Green Party's (radical) policies

[Jeneral2885]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/11368244/British-army-to-be-replaced-by-home-defence-force-if-Greens-win-power-in-May.html

Army to be Home Defence Force

No nuclear weapons

Remove border controls, let immigrants in

[forest444]

1. Save for their immigration policy (which seems unrealistic), that's my kind of platform.

My only real misgivings regarding Britain's Greens, is that they may divide the progressive vote just enough to give Drunken Dave another 5 years at 10 Downing Street.

Should such a thing happen, you can sure Cameron will do whatever he thinks he needs to in order to bring UKIP voters back into the Tory fold - and that can only mean taking a hard right turn (particularly on immigration).

Here's hoping for a positive change come May.

[mwooldri]

2. Depends on how dead the LibDems are.

I see the Greens retaining Brighton and Hove, but where else I have no idea.

It's the death of the LibDems that will have some role in determining the outcome of the election. There's also not that many seats with a true three-party race and there's a lot of strategic voting in most two party races - LibDems voting Labour in Con/Lab races, Labour voting LibDem in LD/Con races, and Conservatives voting LibDem in Lab/LD races.

The "spoilers" will be UKIP, the Greens and other small parties who may manage to get enough share of the vote in a race or two to get some media attention.

In my home constituency of Guildford, my prediction is that Anne Milton - presuming she stands again - will win a bigger majority. The LibDem vote has collapsed in the area. True liberals will come out and vote LibDem, those who want to 'stick it to the man' will vote UKIP in protest, and those who would have voted LibDem but can't in good conscience cast a vote for either the Tories or UKIP will most likely stay away from the polls. I suppose if the Greens got a right-leaning candidate they could challenge the Tories locally as there are a large number of NIMBYs who are opposed to new green belt development proposals being put through locally.

In neighbouring Surrey Heath I see this race as Tories vs UKIP - again on the complete collapse of the LibDem vote. With this race, and I can say Guildford too, I think it would be Conservative holds, UKIP in 2nd place, the LibDems in 3rd - maybe even losing their deposit. 2020 should return to Conservative 1st, Liberal Democrats 2nd, UKIP losing their deposit.

I don't know how this election will turn out at all. I'm hoping for a Labour win overall, and hoping Labour can have enough votes in England to pass English legislation without having to get non-English MPs to vote on English laws. It'd be embarrassing for Labour to have the majority of seats on a UK-wide basis but not in England. If the 2010 election was England only, it would have been a Conservative majority with no need for a coalition.

[forest444]

3. Thank you for that, mwooldri!

I can imagine that the rise of UKIP and the Greens has complicated life for the Swingometer-meisters a damn slight. With that in mind, I look forward to having you there to guide us Yanks through the subtleties of Britain's electoral map as May approaches. All the best.

[Jeneral2885]

5. you don't want

a British Army?

[Starboard Tack]

4. Sounds like she is on the right track

Doubt that she will win, but I might vote for her.

[T_i_B]

6. Green Party defence policy is to be really annoying

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/green-party-defence-policy-is-to-be-really-annoying-2015012694760

A Green Party spokesman said: “We’ve found that people go to great lengths to avoid talking to us, so why not deploy that against threats to national security?

“Let’s say the Russians land at Portsmouth. We would immediately despatch our most devoted sexless windbags in a fleet of battery 2CVs and Renault 5s with ‘Ban Battery Farming’ stickers.

“They would engage the invaders in seemingly endless conversation about recycling and sandals unless they either see the error of their destructive ways or simply get bored and leave.

“A few hundred men who look like Michael Rosen banging on about composting and electric cars would be sufficient to have any hostile military mumbling excuses about a having a dental appointment.”

[Jeneral2885]

7. I see

those who have responded want a homeland defence force instead of a British Army.