It's a lose/lose situation with the current 2-and-a-bit party system. Labour = Tory. There's so little to choose between them apart from the colour of their ties.
LibDem did indeed lose the plot. So they're out.
Every other party is too small to take power, hence the handful of seats gained by "outsiders" in any election.
I confess I voted Labour at the last election, but *purely* due to the fact that the BNP had a strong chance in my area. I felt forced to put my vote behind the 2nd most likely candidate to help ensure the racist bastards didn't get a seat. Thankfully, at least that worked. And Labour won by a large enough margin that I don't feel guilty in tipping them just far enough to take it.
As for oil prices, demand outstrips suppy partly due to Bush's refusal to force lower emissions and better fuel economy on the people of the US. Why? Simple - he's in the oil barons' pocket. They don't *care* about anything other than the cash flowing in, and the US govt I assume charge a %age tax on fuel, same as the UK, so the more it costs, the more they make. Given the mess Bush has made of the US economy, he needs to rake in as much as he can to cover his own mistakes.
Americans can legitimately complain about the price of their fuel given it's what - 2 or 3 times what it was a year or two ago? Yet it's still around *HALF* what the UK are paying.
I've done a lot of travelling the last couple of years and believe me, very few countries are happy with their governments.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-06-14 10:30 am (UTC)LibDem did indeed lose the plot. So they're out.
Every other party is too small to take power, hence the handful of seats gained by "outsiders" in any election.
I confess I voted Labour at the last election, but *purely* due to the fact that the BNP had a strong chance in my area. I felt forced to put my vote behind the 2nd most likely candidate to help ensure the racist bastards didn't get a seat. Thankfully, at least that worked. And Labour won by a large enough margin that I don't feel guilty in tipping them just far enough to take it.
As for oil prices, demand outstrips suppy partly due to Bush's refusal to force lower emissions and better fuel economy on the people of the US. Why? Simple - he's in the oil barons' pocket. They don't *care* about anything other than the cash flowing in, and the US govt I assume charge a %age tax on fuel, same as the UK, so the more it costs, the more they make. Given the mess Bush has made of the US economy, he needs to rake in as much as he can to cover his own mistakes.
Americans can legitimately complain about the price of their fuel given it's what - 2 or 3 times what it was a year or two ago? Yet it's still around *HALF* what the UK are paying.
I've done a lot of travelling the last couple of years and believe me, very few countries are happy with their governments.