Kosh wrote:
Well for a start, you're using the total votes cast for the three main parties as an indicator of the support enjoyed by the two parties forming this coalition government. Granted that could be a numeracy issue rather than a fundamental misunderstanding of democracy.
no, i'm not.
Then you've quoted a few snippets from individual party manifestos and conflated these with the policies of a coalition government.
the quote below is from the coalition agreement. so, we've got the 3 main parties manifestos promising more nhs privatisation and even the coalition agreement promising the same.
We will strengthen the power of GPs as patients’ expert guides through the health system by enabling them to commission care on their behalf. We will give every patient the power to choose any healthcare provider that meets NHS standards, within NHS prices. This includes independent, voluntary and community sector providers
You've also failed to notice significant differences between the manifesto statements and the policies actually implemented.
manifesto pledge, more nhs privatisation, policy implemented more nhs privatisation. perhaps you can point out these significant differences.
Lastly you've made the rookie assumption that people who vote for a particular party support every single item in their manifesto. And ignored the fact that in our particular version of democracy you vote for an MP rather than a party and this can have a significant effect on party support.
oh no, that's ludicrous, for that to happen people would actually have to read each parties manifesto, then they'd find out things like, oh i don't know, that the party they hate with a vengeance because it is hell bent on more privatisation of the nhs whereas the party they love and who they'll give their vote to is also hell bent on more privatisation of the nhs.
now, all the people up in arms could have voted for the "no nhs privatisation" party or similar, and in that instance they should applauded for having the guts to stand up for what they believe in. but i suspect that the majority who are bleating voted for a party that promised more privatisation. which is odd, as they've got exactly what they wanted.
