Election 2005

After a slow start the election is starting to get interesting. This time round there are some fantastic websites that really make you think. I’d started to group some links together for a post but plasticbag’s article says it all plus more so it’s a better starting point.

If you can’t be bothered reading the article then visit some of the following links. Political Survey 2005 is a series of questions that are then used to compare/contrast you with the rest of the electorate..well those that have bothered to take the survey. The results are great – highly recommended. Next up is Who Should You Vote For. This is a bit more simplistic than the Survey as it asks your opinion on 23 statements and from that determines who you should vote for. I’ve published my results at the end of this post.

Next up are some stat pages. First is The Public Whip which allows you to see how your mp performed in the House of Commons and also has some surveys to try. The Ministerial Whirl is superb and well worth a visit. For more detail on your mp and links to Guardian content try They Work For You. Some very telling stats including how much your local mp claims back in expenses. Shocker. There’s also a good search engine at the site for everything that has been said in parliament since 2001 although that can also be found at the Houses of Parliament.

The major news websites are also doing their best to explain in plain language exactly what each party stands for. This is partly based on the success of similar sites set-up during the American elections last year. The Channel 4 website has introduced FactCheck and also election blogs. FactCheck hopes to analyse each of the main parties claims and verify who is actually telling the truth seen here when analysing a George Galloway quote. The blogs are also a fairly good read and give an insight into some of the electioneering that goes on although not all of them are up to date.

BBC also uses a blog but for it’s reporters only though the reporting is more honest than the reporters regular news reports. BBC wins for it’s news coverage, seat calculators and poll tracker. Everything an election stat whore could dream of.

After all that if you still can’t be bothered to vote, at least register with Not Apathetic and let the world know why. Finally, my who should you vote for results are…

Your expected outcome:

Labour

Your actual outcome:

Labour -16
Conservative -29
	Liberal Democrat 39
UK Independence Party -9
	Green 24

You should vote: Liberal Democrat

The LibDems take a strong stand against tax cuts and a strong one in favour of public services: they would make long-term residential care for the elderly free across the UK, and scrap university tuition fees. They are in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, but would relax laws on cannabis. They propose to change vehicle taxation to be based on usage rather than ownership.

Take the test at Who Should You Vote For