Desperate Measures

[poliphilo]

The Lib Dems swept by this morning with the lowest piece of campaign literature I've seen yet.  Clearly run off at the last minute- in smudgy black and white on cheap paper-  it whores for the Asian vote by pointing out that the Labour candidate is a friend of israel and their guy (who used to work for a Saudi sheik) isn't.  Borderline anti-semitic, I'd say.

Shortly afterwards the Tories came down the street with a loud speaker van. I don't know what the point of those things is. You can never hear a word that's being said.

Comments

Dirty politics

[methodius.livejournal.com]

It seems you have a choice between a warmonger, a warmonger and a warmonger. I watched a couple of debates, and wondered why none of them mentioned the elephant in the room.

I was in the UK during a general election 44 years ago, and the Tories had one of those loudspeaker vans back then too. Just managed to catch the name of the candidates, Duncan Sandys, whom I'd read about in the newspapers for his role in negotiations over Rhodesian UDI. Not much changes.

Re: Dirty politics

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

They all carry on as if the only significant issue relating to the war in Afghanistan is whether "our brave soldiers" have been issued with the right equipment.

At least Clegg would get rid of Trident.

Re: Dirty politics

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

Yeees - but they will, it seesm, go for almost any other nuclear weapon, provided that it isn't fired out of a submarine.

Re: Dirty politics

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I wish we'd stop pretending to be a major military power. It's not good for us.

Re: Dirty politics

[methodius.livejournal.com]

True, but he didn't press home his argument -- when Camerone was talking about "waste", replacing it isd surely a prime example of it. Perhaps its a holy cow rather than an elephant.

Re: Dirty politics

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The nuclear deterrent is what keeps us at the high table with the big boys. It would be a fearless politician who decided to scrap it altogether.

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

I'd have flagged it down and asked to be taken to the polong statin - still might, if one deigns to appear.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Now there's an idea!

I've been and voted now. Nothing to do now but sit back and wait for the results to start rolling in...

[oakmouse]

An English friend of mine who isn't on LJ referred to it as Pick A Loser day. I get the definite impression she's nailed it in one.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Pretty much.

Labour went into this election with a leader who is routinely described as the worst prime minister in British history and the Conservatives have a smarmy old Etonian and former PR man whom nobody particularly likes. The reason the Lib Dems have done so well is that they fielded a candidate who comes across as relatively unspoiled and unspun.

Mind you, the last prime ministerial candidate who got large numbers of us genuinely enthused was Tony Blair- and look how he turned out!

[oakmouse]

Yeah, trusting a politician of any kind, of any party is generally not too brilliant.

[sovay]

the Labour candidate is a friend of israel and their guy (who used to work for a Saudi sheik) isn't.

Gah.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It comes down to the wire and they all fight dirty.