Election...schmelection?

So the election is almost upon us!

Having watched the final debate, I must confess to getting bored halfway through, and switching over to BBC2, even though I passionately care about the outcome of this election!

So here's my potted guide to who you're voting for:

Local elections - much more say in how local things are run, but local councils have no control over a lot of the bigger decisions. Local councillors are often less hardcore party supporters (less Steve Wilkinson, more Jessica...), and generally do a great job for their local area and care about the concerns of people.

National elections - with around 100,000 people in each constituency, an MP won't know everyone by name. Some MPs, however, do fantastic things for their constituency, and often raise issues of concern affecting their area in Parliament, or direct to the government. This often goes unseen, but good MPs will listen to you and respond. Better MPs will also have voted against the 'party line' a lot more if a vote will disadvantage their constituency.

And how would Jesus vote?

He probably wouldn't, but it's good to think about it. Remember that Jesus is someone who loved everyone, and that God views all sin as equal.

So the main three parties do quite well - voting for any of them is not 'un-Christian'. All are trying to do the best for everyone in the country; the main difference is left-wing policies believe the state needs to intervene more to do this, right-wing policies believe the state should keep its nose out, and people do it for themselves.

UKIP - borderline...they aren't great, as they're a bit too narrow-minded - a lot of people would get left out of their vision.

BNP, English Democrats - nooooooo way! Jesus would be denouncing these hypocrites (although he would still love them as part of God's creation, so no assassinations please). There's no love in the BNP for the majority of the world, plus they believe climate change is made-up, so they'd kill the planet too.

Greens - as with the main parties, the Greens do wish to benefit everyone through their policies, although they have a pretty narrow view of how to do that. It is also a fairly secular vision, and doesn't tolerate disagreement with it that well.

SNP, Plaid Cymru - not as mentally nationalistic as the BNP et al., but still pretty inward-looking. Granted, neither party will win many seats in the overall Parliament, but they are pretty myopic, and don't seem to suggest their countries have a role (as rich, developed nations) in helping others.

Independents - assess them on their own merits. Relationship is important as it was to Jesus - find out what they're about, and why they're standing. Perhaps also find out some more about what they think on issues that aren't their headline issue. In Boston, my hometown, a party called the 'Boston Bypass Independents Party' won control of the council with 24 of 28 seats 3 years ago. Needless to say, they don't know how to run a council, and the town is now pretty much broke and in a right mess!

Enjoy election day / night - I'll be up to the wee hours I think, and might well blog a little as I do. Jessica might also put together a post on who each disciple would vote for, and why.