My (biased) take on: Voting & Brexit 📊

Conservative, Labour, Lib Dems, Green, UKIP, Brexit, SNP, Plaid Cymru.

With so many parties making different promises, it can be hard to know who to support. The aim of this blog is to inform you, my readers, on the policies of each of the main political parties standing in the General Election on 12th December 2019, so that you can make the right decision and help this shambles of a country get back on track.

Links are available for each party's full manifesto.

Scroll to the bottom for a quiz that will tell you which party you identify with most!

Conservatives (Tories)

Good old, racist 'Bojo' with his handy Brexit catchphrase!

Leader: Boris Johnson
This party is currently in power, and they are doing a mightily bad job at running the country - firstly, David Cameron called for the referendum that started this whole Brexit problem. Since the Tories have been in power, the UK has struggled with inflation, trade links, the NHS and education systems and policing.

Conservative Manifesto:

• Leave the EU
• Extra funding for NHS (amount not specified), with 50,000 more nurses
• 20,000 more police (this is an issues - Conservatives made 20,000 trained, experienced police offers redundant, and now want to hire 20,000 more... who are untrained, and will require a lot of funding...)
• An Australian-style points-based system to control immigration
• Pledge not to raise income tax or VAT

However, Jeremy Corbyn (leader of the Labour Party) exposed Boris Johnson's plan to sell the NHS to the USA, and his 400+ page document detailing these plans. Both Johnson and Trump deny this. Even though there is evidence. Go figure.

Also, in a live televised debate on climate change, Boris Johnson decided not to be present, and so was replaced by a block of slowly melting ice in the shape of the earth. I think that just about sums up how much the Conservatives care about saving the planet.

Labour

Jezza exposing Boris's plan to sell the NHS. Why do I feel like Jeremy cares about us more than any other political leader? Hmm.

Leader: Jeremy Corbyn

The Labour Party have inspired controversy, with allegations of anti-Semitism, but Corbyn has recently apologised for this. I can't help but feel that the media hate Jeremy, and neglect all the positive things he has done - at age 18 he was campaigning against racism whilst Boris was burning £20 notes in front of homeless people.

Labour Manifesto:

• Have another Brexit referendum, a final say on whether we leave or not
• Free broadband for everyone (initially I thought this was a stupid idea, as there are more important things that require funding, such as the NHS and policing. However, Corbyn explained that providing broadband for every household will be a step towards minimising the inequality between rich and poor people, which is something that he feels very strongly about)
• A referendum for the public to have a final say on Brexit (politicians have argued that having another referendum makes the government look weak, but I think it's sensible to ask the general public again whether they want to leave, now that we know how hard it is and what it entails)
• Scrap tuition fees
• Scrap zero-hour contracts
• Raise the minimum wage to £10 (Labour introduced the minimum wage in the first place, in 1999)
• Start a 'green industrial revolution'

Labour's spending plans, however, are much higher than that of the Conservatives. In the past, Labour have pushed our country into debt in the past; but I believe that if we have a referendum we won't leave the EU, and so other countries will lend us money if necessary.

Liberal Democrats

Jo Swinson, whose top is probably brighter than our future will ever be.

Leader: Jo Swinson

The rational party. Lib Dems want to stop Brexit, and also have a realistic spending plan. However, it is unlikely that this party will win overall - but if you vote for Lib Dems, your vote is definitely not wasted, as they may succeed as your local party.

Lib Dem Manifesto:

• Stop Brexit, AND invest the £50B Remain Bonus in public services and tackling inequality
• Provide free child-care from 9 months
• Recruit 20,000 more teachers, as part of an extra £10B per annum for schools
• Support for pensioners
• Prioritise mental health services
• Legalise cannabis (a risky move)
• Reduce use of plastics, and promote recycling
• Fairer taxes - 'We will make sure that big businesses pay their fair share, support small- and medium-sized enterprises and ensure that income earned from wealth is less privileged in the taxation system'

These all seem like pretty standard policies. However, Lib Dems became a little more unpopular when former Liberal Democrats leader, Nick Clegg, pledged not to raise tuition fees, and then raised them. From £9,000 to £9250.

People have recently questioned the need for tuition fees, as (a) universities used to be free, and (b) they still are in Scotland if you are a Scottish resident.

Also, the legalisation of cannabis has caused an uproar - Lib Dems argue that legalising it will lead to a decrease in youth crime related to it, but some people aren't convinced.

Green Party

The Green Party living up to their name

Leaders: Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley
The Green Party's main focus is saving the planet - and although this is extremely important, there are other things that are underfunded, like education and policing systems.

Green Manifesto:

• Stay in the EU
• By 2030, make sure that electricity is sourced naturally, i.e. from the wind, sea and sun
• Have electric cars and transport (to minimise pollution)
• Build more homes, with better insulation so that energy is not wasted
• Legalise certain drugs (similarly to the Lib Dems, 'in order to stop them being sold by violent criminals')
• Make businesses pay their fair share of taxes

Like the Lib Dems, the Green Party are unlikely to get many seats in Parliament - however, the more votes that this party gets, the more other parties will be aware of the changes that the public want regarding the climate crisis.

UKIP (UK Independence Party)

I sense Capitalism...

Leader: Richard Braine
There isn't really much to say about UKIP.

UKIP Manifesto:

• Deliver a 'clean-break' Brexit (catchy but not very practical)
• End mass immigration (are UKIP racist? Well, that's a whole other conversation...) (Note that there aren't any coloured UKIP candidates)
• Scrap the BBC license fee
• Put the NHS before foreign aid

No further comment from me.

Brexit Party

This was literally the best picture I could find

Leader: Nigel Farage (former UKIP leader)
The Brexit Party, like UKIP, want a 'clean-break' Brexit. Farage claims that his promises are 'deliverable' but, honestly, I wouldn't count on it.

Brexit Party Manifesto:

• Leave the EU, with no-deal
• Cancel HS2 (which is, essentially, a Big Train™)
• Invest in digital infrastructure - provide free broadband in deprived regions and free Wi-Fi on all public transport
• Scrap interest on student loans

Overall, the policies of the Brexit Party seem fairly reasonable. But a no-deal Brexit would be chaotic and detrimental for the UK, which is the last thing we want. 

Scottish National Party: SNP

Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the SNP, who want Scottish independence

Leader: Nicola Sturgeon
Now, I'm not Scottish, but I know that Scotland are doing very well under Sturgeon's government - the SNP have been in power since 2007.
If you are a Scottish resident at a Scottish university, you don't have to pay tuition fees. Mad. Scotland also wins at travel costs, healthcare costs and state benefits.

SNP Manifesto is linked here.

Plaid Cymru (Wales)

Party of Wales/Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price

Leader: Adam Price
I won't pretend to know anything about the Welsh party, but what I DO know is that Price is the first openly gay leader of a major UK political party! Diversity, at long last!

Here is a link to the Plaid Cymru Manifesto.

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Wow, that was a lot of information to take in. Let me know if this has helped you make an informed decision on who to vote for, or whether it has confused you even more about where you stand.

Whoever you vote for, make sure you USE YOUR VOTE. Us young people need to exercise our privileges, before they're taken away form us.

- R

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https://uk.isidewith.com/political-quiz