Upcoming PM elections...

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Traditionally there has been volatility around the time of the general election -- I remember it well from the '97, '01 and '05 elections. I think Robin's estimate of settling down to $1.60 sounds spot on given it has hovered around there for years.

In 1980, Carter refused to have a three-way debate with Jack Anderson, although Reagan was okay with it.

[Justine+David 218]

Very interesting on both counts, thanks you two! I guess I just outed my youthful ignorance...I can only remember as far back as 2000 U.S. elections when my high school teachers commented that it would probably be the closest election in a few decades...of course that only lasted until 2004, lol.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I was a mere slip of a girl in 1980, lest anyone start sending me catalogues for Zimmer frames any time soon. The day after the '97 election saw me drinking buckets of champagne with the seriously right-on barristers I was working with back then... most were still drunk from partying on the South Bank all night. Good times.

Asked my husband if he wanted to vote in this electon -- he asked if I was still taking my meds.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I think me and him popped the cork when portillo lost his seat that night

Do you remember the Jimmy Carter peanut song (sung to the Oscar Meijer weiner tune) from 1980? I bet you do - I got in trouble from my Reagan-hating parents for singing it

[Justine+David 218]

Haha!!

Have you seen the movie, "The Queen"? Was it really as big a deal with all the hoopla that the movie made the '97 general election out to be (the beginning of the movie)? Cheering crowds and the works? I was in D.C. for Obama's election night and that was a huge doosie...

[lovelyalex 99]

It's funny how Blair was seen as the devil when he was PM, and now Brown has taken over, he's seen as even worse - and people are wanting Blair back. I went many years not liking him at all (because of his policies on immigration, the lack of crime control, and the war) but I slowly changed my mind towards 2008.

Btw, does anyone know how we're able to vote from America?

Hi Gemmie! You can vote by proxy as long as you register quick...

https://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register_to_vote/british_citizens_living_abroad/voting_by_proxy.aspx

The form has to go to the local county to where you were registered before... "Please do not return your form to The Electoral Commission – we cannot process it"

Edited April 13, 2010 by lovelyalex

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I think me and him popped the cork when portillo lost his seat that night

Do you remember the Jimmy Carter peanut song (sung to the Oscar Meijer weiner tune) from 1980? I bet you do - I got in trouble from my Reagan-hating parents for singing it

My President has a first name

It's J-I-M-M-Y

My President has a second name

It's C-A-R-T-E-R (kinda had to say that all very fast)

Oh I hate to see him every day

And if you ask me why I'll saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

'Cuz Jimmy Carter has a way

Of screwing up the USA

Thank you folks, I'm performing all week, please tip your waitress.

Yes, I also got into trouble with my Commie pinko lovechild parents for that one. I seem to recall making up some "cute" song about John Hinkley shooting Reagan that they applauded as clever, but I have no recollection of it.

Haha!!

Have you seen the movie, "The Queen"? Was it really as big a deal with all the hoopla that the movie made the '97 general election out to be (the beginning of the movie)? Cheering crowds and the works? I was in D.C. for Obama's election night and that was a huge doosie...

I was living in Kentish Town at the time, and I remember hearing cheers echoing around the neighbourhood when Portillo was out. My ex and I screamed in delight. The whole city was hungover the next day (or still drunk). We shut the chambers at noon since half the set was over at El Vino in Fleet Street anyway. It was HEAVING. Someone had been partying with John Prescott until 7am. Most of them had been on the South Bank and then just gravitated back to El Vino. Everybody drank bottle after bottle of champagne and smoked cigarettes until we should have died there and then. Then we moved on to a restaurant in Chancery Lane, where we smoked and drank some more, and sang anthems of the Left. It was messy and funny and exciting, and then Labour buggered it all up in the years that followed.

I predict the same will happen if/when the Tories take it, minus the socialist tunes and indoor smoking, natch.

