UK goes to polls facing uncertain result

| 07/05/2015 | 33 Comments

UK polling station(CNS): The British people are casting their votes today in the most unpredictable general election in modern times. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, and Ed Miliband’s Labour were neck and neck when the polling stations opened Thursday. Neither one of the major parties will get enough votes to win a majority of the 650 seats in the UK parliament so another coalition is the most likely outcome.  

The performance of the current coalition partners, the Liberal democrats led by Nick Clegg, the right wing anti-Euro and anti-foreign party UKIP, the Greens as well as the Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties will be vitally important as one or several of them will be the kingmakers.

Whatever administration takes shape after the full results are in by Friday morning will impact the territories, including the Cayman Islands.

A lurch to the right with a Conservative-UKIP coalition could see limitations placed on migration and a tighter hand on the UK’s former colonies, while a Labour coalition with the regional parties and the Greens would be more likely to pursue tighter policies regarding the offshore tax havens among its dependencies and follow through on demands for an open register for beneficial ownership.

A total of 650 members of Parliament will be elected by up to 50 million registered voters England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Turnout was just 65% at the 2010 poll.

Party leaders were at the polls early Thursday morning casting their own votes before they hunker down and awaiting the count. Conservative Party leader David Cameron voted in Oxfordshire, while Ed Miliband of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats’ Nick Clegg both cast their ballots in South Yorkshire. Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, voted in Glasgow, Scotland; Natalie Bennett of the Green Party cast her vote in London’s Kings Cross area; and Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party voted in Kent.

David Cameron is unlikely to have the numbers to remain in Downing Street even if the the Conservatives win the most votes or more seats than Labour. Only UKIP is certain to support a Tory administration, as the Liberal Democrats’ experience as the Conservative junior partner has not been a pleasant one for Nick Clegg, who at the eleventh hour of the campaign regained some ground. He may choose to support a Labour government, which the Greens will also support.

Both the Scottish and Welsh nationalists will support only Labour. The SNP is expected to sweep the board in Scotland as voters turn their backs on Westminster, despite the referendum last year narrowly keeping Scotland in the UK.

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  1. Amazed by the (obviously) English folks in the room condemning Scotland for being too nationalistic, while at the same time uplifting England (Conservatives / Cameron). The Conservatives won in great part thanks to nationalism as they are the anti-European party of the headliners.

    *Awesome the way people enforce their own stereotypes without even realising.

    Carry on though – this is all most entertaining.

    • Sandboy says:

      Hmm, Obviously still having trouble with the big words aren’t we.

      SNP stands for Scottish Nationalist Party, what part of that is confusing for you?
      Oh yes, and Conservative Unionist Party, still not getting it?
      Okay, let’s try this one, United Kingdom Independence Party?
      It’s really not that difficult to work out when you can read and understand the political parties names.
      The English are actually quite unconcerned with Scotland’s newly discovered confidence. After all, only 1.45 million of a 66 million population voted SNP, hardly a Scottish invasion of England. UKIP had nearly 4million voters, (now pay attention, these are the ones that want immediate European withdrawal).
      The reality being that the English just don’t want to pay for the SNP’s socialist ideas that want to divide our nation, leave it defenceless and impose high taxation on all, especially wealth creators. This is possibly the second of two reasons why the Tories gained a majority, to stop a minority Labour government being held hostage by the SNP.

      Anti European Union is not the same as anti Europe, the two are quite separate. UKIP is the only UK party advocating unequivocal withdrawal from the EU and its army of unelected bureaucrats who have interfered for far too long in British sovereign legislation. But it has never wanted a withdrawal from a common trading bloc, (a common market) nor does it want to break up military and diplomatic alliances.

      The British people are entitled to a referendum on these matters considering that the last vote was for membership of the Common Market, not a Federal European super state. For too long arrogant UK politicians and EU bureaucrats have denied them a democratic choice, Cameron offered the choice and theyre going to take it.
      Cameron whilst clear that he wants that vote, is also clear that he doesn’t want to leave the EU unless they deny the restructuring of some EU treaties, notably unregulated EU migration, the CAP and CFP.
      The EU is also in the brink of a humanitarian crisis originating in Africa and the Middle East. The British are looking at the numbers of refugees heading across the Mediterranean nervously, knowing that huge numbers are heading for the UK through Europes open borders. This is unsustainable and cruel, Europe needs to do more to stop this massive movement of people before it becomes a civil and social issue in many countries, not just the UK.

