Well, we told you so, didn’t we? It’s been screamingly obvious for years, but no one really worried about it because we were all so wound up in the constant tit-for-tat battle to get rid of YOUR LOT and vote in OUR LOT. And then we saw the futility of that and thought we’d like a change. No problem, we’ll just vote for another party entirely, and then… ah, right. Bugger.
I really wouldn’t want to be Nick Clegg right now. For a start, all that pre-election promise been scuppered by a mixture of the electoral system and, well… what exactly did go wrong?. And then he’s expected to form a coalition with the Tories, who oppose his plans for electoral reform anyway. Unless he can write some pretty impressive conditions into the deal, he risks losing the support of his own voters or, worse, his own MPs.
Ah well, there were some positives last night. The total removal of the BNP from Barking and Dagenham council suggests that, even as a means of uninformed, enraged protest, the party can be defeated with community campaigning and rational discussion. Fears that the BNP could even win a parliamentary constituency this time were unfounded; on the contrary, the non-mainstream surprise of the night was provided by Caroline Lucas of the Green Party. It’s still not clear how good they are on science issues, but still… they’re the closest we’ve got to a truly liberal left-wing party in Westminster.
And if you’re worried about apathy and disaffection among the next generation of voters, at least young Alfie McKenzie is more than making up for his peers. As schoolboy pranks go, that comfortably beats anything I ever did.
Particularly gratifying for me was the result in Sutton & Cheam, my home constituency until last year. Despite initial fears, general Lib Dem good egg Paul Burstow fought off the challenge of CSJ head Philippa Stroud. Unfortunately, the burgeoning Christian right had better luck in Oxford West… Dr Evan Harris, one of the most knowledgeable and capable MPs on science issues, lost his seat to Nicola Blackwood, member of the fundamentalist CCFON organisation, which has also funded Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire.
Even if Nick Clegg can somehow compromise with the Tories on electoral reform, how will his atheism go down with a party funded by a collection of creationists, fundamentalists and religious thinktanks? If only we’d fixed the system years ago…
Can you imagine if we end up like America and the most important issues become homosexuality and abortion? A few years ago I would laughed that off – but now I’m not so sure.
We certainly need the system fixing. We probably should start by teaching children how to think critically and rationally.
The Dr. Evan Harris situation is certainly one of the most disturbing stories of the election. Being labelled as Dr. Death is surely career damaging and libellous.
You seriously need to check your facts. Ms Blackwood is a well educated, open minded, intelligent progressive person. She is not creationist (or even close to it), she is not fundamentalist (or anything like it), in fact religion was not an issue on the campaign trail at all except when Harris made it one. I doubt you will ever find anyone better capable of critical and rational thinking than Ms Blackwood: yet somehow because she believes in God, she gets this label, as unwarranted and vindictive as Dr Death ever was. Can you point to a single stance of hers you object to as being ‘too religious’? I bet you cannot.
Do your research as opposed to leaping to wild assumptions. Ms Blackwood won because she was the best candidate, and if Harris’ complete lack of grace and class in defeat is any example of his character, then Oxford/Abingdon is much better off.