General Election 2010

And so, polling day is almost upon us. What better time to start up a new place to collect my political thoughts and ramblings. I have enough, so why not write them down. Hey - it might even be interesting.

Tomorrow marks a defining point for the UK. It is the first election for 18 years which has not been a foregone conclusion. There are genuinely (at least) 4 outcomes could occur on Friday morning. There is a lot at stake. We need to get the decision right.

I barely remember the 1980s. I have vague recollections of primary school, of various cartoons, and of going to a football match for the first time. I don't really remember the music (which is probably lucky). I certainly don't remember the government (which certainly is).

Speaking to those who do remember this time doesn't make me wish I had been born any earlier. Sure, some people did very well. But I simply cannot entertain the thought that it is acceptable for the few to prosper while the many do not, for the few to flourish while many struggle - for the few to ride roughshod over the lives and hopes of millions who need to be helped. This cannot be the role that the government should take - yet I fear that were we to find a Conservative government taking control of our country, this is where we would end up.

I understand that the country is in debt, to astronomical proportions which most of us cannot comprehend. Clearly this must be tackled. But pulling the plug on many of the services that we rely on is not the answer. There have to be other ways of raising the money needed to tackle the budget deficit which do not involve cutting back services for the most needy. Leaving inheritance tax as it is would be one way. Not renewing a set of cold war nuclear weapons would be another. Not electing the Conservatives would be a third.

This is not to say that Labour have got all of the decisions right over the last 13 years. There is much they have got wrong. Skirmishes in far away countries have not helped us. Nor has the seeming obsession with targets in every avenue of public life, from schools to hospitals to the police. The total failure to reform the political system despite many promises to do so is perhaps the worst failure of all.

This must all be weighed up when voters head to the polls tomorrow. Do we want 5 more years of Gordon Brown with a hefty majority? Probably not. Do we want Cameron and his 'team' to 'roll up their sleeves'. No thanks, not when we can almost see them salivating over what they can cut and how quickly. This author would like a Liberal Democrat government. But he is also a realist and knows it will not happen.

What we do have the opportunity for is a balanced parliament. A parliament able to ensure voting reform, and to work together with real mandate from the voters. This coalition should be made up of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. I encourage you to use your vote to ensure this happens.

I barely remember the 80s. And I don't much like the thought of living through them now.