h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Other than Labour and Conservative, are there other major parties that will be competing for seats in Parliament? Is the Government very likely to change? If Labour wins the most seats, will Blair still be PM? I'm so confused... better actually start reading the British news on the BBC...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/#spent

For some reason I thought it was 30p per pound - it is actually per monthly payment. Well I knew it was 30p

Just goes to show that in the scheme of things we are small fry.

I get ed off with people assuming they know what DNA would do/say, afterall he was part of the BBC takeover AFAIK.

Things change - you may noy like them but afterall, as he once said, it is evolution.

*sigh*

I wish everyone the best of luck

Here we go again...

"The BBC has legal obligations - done deal, end of story. It just so happens that these obligations mean that they must allow every party a fair hearing. (Is there something wrong with that particular ideal?)"

I understand they're trying to be careful, but only an idiot would believe that messages posted on a public message board hosted by the BBC represent the views of the BBC.

Yes, the BBC owns it and our free speech can be expressed elsewhere, but that doesn't do anything to explain an illogical, overprotective policy (assuming the same policy they've used for the past Gen Election and/or wars goes into effect). If any of the BBC's opponents tried to make a big fuss about unbalanced public messages on a website hosted by BBC, wouldn't most people wave it off? Wouldn't the general public understand how absurd the accusation would be?

It's just way overboard, and sadly cannot be reconciled with DNA's invitation for everyone to write our opinions about world events.

"believe that messages posted on a public message board hosted by the BBC represent the views of the BBC."

...And to believe that, you'd also have to ignore the disclaimers on every page of the website, "Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC."

Oh well.

> during the run-up to any General Election, or Local Elections, the BBC operates debates under special conditions >

Work to the local elections date, Powers That Be, cos that's a definite, and it's earlier.

Local elections officially start on 30 March 2005, with the publication of notices of election on that date, so I assume this is the date that "relevant rules" will be enforced

The date that Tony hops in his limo to visit Her Majesty is likely to be 11 April (thanks to HRH and his wedding plans), if a general election is to be held on the same day as local elections (5 May). So we will all be in a mega-mod situation by then anyway.

UK voters, I hope you got yourselves onto the register of electors by the end of last week, or you won't be able to vote .

Mol
(resident electoral administrator)

Quote - "believe that messages posted on a public message board hosted by the BBC represent the views of the BBC."

...And to believe that, you'd also have to ignore the disclaimers on every page of the website, "Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC."

Oh well."

A local fanzine website had a comment posted on its forum, by a user, saying that the chairman of the local football club was 'a rogue' This was noticed and removed 3 hours later by the moderator.

The chairman institued an action for libel against the owner of the web-site, despite him removing the comment, for allowing a libelous opinion to be posted on a public forum.

In the end he withdrew his action, after local supporters chipped in to hire a solicitor, for the web-site owner.

Logic and common-sense don't apply - this is a legal matter.

Ormy,

"the sitting Government can call the election whenever they like. Which means, of course, that they tend to call it whenever the latest news has put them in a comparatively good light. I think the American system of fixed terms is fairer, since it eliminates this inbuilt advantage for the incumbents."

That's one way of looking at it.
Another is that if you know the date that the next election will occur, you know exactly how to plan your strategy to get things right for then.

In either case, "The best laid plan schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley", and (what's more)
"A week is a long time in politics".
Just ask the Spanish.

Deidzoeb, Sir,

' "believe that messages posted on a public message board hosted by the BBC represent the views of the BBC."

...And to believe that, you'd also have to ignore the disclaimers on every page of the website, "Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC." '

It may seem blatantly obvious to you that a combination of words does, in fact, mean what it says, but some people are thought to be, and represent themselves to be incapable of connecting the breach of a warning or caution with adverse consequences

In the UK, we are continually looking across the Atlantic with trepidation at the (to me, no offence folks) ... erm ... odd judicial rulings and compensation claims: e.g. the much reported case of the lady who scalded herself when driving a car with a cup of coffee clamped between her thighs.
Painful, I'm sure, but she didn't even have the excuse that she ordered iced tea.

So whilst, historically, it's not your fault (it's all to do with the [some would say outdated] Laws of Cricket and "fair play") you certainly haven't helped the cause.

"Can we have a space on The Hub? I remember during the European elections we had a space on The Hub where we could discuss them, which didn't cause too much disruption."

