UK Election: Still Rubbish.

On May 7th (7/5/15) the UK will go to the polls in a General Election. For the first time we have known the date of this election long in advance following the introduction of the 2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act. So the election campaign really began the day after the act was passed and Sky News in particular have been covering it relentlessly, at the expense of all other news, since the start of 2015.

The problem is that with campaigning replacing actual politics the level of political discussion in the UK at the moment is practically nil so people have really had to struggle to find things to fill their endless hours of election coverage. One of the most widely used element of this padding recently has been rumours of a secret election deal between the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP). This is simply a scare story dreamt up by the Conservative Party.

Primarily it is intended to target English voters who may be wavering between voting Conservative or Labour to vote Conservative in order to keep the SNP out. However it is also intended to target Scottish voters who may be wavering between voting Labour or the SNP. By making it appear as though the SNP are the Conservatives worst nightmare the intention is to trick Scottish voters into voting for the SNP over Labour. In the first instance this will reduce the number of people voting Labour damaging their chances of forming a majority government.

However in the second instance a strong showing by the SNP will help increase support for the Conservatives call for an English Parliament. The Conservatives simply don't win in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but do stand a chance in England. So by introducing an English Parliament the Conservatives will be able to exclude all the voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in order to maintain a permanent majority in England while the SNP secure a permenant majority in the Scottish Parliament. It is of course England that generates the money that subsidises Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and it is with money that real power lies.

So the only secret election pact is actually between the Conservatives and the SNP. 

11:45 on 23/4/15 (UK date).