      This isn’t nationalism you fool, it is the right of self determination through democracy. A matter that is never far from your own isolationist and nationalist diatribes. Although, whilst the UK will gladly offer you a referendum on independence, you can’t raise the numbers to warrant one.

      The Tories were the only party to offer this generational opportunity, and the British people obviously want to take them up on it. Labour and the Lib Dems were stupid not to recognise this as a potential vote loser and deserve the beating they got for not listening to the British people.
      The UK has, and will always be at the heart of Europe, (millions of our people died defending and liberating it) we are proud of our history and our long standing alliances with mainland European countries. But that doesn’t mean that we should deny our people the choice of a referendum.

      Nationalism is very different from National Pride. The UK and her allies fought against nazism, otherwise known as National Socialism, so we are more than aware of the difference. Nationalists blame everyone else for their own predicament and use falsehoods, intimidation and propaganda to reinforce their impotency, (ring any bells?). National Pride means standing up for your nations culture, history and people, using democracy and equality to provide a choice whilst projecting a positive national image.

      The English don’t need lessons in identifying the poison and brutality of nationalists. Nor do we look upon the one party state as a model of democracy. The point being that at 50% of Scots are not nationalist voters, it’s a shame that this number is not reflected in parliamentary seats.

      The only stereo type being reinforced here is the one of a little islander who attempts to comment on world events having less than the required intelligence to assimilate and understand the information provided.
      Whilst I’m not concerned with trying to educate pork, I think it is right that others don’t take your poison pen letters as factual comment.

      Carry on though, this is most entertaining.

      • O … M … G!?
        Are you serious buddy? I hope you returned to this thread and were thoroughly embarrassed. Get over yourself!

        Btw, had David Cameron not meddled in the affairs of the Middle East and most crucially, North Africa (Libya / Gadaffi), Europe would not be facing this “humanitarian crisis” at the moment. The UK played a lead role in creating the mess therefore it is only right that it faces and absorbs the consequences.

        (I guess there is a high price for that long-term seize of a major oil supplier after all eh?)

        Anyway, that’s the only bit of your comment that meant anything to me. The UK political party system and recent results don’t stand for much – after all, the country is led by a party that secured just over 1/3 of the votes.

        Feel free to submit another dissertation though … bored on a Sunday.

        • Sandboy says:

          My pleasure.
          Libya may be one of the ports of exit for refugees, but it is by no means the only one. And it certainly isn’t Libyans who are making up the numbers fleeing Africa, they predominantly come from the Sudan, Ethiopia and sub Saharan Africa. But if you had done your homework, or if you had witnessed this influx you would have known that.

          Refugees have been at the mercy of people smugglers for decades. They ply their evil trade through every North African country and increasingly through Turkey and onto Greece. To claim that one country’s problems have exacerbated the refugee crisis is to demonstrate total ignorance on the subject.
          Of course relieving Gadaffi of Libya hasn’t panned out well, but what was the alternative when he threatened to annihilate Bengazi and everyone in it. Should we have stood by and watched mass murder by another crazed dictator? This was one disgusting venture too far, especially for the British who had watched for decades as he armed and financially supported the IRA. And keep in mind that the UK and France only gave limited support to the Libyan people on the ground who were already at war with Gadaffi in any case.
          If the war was really about oil, then where is it, why didn’t we just seize all the oil fields and defend them. Why does Europe rely on Russian oil so much?
          Your assumption that Libya and the plight of Middle Eastern refugees are purely connected through the Libyan war is also wrong. Most of those coming from the Middle East are Syrians fleeing Assad and IS, and contrary to your assertion, we didn’t get involved there thanks to the weakness of our opposition politicians.
          The only Middle eastern conflict that most people agree was a mistake was Iraq. But even then, if we hadn’t dealt with Saddam then, we would certainly have had to deal with him later.

