Local Elections Poll (Borough Council Candidates)

ChristIsMurph

Who will you be voting for in the upcoming Borough Council Elections?

brettmirl

Is that the final list or is there still time for more to get on the ballot paper?
Have all the main parties finalised their selections at this stage?

ChristIsMurph

mick_irl wrote: »

Is that the final list or is there still time for more to get on the ballot paper?
Have all the main parties finalised their selections at this stage?

It's fairly final. It's late for anyone to be coming in at this point but never say never you know?

But all the main parties have finalised their selections anyway.

jiggajt

It looks like maybe sinn fein should have ran a second candidate!

Stephen

Polls on boards are never representative of what way the wider population will vote. If they were, the current shower wouldn't be in government :pac:

brettmirl

I wonder was that Nightwish that voted for Andrew McGuinness???? :pac::pac::pac:

jiggajt

Thought this was worth resurrecting given the local election debate.

brettmirl

I've totted up the results on the three polls running in the Kilkenny section on Boards, to give a 'poll of polls' (I've nothing better to do over lunch!).

Results are:

FF -12.9%
FG -31.9%
LAB -19.8%
GRN -4.8%
SF -20.9%
IND -4.4%

The undecided or will not vote figure is 5.3%

jiggajt

Compared to the 2007 election results:


FF from-46.6% to-12.9% change -33.7
FG from-30.9% to-31.9% change +1%
LAB from-12.1% to-19.8% change +7.7%
GRN from-3.6% to-4.8% change +1.2%
SF from-2.4% to-20.9% change +18.5%
IND from 3% to-4.4% change -1.4%

I know its not really a valid comparison to make but interesting nonetheless. I dont think FF have actually lost that much nor have SF gained that much and greens are also down nationally.

sooshie

how come andrew mcguinness name is in a special font?

Sully

sooshie wrote: »

how come andrew mcguinness name is in a special font?

Because you voted for him in the poll. Does voting for yourself make you feel cool? :P

sooshie

oh ok i get it....and im not andrew mcguinness....im a supporter of him and FF always have been....yes i did only join boards today to read about the disabled parking incident but the reason i heard about it was actually from the oppositions facebook page!!! so i said id have a look and then felt the need to comment....sorry im talkin about this on this thread but the thread was closed before i got the chance to reply!

Sully

sooshie wrote: »

oh ok i get it....and im not andrew mcguinness....im a supporter of him and FF always have been....yes i did only join boards today to read about the disabled parking incident but the reason i heard about it was actually from the oppositions facebook page!!! so i said id have a look and then felt the need to comment....sorry im talkin about this on this thread but the thread was closed before i got the chance to reply!

Ah so your not in the same building or using the same computer then?

One of the core FF supporters - sticking through thick and thin! Amusing that you all register miniutes apart and head for the same topic. :P

sooshie

No im actually not in same building or same computer....i completly understand that you may think that maybe the other 2 users are in it together... but ya know you can think what you like.... im not here to argue or to clarify who i am...i just wanted to add my opinion and have a gander around the site....

Sliderman

I hope a real change comes into Kilkenny ...but it wont ............ im sick of the same old ****e:P.

I really think people are desparate when they vote AMcGuinness:Ddo something real for the people then you will deserve your vote ... do the decent thing.....retire quick and do the honourable thing(probably top the pole now):rolleyes:

Respect for the dad but does he not understand business loyalty at his age??????Piss the boss off and you get a kick to touch,,,,keep the boss happy and he will be happy to work with your ideas generally ..loyalty my man. I wonder how many people challenged him and lasted in his company????


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sooshie

Sliderman wrote: »

I hope a real change comes into Kilkenny ...but it wont ............ im sick of the same old ****e:P.

I really think people are desparate when they vote AMcGuinness:Ddo something real for the people then you will deserve your vote ... do the decent thing.....retire quick and do the honourable thing(probably top the pole now):rolleyes:

Respect for the dad but does he not understand business loyalty at his age??????Piss the boss off and you get a kick to touch,,,,keep the boss happy and he will be happy to work with your ideas generally ..loyalty my man. I wonder how many people challenged him and lasted in his company????



NO REPLY NECESSARY

so you believe that not standing for what you believe in is the way forward?
I truely believe andrew and john have made a difference to this county...yes they are FF..... and i know they are not flavour of the month, but on a local level andrew should be re elected. he works hard and i know first hand that he has helped out so many ppol in this county.

Sully

Just an FYI for those interested;
NS/mrbi polled 2,000 people on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for their first poll since February, and asked them how they would vote if there was a general election.

Fianna Fáil is down one point to 21%, in the first Irish Times poll since the Emergency Budget.

Fine Gael, meanwhile, see a dramatic improvement and are up six points to 38%.

Labour are down four to 20%, the Greens are down one to 3% and Sinn Fein are unchanged at 9%.

The independents and others are also unchanged at 9%.

Satisfaction with the Government fell four points, to just 10%.

86% now say they are dissatisfied with the Government's performance and just 4% have no opinion.

Regarding satisfaction with the way party leaders are doing their jobs, Brian Cowen scores just 18%, a fall of six since February.

