It’s the ultimate question. The once-every-five years issue which women died to get and now unfortunately many of us tend to ignore. My mum used to politely ignore the question when I was younger, and my dad is now far too verbal about it.
Who will you be voting for?
Yes once again the junk mail is being shoved through your door at a relentless pace, posters declaring peoples’ choice are appearing in your next door neighbour’s window and politicians are keeping Tie Rack in business as they step off their private jets (ahem Mr Cameron) and nip in to the airport’s shops to snap up a red, blue or yellow tie to maintain that freshly pressed look.
Twitter is abuzz with campaigners showing the nation they are out in force and being mauled by dogs all to get your vote. Of course they are also warning the rest of us when they will be turning down your road and therefore when to politely draw the blinds and cower behind the couch. The news is so obsessed with following around the party leaders that I’m half expecting Gordon and Sarah Brown to drop in for afternoon tea at any moment.
This election year is not like any other though and while I hate to jump on the bandwagon, I’m really going to.
It’s actually all very exciting and it’s the reason I’m listening to 5Live every second I’m sat in the car at the moment. I want to keep up to date. I want to hear what cut backs Labour plans, I want to find out if the Conservatives actually have any policies yet. I also like listening to the Lib Dems spanking them all down and yet still knowing that they’re unlikely to get a foot in the door without another party’s permission. No one can predict what is going to happen. Who is going to win?
The 2010 general election is promising to be a scorcher. Two years ago it was the Conservative’s to lose. Now hung parliament is the phrase of choice and the only thing the media is debating is which party Nick Clegg is going to kiss and make up with, even if he isn’t prepared to answer that just yet.
I remember being told off when I asked my parents when I was younger who they were going to put their cross against. My mum told me it was a private decision and I should learn to keep my beak out. Now I try, unsuccessfully, to steer my Oldham-living father away from the BNP. And I dread to think who my brother votes for.
But I think one thing is certain this time around. Whether you vote Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem or indeed any other party of your choice, this is not going to be a happy ending. We’re probably just as well off picking a straw by colour. A year down the line the cuts will be made from whichever sector the party in power chooses and the public will be calling for heads to roll. Maybe that’s a naive way to look at it, but read this again in a year’s time and tell me off then. The point is the public is never going to be happy, there is no winner in the end.
So good luck Gordon, David and Nick. Really, it’s a thankless job.
Sounds like you’ve got it about right to me. Cuts they will come, given the fact that the country is up to its eyeballs in debt. And lets not forget how democratic the process of giving away the majority of that money was. The decision has been made and whoever rules the roost come May, they’ll be struggling to balance the books.