Who are you voting for and why ?

yoshytoshy

Hi ,moving on from the thread about who voted for fianna fail ,just wondering who people are going to vote for this time and why ?

I can see myself voting for the greens and labour.
The greens seem to be able to get on with projects and invest in things without the need for explanation ,like other parties might have to. I believe we need to take chances on things like energy and job creation ,make some mistakes and also create a better economy/envoirnment.
Labour also gets my vote ,becuase they seem to have education and arts as part of their generating a better society and hopefully economy. Ireland should be looking for a specific quality that we have in abundance and help it to flourish. I believe that education and the arts are a strong part of that.

Thats my view.

Eliot Rosewater

Whatever I do, I won't be voting for Labour because, in my opinion, their policies will only prolong the economic downturn, as I outlined here.

With little other choice, it will probably be Fine Gael.

Bersouth

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Hi ,moving on from the thread about who voted for fianna fail ,just wondering who people are going to vote for this time and why ?

I can see myself voting for the greens and labour.
The greens seem to be able to get on with projects and invest in things without the need for explanation ,like other parties might have to. I believe we need to take chances on things like energy and job creation ,make some mistakes and also create a better economy/envoirnment.
Labour also gets my vote ,becuase they seem to have education and arts as part of their generating a better society and hopefully economy. Ireland should be looking for a specific quality that we have in abundance and help it to flourish. I believe that education and the arts are a strong part of that.

Thats my view.

The trouble is when we are asked to elected people we are asked to elect people to be our reps in Dail and they in turn elect the goverment to run the country. Peole seem to loose out on the fact that its the members of the Dail elected the Goverment not the people. Then we have a people giving out about our TD's being tribalistic but they seem to forget that what we elected them for...

thebman

If I was voting right now probably FG/Greens.

May change.

yoshytoshy wrote: »

I can see your point about labour ,but I also see the damage that capatilism has done to Ireland:(

We're in the european union ,we shouldn't need to be the biggest country in the world.

We need Irish industries. We need to export. We don't need to own the world but we need sensible economic policy and spending policy.

Labor will not take on the unions and they are killing Ireland.

yoshytoshy

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

Whatever I do, I won't be voting for Labour because, in my opinion, their policies will only prolong the economic downturn, as I outlined here.

With little other choice, it will probably be Fine Gael.

I can see your point about labour ,but I also see the damage that capatilism has done to Ireland:(

We're in the european union ,we shouldn't need to be the biggest country in the world.

danman

I'm sorry, bit I won't be voting Labour either, I can't see anything in their policies that will stimulate less of a deficate than we have at present.
Although, there is rumours that they are finally thinking of running a decent candidate in my constituency.
I'll wait on that one.

I also won't vote SF for personal reasons.

I'm not very envoirmently friendly, and for guilt reasons, I would consider them. But again, they don't seem to run a viable candidate in my area.

That leaves FF ang FG.
At present I'm leaning towards FG.

The deficate, inward investment and export creation are high on my list of priorities.
FF seem to be concentrating only on cutting expenditure, which is fine, but not on new revenue through II or exports.

There is still 2 years to decide, I can't see the greens giving up the chance to impliment some of their policies as part of government. They may not get the chance for the foreseeable future.

After that I'm undecided.

TrollHammaren

We all know most people are going to vote Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, which is a crying shame.

I'm quite heavily left-wing, but the problem is that most left-wing parties in this country are useless (by the way, I am not in the least bit supportive of Sinn Féin).

Because there are no decent social democratic parties, or democratic socialist parties represented I'm probably going to have to vote for independents.

Unless there's a major change in Irish politics, I'm out of this country in a few years, anyway.

mike65

thebman wrote: »

If I was voting right now probably FG/Greens.

Greens? To what end?

thebman

mike65 wrote: »

Greens? To what end?

Only party interested in developing infrastructure which is the only worthwhile expenditure we have at the moment.

I do disagree with some of their policies which is why its subject to change.

Greens are also against political donations and are interested in proper zoning plans.

steelcityblues

Start a poll for this thread?

All of the 'big three' over Lisbon, among a few other things, won't be guaranteed my vote!

