As we reach the end of Indecision 2010, a few final thoughts…starting with a couple of generic ones:
- Most important, go out and vote tomorrow. Please. Voting is one of the cornerstones of a democracy and I personally believe that if you are given the right to vote, then you make use of that right. Don’t let anyone tell you that your vote is a wasted vote. By putting pen to ballot paper, you are making your own statement about British politics that will be heard. If you don’t vote, you have no right to even complain if results don’t go your way. If you still don’t know who to vote for, The Guardian has put up the annotated manifestos of the three major parties and is worth having a look, even if you’ve already made your mind up due to how impressive that multimedia feature is.
- Follow me on Twitter tomorrow night as I will be watching as much of the election coverage as possible before I fall asleep. I will start at 9pm with the Alternative Election show on Channel 4 and then I’m heading straight to BBC1 after that for the ‘professional’ swingometers.
Now for a tangent that is of my opinion only.
When I make my voting choice I try not to think exclusively about how it would affect me. Obviously the thoughts of what might happen to me comes first but I also try to think of the wider picture. I try to think of what political party would make the country a better place. I might not be a student anymore in a week but I would like to think that the party I vote for is the one that is most suited to fulfilling the needs of future graduates, for example.
On a messageboard that I frequent regularly, I witnessed an astonishing statement from someone who shall remain anonymous, which is the only kind thing I’m willing to say, who said the following:
I couldn’t care less about gay rights. Sorry it’s just not something that is important to me personally.
If anyone has uttered a statement that is dumber, more illogical and more offensive than that (right wing press aside) then I would be amazed. That opinion in general is, as well as coming from a self-confessed Conservative voter, so jaw-droppingly ridiculous that it almost makes you think that some people just do not deserve democracy. Whilst gay rights doesn’t ultimately affect me, I will be among the first to stand up for them in the event that they have been treated differently just because of the fact that they are gay. It’s called compassion. It beggars belief that there are people out there who hold such a narrow-minded view about things like this.
It is this kind of utter stupidity that makes me scared of what would happen should the Conservatives get into power. My own belief is that if they win with an outright majority and storm straight into power, we are going to be heading into our own version of the George W. Bush years. The Tories are, aside from being deeply homophobic, an elitist powerhouse who care more about serving the needs of themselves and disgustingly rich people than the general public.
With them in power, we can kiss goodbye to any hope of an electoral reform – something that British politics badly needs.
As for tomorrow…it’s going to be close. All signs point to a Conservative win but not enough of a win to secure the majority they need. A hung parliament looks like the best bet and even after all the ballots are counted the true outcome of the result may not be known for a little while. In summary, no one really knows. It’s that close. The last thing I’ll say is this…
The thought of tomorrow terrifies me. The thought of the day after, if results go the way I strongly fear, makes me feel sick.
