We're in Derby for James' graduation tomorrow because it's so early in the morning. Debbie and Denis have rented an apartment for the night as we'd would have had to leave Bedfordshire tomorrow morning at about half five! An overnight stay is much more appealing. It's a lovely place with two bedrooms, Molton Brown shower things and even a dishwasher. We picked Laura up from the train station and found a wonderful Indian restaurant - if only James still lived here! We picked up a takeaway and brought it back to the apartment where we ate it all - excellent food. Here you can see the graduation present Debbie and Denis brought James - a toy Basset Hound with a mortarboard! It's now called Watson.... Colin Watson!
I realize tomorrow is a big day for you and I assume James is your boyfriend, you mention him here and there so I figured he's your significant other. Anyways if you can answer these questions whenever, that's cool- no rush..
ReplyDeleteOkay, so what are elections for your local officials that comprise parliament? Do you have like public forum debates or do they not matter because the guidelines of their agendas are in their manifestos? Do you care about individual politicians or do the party lines basically determine who you vote for? Would you ever consider switching parties (personal question)?
Thanks again for helping! Have a great day at James' graduation! Who are Debbie and Dennis? haha- guessing James' parents? early day tomorrow for me as well- have a good one!
First question revision: what are the elections like*
ReplyDeleteThe elections here are promoted by the parties throughout the run-up but nothing like in America. We were very aware about the Clinton-Obama race and then the Obama-McCain election run but we're having an election here in the summer and I'm sure it hasn't reached your news in America. As in your country I'm sure, many people here do not vote because they say they know nothing about politics but complain about everything that politicians could change.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had public debates before but this year, I believe we're going to have them this year. The three main heads of the political parties, Gordon Brown for Labour, David Cameron for the Conservatives and Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats, will go head to head on national television which will be very interesting for the British public to watch. The public don't have much trust in our politicians at the moment because of the recent expenses scandal where members of parliament claimed too much on their expenses, such as moat cleaning and the mortgage on a house that they didn't live in.
In our system, we vote in a political party rather than a single person but with anything, you are encouraged to relate to their leader. Many British people don't realise this fact and kicked up a fuss when Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair as the Labour Prime Minister. I tend to look at party lines and what they stand for but popular belief is that our politicians tend to tell the people what they want to hear before the election and then backtrack when they have won.
I would consider changing parties if my views changed or the party's views changed but many people in Britain tend to be allied with their particular party and it would take something very extreme for them to change their mind, as I assume it is with the Republicans and Democrats in the US.
I hope this helps you, David
Emma x
It has, thanks so much! I truly appreciate it!
ReplyDelete