The Greens are a spent force. SF have no economic managementg and are out of touch with their own voting base on immigration.

A new, more libertarian, eurosceptic and anti-corruption party needs to be set up and target voters in the right manner. There is a gaping hole for a party like this in Irish politics right now!

yoshytoshy

thebman wrote: »

We need Irish industries. We need to export. We don't need to own the world but we need sensible economic policy and spending policy.

Labor will not take on the unions and they are killing Ireland.

But we don't know how people will approach ireland with a labour government though ,who is to say that other countries won't invest here if we change things?

Theres also a plus side to having a party that relates to unions ,maybe with some trust ,unions would make better offers in return for future changes.

I'm not a union member myself ,but I do feel sorry for a lot of union members who fell for fianna fails lies and promises. I don't blame them for the distrust.

danman

mike65 wrote: »

Greens? To what end?

Also, remember that they only have 6 TD's. It is the parties perogitive to persue their green agenda.
For that, I will not hold this term against them.

They came in with a clean slate, in fact the only party that wasn't effected by sleaze, and this will be their only chance to make a difference.

Their main aim, as far as I can see, is the improve the envoirnment.
That is their only reason for being.
They've taken the oportunity given to them.

mike65

They also outrageously prop up a government about which they privately hold their noses, certainly at grass-roots level. I couldn't back such hypocrites.

Anyway for the purposes of this thread I'd vote FG to get them a second seat here, the Greens are nowhere in Waterford (mainly due to the legacy of one Brendan McCann).

thebman

yoshytoshy wrote: »

But we don't know how people will approach ireland with a labour government though ,who is to say that other countries won't invest here if we change things?

Theres also a plus side to having a party that relates to unions ,maybe with some trust ,unions would make better offers in return for future changes.

I'm not a union member myself ,but I do feel sorry for a lot of union members who fell for fianna fails lies and promises. I don't blame them for the distrust.

Unions are poison to the state at the moment. As are all the similar lobby groups including IBEC and Construction lobby groups (forget their names).

They are all out to get money we don't have for their members and have no interest in Ireland, the state and what is good for it and its citizens.

As Labor are funded by IMO, the group causing the most problems at the moment, I will not vote for them as they will pursue that groups agenda ahead of the Irish taxpayers.

yoshytoshy

thebman wrote: »

Unions are poison to the state at the moment. As are all the similar lobby groups including IBEC and Construction lobby groups (forget their names).

They are all out to get money we don't have for their members and have no interest in Ireland, the state and what is good for it and its citizens.

As Labor are funded by IMO, the group causing the most problems at the moment, I will not vote for them as they will pursue that groups agenda ahead of the Irish taxpayers.

The purpose of this thread was also to find out why others are voting for their party. The reason for this was to understand what people want from their vote.

I don't know why anyone is voting for Fine gael ,it just seems to be for the same reason people voted for fianna fail in the last election ,because they are the only option and not because of their policies?

I just can't see a change in Ireland ,if people don't vote for a good reason. What do people want from government ?

Sulmac

yoshytoshy wrote: »

I don't know why anyone is voting for Fine gael ,it just seems to be for the same reason people voted for fianna fail in the last election ,because they are the only option and not because of their policies?

Well, I would give my first preference to Fine Gael because of their policies. I don't necessarily agree with all aspects of all of them, but at least they have properly timed and costed policies (in NewERA, FairCare and NewPolitics, for instance) whereas we get nothing of the sort from Fianna Fáil, whose response to anything tends to be "let's spend a year getting our QUANGO friends to make a report and then do nothing wholesome but throw some money at the problem and wish it away". Although a large number of people would vote for Fine Gael because "that's who we've always voted for" or "there's no other option" (some Fianna Fáilers are the exact same, even still), I don't fall into this category and a substantial number of voters wouldn't - particularly when they learn about Fine Gael's policies.

I would give Labour my second preference (or third/fourth, depending on the number of Fine Gael candidates), because I like a lot of their ideas (particularly the education policy there). I find their problem is they're far too vague, which is why I said ideas rather than policies. They are also a more socially liberal party than FF/FG.

