UK General Election - 6th May

So it's been a while since I have blogged but I have been following the political campaigns pretty closely. It goes without saying that all the parties of fighting of each vote. 

It has been fasincating to see what the parties have been doing to try and get people to vote for them. 

I think Labour led by Ed Miliband have done well to be so close in the polls. Ed has had a strong message about making the UK a fairer society and get people who are not paying tax to pay tax. 

However his message may not be getting through due to the backlash from the right winger media. 

They are doing everything in their power for Ed to come across as incompetent. What they don't realise is that they coming accross as bullies which is why is not helping the Tory campaign.

The Tory campaign has been an unmitigated disaster, after they had spent the last year telling the British people how well the economy is doing we find out the economy is going backwards and there has only been 0.3 growth in April. 

Yet David Cameron is at pains to stress how the UK is thriving but the reality is the ones at the top have benefited whilst rest of the UK keeping it's head above water. 

Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats is trying to cling to power by stating that if there is a hung party then they will be the kingmakers which is unlikely as the polls are suggesting they will lose half there seats. 

UKIP have been making a lot of noise but they have gone quiet about there determination to leave Europe as they know it's not a vote a winner. They will be lucky to get three MPs.

So it's there is still all to play for but I am hoping that Ed and his wife Justine will be standing on the doorsteps of No10 as he is elected Prime Minister. 

Prime Minister Questions 29th October 2014

This weeks Prime Minister Questions was mainly about immigration. Ed Miliband asked David Cameron some really good and questions and had David Cameron on the ropes. 

Ed even managed to back David a Cameron in the corner and force him to hold a key parliamentary vote before the next election by-election. 

David Cameron answers were very much scripted answers and he looked very awkward. 

David Cameron is desparately trying to chase the UKIP vote and so this exchange would not have gone down well with a UKIP voter. 

Whilst Ed Miliband came across self assured and he able to address this issue  without coming xenophobic.  

So this was a good win for Ed and hopefully he will continue build momentum.  

Review of the UK Euro elections

The results of the Euro elections was announced yesterday and as expected UKIP got the largest share of the vote. 

Although UKIP did well and came top, like the local elections they didn't do particular well in the major cities. 

The Conservatives came third overall and this was bad result for David Cameron and it has put pressure on him to either form a pact with UKIP or call the EU referendum earlier. 

Neither of which Cameron wants to do and it leaves him and his party in a perilous situation. 

The Labour Party had the best set of results since 1999 and doubled the number of MEPs in London alone. But strangely the BBC said was a terrible result for Labour. 

The Liberal Democrats had a bad Euro election and they only have one Euro MEP down from eight. Like I said in my previous blog Nick Clegg should do the honourable thing and resign. 

Overall great Euro election for UKIP and the Labour Party but the Labour Party have a lot to do to ensure they get that majority in May 2015.

Review of the UK Local Elections

Last weeks local elections had some very surprising results. It was clear from the results that UKIP are no longer a fringe party and they made significant gains in the local elections.

UKIP made some surprising gains in the North and South East England. But where unsuccessful in inner London where Londoners rejected there Euro/immigration policies. 

Whilst I accept that UKIP have made some considerable gains, the media especially the BBC said it had been an "earthquake" to UK politics. 

Which I think completely oversimplifies it yes UKIP made gains but they failed to make any inroads into various cities in the UK so they have some work to do to convince black and ethnic minority groups that they are not a racist party. 

Meanwhile Conservatives had a poor local election losing councils like Hammersmith and Fulham, Croydon and Cambridge. 

A loss of these councils would be a bitter blow to David Cameron and his party are losing vital support and getting a majority government in 2015 is looking more elusive with each passing day.

The Labour Party had a successful local election they gained over three hundred seats. 

But if you watched the BBC and other media outlets then they had a terrible election and this thought is not backed up with the statistics. 

Labour need to work on ensuring that they can get the people from the main cities to vote and this will ensure they are elected as a majority government. 

The shock of the local elections was the Liberal Democrats who did very badly and even lost the running of Kingston Borough Council to the Conservatives. 

I personally think that the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg should resign and allow the Lib Dems to regroup and salvage some proud. 

So overall I don't think any of the parties where outstanding and they all have some real work to do before the next General Election. 

A year to the next UK General Election 2015

It's now officially a year to the next General Election in the UK and the polls have started to narrow. 

Labour have had a consistent five point lead but now only have a one point lead. This could be because more people are feeling optimistic about Britan's economic future and may want to stick with the Tories. 