          I always find it entertaining when someone like you makes accusations and poison commentary based upon online news feeds. Unlike you, I have experienced these subjects that you claim to speak so authoritatively on, I have served there and I do see the humanitarian disaster unfolding on Europes door step. But to try and package it all up into some simplistic, uninformed diatribe speaks more of your lack of understanding and limited knowledge, so it is you who should feel embarrassed.

          As for the election vote share, well that just confirms your stupidity. A third wouldn’t be that impressive if it were based on just three parties, but of course it wasn’t, it was based on many. So when the third largest party is put there by only 1.45 million voters and 56 MP’s, then the winning third is very significant indeed, especially when the next largest party has 98 parliamentary seats less than the winner.
          But yours is the kind of assessment that a little islander would make when all he has to do is count his MLA’s on one hand.

          So sad you’re bored on a Sunday, you must lead a terribly miserable existence, if your twisted comments are anything to go by.

          • 1.) Gaddafi was a superpower. Remove a superpower and there is a guarantee of the anarchy we are now witnessing. (Interesting how the French and British political and military entities failed to foresee isn’t it? Or did they?) *Also, at no point did I imply Libyans make up the numbers of the fleeing immigrants (or “expats” if any are white and western, lol!) – 18,000 of which have drowned since January 2015 by the way – so please do not make up issues and proceed to elaborate upon.

            2.) You’ve been quite busy with copying and pasting those same UK election statistics all over CNS as of late. Talk about a miserable existence.

            3.) Lastly, where do you live right now, and why?

            • *Correction: 1,800.

              • Sandboy says:

                Gadaffi wasn’t a superpower, where on earth did you get that garbage from? He was a lunatic, tyrannical dictator who murdered anyone who opposed his messianic view of one state, one leader politics, just as Hiltler did. Or do you think we should have ignored his racist, anti Semitic and extermination policies?
                What kind of idiot are you?
                You may not have directly said that all refugees were Libyan, but by connecting mass migration with civil war in Libya you tried to blame the UK and France for the current problem. The truth is that Libya has always been an exit for migrants, Gadaffi just killed them on route or in territorial waters before they came to the attention of European authorities. He murdered anyone who tried to flee his secret police or borders.
                That’s what psychopaths do and that’s why the Libyan people rose up against him, long before the UK and France got involved. Or doesn’t factual history matter in your delusional world?

                Tell the Spanish that the millions of refugees that have come through Morocco and Algiers over the last decades are insignificant, or the Greeks, or the Italians, or the Germans who have taken in over 200,000 in the last year alone.
                The civil war didn’t provoke mass migration, it just allowed people the freedom to do so without getting shot.
                As for your petty, and frankly racist comments in regard to expats. You diminish any credibility you may have thought you had by debasing a serious conversation involving a cruel and deadly criminal enterprise with cheap jibes against those who are actually rescuing those desperate people. Where is your contribution, where are their African and Arab brothers when they need them?

                Unlike you, I don’t need to cut and paste any facts, (as you do regularly, see SNP bullying). I have been there, I have witnessed the suffering and I have seen the result of unrestrained immigration. As for the UK election, what don’t you understand about the published facts, I don’t need to make anything up, it’s there for all to see from hundreds of sources. In regard to other contributions on CNS, sorry to disappoint but it’s not me, I’m happy to publish my online ID.
                If others have used the same facts, then that should indicate that they to have read and understood the undeniable truth.

                If there are any facts that you can comprehensively dispute, without resorting to juvenile or racist taunts, and supply the authoritative and indisputable source, I will gladly withdraw.
                And in regard to where I live, well that’s irrelevant and none of your damn business. But be rest assured, I am not an insular, isolationist or racist pig who can’t debate without resorting to wrapping him/her self in a nationalist shroud.
                You unwisely commented on a UK election, nobody asked you to do so, so don’t be surprised if you don’t like the response.

                And 1800 deaths is a vast under estimate, better get back to your online news threads as currently your source is dramatically unreliable and seriously damaging your argument.
                900 died on one boat two weeks ago you uninformed fool, but then again the Compass or CNS wouldn’t have given you that fact now would they? Try the Daily Mail, after all that’s your normal source of all things newsworthy in the UK.

