As the 7th May looms over our politicians much like the big grey clouds we’re all too familiar with here in the UK, the best bits of each party’s manifesto are being rolled out in order to grab our attention. Only, I feel like those grey clouds are going to have a bit more of a predictable outcome than the general election.
We have precisely four weeks until the day when we’re required to trundle down to our local polling station in order to play our part in deciding how our country is run for the next few years. The big question is, have you decided who you are going to vote for?
I’ll tell you the truth – I haven’t.
As the campaign unfolds it only seems to become more and confusing. Last week we saw the live TV debate unfold between seven of the party leaders, which didn’t really unveil anything more than what we already knew – but it did give us an idea of the new political era we may be entering. Not all that long ago we were complaining about how we were limited by the two-party politics that dominated Parliament. But after the Cameron-Clegg stint, we seem to have made a breakthrough and are now almost spoilt for choice.
So what do we have so far?
Labour and the Conservatives are almost levelling in terms of support – Labour leading slightly according to the most recent opinion polls – and with every policy one side brings out, the other immediately counters it.
Farage was of course his controversial self. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of UKIP. But I am a big fan of Nigel’s bluntness. Of course, this is why he is so popular. Brutal, blunt, brash. No wrapping his policies in a layer of carefully thought out political waffle. Despite the TV debate offering very little in the way of defining moments (there were no gaffes, no surprises), Nige kept true to his manner of making risky statements. This time it was about foreign nationals with HIV draining the system for their care, and in typical UKIP fashion, stating “We have to look after our own people first.” His comments have traction – but they tend to come across with more than a hint of nationalism, and dare I say, racism.
Clegg is desperately trying to fight a losing battle. But the debate showed that the Lib Dems are realising they need a little bit more bite; some of the strongest remarks were exchanged between Nick Clegg and David Cameron, and later with Ed Miliband, pulling Labour up on “crashing the economy.”
As much as I wish I didn’t have to band the women together into one group, the general message from Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Greens was one of anti-austerity, each offering a different approach to dealing with our economy.
In all honesty, it’s not surprising that I’m one of the many undecided voters here. But with four weeks to go, someone has the opportunity to really clinch the deal. I can only hope that we see a little more fight from our party leaders. Someone make a scene. I’m excited to see where we end up – could this be the year of the ‘patchwork quilt coalition’?
More importantly, who are YOU voting for?
NJW 