Forum:2015 UK General Election
The date of dissolution will be 30 March 2015 and the election will be held on 7 May 2015, unless parliament votes for an earlier date. There are no additional elections scheduled to take place in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, apart from any forthcoming local by-elections.
Currently, you have David Cameron as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, who's in a coalition government with Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Ed Miliband, head of the Labour Party, is the Leader of the Opposition, in open defiance of the universe's logic and bounds of reason. Cameron's Tories have 306 seats; they need 20 to obtain a majority. Miliband's Laborites have 258 seats; they need 68 to become the governing party. Clegg's Leb Dems have 57 seats; they need 269 to become the governing party.
You also have the United Kingdom Independence Party led by Nigel Farage looking to be the spoiler; they'll most likely become the designated third party if Clegg gets as demolished as we all think he will. In a move reminiscent of Americans, the British ministers have increased the money money that each party can spend on the election by 23%, against Electoral Commission advice. Serocco (talk) 19:20, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- I don't entirely understand the logic of dissolving a large chunk of your government for 2 months just because of an Election, what if you need parliament specifically instead of the ministers and stuff?--Miekal 19:26, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- I... didn't think of it that way. Lemme see... they will review the amount of seats parliament can have in 2018 (it's at 650, and they might bump it down to 600). There was a referendum in 2011 that mandated a change from the current 'first past the post' system system to an instant-runoff system for elections to the Commons, which is what Australia has as well. Why dissolve before the election? I have no idea, but I do like the change to instant-runoff. Serocco (talk) 19:38, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- The 2011 alternative vote referendum failed & the UK remains a 'first past the post' democracy. According to WP:Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, "The Parliament of the United Kingdom is dissolved 17 working days before a polling day as determined by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011". Wěǎšěǐǒǐď
Methinks it is a Weasel 20:36, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- Well, dammit. So much for reform on that front for Britain.Serocco (talk) 21:29, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, why dissolve? Whose idea was this? FᴜᴢᴢʏCᴀᴛPᴏᴛᴀᴛᴏ﹐ Esϙᴜɪʀᴇ (talk/stalk) 23:52, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- @Mikhail: Here in Belgium there was no government for over one year as various parties tried to work out a colation. Things in fact went along very swimmingly. Maybe even better than without a government. Maybe we should just always have a dissolved parliament huh? ShabiDOO 18:25, 13 January 2015 (UTC)
- Yeah, why dissolve? Whose idea was this? FᴜᴢᴢʏCᴀᴛPᴏᴛᴀᴛᴏ﹐ Esϙᴜɪʀᴇ (talk/stalk) 23:52, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- Well, dammit. So much for reform on that front for Britain.Serocco (talk) 21:29, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- The 2011 alternative vote referendum failed & the UK remains a 'first past the post' democracy. According to WP:Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, "The Parliament of the United Kingdom is dissolved 17 working days before a polling day as determined by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011". Wěǎšěǐǒǐď
- I... didn't think of it that way. Lemme see... they will review the amount of seats parliament can have in 2018 (it's at 650, and they might bump it down to 600). There was a referendum in 2011 that mandated a change from the current 'first past the post' system system to an instant-runoff system for elections to the Commons, which is what Australia has as well. Why dissolve before the election? I have no idea, but I do like the change to instant-runoff. Serocco (talk) 19:38, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
- I think it was the Tories who proposed it. Bizarrely. Serocco (talk) 03:32, 2 January 2015 (UTC)
I hope UKIP wins all the seats— Unsigned, by: 58.106.31.173 / talk / contribs
- You support UKIP? That explains why you don't understand how to sign posts.
