General election campaigning begins as MPs back June poll - BBC News MP's overwhelmingly backed Theresa May's call for an early General Election on 8th June. How would you vote? If you are not in the UK feel free to comment (vote if you wish).
If I could vote, I would vote Labour (but of course, I have to wait for a bit ). Sadly, not many people like Jeremy Corbyn (too left wing, supposedly) and I think that the Tories will just clean up everywhere. The Lib Dems might even overtake Labour at this rate!
It's funny, I don't know anything about your politics at all, though I really like your country. Whatever the result of the election is, I wish for peace between the parties and that you can debate with respect. That is the most important thing.
I think having it so soon is a bad idea, it should be September or October. Nobody has a chance to think it through, the parties have so little time to campaign. I think May wants out of power, to be voted in or for someone else to take the fall for post-Brexit Britain. I think I will vote labour, I don't really care this is my first general election!
Personally views are closer to Green or Socialist, but would vote Labour because it's a lot more likely for that left-wing party to win. Am glad this election is rolling around, might be able to kick out the Tories!
Okay so I'm willing to admit that I don't know why the election is going to be held 3 years early but given the state of politics right now, there is a need for it! I can even understand the disillusionment people feel because there has been so many errors made under Labours power so tories were given a chance. But I would still vote for Labour because it's clear that bigger problems are being created. Whilst in power, the conservatives have been responsible for anything from raising extortionate tuition fees to Britain leaving the EU so how is that a good thing?
If I could vote... Whoever has the best chances at winning against the (Tory) MP here. It's not even his party, I just don't like him. So, a tactical vote, I guess...
I'd probably vote LibDem in this case. A lot of my Bernie friends here in the States are worshipping Jeremy Corbyn. Meanwhile, an article I read about the election shows the Labor Party is headed for its worst loss since 1918 because of him, and his ego prevents him from resigning.
Because there's no preference system, I would definitely vote tactically. It would depend on which sort of candidate available and which two parties are most competitive. I would prefer to vote for the Liberal Democrats, because at least one opposition party needs a coherent narrative like they do and their stance on the EU is entirely rational in picking up votes of those who believe globalisation is good and that the EU is a tool for it. I would vote for a moderate Conservative likely to support May, help her control the ultras and soften the terms of Brexit. I think it's important for an inevitable Conservative government to have a strong liberal-democratic and Christian-democratic strain rather than a nativist backlash against Europe. I would only vote for Labour if the candidate were a centrist, opposed to Corbyn and likely to back returning the party rules to prevent overly accessible popular election of the leadership, as it did before the changes which led to this Corbyn debacle. Regardless of the fact that I genuinely do not dislike May's government, I worry that the decimation of Britain's other governing party would unacceptably diminish accountability.
It's less about his ego, and more about the media's lack of support for him. It's the lack of media support (because his left-wing ideals don't suit Rupert Murdoch's wishes) that has lead to a lack of public support and the Tories' lead.
The Conservative Party under David Cameron that gave us a referendum of EU membership, but it was the electorate that voted us to leave. I think I'm right in saying Corbyn made a mess of campaigning for Remain and he didn't get off his backside until it was way too late. BTW, anyone else think Corbyn looks like Obi Wan Kenobi from the first Star Wars film?
Just to note something important I think the French Elections will have considerable influence on the UK Elections. With yesterday's Paris bomb blast, it has become more favourable to choose Marine Le Penn but they should not. Theresa May thinks she can pull off a snap election when the country is going through a confusing time similar to Churchill and Thatcher. The Labour has no hope, they're lacking candidates who want to contest elections and are still in the phase of convincing candidates which is not good. They're advertising on twitter for candidates. I agree with an above member who said she got the timing pretty spot on. She has left everyone surprised and that is favouring the Tories. She is most probably winning it easily unless Corbyn puts up a good fight whose history with elections doesn't give me hope.
I can't vote, but if I could I would be very tempted to vote Tory because my local Tory MP/candidate is a nice, genuine guy who does lots of good in our constituency. I'm not entirely sure though. I definitely wouldn't vote Lib Dem because Tim Farron is a right old git, but I wouldn't totally rule out voting Labour.
I think you're being too generous to Corbyn about why the public isn't keen on him. Corbyn can't hold ground on any issue he doesn't feel passionate about, his positions on foreign policy and the nuclear deterrent are at odds with most of his backbenchers, which shows him to lack all meaningful authority. He led a lacklustre opposition to Brexit and his current positions are still both weak and contradictory to the values he is meant to espouse. He idolises authoritarian socialists and his calls for enormous government borrowing reminds older voters of the scarring economic experiences of a hard-left Labour Party. On top of that, the Conservatives' decision to refashion their image into a party of diversified prosperity and country values means a lot of working class voters feel comfortable with May as their champion. May's doesn't feel like a government of toffs, which is where a lot of working class angst about Tories comes from. It is hard for the media to take seriously a man who calls an emergency anti-Brexit rally, fails to turn up while he simultaneously encourages his party to vote to trigger Article 50. That confusion in this election, which is almost certainly going to be largely focused on Brexit, is enough to make his party seem divided and him to seem inept. His inability to control his party or show himself as a more effective champion of working values than May will lead to a crushing defeat. Economic leadership matters to voters. Corbyn doesn't know how to create that confidence. He should recognise that. He has clearly been told that by many others. If Labour is to survive and pose serious competition in 2022, he must resign after this election.
Your points are very valid. However, I dispute that May's Tories are much different to previous Conservative governments. They still refuse to impose greater taxes on th rich, which would help offset many of the country's funding problems (education, the NHS, etc.) I personally lean more towards being on Corbyn's side because I come from a working-class family, who have voted Labour since Thatcher (I'm from Liverpool, so there's another reason). Still, it's good to have civilised political debate. On a related note, early EC polls indicate a narrow Labour lead (based on about 10 people )
I don't think Labour stand a chance because so many people do not want Corbyn as Prime Minister. With his popularity being so low I think Theresa May has jumped at the opportunity to get voted PM.
This is amazing to me in the US since our elections occur in fixed time spans and I don't know if we have any way of changing the scheduled time span so dramatically. I'm also surprised the vote would be so soon, although maybe more time would just allow for more angry debate that wouldn't change anyone's opinion and suck to endure if it's anything like election season in the US with non-stop deceiving TV ads. I would love to shorten trump's term and have a new election this June!!
I think the conservatives should remain in power, and get us out of the mess they put us in in the first place. Labour has no chance, Corbyn has too many enemies in his own party and other Labour followers. It's not really the best time for loyalty and allegiance to one's party, but to vote for someone who will get us the best deal.