I wanna be elected!

With less than a week till the UK General Election, are you (as I am) anxious not to waste your vote? At the moment, all the parties are in the rounds of baby-kissing, and visiting industry around the country (better late than never, eh?), and dry-cleaning their suits daily for maximum appeal.

Tony Blair's smile seems to have broadened, Charles Kennedy has had a proper army short-back-and-sides, and Michael Howard is now sporting new glasses. But what about the policies? Well, in the UK, we laugh at the US, because even though Bush has an awful record on the economy, he managed to divert the whole issue by talking about the (largely illegal) 'war on terror', and if he could whoop up enough fear in the southern states, they would surely elect him.

Well, now it's happening here. Michael Howard isn't focussing on waiting lists in hospitals, he's largely jumping on the back of MRSA, and also immigration. Not that these issues aren't unimportant, but they're largely what I call 'pub issues', you know, subjects that the common man can have a rant about, because you don't need too much understanding of what goes on in Westminster to discuss them. If ever there was a section of society that can lead the armchair revolution, it's the Middle England that reads the Daily Fascist (Mail) and the Daily Apathy (Express).

Of course, their vote carries every bit as much weight as yours, so use it wisely. To help out, I found this fantastic page on the BBC to assist all those (myself included) that need a broader overview of the key policies (i.e real national issues) that the major parties support.