FEATURE: UK Election Briefing

The UK election is days away and so City Hippy has put together a briefing for you.

We check out the three main prospects and the Green Party; we give you our take on each of them; we come off the fence and tell you who we will vote for and why; and ultimately we will provide you with our overall election analysis.

NOTE: This article represents the views of the author of the article only and not neccessarily all the writers in the City Hippy collective.

Labour
Labour's environmental and social justice activity suggests that as far as it gets them votes and does not upset the status quo Labour will act for the environment and for social justice. They seem to have become a self-serving party and seem to have forgotten to listen to the people.

A radical approach is needed to address a radical set of problems. Labour seems to hint at understanding this but ultimately does not offer a radical approach. They offer the bare minimum of activity as any centrist populist party would.

Conservatives
Overall they are probably a better bet than Labour for environmental and social justice issues if their campaigning rhetoric is anything to go by.

However, in reality, and based on past experience, the Tories are unlikely to sufficiently address environmental and social justice issues any more than Labour. These issues will more often than not conflict with the proven, exceedingly pro-business, Tory agenda.

Liberal Democrats
It is easy to be radical when you are not in power but we feel the Lib Dems would stay true to their core principles.

Would the Lib Dems be able to progress the issues that matter ie social justice and environmental concerns? We believe they would. Could they be any worse across the board than the big two? Doubtful.

They are more likely to dismantle some core elements of the status quo and that can only increase the likelihood for radical action.

The Green Party
As you would expect the Greens are completely on target across the board when it comes to the issues concerning the environment and social justice. Plus they have expanded their portfolio to cover all the key issues and are fast becoming an influential force. They continue to force the main parties to embrace Green issues.

We all know that they will not be forming the next government but if they got their first MP into Westminster that would be a monumental triumph and would herald a new era for British politics.

Who to vote for?
I have anguished long and hard over this decision. I have previously voted a mixture of Labour, Green and Lib Dem in the past.

I understand the need to think tactically. In my constituency Labour has a single digit majority. The tories are hot on their heels. The Lib Dems are not even pulling half of the Tories level of support. The Greens are on the ballot but unlikely to make a direct impact in this area.

I will not vote Labour to prevent the Tories getting in. I will not vote Tory as I see them winning this seat regardless. To be honest neither party is good enough in the long term and so I cannot bring myself to vote for either of them.

I estimate the anti-blair protest vote combined with the natural swing, of this mostly affluent seat, back to the right wing will see the Labour party ousted by the Tories in this seat.

Whilst I love the Green Party I would feel that a vote for them would be pointless in this constituency.

Decision time
I will therefore be voting for the Liberal Democrats as for them to push the third party into third place in this constituency would be a fantastic result.

They do indeed seem the only real alternative to the status quo supporting mainstream parties.

They are a party generally committed to the same core principles as me and so for me the Lib Dems represent the most radical party on the scene likely to gain more power.

They will continue to push ideological boundaries towards the space occupied by the Green party thus further forcing the mainstream to embrace the Green agenda.

For being brave enough to pull British politics over to the Green agenda the Lib Dems get my vote and endorsement.

Overall election prediction?
Ideally the Lib Dems or Greens (or a coalition of the two) would win a massive majority. Democracy in the UK would be radically altered for the better for ever more. I would party for sure!

The opposite of that ideal result would see the Tories win a large majority and the Lib Dems pushed further down into third place. That would be bad unless the Tories embraced the green issues they talk about. Not hopeful.

In reality Labour will win a historic third term with just enough of a slim majority, to form a shaky ergo more accountable government which will mean plenty of power-sharing.

The Tories will (re)gain some lost seats and the Lib Dems will gain the most, almost certainly proportionally more than the Tories, ultimately closing the gap between the big three.

If this scenario happens I would love to see a coalition between Labour and the Lib Dems...give the Lib Dems the environment and development portfolios and PR etc...that would be enough for me.

Either way the Lib Dems will come out of this election with sharper teeth and will use them at every occasion.

For further analysis of the major parties attitude to the environment click here to visit the BBC Election Environment special.

Find out who is standing in your constituency and who won what last time. Click here to find out what your current tactical position is from the BBC.

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