UK general election endorsement

                                               

On Thursday, Britain will go to the polls to choose a new Parliament and – perhaps – Prime Minister and government. After the disastrous vote to exit the European Union last year – which, in my view, infused life into the populist campaign of Donald Trump in America and to nationalist populism across the West –, Britons find themselves having to choose among two prime ministerial candidates and parties who...

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Our endorsement for the Conservative leadership contest

 

A few months ago, if anyone had given us the current crop of Conservative leadership candidates and asked us what our preference was, it would have been unthinkable for us not to answer –rather enthusiastically– that our option was Michael Gove. A mostly classical liberal Tory, thinker and reformer, Mr. Gove would have been our choice without question. But everything has changed after Britain voted to leave the European Union, an...

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More than an endorsement, our view on the Canadian election

 

After almost a decade at the helm of Canada’s federal government, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is fighting to remain in power in one of the closest electoral races in many years. On Monday, October 19^th, Canadians will finally decide if they want a fourth consecutive Conservative administration or a new government. We have been struggling with our choice for this election for many weeks and are still not very sure...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election

After five years of a coalition government that many thought was not going to last much in office, Britain is going to the polls on Thursday to decide whether Prime Minister David Cameron will get a chance to continue in power –either alone or in a continued coalition– or not. It seems all but certain that the country will have its second hung parliament in a row, an astonishing sea change in British politics, which used to be dominated by a Co...

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Our endorsement for the German federal election

Germans will decide on Sunday if they want to keep Angela Merkel as their chancellor after eight years in power. According to polls, an overwhelming majority of voters – around 60% – prefer Merkel as chancellor rather than her Social Democratic challenger Peer Steinbrück. It is not difficult to see why. Unlike most of its Euro-zone neighbours, the German economy is doing pretty well. Unemployment is at a two-decade low, investor confidence...

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Our endorsement for Norway’s general election

Norwegians go to the polls on Monday to choose a new Parliament and all polls are predicting defeat for the current centre-left coalition of Labour, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party. The Conservative Party leader, Erna Solberg, looks all but certain to become Norway’s next prime minister in a non-socialist government. We welcome this change.

Ms Solberg leads a pragmatic, centre-right Conservative Party (Høyre) with a liberal programm...

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Few political figures in Britain have provoked such strong reactions –both positive and negative– as former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. There are times when confrontation in a country’s political process is required to generate needed change, whereas in other occasions compromise is the more convenient path. The former certainly describes the times in which Margaret Thatcher took the reins of power as the first female Prime Minister of a...

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Our choice in Eastleigh 

While we don’t tend to make endorsements on by-elections and other minor elections, we have decided to express our view regarding tomorrow’s Eastleigh by-election in the United Kingdom. Unlike other by-elections, this one could have a bigger impact on British politics, the future of the Liberal-Conservative Coalition and the future of both, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.      

It is no surprise by now that we like the current Coalition Governmen...

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Our endorsements for Thursday’s London mayor and local elections in Britain

 

On Thursday, Londoners will go to the polls to choose a new mayor (or to re-elect the current occupant of City Hall). Judging by his record during the last four years –and taking into account that, in reality, this is a two-way contest–, we believe the Conservative Boris Johnson deserves another term as Mayor of London. Despite his sometimes mercurial personality, Mr Johnson has proved to be a good mayor. We...

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Our endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination

 

The 2012 American election season has begun. Whereas President Barack Obama has no serious contender for the Democratic nomination, the Republican Party has a field of six contenders (after Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain dropped out of the race) who are fighting to carry the torch of America’s “conservative” party. While the policies of today’s Republican Party are usually at odds with the liberal philosophy (liberal,...

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Our endorsement for today's Danish general election

Danes go to the polls today to choose a new Parliament and a new government.  While the current Liberal-Conservative administration has some good results to show on the economy, its policies on immigration and other social issues –highly influenced by the far-right Danish People’s Party, on which support the current government depends– have been disappointing to say the least.

We strongly believe in the importance of a balanced rep...

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Our endorsement for the AV referendum in the United Kingdom

On Thursday, Britain will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum to replace the “First-past-the-post” electoral system for the so-called “Alternative Vote” system. Much has been said about both systems and their positive and negative aspects. We believe FPTP is a relic of the past, an unfair system that punishes smaller parties –including the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and UKIP– and gives disproportionate ...

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Watch the first TV broadcasts from the UK Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives for the upcoming June elections:
  First 2 Lib Dem broadcasts:

www.libdems.org.uk

First Conservative broadcast:

www.conservatives.com
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 Our opinion:  We believe that David Cameron's decision to focus on Britain's massive debt is correct. While we usually support tax cuts, a tax-cutting agenda is not what the current British economy needs right now. A balanced budget is essential for a strong economy, not just tax cuts.  
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