Bollitics: The General Election 2010 Exit Poll

[Ads]

Your post makes me want to go an buy a bottle of coke and listen to track 2 of Definitely Maybe while I’m on my way to get it.

[snowychap]

Just having a look through the details of some of the new intake and a few names stand out as ringing a bell.

One is a certain 'Jo' Johnson - yep, you guessed it Boris's little brother. I'm sure that'll please a number of people.

Another is Jacob Rees-Mogg (son of the former Times editor William Rees-Mogg) and I'll go out on a limb to say that I think he'll make a right prick of himself (just by being himself having seen the snapshot of him on Newsnight).

I also see that Tristram Hunt got in and so did Rory Stewart (I liked the line in The Times which went - Makes ex-Marine Paddy Ashdown look a bit soft).

[villaajax]

Who on Earth goes to all the effort of going to the polling station, giving their details and then goes and spoils their ballot paper? why not just stay at home and not vote....

[leviramsey]

Why will pr let in fascists? It all depends on the type of pr for starters of which there are many. Calling for electoral reform doesn't mean we adopt the form of pr you don't seem to like

The conservative idea of equal sized constituencies is a nonsense btw, its simply neither practical or logical

Yet the USA manages to get something very close to it...

[leviramsey]

I'm tempted to model my "half FPTP constituencies, half PR proposal" (which given how geographically concentrated the Lib Dem seats are, would probably give them about 16% or so of the seats)...

[PauloBarnesi]

Rory Stewart (I liked the line in The Times which went - Makes ex-Marine Paddy Ashdown look a bit soft).

Hard to believe; Rory Stewart was briefly in the Black Watch. Ashdown was a marine, then SBS, then commandos, then the MI6

[PauloBarnesi]

According to the torygraph (quoting the BBC), NotW, Mail, Brown ranted and raved at Clegg when they spoke on the phone when Clegg suggested Brown stand down...

[Gringo]

Who on Earth goes to all the effort of going to the polling station, giving their details and then goes and spoils their ballot paper? why not just stay at home and not vote....

[Awol]

A few words from Mr Brown on election night 1992.

Time to take his own advice and sod off.

[Awol]

Labour have short memories on PR…

[The]Then Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a statement, saying that the report "makes a well-argued and powerful case for the system it recommends"[3] and that "it is very much a modification of the existing Westminster system, rather than any full blown PR system as practised in other countries." He also praised Lord Jenkins for his work and gave the recommendations a cautious welcome, pointing out in particular that change would help address the "complete absence of Conservative representation in Scotland", a reference to the then most recent election in which the Conservatives failed to win a single seat in Scotland.

However, leading figures in the Cabinet at the time (e.g. Home Secretary Jack Straw, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Chancellor Gordon Brown, Margaret Beckett, the Labour NEC) all strongly opposed any reform of the voting system, and effectively killed the chance of any change.

My bold: So these are the "progressive coalition" people are they? What a joke, at least the Tories are upfront about not wanting a real change in the system (despite being wrong, imo).

[bickster]

Who on Earth goes to all the effort of going to the polling station, giving their details and then goes and spoils their ballot paper? why not just stay at home and not vote....

Spoilt papers get recorded, thus you have made your mark and registered your protest in the only way possible under the current system

[drat01]

According to the torygraph (quoting the BBC), NotW, Mail, Brown ranted and raved at Clegg when they spoke on the phone when Clegg suggested Brown stand down...

Which was denied later by the BBC, the Libs and Lab - in fact everyone.

I suppose this is now "fact" though - pathetic really

[Jon]

According to the torygraph (quoting the BBC), NotW, Mail, Brown ranted and raved at Clegg when they spoke on the phone when Clegg suggested Brown stand down...

Which was denied later by the BBC, the Libs and Lab - in fact everyone.

I suppose this is now "fact" though - pathetic really

No, it's not fact Ian.

However, it is plausible.

and IMO is what he should do. and will have too, in a few days.

[drat01]

A few words from Mr Brown on election night 1992.

Time to take his own advice and sod off.

