Election

Decisions to make before May the 5th over whether and how to vote. In the Holburn & St. Pancras constituency where I spend most of my time these days, Frank Dobson is almost certain to win for Labour. The 2001 result gave Dobson 54% of the vote, Lib Dems 18% and Conservatives 16.9 %. Furthermore, Dobson is a good MP who listens to his constituents concerns and acts on them, in my experience. So there isn't much point in me voting here, unless I wanted to make a point by voting for a minority party (elements of the Greens' and Respect Coalition's programmes attract me - cutting carbon emissions and opposing imperialism - but other elements put me off - lack of coherent policy on anything other than their "core issues," George Galloway's ego (he called himself the "leader of the anti-war movement" even though the movement was meant to be a coalition! So much for the MAB, entirely forgotten now, even at protests), and the fact that their candidates don't stand a chance (although Respect reckon they might win in Bethnall Green and Bow with Galloway and with another candidate in Hackney).
But in St. Albans in 2001, Lib Dems came third in 2001 (Labour 45%, Cons 35.2%, Lib Dem 17.9%) - despite their constant strength in local elections. In St. Albans it really would be a case of a very strong Lib Dem vote (or large-scale abstention) risking a Tory victory.
But how seriously can this threat be taken any more? It's not only the case that Labour have adopted Tory-style policy across the board (tuition fees, PFI and other ways to partially privatise public services, bellicosity etc etc) but the Lib Dems have also embraced a degree of privatisation, in important areas.
A Health policy paper says: "We want to see the NHS as part of a wider health system, that system brings together a wide range of public and private agencies. Through both the range of services and its community leadership role local authorities are well placed to develop and deliver programmes designed to promote good health." Very "New Labour" indeed, and continuing PFI is going to be the preferred route.
So can I bring myself to vote for a party who want to privatise healthcare (and probably other things too - I could only find a skimpy two-page policy document on school education). Their policy on intellectual property is only marginally to the left of that advocated by the Bush administration, and their commitments on development are hardly radical by comparison with Labour.
Lib Dems are basically trying to appeal to lefties solely on an anti-war ticket - but if that's all that concerned me, I'd be voting for Galloway.
One element of the Lib Dems general policy stance appeals, however - that is strengthening local government. In the context of a political situation in which all three parties have adopted a reflexively positive stance on the privatisation of essential services, those concerned with winning them back need to think carefully about how to win back democracy - how to change the country from being a nominal democracy in which people are invited to choose between two (or three) almost identical parties twice a decade to being a functional democracy in which the wishes of ordinary people matter. The way to do it is to begin at a local level, and that can only happen if local government is not stifled by the demands of central government. The Lib Dems are the only party anywhere near this. Even if they got elected, the victory would be one of tiny significance, but it would be a start. It is for this reason that I advocate voting Liberal Democrat. Even in a constituency like St Albans where the risk of the Tories winning is real, I belive the risk is so small that it makes no difference.