i'm going to steer well clear of politics, don't worry.
but since there's a general election underway, and while democracy is still the least worst option, it would seem, that we have for what passes as a political system, and most particularly as this year's voting round may, for the first time in ages, produce what the libdems have taken to calling a 'balanced' (as opposed to a 'hung') parliament, i reckon it's worth pondering one particular thought:
what would happen if we voted purely on policy, instead of according to which party's brand image we have come to vaguely (or even strongly) identify with, instead of the personalities we've come to like, love, or, more often than not, loathe, instead of the tradition that may or may not run in the family or the community, and especially instead of who we think can actually win our seat.
if there is a significant chance of a balanced parliament, or even a hung one, for that matter, then this latter consideration - who can actually win my seat - does in fact largely pale into insignificance. unless you want to positively vote one party into government, or actively want to remove a party from government, you can consider the question who wins your seat, and therefore by extension who wins most seats, no more than perhaps technically relevant (in as much as which party will field how big a contingent and therefore have how much clout in a coalition) and concentrate much more on who will get your snippet of the share of the vote. and on this occasion, share of the vote may matter more than it usually does, because if there is a hung parliament, and therefore a coalition, it will very likely lead to a reform of the voting system to either full proportional representation or to something relatively close to it. the greater the discrepancy between seats in the house and share of the vote, the more compelling the argument for a voting system that more accurately reflects voters' wishes.
but even if you're not interested in a hung parliament, even if you'd just find it refreshing and thought it would make sound political sense for us to vote in accordance with policies we actually support, rather than with how effectively the campaign machinery bludgeons us into buying the party leaders' message, then luckily, help is at hand:
on voteforpolicies.org.uk you can find out precisely who you should vote for, based purely on the policies six parties are putting forward. the site has no political affiliation, it doesn't try to sway or persuade you, it doesn't try to sell you antyhing and it doesn't come with any bias or hidden agenda. it just presents you nine major policy areas, of which you can choose any that interest you, from a minimum of four to the maximum nine. and then it tells you in brief bullet point summary what each party's policy is on that issue. except, and herein lies the brilliant thing, it doesn't tell you which policy belongs to which party. it just asks you to choose the policy you most agree with, and then you move on to the next issue. after you've made a selection for each of the issues that interest you, it spends a few seconds computing the result and then, ptaa!, reveals who the policies that you've gone for belong to.
obviously, you can then make up your own mind who you're actually going to give your vote to. just don't be surprised if the result surprises you...
this is how parties' policies stood after 59,411 completed surveys, on 8th april 2010:
to complete the survey and find out whose policies are up your street, go to voteforpolicies.org.uk - it may be the most eye-opening ten minutes you'll spend in this election.
sebastian's website sebastian on facebook
what would happen if we voted purely on policy, instead of according to which party's brand image we have come to vaguely (or even strongly) identify with, instead of the personalities we've come to like, love, or, more often than not, loathe, instead of the tradition that may or may not run in the family or the community, and especially instead of who we think can actually win our seat.
if there is a significant chance of a balanced parliament, or even a hung one, for that matter, then this latter consideration - who can actually win my seat - does in fact largely pale into insignificance. unless you want to positively vote one party into government, or actively want to remove a party from government, you can consider the question who wins your seat, and therefore by extension who wins most seats, no more than perhaps technically relevant (in as much as which party will field how big a contingent and therefore have how much clout in a coalition) and concentrate much more on who will get your snippet of the share of the vote. and on this occasion, share of the vote may matter more than it usually does, because if there is a hung parliament, and therefore a coalition, it will very likely lead to a reform of the voting system to either full proportional representation or to something relatively close to it. the greater the discrepancy between seats in the house and share of the vote, the more compelling the argument for a voting system that more accurately reflects voters' wishes.
but even if you're not interested in a hung parliament, even if you'd just find it refreshing and thought it would make sound political sense for us to vote in accordance with policies we actually support, rather than with how effectively the campaign machinery bludgeons us into buying the party leaders' message, then luckily, help is at hand:
on voteforpolicies.org.uk you can find out precisely who you should vote for, based purely on the policies six parties are putting forward. the site has no political affiliation, it doesn't try to sway or persuade you, it doesn't try to sell you antyhing and it doesn't come with any bias or hidden agenda. it just presents you nine major policy areas, of which you can choose any that interest you, from a minimum of four to the maximum nine. and then it tells you in brief bullet point summary what each party's policy is on that issue. except, and herein lies the brilliant thing, it doesn't tell you which policy belongs to which party. it just asks you to choose the policy you most agree with, and then you move on to the next issue. after you've made a selection for each of the issues that interest you, it spends a few seconds computing the result and then, ptaa!, reveals who the policies that you've gone for belong to.
obviously, you can then make up your own mind who you're actually going to give your vote to. just don't be surprised if the result surprises you...
this is how parties' policies stood after 59,411 completed surveys, on 8th april 2010:
to complete the survey and find out whose policies are up your street, go to voteforpolicies.org.uk - it may be the most eye-opening ten minutes you'll spend in this election.
sebastian's website sebastian on facebook
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