I would probably then give a preference to some of the smaller parties (possibly the Greens, but I'll see), and maybe independents if I like their policies. I wouldn't give any preference to Fianna Fáil. They need at least two terms out of office to get their act together.

edit: Forgot to say, Sinn Féin wouldn't get any preference either.

ilovelamp2000

I can't find a reason to vote for any of the parties at the moment. I've only ever voted in two elections, and the process of elimination is a little bit scary when I think about it.

SF - not considered.
FF - Despite the little economics I learned back in the early 2000's it was clear their monetary policy was destined to end in tears. And they are an incredibly corrupt group who have just sold us down the river. Nice one lads.
FG - I'm not sure what the point of them is.

So that left me with the Greens, Labour and a few independents.

The independents didn't seem to be up to much, the Greens are a bad joke, so that left me with Labour.

So both times I voted for them, but this time I'm a little bit scared of them. The mention of "Nama for mortgage holders" is truly frightening and I won't vote for any party who promises to establish it.

LordSutch

FG No 1
Lab No 2
Green No 3

PDs - Would have . . .
FF - Not really.
SF - Not considered.

Denerick

I hate the position I'm going to be placed in the next general election. Although FF don't deserve political power, I refuse to vote for Labour and FG, both parties who in essence agreed with the economic policies of FF and who love whinging about how some Lord Of the Rings type Fianna Fáil overlord single handedly brought down the economy out of some malicious motivation. There is no way I'm ever going to vote for such cynical, dishonest, and moronic parties.

I'll probably lodge a protest vote for Sinn Féin. Of all the parties, they at least have a right to whinge, because they were whinging at the height of the boom.

talla10

Because of a lack of alternative parties ill be voting fine gael. I dont know why anybody would vote for the greens they have absolutly no regard for this country if they had they would have withdrawn their support in the present government a long time ago obviously they want to wait until they are guaranteed their ministerial pensions before rocking the boat and i hope they lose all their seats because they have no integrity, backbone or willpower same as all the rest i fear just out to line their own pockets and to hell with the people who voted for them!!

LordSutch

I wish Enda had a bit more go about him, a bit more charisma, a bit more get up & go . . . the choice would be so much more simple for so many more people, if just one of the leaders of the main parties stood out, I find Enda very uninspiring, even though I agree with a lot of FG policies.

yoshytoshy

talla10 wrote: »

I dont know why anybody would vote for the greens they have absolutly no regard for this country if they had they would have withdrawn their support in the present government a long time ago obviously they want to wait until they are guaranteed their ministerial pensions before rocking the boat and i hope they lose all their seats because they have no integrity, backbone or willpower same as all the rest i fear just out to line their own pockets and to hell with the people who voted for them!!

That would go for any party in government with fianna fail ,the greens just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The little guy always takes the fall ,the greens haven't so fair play to them.

Annasopra

Definitely Labour - Right Wing neoliberalism has totally failed us - We can see this in the way the banks were not regulated, - Labour will also stand against vicious attacks on social welfare

Denerick

Johnnymcg wrote: »

Definitely Labour - Right Wing neoliberalism has totally failed us - We can see this in the way the banks were not regulated, - Labour will also stand against vicious attacks on social welfare

Labour are living in dreamland if they think that spending doesn't have to come down. We'll get one thing out of Labour, and that is the IMF. And besides, you're never going to see a 'left' government anyway, FG will be the majority party in the next government.

Eliot Rosewater

Johnnymcg wrote: »

Right Wing neoliberalism has totally failed us

Yes, because low interest rates, government sponsored moral hazard, tax breaks designed to stimulate the building sector and overspending are examples of "neoliberalism".

Pride Fighter

I'll be voting for Labour for several reasons.

1. Leadership, Labour have the only credible party leader and the only credible person for the position of Taoiseach.

2. Policies, Labour have the best policies out of any of the parties, they are focused on jobs, creating jobs for those who have none and maintaining the jobs that are currently there. Labour have revived their 2000 healthcare document called curing our ills. This will give everyone universal health insurance. Labour has the best education policies too. Ruairi Quinn has written up a document about the future of primary and secondary education in this country. Labour are also opposed to third level fees, unlike every other party.

3. Banks and Financial regulation. Labour is the only party to oppose the guarantee and the only party to propose temporary nationalisation. Temporary nationalisation would have been a cheaper option in fixing the financial mess.