Edited April 13, 2010 by elmcitymaven

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I would also add that, whatever british persons tell you in retrospect, the country did lose its collective mind when diana died

[NotworkSte 19]

I would also add that, whatever british persons tell you in retrospect, the country did lose its collective mind when diana died

Oh absolutely. Weird thing is, I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard, even though I never really cared too much about it!

[woki1986 1]

Oh absolutely. Weird thing is, I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard, even though I never really cared too much about it!

I remember that. I got up early that day even though I wasn't into getting up early... And I mean, really early in the morning. I turned on the TV and it was on. Very odd. It feels like the country has steadily gone downhill through the years.

I don't know what I'm going to do with my vote. I might not even vote at all.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

The morning when the country went collectively apesh!t over Diana's death was the day before my ex and I were due to move to Bristol. We were living temporarily with his parents just off Victoria Street in Westminster so we walked down to Buckingham Palace to see if anything was going on. (Just like Matt, we too woke up at the crack of dawn, but that was because we had a million things to do before we left London.) It must have been 8am, and there were more reporters than mourners at that point. We watched as they attempted to do vox pops with the few people who were milling around. We overheard an ITV newsman doing a report saying "and mourners are bringing flowers by the armload... to Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace... the massive outpouring of grief...." We were totally confused -- there was hardly anyone there -- there were a few bouquets of flowers, but hardly the mounds that were to follow.

Something was up, and we took a bus over to Kensington to see if it was any different, if this is where the flower mountain was to be found. Nope, just a repeat of what we'd seen earlier. We went back to Buckingham Palace, where we watched a steady stream of people arriving with flowers. We watched as they were interviewed by reporters, who asked "Why did you come down today?" They were all saying, "It seemed like the right thing to do... what everyone was doing... I saw that's what people were doing on the news and we had to be here too...." It dawned on us that we might be watching the media take control of the situation, and subtly suggest that coming down to the palaces and bringing flowers was what Must Be Done. We laughed and said, well, the British aren't so soft and sappy that they'll take the bait.

We know what happened next.

[DisneyLovers 18]

Btw, does anyone know how we're able to vote from America?

there's some useful info here, I applied for voting by proxy and listed my Dad as my proxy and sent it off to Braintree. about a week later he'd been sent forms to sign (and I had to co-sign) to agree. Although I think Braintree Council messed up and sent voting by mail stuff to him back in sept and as we were there visiting anyway I signed the postal voting forms just in case the polling card never turns up come voting week.

[Justine+David 218]

By chance, did anybody watch the debates last night? I found it on youtube today; not allowed to watch ITV (the host) online I guess, since I'm not in the UK.

Polls show that Mr. Clegg (lib dems) overwhelmingly won the debate. I watched about half of it (was about 90 minutes long on domestic issues) and it was fairly interesting. Major topics were immigration (Cameron wants to put a cap on it each year), crime in local areas (surrounded the issue of whether the UK has enough police force-Brown says that the UK have much more police than they used to), and education (this 17-year old thought that he had too many exams and not enough education) and Brown pointed out that he wants to keep the standards up because the UK is competing with Europe, Asia, and China, and Camerson said they were wasting money on unnecessary stuff like personnel and extra rooms (says he saw a school with a meditation room).

All in all, very interesting.

However, the production of the event seemed pretty cheesy. I dunno how to describe it exactly...just the way the title credits came on, the announcer going on about how this is the first time in the UK history, a very small studio audience, etc etc.

Anyone else tune in?

[DisneyLovers 18]

I saw part of it on the news on BBC America, I thought the opening looked pretty pants, a bit too much like the weakest link looking set

From what I gathered after reading a bit of a summary of the debate was labor and tory's going at eachother and lib dems getting a lot of opportunities to chime in with their standpoint whilst the other two argued amongst themselves. I've instructed my Dad on who to vote for with my proxy vote and if he votes Labour that I'll disown him

[Pooky 3,795]

Vote Monster Raving Loony!

And no, that doesn't mean keeping Gordon Brown in 10 Downing Street.