poliphilo

I voted. I usually do. I belong to a generation that regards voting as a duty.

But I understand why younger people- Joe for instance- can't see the point.

It was a hard call. It always is these days. Ever since Blair steered Labour onto the middle ground, it's been a case of which bunch of shiny-toothed Thatcherites do I vote for this time.

I've always tried to vote for the most left-wing party (that was in with a chance). That has usually meant either Labour or the Lib-dems. I believe I once voted Respect. But now we've got a Conservative leader who is making noises (God knows what the actual policies will be) that place him to the left of Blair/Brown. Very confusing.

Anyway, this was a local election- and, working on the principle that the party on the ground is out of harmony with the party at Westminster, I voted Labour.

The local result is No Over-all Control- which means some sort of coalition will have to be fudged up.

The results we've all been really interested in (well, I have) are those for the Scottish Assembly. The predicted result was that Labour would be hammered by the Nationalists. This doesn't quite seem to have happened. The Nats have made gains but not the massive gains that once seemed likely and (shades of recent U.S. elections) the results have been muddied by ill-performing computers and spoiled ballots. Some are now calling for the Scottish election to be re-run.

And now we're waiting for Blair to announce the date on which he'll hand over to Brown. A new era in British politics? We'll see...