The Daily Telegraph tells me I should vote Lib Dem

[purplecat]

I'm mildly depressed by this. My parents vote Lib Dem. In fact they are positively pillars of liberal democracy. I was half-hoping for some kind of revelation that, you know, actually I secretly agreed with David Cameron or something and that, in fact, listening to the Today program actually wasn't sufficient to decide between the parties. But on being asked my opinion on a series of yes/no questions the Daily Telegraph concluded I was a Lib Dem - yeah, yeah, I know it is equally trivial but if I was majorly deluded you'd expect it to show up and I actually couldn't state off-hand, in general, which parties agreed with which statement though I could make educated guesses.

Locally, I don't know. I've read their leaflets but both lots (the Conservatives can't be bothered) say they will improve the same services while criticising the corruption and waste of the other.

I'd have doubts about accepting a cake from any of them.

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/4659.html.

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

The LJ ones tell me I should vote Green, and this would be my second choice. However

1. I won't vote Labour because of their policy on civil liberties and, in particular, ID cards.

2. I won't vote Tory because of their family policies and their sucking up to millionaires.

3. I won't vote UKip because they support homeopathy and are against stem cell research and are, I suspect, anti-vaxers and anti-abortionists.

We will not speak about the unspeakables. That leaves the Lib Dems, who have a ghost of a chance of being influential on government, and the Greens, who don't.

[purplecat]

I'd forgotten about ID cards. Another strike against labour.

I actually feel that all the parties have some policy I feel strongly opposed to. For the first time I feel I'm in a position of trying to pick "least bad" than a party I feel in any way positive about.

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

It's a two-horse race here -- Tories and Lib Dems. I would never vote Tory and although I have a fair bit of affinity with the Lib Dems' views, I'm not enamoured of the mess they've made of the local council.

The Greens aren't standing here. I am tempted to vote Monster Raving Looney, as the candidate used to go out with a friend of mine *g*.

[purplecat]

I sometimes wonder if I have some knee-jerk anti-reaction to the Tories tied up with being a teenager under Margaret Thatcher. But even the Daily Telegraph couldn't manage to twist my answers to suggesting I should consider them. Their proposed order for my vote was Lib Dem, then Labour, then Green, then Tory. I should have added UkIP and the BNP in there as well, just to see how they managed compared to the Tories.

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

It told me Lib Dem, Green, Labour . . .

Ho hum.

[gabcd86.livejournal.com]

Apparently I agree with the Tories on health. Which is weird, because I don't recall ever attacking the NHS or whatever twit proposes to do.

I can't speak for you, but I'm not even opposed to the Tories on the basis of Thatcher+My politics. I mean 1) Do you trust that shiny egghead? 2) Him and Osbourne have been consistently wrong on the economy. 3) He's a right smarmy cunt.

That's enough for me. And you know, neo-liberal imperialist bourgeois (and other communist propaganda clichés. *g*)

[gabcd86.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was taking the one called voteforpolicies... .org?

[purplecat]

Cameron is, reportedly, a big fan of the NHS following his experiences with them relating to his son. Most people who I trust on the matter seem to think the NHS, at least, is reasonably safe under the Tories so long as Cameron remains in charge and has the political clout to resist pressure from other groups in the party.

[fredbassett]

I said I wouldn't vote labour in if they invaded Iraq.

Raccoons will ice-skate in hell before I'd vote Tory.

So the lib dems get it by default, although the candidate here looks like he needs a note from his mum to be out after dark.

[purplecat]

I do rather feel they are getting my vote by default as well. There's lots I don't like about their policies, and behaviour. I just object to Labour and Conservative more...

[fredbassett]

*sigh* Yep, that's about the size of it for me as well.

[daniel-saunders.livejournal.com]

I don't like any party, although my reasons are not always ones most people would think of. I think I know which party to vote for, but I don't entirely trust them. It's also a party that my family and friends brought me up never to support, so I feel vaguely treacherous voting for them, although I suppose if I'm voting against up-bringing and peer-pressure it might at least indicate that I'm thinking for myself.

[purplecat]

It must be said this is the first election I've gone into thinking "a plague on all their houses". All the party policies smack of, well, lack of rigourous thinking in several places and that concerns me.

[gabcd86.livejournal.com]

*mutters about bourgeois democracy*

Apparently, I should vote Green. I think this is because they're so far from getting in, their policies can be out-there, and sound good.

Anything beats "CallmeDave" though.

And I can't vote anyway.

But, seriously. If this is our choice... roll on the revolution.

[purplecat]

Still eagerly awaiting your coup in the DHPD you know *g*. As head of the executive, you really need to get your act together and topple me - you've only got a couple of months left to pull it off in.

[gabcd86.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. You'll be eagerly awaiting for a long while, alas. My only shot is co-opting an admin, but even the admins are all boring proprietarians. We'll see.

Besides, toppling you would be counter-intuitive. It'd be like toppling Obama (attractive*, charismatic, and well-meaning, if hopelessly deluded) to get Palin.


*high praise here. :D

[gabby-reading.livejournal.com]

Check the Fiction board. *g*

[purplecat]

I am charmed by the idea that, in the event of a zombie apocalypse, the Libertarians of this world could be converted to Marxism by pointing out that there was no longer any economy to speak of...

[gabby-reading.livejournal.com]

Well, it's true, sorta. The diference betwixt Anarcho-Capitalism and Anarcho-Communism is the last bit. In the absence of private property and means of production and stuff, we're by default in the second one. As you said - it's pretty much a commune already. :P

[sophievdennis.livejournal.com]

Mostly I'm just surprised the Daily Telegraph tool doesn't return Conservative regardless of the answers you enter. Maybe there is hope for it after all ;-)

I actually didn't think it was a very good tool. It was too focused on very specific policies (many of which were easily associated with a specific party if you'd watched the debates, for example), without allowing any context. We'd all like to pay no tax, while enjoying world-class healthcare and education, streets free from potholes and snow, and having our rubbish collected every week - all for free. It really should have asked people whether, if forced to choose between two potentially opposing policies (e.g. tax cuts vs spending cuts), which they would prefer. It would also have been a more enlightening survey if it had addressed core values properly, rather than one-off policies: e.g. the role of the State/Government vs private enterprise, free market economics vs redistributive taxes, personal liberty vs community security.

[purplecat]

Murdoch also can bring himself to recommend I vote other than Lib Dem. His "how should I vote tool" contains interesting digests of each party policy on one issue (e.g. Health) and you have to pick the package that appeals to you most. Potentially gives you a better overview of their policy but still basically focussed on acting as a Manifesto digest than a representation of underlying ideology.