        • Anonymous says:

          Seriously, OMG and BTW, how old are you?
          Using juvenile text speak may have you ‘down with the kids’ in your mind, but it just confirms your lack of maturity and gravitas.
          Oh yes, and I’m definitely not your buddy, in fact I’m surprised you can spell the word.

          • Ad hominem attacks.
            Failure to address a single issue.
            Awesome.

            Btw, it’s called social media – welcome to the present.
            Should I have replied “by return”?! Lol!!

            *Oh, btw (by the way), “Lol” means I am “laughing out loud”.
            🙂

            • Anonymous says:

              I agree, Ad Hominem is correct. Those who confront you do indeed attack the person who comes out with factually incorrect and juvenile asides. However, as is there for all to see, you are confronted in unison and not only in the person but also against your warped version of events.
              All of your points have been comprehensively addressed by myself and others, (specifically, but not exclusively Sandboy) you just don’t understand the logic and the facts presented, preferring to wrap yourself in the flag of delusion, bigotry and lies.

              You really don’t need to explain your childish shorthand, the fact that you have speaks volumes about your capacity to engage in adult debate. Trust me, social media has been in existence outside of these islands for more years than you’ve managed to acquaint yourself with. Haven’t you heard, grown ups now write long hand to other grown ups, text shorthand is so last year and only partaken by those who can’t string a full sentence together. Otherwise known as teenagers!
              Emoticons, how mature, how quaint.

  2. Jacques de haulyarass says:

    Go labour !!!! Social justice on the horizon Cayman Sucka free zone soon come.

  3. Does anyone know if international observers were despatched to oversee today’s UK national elections? Apparently they are needed! Imagine that …

    Reports of “burly men” blocking polling stations unless voters are supporting a particular political party;
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3071622/Fears-voting-Scotland-disrupted-intimidating-SNP-supporters-plan-arrive-late-follow-counting-staff-police-issue-warnings-polling-stations.html

    • Anonymous says:

      At least they don’t need to give fridges away to get votes in the UK.

      • That particular piece of rhetoric is tired now.

        By the way, who the heck can afford to “give away” fridges in Cayman today? If one can do so then one ought to keep doing whatever one is doing as clearly it is working for one.

        Hmmm. Methinks the British elections is bringing out my inner Iron Lady, lol!

        Anyway, so far we’ve heard of threats to vote a certain way or “get done”, one MP promising to shoot dead a rival MP as he is “not British enough” to be elected to Parliament (how nice!), voters blatantly breaking election laws by photographing their completed ballot papers, “burly blokes” blocking and intimidating rival political party supporters, orders for the people to trail behind the vehicles transporting the ballots to ensure they arrive at the intended destination amongst other deplorable acts.

        The obvious question now is; Is this election safe?
        Lastly, are there international observers on the ground? If not, there should be.

        • Sandboy says:

          There are over 600 seats available in the UK parliamentary elections, and because it is a mature and confident democratic system it can accommodate and reject those who are less than up to the high standards required for public office.
          With a population of 65m it is inevitable that a very few idiots get through to the candidate stage, but that’s all they were, candidates. The system allows for anyone who qualifies the chance to stand for election, that includes the odd lunatic, bully, racist or other social misfit. That’s what democracy is in a free country, a chance for the people to decide who they want to represent them, not who think they should.
          As for the nationalists in Scotland, be that a lesson to those who listen to the likes of Ezzard and Arden, nationalism is divisive and pernicious as are the people that advocate it.
          Oh yes, and on the subject of observers. That is what the Electoral Commission and the police are for, to say nothing of the voting public.
          Unlike Cayman, (who basically vote for a parish council every few years) the UK has an ancient and proven track record of democratic representation. Should some mad man eventually get into parliament and espouse conspiracy and bloody revolution, we deal with them by way of the ballot box or through our legal system.
          What are you going to do about your own pet lunatic fringe who are no longer candidates but full blown public representatives sitting in government of this country?
          Me thinks you should stop reading the tabloids and commenting on grown up stuff until you have the ability to balance facts against petty trivia.