Labour need make the choice clear by  highlighting the problems in employment like the zero hour contracts and the rise in foodbanks. 

The Tories will continue to promote and hope GDP figures go up and I suspect promising more growth post 2015.

UKIP are doing well in the polls and they could very much decide who wins the next General Election. 

It's time that both the Tories and Labour took UKIP seriously or they will find out the dire consequence of ignoring them.   

UK immigration policy

As regular readers of this blog would note that I am not this current administration biggest fan.

 So when I reviewed the speech the new Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire made on immigration which included the controversial part about the rich elite employing foreign nationals. 

I couldn't believe the breathtaking hypocrisy, most of you will not have forgotten the recent advertisement that this administration run urging illegal immigrants to "go home".

We then find out that the Immigration Minister, Mark Harper, who sanctioned this advert was employing an illegal immigrant to clean his one bedroom flat. 

In the last week David Cameron, Teresa May and Nick Clegg have confirmed that they have employed foreign born nationals and two of which have gone on to get British passports. 

All this really means that the Tory chase for UKIP votes has backfired badly. What remains to be seen is whether it will matter when voters go to the polls this year for the European elections and next year General Election. 

The rise of UKIP

I have'nt really blogged much about the UK Independence Party. But as the European and General Elections draw closer, UKIP could have quite a pivotal role. 

UKIP's main policy to try and get the UK out of Europe and up on until recently they have not had much input in the UK's General Election. 

However now opinion polls have been suggesting that they would poll at 

least 10% in an General Election. 

This more worrying for the Tories as it is mainly Tory voters who have defected to UKIP. So for the Tories to win a majority in the next general election they need to get the 10% back from UKIP. 

Labour do not need to worry so much about the UKIP vote. However the Labour Party would hope that UKIP do not get a lot votes. As UKIP would make it very difficult for Labour to govern effectively. 

Recently UKIP leader Nigel Farage has disowned the party 2010 manifesto. Saying that UKIP will write a new manifesto after the European elections.

Now UKIP realise they can return some of their candidates to the House of Commons.

 They are now trying to be a little more tactful and are trying to hold on to their 10% of the voting public and they hope that this will be sustained until the next General Election.

Prime Minister Question's

Yesterday Prime Ministers Question's was on the back of the good news that unemployment had gone done to 7.1%.

However Ed Miliband first three questions to David Cameron was about the humanitarian crisis currently going on in Syria. 

Ed was trying to encourage David Cameron to take in some of the refugees. There exchanges where polite but I couldn't help but think that. 

David Cameron reluctance to taking in Syrian refugees is more about appeasing his media backers like the Daily Mail and not given any political ground to UKIP.

 

Ed next three questions where about the economy and at that this stage like Ed put it that David Cameron had fallen back into his 'bullingdon club' routine. 

The Ed was trying to stay calm and not shout but that may not be so effective in the chamber. 

So Ed did well this his six questions but David Cameron came across as more commanding as he shouted a little louder than Ed did. 

UK Politics in 2014

We are now a few weeks into the New Year and it's about sixteen months before the next general election. 

Both the Tories and the a Labour party have a lot to do to convince the electorate that they are the right party to govern the UK.

The Labour Party need to prove to the electorate they can be trusted with the economy. 

They also need to be able to show how they would do things differently and be more successful than the current coliation government. 

Ed Miliband has been focusing on the cost of living and various policy areas such as energy and housing.

 He is hoping that this will continue to resonate with the electorate and they will elect him as Prime Minister. 

David Cameron has to be able to prove that the Tories can be the majority government. 

David Cameron has restle votes away from the UK Independence Party to have any realistic chance of leading  a majority government. 

For both Ed Miliband and David Cameron the big test will be how well the fare in the local and European elections this May. 

18 months to the next general election

Countdown to the next general election has started and it seems that all of the political parties are setting the stage.

The Tories are focusing on Labour's relationship with unions and plus any scandals they can throw Labour's way.

The Labour Party are focusing on reminding people that the Tory policies have failed and they offer a better alternative. 

The Liberal Democrats are in deep trouble they are struggling in the polls and could have suffer very bad losses at the general election.

UKIP could steal votes from all the main political parties and get MPs for the first time. 

UKIP will be reminding voters that European Union interference is damaging the UK socially, politically, legally and economically.

 

It promises to be a very nasty election campaign with lots of muck racking. However I think social media will have a huge influence votes and voters!

I will be giving a monthly update on what each of the parties are doing so for a different perspective on the general election don't forget to subscribe to my blog:)