- Anyway, to respond to an earlier point, parliament doesn't actually run the government on a day-to-day basis so dissolving it doesn't stop government. It's dissolved to allow all the members to dedicate themselves full time to getting re-elected. --Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 12:58, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
- So who wins? Serocco (talk) 20:08, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
- Not "how to win." I meant who will win? Serocco (talk) 23:11, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
- a labor majority is being bet on at 7/2, a conservative at 9/2, ukip at 150/1 and lib dem at 500/1. A conserv lib dem coalition is at 9/2, a lab libdem is at 5/1. Any coalition with ukip is at 10/1 and a conservaTive ukip is at 14/1. Not being into bets and hating fractions I Don't know which is the most likely while on break with a phone. --Miekal 00:27, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
- With those odds, the bookies' favourites are (from most to least likely to win):
- Labour outright
- Conservative outright or in a Tory/Lib coalition (same odds)
- Lib/Lab coalition
- Any UKIP coalition
- Tory/UKIP (less likely than other UKIP constellations, apparently)
- UKIP outright (very unlikely)
- LibDem outright (yeah right, guess this possibility has to be taken into account, if for nothing else then for the lulz)
- ScepticWombat (talk) 07:45, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
- With those odds, the bookies' favourites are (from most to least likely to win):
- a labor majority is being bet on at 7/2, a conservative at 9/2, ukip at 150/1 and lib dem at 500/1. A conserv lib dem coalition is at 9/2, a lab libdem is at 5/1. Any coalition with ukip is at 10/1 and a conservaTive ukip is at 14/1. Not being into bets and hating fractions I Don't know which is the most likely while on break with a phone. --Miekal 00:27, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
- How is Ed Miliband being considered for the premiership on those odds? >.< Serocco (talk) 22:40, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
- It's crap that he could win over 50% of seats with 35% of the vote, but that's the system we're stuck with. Anyway, here's a good website if you want to geek it up. Bicyclewheel
16:48, 6 January 2015 (UTC)
- It's crap that he could win over 50% of seats with 35% of the vote, but that's the system we're stuck with. Anyway, here's a good website if you want to geek it up. Bicyclewheel
- Actually, how big of an impact could the SNP make on the election? Could they force a hung parliament? Serocco (talk) 16:21, 19 January 2015 (UTC)
- The most favourable prediction for Labour I've seen had them in with a majority of about fifty-six (353 seats). If the SNP take thirty seats that would leave Labour on 323 - two short of a Majority, but still able to govern as Sinn Fein won't turn up to vote, and the Speaker always votes with the government if there's a tie. Bicyclewheel
16:31, 19 January 2015 (UTC)
- According to this, falling oil prices are undermining SNP support (the Nationalists have been saying for forty years an independent Scotland could pay its way with the black stuff). Bicyclewheel
17:30, 19 January 2015 (UTC)
- According to this, falling oil prices are undermining SNP support (the Nationalists have been saying for forty years an independent Scotland could pay its way with the black stuff). Bicyclewheel
- The most favourable prediction for Labour I've seen had them in with a majority of about fifty-six (353 seats). If the SNP take thirty seats that would leave Labour on 323 - two short of a Majority, but still able to govern as Sinn Fein won't turn up to vote, and the Speaker always votes with the government if there's a tie. Bicyclewheel
- Can a coalition government between Labour and the SNP occur? Serocco (talk) 13:29, 20 January 2015 (UTC)
- In theory, yes. In practice, they don't like each other very much. But then neither did the Conservatives and Lib Dems five years ago. Bicyclewheel
14:19, 20 January 2015 (UTC)
- Would that make Miliband PM and Sturgeon Deputy PM? Serocco (talk) 18:22, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
- Miliband would become prime minister. Sturgeon isn't running for the UK parliament, but Alex Salmond is; if he gets in and leads the SNP group in London, he could become Deputy PM, but seeing how Nick Clegg got steamrollered in that job, he might try for something more substantial. Bicyclewheel
20:33, 23 January 2015 (UTC)
- Miliband would become prime minister. Sturgeon isn't running for the UK parliament, but Alex Salmond is; if he gets in and leads the SNP group in London, he could become Deputy PM, but seeing how Nick Clegg got steamrollered in that job, he might try for something more substantial. Bicyclewheel
- Would that make Miliband PM and Sturgeon Deputy PM? Serocco (talk) 18:22, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
- In theory, yes. In practice, they don't like each other very much. But then neither did the Conservatives and Lib Dems five years ago. Bicyclewheel