The general election is just round the corner and it's chance for the British public to cast their votes to decide who will be the next Prime Minister. Only a few weeks ago I was thinking I wasn't going to bother to vote but now I'll be voting Liberal Democrats and this post will explain why. If you're going to vote Lib Dems then great. If you're reading this and are undecided, hopefully I might convince you to vote Lib Dems. If you're going to vote for another party or independent then fair enough but why not keep reading?...

In the past I've always thought I liked the Lib Dems although, not being able to vote, I never really paid too much attention to politics. This time round I can vote but was thinking about not bothering. The UK has been a two party country for decades, Labour and Conservatives.

Gordon Brown - Labour

I wasn't going to vote because I cannot stand Gordon (Gormless as my Dad always calls him) Brown. Gordon Brown is an unelected Prime Minister who isn't a leader. He doesn't have the presence of someone who should be leading the country. If you've ever seen him talk you'll know he doesn't keep you listening. Nothing like Obama unfortunately. That aside I think he is one of the major factors to why the UK has been affect by this recession harder than other countries. Previously as the Chancellor of the Exchequer he should really have seen this coming. Some say he allowed the banks to keep borrowing. The Labour party do have good policies and ideas but Brown isn't the one to make them a reality. He has been in power for a few years now, he's had his chance to prove himself but hasn't.

David Cameron - Conservatives

Gordon Brown's opposition in the Conservative party is David Cameron. He's worse than Brown! There's something about him I cannot abid. He's such a pompous arse. Really, he grinds my gears. As a comedian said (I can't for the life of my remember who), something along the lines of "the confidence of someone who's never been punched". He's never lived in the real world, privileged from the start. Unfortunately, a lot of politicians are like this which is a shame. He feels he can communicate with us by saying "I met a... " followed by a minority group. That's just Cameron. The Conservatives, while they might use the slogan "Vote For Change", they themselves never change. They always favour the rich few and that doesn't suit me. I'm not one of those, and if I was I still wouldn't vote for them because it isn't right.

Other Options...

There are other parties and independents to vote for but in my area the only other two parties that field candidates are the Lib Dems and the BNP. I am definitely not going to vote BNP. They might want to put British people first which is how it should be in Britain but it's a party that clearly insights racism. The leader of the BNP, Nick Griffin, is far worse then all of Brown's and Cameron's bad qualities (yeah they do have some good qualities) put together. 

Nick Clegg - Liberal Democrats

The options I am left with are a no vote or Liberal Democrats. Every election people claim a vote for Lib Dems is a wasted vote and it seemingly has been. However, I don't believe this. Every vote counts... well in regional representation it might not work exactly that way but it still counts. Politics is a slow process but if you vote for what you believe in you'll be sending a message to everyone and in particular those who thought like you but didn't vote because they thought it was a wasted vote. If the party you supports gets a increase in votes then people might be encouraged to follow.

So the Liberal Democrats. Why am I going to put my X in their box? Simply I agree with them and their policies. And, I like Nick Clegg. He is one of the few likeable characters in politics. In the first ever televised pre-election debate between the to three parties he came out of the starting blocks and showed the country Labour and Conservatives aren't the only options. To me he looks like he will, if elected, get right in there on the world stage to stick up for the UK. Nick Clegg, like Cameron, is someone who has been privileged too. With Clegg I feel he actually wants to change things and not just be a career politician. If that was the case I don't think he'd have joined the third party. It seems as though he really wants to make a change for the better and that's why I like him. 

Liberal Democrats' Policies

It's not really just the person I'm voting for. The policies are the most important part. I'm going to outline some of the Lib Dems' policies and why I agree with them.

Europe

The Lib Dems are pro-europe. They want to be apart of Europe and possibly the Euro (but they promise there will be a referendum). So many British people don't like the idea of being part of Europe or the Euro. I don't particularly want to have the Euro myself. However, we are part of Europe and that really cannot be changed without completely detaching ourselves. That way will be nothing but bad for the UK as most of our trade is with the Euro zone and we'll lose so much of that. We are part of it and we should make the most of it. We should be in there at the deep end making sure we get what the country wants instead of being on the sidelines and being bossed around. This is something Nick Clegg argued in the first leaders debate and I totally agree with it. We should be getting all we can out of Europe and that's not going to happen without being actively involved.

Trident

Trident is the British nuclear deterrent. It's a system that was made for post-cold war era. Since then the world has changed. It is coming time for trident to be renewed or replaced. Today, the biggest threat to the UK is from terrorist groups. Would these be deterred by a trident? I don't think so. How could the UK fired nuclear missiles at a threat that has no one home or base? It wouldn't be able to. To that affect trident isn't what's needed these days. The Lib Dems oppose commiting to renew trident now when the world is ever changing and there's still life in the system. This life gives time to decide on the best alternative. Maybe there isn't a valid alternative but it still needs discussing before committing to anything.

Economy and Environment

The Lib Dems policies around the economy and environment overlap somewhat so I've put them together too.

The UK, like much of the Western world, is in a recession. People say that it we're coming out of it but it'll be a long process. The cause of the recession were "The Banks" who did much foolish lending and made billions of Pounds. They made money, then lost the money of others and the UK tax payer has to foot the bill. The Lib Dems propose to tax the banks more so that they pay back the tax payer and as insurance in case they mess up again. Banks do generate much wealth for the UK but really that wealth is kept within a very small group of people. All that wealth is created from the people of the UK (and the rest of the world since banks are so multi-national) so it's only fair, in a society such as ours, that some of that money goes back into the country to make it better and at the moment not enough does. So the Lib Dems' tax would help put more money into the economy to help it grow.

The Lib Dems also want to invest in green industry. Not only will this help the economy but hopefully target climate change. Their plans include harnessing wind, wave and solar power to decentralise the power grid which is great for jobs around the country. Also, not to scaremonger, a decentralised grid would make a terrorist attack on the UK's infrastructure much less damaging if one was to happen. They do not support nuclear power stations. Nuclear does seem like a good answer to our rising power consumption but there are many down sides to nuclear, so if viable alternatives (they do exist) then that's the way to go. Something else they want to do is try to reduce the power we use in our homes (with proper insulation as an example) which would reduce the need for more power plants.

Another up side to decentralising and using our own natural energy is that we as a nation we become less reliant on power coming from other countries. And, moreover should prevent dramatic price fluctuation due to global demand.

So to sum up why I'll be voting Liberal Democrats. I like Nick. I cannot stand Gordon or Cameron. I agree with more of their policies than the other parties. It's simple really. Oh, and I placed a £10 bet at 100 to 1 that they'll get most seats. Fingers crossed.