          Rule Brittania.

        • Anonymous says:

          Why should there be, after all, you can’t even identify more than 6 examples from a population of 66m for your spurious argument. Taking a picture a ballot paper is just stupid as it is your vote that you spoil if you are caught, not exactly Zimbabwe is it?
          Welcome to democracy in action, it ain’t perfect, but it’s better than the alternative.
          Is the election safe? More like, are you safe to be let out on your own, you muppet?

        • Anonymous says:

          when you only need 300 votes to get a 150,000 dollar tax free job for 4 years and added pension and back handers, buying votes is a no brainer investment, especially if you are using government funds to persuade church pastors to tell their congregations who to vote for.

      • Anonymous says:

        Or food!

    • Just Sayin' says:

      Best part is that you actually believe what you read in the Daily Mail. That’s somewhat akin to every reader believing the crap you write on CNS and your Facebook page

    • Anonymous says:

      Ah yes, Scotland, that hot bed of nationalistic socialism. Take note Cayman, this is what happens when the nasty blood of nationalism infects your politics, we saw it during the independence referendum, we saw it during this general election and we see it whenever Ezzard and Arden speak

      • Ah boy. Well, a few million Scots clearly disagree with you, my friend.
        Nevertheless, something tells me that you believe your sole opinion trumps theirs.
        Kudos!
        😀

        • Anonymous says:

          The SNP have a 4.8 national vote share, (50 % in Scotland) that translates to 1.45 million votes, barely noticeable nationally.
          So exactly who are these ‘few million Scots’ who clearly disagree as it would actually appear that at least 50% of Scots totally agree with me.

    • Anonymous says:

      The SNP represent 4% of the total UK electorate, not really a mass uprising of the barbarian hordes is it?
      If the Scots want to run their election and country like a Saturday night out in Glasgow, then let them. They will have no sway over the rest of the UK now that there is a majority government, so who really cares if a few socialist gobshites in kilts can’t get their whisky soaked heads around a free and fair election.

      • Yes, your sole opinion still rules supreme. (Sigh)
        Back to your cave.

        • Anonymous says:

          It’s not an opinion stupid, these are published and acknowledged facts. Nationalists by nature are bullies, why are you so surprised that some whinging, socialist meatheads feel that they are able to impose their brand of fascism on others?
          The point being that the police have dealt with them, unlike here where corruption is rife due to familial, religious and business contacts.

          But don’t let facts get in the way of a good sulk, back to the nursing home for you.

  4. Anonymous says:

    CNS: let’s keep the speculation to the tabloids in the UK. The facts is that no one knows the actual outcome until after the polls close at 10:00pm BST. For a news organisation to claim that ‘Neither one of the major parties will get enough votes to win a majority’ is sloppy, misleading reporting based upon nothing but guess work. The Conservatives actually need to regain 22 seats, seats they have held before, so this is not an impossible target albeit a very big ask considering the popularity of UKIP.
    How about we let the British people decide the result then you can report the facts as they stand tomorrow.

    • Anonymous says:

      A Conservative majority government of 330, (possibly 331)!!!!
      Next time CNS, stick to reporting news and not trying to invent it.
      Well done UK, finally the wooly headed Liberals are punished for their duplicity and saying one thing in opposition, another in coalition. And goodbye Labour, with no admission of indirect responsibility for the financial crash of 2008, uncontrolled immigration during the early 2000’s, no vote on Europe and a leader that wanted to drag the country back to the 1970’s.
      Now what we need is a fairer election system that rewards parties that have high voter turn out but low returns of MP’s. UKIP had over 4m people vote for them and return one MP, the SNP had a 1m+ and returned 50, how can that be right?

    • Private Irie says:

      Not only were you dead right to censure CNS on that sloppy opening statement, you were dead right on the result – a Tory majority!

      Care to let us know who you fancy for the Derby next month? 🙂

    • Anonymous says:

      You heard it here first folks, a majority Conservative government of 331.
      Where’s the unpredictability in that CNS?

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