4. The others parties are awful. I dislike the 2 main Thatcherite parties, but I applaud Fine Gael for at least having policies. Fianna Fail are trying to be everything to everyone, particularly their developer and banker friends. As for the Greens, they are a bit like the PD's now. Certainly Labour and FG now have an environmental conciousness and the Greens are no longer required. Sinn Fein, I'll say no more.


I could list many more positive reasons to vote for Labour. I could also list many more reasons to vote for anyone but Fianna Fail, but I wont at this time.

rightwingdub

I'd have to choose between FF and FG as the PDS have sunk into oblivion, however, if a proper conservative, free market, tough on mass immigration, low tax, pro privatisation, anti corruption, proper regulation party was to ever emerge I would happily vote for that party.

At the moment

1) FF
2) FG
3) Sinn Fein

If FG were to ditch Kenny and replace him with Richard Bruton then I'd vote FG with Leo Varadkar as Minister for finance.

Mr. Presentable

Has an election been called and nobody told me?

yoshytoshy

nipplenuts wrote: »

Has an election been called and nobody told me?

Some of us go for quality ,rather than wait for the sales:)

thebman

yoshytoshy wrote: »

I don't know why anyone is voting for Fine gael ,it just seems to be for the same reason people voted for fianna fail in the last election ,because they are the only option and not because of their policies?

Neither FF or FG have policies. They are both populists who just want power but a government will be made up of one or the other of them as shown from pretty much every poll and government in history of the state.

FF must be kicked into the wilderness to learn from their mistakes. If a dog does his business on the carpet, I don't reward the dog. Kicking FF out is the only signal the electorate can give that FF isn't working for the people. As FF are populists, they'll examine themselves and see what they can change to get back in. They will learn from their mistakes but only if the electorate force them to.

However one massive benefit of FG getting in power is they can remove the quango's that are there as jobs for the boys that FF created and won't get rid of as they have old friends there and are looking out for them.

The quangos spend billions a year and would actually have a significant impact on our annual borrowings if the unneeded ones were shut down.

bijapos

Greens.

Why?

Planning, Corporate Donations/Corruption, Energy, Sustainability to name a few. They have policies where they look 10, 20, 30 years down the road, not just at the next election.

Kiwi_knock

Rather naively I will be voting for the person in my constituency rather than the party. I will sit down examine what they will bring to my area and secondly what their party will bring to the country.

Macha

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Rather naively I will be voting for the person in my constituency rather than the party. I will sit down examine what they will bring to my area and secondly what their party will bring to the country.

This is what local elections are for.

maynooth_rules

Fine Gael for me. Not the biggest fan of Enda Kenny but quite impressed with the ideas they have put forward, especially what they intend to do with health. I also like the idea of having a Minister for Finance who is educated in Economics, rather than the present Barrister we have. As I said I am not a big fan of Enda Kenny but I think Fine Gael have a very strong and enthusiastic front bench. I woukld consider myself to have a Green philosophy but I am counting the days until the destruction of this Green party. They have been a disgrace and the electorate will let them know how much of a disgrace they have been. I hope they have enjoyed this experience in bed with the dreaded Fianna Fail

PomBear

SF for me

Need a new approach to economy, they're tagged as 'economic illiterates' yet if you look at their last few pre budget submissions, they've a fresher, stronger approach than those who call them it. Greens and Labour have never shown any balls in government and sheerly a coalition party. FF-not a hope in hell. FG-Same as FF (in reason and in practice).

danman

PomBear wrote: »

SF for me

Need a new approach to economy, they're tagged as 'economic illiterates' yet if you look at their last few pre budget submissions, they've a fresher, stronger approach than those who call them it. Greens and Labour have never shown any balls in government and sheerly a coalition party. FF-not a hope in hell. FG-Same as FF (in reason and in practice).

Your concerned about the economy, so you'll vote for a party that has no chance of implimenting their economic policy?

I can think of reasons to vote SF if your that way inclined, but economics wouldn't be one of them.

But each to their own.

PomBear

danman wrote: »

Your concerned about the economy, so you'll vote for a party that has no chance of implimenting their economic policy?

