A week from the time I am writing this the last votes of the general election will be being cast. Yes it is that time again in the UK. We had an election in 2017 and 2015 and now again. Since the Brexit vote the UK has been in turmoil and it has felt like nothing else has been discussed in parliament but Brexit.
I always vote in elections even though, sometimes, it feels like a pointless endeavour. The first-past-the-post voting system is deeply flawed. A party could, in theory, get the most votes but few seats if their support was too spread out. This is because what counts is the votes in each constituency. CGP Grey has done a series of videos on voting which is well worth a watch:
For the time being, and for the foreseeable future, we are stuck with this system and have to work with it. I think the spoiler effect is especially problematic – and it is why we are in the mess we are in – if you follow the news in the UK you will know what I mean.
I am rethinking as I write this but I think I am just going to say it. The Conservative party was worried UKIP would take their votes – so they humoured them by having the referendum. The plan seems to have been that the referendum would result in remain winning and UKIP would disappear. However leave won and nobody was expecting that or knew how to proceed.
There are other issues besides Brexit but Brexit is certainly going to be a focus of many people’s votes. It for that reason, although not that reason alone, that I am voting Labour this time around.
It is my opinion that Labour’s plan is the most fair. The Liberal Democrats, while I agree with their position, are ignoring the referendum. The Conservatives are following the referendum but are ignoring the fact that the question was too simplistic. There are as many ways to leave the EU as there are to have a fun weekend. Imagine if that was the question: Would you like to have fun this weekend?
We would all say yes to that but what are we going to do?
- Watch football
- Get drunk.
- Go to the club.
- Sit quietly at home, listen to The Corrs, while sipping tea.
- Read a book.
- Play a board game.
- Watch all of The Lord of the Rings films back to back.
- Run a marathon.
- Make a quilt.
- Sit in the park.
- Go trainspotting.
- Write your novel.
- Stay in bed and just sleep.
- Cook a fancy meal.
- Enter an eating contest.
- Go to the gym.
- Visit mum and dad.
- Watch Cricket.
- Go to the science fiction convention.
- Go for a hike.
All those things could be fun. However if I said ‘Yes’ to fun and ended up at the gym I would be very disappointed. (The fact that I put on weight last month and need to go to the gym is irrelevant at this point.)
Or to put it another way.
Would you like a £1000?
Yes.
That’ll be one foot please.
Wait what?
Your foot for the £1000.
On second thoughts…
You said ‘Yes’ now hold still.
Now you could decide that you would rather have £1000 than your foot but when the money was offered that wasn’t known so the question needs to be asked again. It is not ignoring democracy it is following through and giving people an informed choice. In my view it is the same as getting work done on your home. When you ask for a quote you have a figure in mind and if it is a lot more than that you wouldn’t go ahead with the work.
There are many questions that turn from a ‘Yes’ to a ‘No’ when more facts are known. I honestly can’t understand the Brexit at all costs mentality. Yet that is what many people seem to want.
I did have more to say but this post is getting really long. My philosophy this election is anyone but the Tories. That said I like what Labour are offering, and this time around might have voted for them anyway. And I hope if they do get in they help the homeless and poor families who need it so desperately.
I hope the election goes well and I suspect that with whoever wins we still have some time before this Brexit stuff is truly behind us.
I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.
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