The May 7th Election Dilemma

When it comes to elections I've always been a keen supporter of the 'none of the above' candidate. I have, at different stages of my political evolution, voted with a spoilt ballot paper, Green, Labour. That was a long time ago, and even then it was more of 'vote Labour with no illusions' idea that was predeominant on the far Left. Later, when I started thinking rather than knee-jerking, I stopped voting for a long time simply because there was nobody that was even close.

More recently I voted for UKIP, but again it was more of a 'vote UKIP with no illusions' thing that is common with people pissed off with the other three. And so this time round I've got the same dilemma. But now, thanks to a stream of election leaflets from the Lib Dems I've made up my mind to sling my vote at one of the big three. You see, I would be inclined to go for the UKIP protest vote again - but I can't say this with any great joy. There's more that I like in UKIP then the others, but there's also a lot I don't like. But I live in the constituency of a Lib Dem cabinet minister - and thanks to his party's electioneering I now know that the polling shows it's a straigh race between the Tory and the Lib Dem.

And therefore I am now poised to do something I never imagined muself doing - come May 7th I will vote Conservative. Not through any great love for David Cameron or even the personal qualities of the Tory candidate. Nope, it's a simple vote to punish the Lib Dems, who are a poisonous presence. This is about a vote against their statism, there climate change mania, their pro-Europe stance, the anti-science idiocies of their energy policies and more. So, this time it's going to be 'vote Conservative with no illusions' for me.

Rochester's poop-powered BioBus

The people of Rochester, Kent, are today celebrating their newest contribution to the rest of the UK. They have announced a new Biobus - a vehicle completely powered by methane and human waste. Reporters were stunned by the arrival of the bus, which was preceded by the LibDem candidate losing his deposit after the party garnered less than 400 votes in the bye-election won by UKIP.

It is hoped that the Rochester example is followed in the rest of the country.

Douglas Carswell to UKIP

While it's a being seen as something of a coup for UKIP, the defection of Tory MP Douglas Carswell to the party might turn out not to be the unalloyed joy that supporters think it is. For one a set-back in the by-election will signal yet again that voters are not convinced that the party is fit for Westminster. More importantly Carswell represents a different beast to those that Nigel Farage prefers to surround himself with. If Carswell stays and does well, by winning his seat back for example, then he naturally becomes a counter-weight to the great leader himself...