I can think of reasons to vote SF if your that way inclined, but economics wouldn't be one of them.

But each to their own.

I'll be voting for them because I believe in their economic policy and I don't know of a SF TD/Counciller that has failed the Irish people.

PARKHEAD67

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Hi ,moving on from the thread about who voted for fianna fail ,just wondering who people are going to vote for this time and why ?

I can see myself voting for the greens and labour.
The greens seem to be able to get on with projects and invest in things without the need for explanation ,like other parties might have to. I believe we need to take chances on things like energy and job creation ,make some mistakes and also create a better economy/envoirnment.
Labour also gets my vote ,becuase they seem to have education and arts as part of their generating a better society and hopefully economy. Ireland should be looking for a specific quality that we have in abundance and help it to flourish. I believe that education and the arts are a strong part of that.

Thats my view.

THEYRE ALL A SHOWER OF INCOMPETENT GREEDY MONGRELS.Just my own opinion.

yoshytoshy

PARKHEAD67 wrote: »

THEYRE ALL A SHOWER OF INCOMPETENT GREEDY MONGRELS.Just my own opinion.

Ah well ,all in the name of democracy.

Eliot Rosewater

Pride Fighter wrote: »

2. Policies, Labour have the best policies out of any of the parties

Perhaps you might address my concerns that Labour party policy will only prolong the recession?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

MysNthR0p3

donegalfella wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The best option for economic recovery is a party that pays attention to the economists they beg to stand for election on their behalf. So FG ain't it.

Unfortunately, the state of our current system, its a case of which brand of centrist incompetents do you want screwing you over and ruining the country for the next 5 years, if they make it that far.

dlofnep

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Sinn Fein, I'll say no more.

I'm interested in that, given that many of the reasons you've cited for supporting Labour, are also Sinn Féin policies.

they are focused on jobs, creating jobs for those who have none and maintaining the jobs that are currently there

Sinn Féin are also focused on job creation, through a job stimulus package. Guess who also pressed for a job stimulus package to get people back to work? That's right, Labour.

Labour have revived their 2000 healthcare document called curing our ills. This will give everyone universal health insurance.

Sinn Féin are also supportive of universal health insurance, believing that healthcare is a basic right of the people.

Labour are also opposed to third level fees, unlike every other party.

Sinn Féin are also opposed to third level fees, and believe that access to third-level education should be accessible by all.

Now whether you like Sinn Féin or not, that's an entirely different story. But I find it a little weak to make such a statement, and then use the examples that you've given.

Back to the original question - I would vote for Sinn Féin. There's no mystery as to why. All Sinn Féin councillors or TD's I've ever interacted with have worked hard on my behalf, without a bat of an eye. They are an average industrial wage and the rest goes back into the party (Even TD's). This shows me that unlike some, they are not in it for the paycheck alone.

They have policies that I feel Ireland needs, which benefits the most vulnerable in society. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds need state assistance, whether it be for healthcare - or attempting to try and better their position by going to college. Some other posters firmly believe that we shouldn't subsidise people going to college - but I disagree.

Sinn Féin works from a bottom-up approach. Most councillors and activists come from working class backgrounds, so they all know what it is to endure hardship. It's very easy for some wealthy politician to tell us what's best for us - but when you've grown up knowing struggle - you have a different outlook on how important state support is in aiding people to break out of hardship and progress further in life.

Sinn Féin is active on the social equality scene - engaging in many protests for gay & lesbian equality, anti-racism marches and so forth. Having been active within Sinn Féin circles - I know that people are genuinely supportive of the Gay & Lesbian community.

Sinn Féin has worked hard in working class estates, on anti-drugs campaigns. They have worked hard in the inner cities on highlighting the issue of homelessness.

To me - they are a party that is full of hard-working people, who are willing to do whatever they can to help. The Thatcherite politics that other people want to see to clean up Ireland will only increase the levels of poverty and inequality, as seen in 1980's Britain. The figures don't lie.

nacho libre

I am very impressed with Labour and Eamonn Gilmore lately and i am giving real consideration to voting labour but before i can do so i must know their position on abortion as i cannot bring myself to support a pro-abortion party.

