In case any of you hadn't noticed - there's an election going on here in the UK. We're entering into the final weeks, and I'll have to admit to following things quite closely.

I should say at this point that I am extremely biased - i've given significant sums to the conservative party over the last few years, and am an ardent supporter of the right wing position. Now, before I go any further, I want to debunk the myth that UK Conservative Party = US Republican Party. There is a tendency to over simplify things in order to make comparisons, and so it is often suggested that UK conservatives are the equivalent of US republicans, and that UK Labour are the same as US Democrats.

In fact, across all major parties in the UK, there is a strong strand of Social Liberalism. "Left" and "right" wing generally refers to economic philosophy, rather than social ideals. All major parties, for example, support civil partnerships (gay marriage), adoption rights for same sex couples and criminalising discrimination. While there is (from the conservatives) a policy of promoting "family" - they have a flexible definition of what "family" actually is.

One key difference is that religion plays little or no part in political life - so much so that our former prime minister Tony Blair waited until he left office to convert to catholicism. Quite famously, in public life, we don't "do" religion - which in turn has created a freer society, where other people's morals do not dictate to the entire populous. I mention this because, angry as I was yesterday (see yesterdays post about the bigoted man), I am incredibly proud of this nation of ours. I am proud of the freedoms we enjoy, that are still decades away in many western countries we might consider our peers. Though we're by no means the most liberal and accepting nation in the world - we do seem to be getting there.

So at this election, it seems that the economy is the major focus (naturally given the current economic climate). For me it boils down to three options:

(1) A guy who has proved himself incompetent, who introduced a change to the tax system that affected the poorest in our country, who sold off our gold reserves at rock bottom prices in order for cheap popularity, and whose reforms of financial regulation precipitated the collapse of some british banks (Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Gordon Brown)

(2) A guy who promises a major tax cut we cannot afford, wants to abandon the british pound and join the Euro, and has no experience of political office (Mr Nick Clegg)

(3) An aristocrat, who promises not to raise National Insurance (a tax that would harm the poorest in society), and pledges to find the money this tax would have raised by cutting waste in government (but cannot tell us how he will do that) - I give you David cameron.

On balance, I think i'd rather go for the competent guy with the good intentions, rather than a failed former chancellor or a committed Europhile making unaffordable promises.

My (totally biased and in no way balanced) vote -goes to Mr. Cameron.

West