Not that I know anything about it, but the Hub did have two hosts at the time. It's now only got one. (They still haven't replaced me from what I hear which means that the one host left is busier than ever. Irreplaceable, that's me. )

'Other than Labour and Conservative, are there other major parties that will be competing for seats in Parliament?'

Yes the Liberal Democrats are not an imitation of the Conservatives like Labour and ahve been a more effective opposition questioning the government on matters unlike Michael Howard. But as I'm standing for them some will say I would say that.

'Is the Government very likely to change?'

Things can change quite a lot in the election period teh LIberal Democrats tend to ahve had a 6-7% boost in recent general elections as we get more coverage if that happens this time there could be major repercussions.

'If Labour wins the most seats, will Blair still be PM?'

If they win the majority yes if just most seats but not a majority that depends.

"Other than Labour and Conservative, are there other major parties that will be competing for seats in Parliament?"

Yes Britain has a third party called "The Liberal Democrats" who have been doing rather well recetly. However they are hamstrung by our "First Past The Post" electoral system which actually massivly favours a two party system.

In Scotland and Wales they also have nationalist parties the "SNP" (Beloved of Sean Connery) and in wales Pliad Cymru.

The "UK Independance Party (UKIP)" are a national party who advocate as their main policy British withdrawal from Europe. They wont win any seats but they migh pick up a lot of votes and have a major bearing on the result.

Also there are a couple of err shall we say fringe parties that will contest large numbers of seats "Respect" an anti war party led by George Galloway a fierce opponant of the war. "Veritas" an anti europe anti immigration splinter faction from UKIP led by the allegedly charismatic Robert Kilroy Silk.

"Is the Government very likely to change?"

No frankly, it would be absolutly unprecedented if Labour failed to win the forthcoming election. Everything we know about how elections work in the UK, the history of similar situations, current polls and the state of the economy point to a Labour win. If you are going to bet....

However this election will probably have the lowest turnout since the first world war, it is possible that due to voter apathy the result mayby skewed. However I would not put hard currency on it.

My prediction is a slightly reduced Labour majority 20-35 seats lost. And modest gains for the Lib-Dems mayby abother 10-15 Seats with the rest going to the Tories.

>>I understand they're trying to be careful, but only an idiot would believe that messages posted on a public message board hosted by the BBC represent the views of the BBC<<

I was thinking more along the lines of h2 having a distinctly left wing bias, and so discussion of the election would mostly be about what a bunch of w*nkers the Labour party are now but we still have to vote for them to stop the nasty conservatives getting in (with the odd asides about the Lib dems).

So the BBC could be accused not so much of having a left bias themselves but of *hosting* a forum for the political left while not providing the same for other political views.




I was actually going to post what a relief it will be to not have a splurge of parochial threads on Ask and The Forum next month (or whenever it is).


Just kidding

There are already convos knocking around where people are commenting about the forthcoming election and the various political parties - will these be retrospectively modded? Or is it only new discussions that will be subject to the election discussion rules (whatever they are)?

As TPTB have a bit more lead time to think about and plan for this than they did for the Iraq war I am wondering what the decision is about this.

I just *really* hope they can put aside a bit of DNA for it. The normal BBC message boards really suck.

FB, in your round up of the state of play for the various UK political parties you've missed out the Greens. They, somewhat bizarrely, have an outside chance on a good day with a fair wind in place of taking the Brighton Pavillion seat off of the Labour party

Yep, was going to mention the Greens, they have european seats and may put on a showing in selected seats, however in a 1st past the post system will not likely have much of a chance in th majorty of the places they contest, however they may steal voters from the lib dems or labour.

The problem is that due to scaremongering (mainly by the torys and that daily mail) that the British National Party (read English nazi party) may have a fighting chance for a seat or two in Lancashire. They have had a worryingly good showing in some local elections around there. Even in Manchester uni's recent elections a BNP candidate managed to get 128 votes, which is fairly large for a xenophobic bigot.

As well as getting to set the date of the elections, the incumbant goverment also have 1 other huge advantage, they can draw up the boundary lines. If memory serves me, when John Major won his election, Labour got more votes, however while they had massive majorities in most of their seats, quiet a few Torys were returned in marginals, so while the popular vote went to labour, the seat count went to Conservatives

Crikey so I did how on earth did I manage that.

plaguesville, sir,

"...you certainly haven't helped the cause."

???

I am not McDonald's or the American "justice" system or the American people. I'm just this guy, you know?