What we need is some political controversy

[liv]

So, can anyone explain to me why people are acting as if a Conservative majority at the upcoming election would be tantamount to the apocalypse? Misogynist ravings about Thatcher don't count as an argument for me, especially given that she hasn't had significant political power for twenty years.

In my opinion, Labour have made a lot of things worse since 1997. Not least causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq, which I really wish were a bigger issue in this election. And somehow, we have a discourse where any time someone criticizes Labour, they add the disclaimer "but of course, the Tories would have been far worse". To me this means that educated, engaged people who might otherwise be swing voters are essentially handing Labour a perpetual mandate, and that worries me.

I'm generally economically right wing and socially liberal, if that helps.

Comments

[liv]

Ooh, very good point. I think we should have more political discussions! But yeah, I am economically to the right of many of my friends, which is why I really like political-compass style political definitions rather than linear left to right framings. I do hope it's possible to disagree on the principles as well as the implementations without too much horrible drama, though!

Honestly I do think all the major parties are fairly close on economic policy; as I mentioned in another comment, any party is going to give us a mixed economy with an intermediate level of taxation and a decent social safety net, we're just arguing about the fine details. Against that background I prefer somewhat right-of-centre over somewhat left-of-centre, but I don't think (New) Labour's economics makes sense to anyone at all, no matter what their underlying principles.

But yes, economics is really complicated, so I'm as likely to be wrong in my views about how to achieve what I want, as in wanting the wrong things according to some people's principles.