Elections: then and now

In 1970 I was still in junior school, aged 9.

We'd had a labour government under Harold Wilson, seen the famous winter of discontent come and go, sat through electricity blackouts and witnessed the unions hold Westminster to ransom. This was in the days when British industry was still focussed on manufacturing, rather than services, and most people were relatively poor but happy. We'd had our dose of sleaze and excitiment a few years before, with Christine Keeler bringing down Harold Macmillan's conservative government: it must have caused a huge stir at the time because I had an awareness of it, even though I was so young.

In school, naturally, we had an election to engage the children in understanding the political process, and presumably create a desire to vote when they were older. Children were picked to represent each of the parties, so we had recognisable people to vote for, and they spoke up as to why they personally should be elected. I can remember sitting cross-legged in shorts on the wood block floor of the assembly hall while they were speaking, then going forward to cast my first ever vote. When it came to voting it seemed to me that the present labour government were a pretty useless bunch and the conservatives were dodgy too, so I voted Liberal.

As did literally 80% of the school.

Of course that didn't reflect the nation's voting pattern and Edward Heath became prime minister, for better or for worse (and a lot of people thought worse) allowing Wilson back in for a 3rd term in '74 and preparing the country for Margaret Thatcher in '79 who really set up the present situation, making greed and self-love national characteristics for the British people.

So I'm wondering right now, is this sudden swing toward Nick Clegg based out of the same set of attitudes we had in junior school: we don't like either of these choices but this party hasn't been given a chance in a long time. The answer I find myself seeing is YES, absolutely.

As an adult, looking at Lib Dem policies, I couldn't possibly vote for them (for one thing, the manifesto was never written with an expectation to for government). But I'm deeply unhappy about certain things, most especially a desire to increasingly secularise society, and the amoral attitudes they bring with them.

I don't have a vote, as a foreign national living in the UK, but I'm pretty sure my vote wouldn't go yellow if I could. Not that it will make much difference round here - Tony Baldry is conservative MP for North Oxon. and most people will likely return him. But whoever you are, don't just vote for a change in the 'bunch of crooks' up there like we did as school children: do look at party manifestos, party history and listen to what your local MP is saying and check it out with the things you know to be good and true and right.

Don't just vote for the sake of 'change'.