Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Who would you vote for?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Who would win a general election if there was one held tomorrow? In my opinion if there was a general election tomorrow (8/9/07), the Labour Party would win, albeit only by a tiny percentage of the vote and by maybe 15-30 seats (resulting in a hung parliament). This is reflected in the latest polls which show Labour winning 36-8% of the vote (based on the findings of YouGov, Populus and Comres opinions polls 4/9/07), the Conservatives winning 35-36% and the Liberal Democrats getting 15-18%. When you consider the margin of error that comes with these figures, it seems that the Conservatives may overtake Labour in terms of popular vote. This does not however, mean they would win the election, as the current system is weighted in Labours favour. In fact, it has been estimated that Labours majority would have been reduced to 60 seats in the '97 election had they accepted the recommendations made by Lord Jenkins (he proposed changing from FPTP to AV+). Because of the current system I think Labour would again unfairly gain seats but that in order to continue running the country effectively would rely on the Liberal Democrats, granting them the unique status of 'Kingmakers'. This situation would not really suit anybody as it would make it very hard for anything to be changed. ...read more.

Middle

This is demonstrated through their stance on Air Passenger Duty. They would transport the tax from the passenger to the plane, leaving the air companies to find new ways of making flying more ecological and stop them from flying half empty. This idea would be applied to the consumer side of things as well- making it profitable to buy vehicles that pollute less (I.E. increasing or decreasing Vehicle Excise Duty as necessary). I think its time people driving environment damaging cars must recognise the cost. Another thing the government really needs to sort out and allow is transparency of spending- so people know where their money is going. I think if people could see what little difference top-up and tuition fees have made, they would be less willing to support them. I agree with the Conservative notion of supporting small businesses as a lot of entrepreneurial spirit seems to be lacking in todays society. This could be achieved a lot easier though, if the country were to adopt the Lib Dems 50% tax on those earning over 100,000 and with a switch to income tax. Income tax is much fairer, and more financially supportive to those that need it the most. Don't get me wrong though, I think Labour and Brown in particular managed the economy well. ...read more.

Conclusion

Even so, it sounds a better idea than building more prisons. One thing that does make me angry at the Lib Dems is their pro-euro stance. I think that maybe when the notion was put forward, there were many arguments for joining the continent in the single currency. But for one reason or another we didn't, and as time has gone on those arguments have faded away. I think compromising our strong economical state at the moment would be a poor decision on behalf of the nation. Even foreseeable negative side-effects of having a strong currency have yet to surface. Our tourism industry is still thriving and we trade freely within the EU. Despite this, the Lib Dems redeem themselves on many counts by having the most youth directed policy, and in some ways, the fairest. No top up or tuition fees, free care for the elderly and a full pledge to reduce the public/state school gap. They the only real chance of a party with green credentials getting into power and I believe what is letting them down at the moment is the public view of their leader, who is seen as old and boring, general ignorance about their polices and for fear that a vote for them is a vote lost for Labour is a vote gained for the Conservatives. Still, it makes the most sense for me and ultimately, for the country. Harry Quinn Schone ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Politics section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Politics essays

  1. Was the Liberal revival of the 1960's and 1970's anything more than just a ...

    the 1960s, a feeling of dissatisfaction at the lack of distinction between the two major political parties surfaced. The result was a revival in the Liberals party's fortunes by being the chief beneficiaries of electorate protest voting.6 The 1960s saw the Liberal party, for the first time since the Second

  2. Civil Service Reform.

    More secondments between the public and private sectors were introduced to extend awareness of required management values and help break down the insularity of senior mandarins. Both these innovations continue to operate. Peter Hennessy suggests that by December 1982 when Rayner returned to Marks & Spencer, 130 scrutinies had saved

  1. Malta at the turn of the 19th Century.

    The illness increased and started to spread, thus it was no longer limited to the harbour area. In June the plague started to spread in the countryside and Birkirkara was one of the worst hit due to the many refugees coming from Valletta.

  2. Why woman failed to gain the right to vote between 1900 and 1914

    campaign of the suffragists The failure of political parties to back their big words. Also the masculine cause for suffrage would come first due to their long term beliefs of superiority. Some short term factors were the overwhelming opposition to suffrage by Herbert Asquith who strongly opposed the campaign with

  1. Decentralization and development of modern local government systems in Eastern Europe

    Institutions and mechanisms have been established to serve this purpose, including independent auditors commissioned by local governments, debt financing, bankruptcy management, et cetera. The broadening of juridical protection ensures that every activity of government-both state and local-can be appealed in court.

  2. Deception Point by Dan Brown

    It was a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. The content was honestly presented. It avoided sensation and capitalization on the novelty of the subject. But before Rachael can contact the President, she and Michael are attacked by the Delta Force, a private team of assassins

  1. Belfast Air Raid Investigation

    The government were worried it would cost too much, and didn't even expect to need the shelters. Furthermore, the shelters had a major problem with their design. 3. Source D is very useful in helping to support E. It is a confidential report and is likely to be accurate and reliable.

  2. Belfast Air Raid Sources Questions

    The comparison of these pieces just shows the extent of censorship the government went to to keep the people of the city happy. 3. Source 'D' is very useful in supporting the evidence in source 'E'. Source D's origin is a confidential report using official figures and is an accurate and reliable source.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work