Well it's been a fascinating election - I was glued to the tv watching the results come in until about 4am this morning. I'd anticipated a Conservative win probably with a hung/minority parliament so I wasn't exactly surprised with the result.
On a personal note, I'm a bit disappointed that the Lib Dem hype didn't transfer into more votes, but I'm not surprised. I think that people tend to vote with tradition at general elections and go for the big parties.
Traditional Voting
Personally I'm surprised that the Conservatives didn't do better after 13 years of Labour government - clearly there isn't an overwhelming movement for Tory change, but with the largest share of the popular votes AND the most seats, they should have the benefit of trying to form a government. But I do believe in some form of electoral reform so that people who don't vote for either of the big parties don't permanently feel disenfranchised.
I also think that it is time for a change from Labour. Gordon Brown has come nowhere close to winning this election and I'm afraid that his sheer doggedness to hang on to power just isn't enough for him to remain as PM. The simple point is that he has never won an election in his own right either to be leader of the Labour Party or PM and I don't see any obvious successors in his cabinet. The Labour party seems to be tired and sadly I just think that Mr Brown doesn't have the popular appeal to generate the support to put the enthusiasm back into forming a new government.
I actually think that some of the actions of the Labour government have been very good - the introduction of the minimum wage, tax credits and other social changes have helped many families. But I think that they got it wrong with the proposed rise in National Insurance and Mr Brown's unwillingness to change his position doesn't show resolve, just a dogged intransigence which many of the electorate find frustrating and somewhat patronising.
Mr Clegg - a Once in a Generation Opportunity?
I understand that Mr Cameron has offered Mr Clegg "a comprehensive offer" and that Mr Brown has also made similar overtures. The simple point is that this may be the closest that the Lib Dems come to having political power in this generation. The reason I've voted Lib Dem over recent years is that I like the fact that they bring a different perspective to politics. It doesn't mean that I agree with all of their policies but the simple point is that under the existing "first past the post" system my vote and the vote of over 30% of the population who vote for the Lib Dems and the small parties simply never count. We are effectively disenfranchised and that can't be right in a democracy.
I know that proportional representation isn't a perfect system either but many major governments - such as Germany - have this system and seem to manage to run their countries perfectly well. Either way, I hope Mr Clegg uses this current opportunity to influence the result wisely as I suspect it might be the last time a Lib Dem leader is in such a powerful position for a long time. He and Cameron have the benefit of bringing in a new era in politics that could be good for our country and if the LibDems can convince the Tories to abandon some of their less popular policies, it could be very good for the country.
And Finally - A Bit of Green!
And finally, I was really pleased to see the Green Party win their first seat in Brighton. I think it's important that we have a voice in Parliament representing the concerns of the environment. I'm sure that Caroline Lucas will be an excellent constituency MP and will bring an important perspective into the Westminster "bubble". This is exactly the type of minority interest that we need in Parliament so that the 3 main parties - yes including the Lib Dems - are reminded that it isn't their personal battleground.
The next few days will be some of the most interesting in British politics for a long long time and it will be fascinating to see how things develop!
Have a great weekend
Marie