PomBear

nacho libre wrote: »

I am very impressed with Labour and Eamonn Gilmore lately and i am giving real consideration to voting labour but before i can do so i must know their position on abortion as i cannot bring myself to support a pro-abortion party.

The party policy is to support abortions where there is a risk to the life or health of the mother, or where there is a foetal abnormality that means the foetus would be stillborn.

This is also Sinn Féin's policy.

Fine Gael, who will most likely be Labour's coalition party are staunchly pro-life so voting for Labour won't get a pro-choice government in place i'm afraid.

Stinicker

I'm going to vote for FG in the next election and voted for them in last years councils and I voted for them in '07 General Election also.

I was screaming to people about the imminent crash in 2007 and to vote out FF and I was told the country was booming and we never had it so good. The average house price was supposed to rise to €800k by 2010 if I recall from douchebag writing in the Sunday Indo or SBP. Actaully it was just aswell FG failed to make it in 2007 as they would get all the blame and as it stands if they have any bit of luck they can shaft FF and Gilmore and the other smoked salmons by getting an overall majority.

An FG majority would set us up nicely for recovery and help kill off the FF culture in Ireland.

Agent Smith

MysNthR0p3 wrote: »

The best option for economic recovery is a party that pays attention to the economists they beg to stand for election on their behalf. So FG ain't it.

"ITS MY BALL AND I'M TAKING IT HOME!"

Agent Smith

dlofnep wrote: »

I'm interested in that, given that many of the reasons you've cited for supporting Labour, are also Sinn Féin policies.



Sinn Féin are also focused on job creation, through a job stimulus package. Guess who also pressed for a job stimulus package to get people back to work? That's right, Labour.



Sinn Féin are also supportive of universal health insurance, believing that healthcare is a basic right of the people.



Sinn Féin are also opposed to third level fees, and believe that access to third-level education should be accessible by all.

Now whether you like Sinn Féin or not, that's an entirely different story. But I find it a little weak to make such a statement, and then use the examples that you've given.

Back to the original question - I would vote for Sinn Féin. There's no mystery as to why. All Sinn Féin councillors or TD's I've ever interacted with have worked hard on my behalf, without a bat of an eye. They are an average industrial wage and the rest goes back into the party (Even TD's). This shows me that unlike some, they are not in it for the paycheck alone.

They have policies that I feel Ireland needs, which benefits the most vulnerable in society. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds need state assistance, whether it be for healthcare - or attempting to try and better their position by going to college. Some other posters firmly believe that we shouldn't subsidise people going to college - but I disagree.

Sinn Féin works from a bottom-up approach. Most councillors and activists come from working class backgrounds, so they all know what it is to endure hardship. It's very easy for some wealthy politician to tell us what's best for us - but when you've grown up knowing struggle - you have a different outlook on how important state support is in aiding people to break out of hardship and progress further in life.

Sinn Féin is active on the social equality scene - engaging in many protests for gay & lesbian equality, anti-racism marches and so forth. Having been active within Sinn Féin circles - I know that people are genuinely supportive of the Gay & Lesbian community.

Sinn Féin has worked hard in working class estates, on anti-drugs campaigns. They have worked hard in the inner cities on highlighting the issue of homelessness.

To me - they are a party that is full of hard-working people, who are willing to do whatever they can to help. The Thatcherite politics that other people want to see to clean up Ireland will only increase the levels of poverty and inequality, as seen in 1980's Britain. The figures don't lie.

That was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Sinn Féin Party.

dlofnep

Agent Smith wrote: »

That was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Sinn Féin Party.

Just giving my two cents, like everybody else on this thread

Pride Fighter

Agent Smith wrote: »

That was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Sinn Féin Party.

It was a bit of a party political broadcast. He also failed to mention the savage cuts that Sinn Fein have brought in in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein are a bunch of me feiners like Fianna Fail.

dlofnep

Pride Fighter wrote: »

It was a bit of a party political broadcast. He also failed to mention the savage cuts that Sinn Fein have brought in in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein are a bunch of me feiners like Fianna Fail.

What cuts have Sinn Féin brought in?

I see you've refused to acknowledge my corrections of your post.