Aberdeen South Election News

When I posted Anne Begg is my MP it was true, but now she's a the Labour PPC for my constituency (which is why the link to her site in that post doesn't work any more). As I mentioned in a previous post, Anne has started her own campaign blog which I think I've plugged enough now. I've also mentioned before that I normally vote Liberal Democrat and would again this time. It's a handy bonus for me that the strategic voting recommendations available from Backing Blair match my natural tendency to vote Lib Dem. If the Lib Dems win here it will reduce Blair's majority and return another Lib Dem MP to the Commons. For me, this is a win/win situation.

In my previous post I said that Strategic Voter were predicting a Lib Dem victory and checking again I see that they still are. My local paper, The Press and Journal, doesn't seem so sure:
"The polls suggest Labour are down 6% across Scotland with the Lib Dems up 2.5%, indicating the Lib Dems are in with a chance. But nationally, the Tory vote is up a little, too. If that is reflected in Aberden South as well, the defending Labour MP, Anne Begg, who has a very high recognition factor, may hold on. The Tories have no chance of taking the seat. But their supporters find themselves king (or queen) makers."
(Press and Journal, 6 April, p 11.)

It is this kind of bizarre situation which makes me a supporter of Proportional Representation. But I'm not the only one:
"We are committed to a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. An independent commission on voting systems will be appointed early to recommend a proportional alternative to the first-past-the-post system."
Labour Party manifesto, 1997, Source via earlier post here.

So, if you live in Aberdeen South and you normally vote Conservative and don't want a Labour MP, realistically you should vote Lib Dem. If you normally vote Labour but are sick of Blair's lies, read Never mind the facts... and consider whether you might want to vote Lib Dem just this once. If you are a Labour supporter who thinks this is unfair, consider the above from the 1997 manifesto and ask yourself who is to blame.

While going about town today, and borrowing another idea from Chicken Yoghurt, I did some poster spotting. I saw 5 WARNING posters, 3 were on the economy, 1 on the discredited £35 billion Tory cuts claim, and 1 on hospital closures. Who said "Positive policies win elections..."?
I didn't see a single Tory or Lib Dem poster. I'll keep looking.
And I'll hopefully post some more information on Vicki Harris, the Lib Dem candidate, shortly.