesa good idea of how things might go in the future , Humans are great at making the same mistakes in different ways!
Back to an above point the queen can ask any party to form a government however as a minority government will fall the monarchy will defer until a party or coalition can claim a majority. Although thats mostly protocol we dont have a written constitution