What a strange thing you say here Jon

1) As all are saying at the moment the MP's are sorting out who can strike the deal - until that time Brown has to stay as PM. In fact only today Darling is discussing finance issues with European counterparts and has said he is keeping LibDems and Tory counterparts informed. A sensible approach - whereas yours would be destructive

2) what are you saying that this video from 1992 i saying in terms of the situation now? Brown looks younger?

The fact that the Tory party and the Libs are not obvious bed fellows is the interesting point. There are a lot of Libs who are 101% against any sort of deal with Cameron and there will be major problems for Clegg unless he can get Cameron to do a complete U turn. Now if Cameron does that U turn, you as a Tory voter will you be happy? Surely that is not what you voted for?

[drat01]

According to the torygraph (quoting the BBC), NotW, Mail, Brown ranted and raved at Clegg when they spoke on the phone when Clegg suggested Brown stand down...

Which was denied later by the BBC, the Libs and Lab - in fact everyone.

I suppose this is now "fact" though - pathetic really

No, it's not fact Ian.

However, it is plausible.

and IMO is what he should do. and will have too, in a few days.

Jon I suspect that Brown will go, but the right wing media (including Robinson at the BBC) again showed themselves to be unscrupulous in trying get their aims sorted.

Brown and Clegg had a discussion, according to the Libs it was a good discussion. Clegg has a duty to talk with Dave at the moment, and a duty to talk with his own members. He has a duty to talk with Brown also so that all of the options can be considered. There will be a compromise, and looking back at not videos's from 1992 but video's from 2010 you will see major hypocrisy being spouted by certain MP's.

Interesting times

[snowychap]

He has a duty to talk with Brown also so that all of the options can be considered.

The only real duty Clegg has to talk to Brown, though, is in Brown's position as PM not as leader of the Labour party.

If Clegg and Cameron can hammer out a deal (which I think and hope is increasingly unlikely) then the only duty either of them would really have to speak to Gordo is to ring him up and say, "We can govern. Please go and tell her maj."

[Gringo]

Dave forms govt 1/6 (implied probability 85%)

Gordo forms govt 6/1 (15%)

[snowychap]

Gordo forms govt 6/1 (15%)

That's much too short a price.

What about Labour form a government under a different leader?

I did see quotes of about 8/1 for Miliband snr as next PM.

[Awol]

A few words from Mr Brown on election night 1992.

Time to take his own advice and sod off.

What a strange thing you say here Jon

1) As all are saying at the moment the MP's are sorting out who can strike the deal - until that time Brown has to stay as PM. In fact only today Darling is discussing finance issues with European counterparts and has said he is keeping LibDems and Tory counterparts informed. A sensible approach - whereas yours would be destructive

2) what are you saying that this video from 1992 i saying in terms of the situation now? Brown looks younger?

The fact that the Tory party and the Libs are not obvious bed fellows is the interesting point. There are a lot of Libs who are 101% against any sort of deal with Cameron and there will be major problems for Clegg unless he can get Cameron to do a complete U turn. Now if Cameron does that U turn, you as a Tory voter will you be happy? Surely that is not what you voted for?

What would make me happy is for Brown to resign, the Tories to form a minority Government, get their noses into the books and find out the true state of economy then inform the public of what needs to be done to fix it.

No doubt Labour and the Lib Dems would vote down the Queens speech then the Tories can back to the country and the electorate can make a decision, but based on all of the facts that have to date been hidden away - the size of the PFI bill, the size of the off balance sheet pensions etc.

I suspect the real national debt is not far short of double what is actually being admitted by Labour and the voters deserve to know. This election was a fraud in the sense that none of the opposition parties were able to accurately say what they would do because they didn't know the true state of things. Labour do know but chose to be dishonest imo. Whoever is going to take us forward will need a very clear mandate for their actions if they are going to take the country with them, currently no one has that.

Electoral reform is important but not THE most important thing right now, we need to have a very clear debate on the economy and only a Conservative or brief Con/Lib government will deliver it.

[snowychap]

On the subject of next Labour leader, though, I see Miliband jnr has shortened quite a lot to around 5/1 second fav. (Big brother - even money)