In her classic novel ‘Pride & Prejudice’, Jane Austen says of her two leading male protagonists (Mr Darcy & Mr Wickham) “There is but such a quantity of merit between them: just enough to make one good sort of man. One has all the goodness and the other all the appearance of it!” I can’t help thinking that Austen could be speaking of our two main political leaders: Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Of course, Austen has a third character, the slightly ridiculous Mr Collins who has the good fortune to marry the eminently sensible Charlotte Lucas and so ensure his elevation to become a peace-broker in the future. Sounds a little like the leading characters in the UK General Election 2010, doesn’t it? So I’ve decided to let an Austen-like approach decide how I’m going to vote on 6th May 2010.
Firstly, let me declare that I am one of the “floating voters” out there. Partially engaged (as I often have to write about policies) and partially disengaged (well…its all so boring, isn’t it?). One thing is clear. I will exercise my right to vote. As an immigrant I value this right the most – many Britons forget this very fundamental right to freedom, the democratic right to vote. You have to register by 20th April 2010 to vote so this leaves you about a week to get your act together.
25 days to the election
If I were voting today, I’d vote for the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg – genuine person, straight talking and friendly has the added advantage of a very sensible wife who has decided to focus on earning a crust rather than adding to his PR campaign – great stuff! Vince Cable would also make a great chancellor – well certainly better than Alistair Darling (current incumbent) and George Osborne (Shadow Chancellor). In the event of a hung parliament, Clegg may look to install Vince Cable as the Chancellor, although I’m not really sure how well this would work in practice.
Register to vote (closing date 20th April 2010):
http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register_to_vote/elections_2010.aspx