Enda Kenny is up three at 33%, while Eamon Gilmore has the highest satisfaction rating at 51%, up 7.

John Gormley at 25% is down four and Gerry Adams at 34% is up two.

sooshie

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

Sully

sooshie wrote: »

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

You would say that. Your a core FF supporter.

FG actually *do* offer better policys and plans for the country then FF. Hence, you see Cowen & the party dropping in support and FG and Kenny rising in support.

road_high

sooshie wrote: »

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

That's your opinion, not fact. It's a sure cry from the FF diehards- "ah sure FG wouldn't be any better........." zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz at this stage.

jiggajt

sooshie wrote: »

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

Opposition bashing isnt politically constructive in any way. It just misleads people into thinking "well he's an eejit but the other fella's an even bigger eejit." If people actually took the time to read up on the oppositions policices they would realise there are huge differences.

For example Fine Gaels opposition to benchmarking cost them alot of votes in the last election and it looks like they were right as greedy public are about to hold this country to ransom at the worst possible time.

fabbydabby

Benchmarking. Yeah. Thanks Bertie.

sooshie wrote: »

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

Interesting. As a relative newcomer to the Irish political scene (I have only developed an interest since the last general election) I have asked of many people what the difference bewteen FG and FF is.

I understand the Republican Vs Democrat in the US differences, the Tory Vs Labour in the UK... seemed strange that I didn't know what the differences between our own two opposition parties were.

So fairly recently I asked this question of several people who I percieved as being 'into politics' but could not glean a satisfactory answer. The closest I got was being told of the historical difference between the two, which I knew about already and which is so irrelevant today that it is almost laughable.

I pointed out to a friend of mine who is a member of FF that I, as a 'floating voter' with no political alligence, could see no apparent differences between the two parties. I told him that as I saw it, the principle for opposition was irrelevant and anachronistic and I asked him if it would not be better to have parties fundamentally opposed on matters of economic modus operandi instead of an 80 year old treaty.

He told me (in a sarcastic manner) that this was a fantastic idea and that i should write it down.

I asked him why should someone join FG above FF? They are both fairly centre, perhaps right leaning a tad? I asked him why he chose FF over FG to join. He said it was because his dad was in FF.

Is this a valid reason to support a party? To me, no.

I also believe that the support for one party only increases as a result of decreasing support for the other, and not on its own merit. People didn't suddenly wake up recently after all these years and realise that FG are actually fantastic after all. They only support them to oust the status quo, which to my mind is another flawed reason to vote for a party.

Excuse my ignorance here... maybe someone with a party affiliation could enlighten me?

jiggajt

I have no real allegiances either. Im kind of at the stage where i am forming my political opinions. Aside from the historical differences which i wouldnt just dismiss as being completely irrelevant the difference between FF and FG as far as im concerned are that FG are more right wing.

If FG got into power on their own which i cant see happening then i think they would get tight on immigration, privitise much of the healthcare system and lower taxes.

This makes the FG Labour coalition kind of a strange one because essentially labour would want to do the oppsoite!

fabbydabby

Maybe jiggajt, but look at the FF / Green alliance? Who'd have seen that coming!

I think that people tend to vote for personality moreso in this country. Like there were a couple of candiates that appealed to me locally but I voted against them because I can't stand their party leaders. Enda Kenny is a plankish insufferable arsebiscuit and I detest him, and the same goes for Rabbitte (in the last general election).

I wish I had strong political beliefs, it would make choosing who to vote for so much easier.

catbear

here's an interesting exercise....
http://www.euprofiler.eu/
it shows you where you are in relation to the stated agendas of all the political parties. i did it twice a few days apart and it's scary how close FF and FG are together.
it plots positions by using a left/right axis and a pro/anti EU axis, it's flawed i'm sure but interesting to see the distances between the parties or the lack of distance between the two main Irish parties.
also interesting to view is how your political views fits in with other political parties in other European countries.

catbear

sooshie wrote: »

whatever ppl say about FF and its current leaders......FG isnt any better!!

then you'll have no moral dilemma switching your allegiance to FG should your current champion become a loser.

jiggajt

fabbydabby wrote: »

Maybe jiggajt, but look at the FF / Green alliance? Who'd have seen that coming!

True. I guess it goes to show you that politicains will get into bed with anyone in order to maintain their overinflated salaries and expenses. Nobody has the best interest of Ireland at heart.

I wouldnt share your complete aversion towards the opposition leaders although i do find your description of Enda Kenny hilarious!:D

jiggajt

catbear wrote: »

here's an interesting exercise....
http://www.euprofiler.eu/
it shows you where you are in relation to the stated agendas of all the political parties. i did it twice a few days apart and it's scary how close FF and FG are together.
it plots positions by using a left/right axis and a pro/anti EU axis, it's flawed i'm sure but interesting to see the distances between the parties or the lack of distance between the two main Irish parties.
also interesting to view is how your political views fits in with other political parties in other European countries.

Ha Ha. It looks like im stuck in political no mans land! Nearest party to me is Libertas. I never realised i was an anti Eu right wing nutjob!

Cabaal

Sully wrote: »

You would say that. Your a core FF supporter.

FG actually *do* offer better policys and plans for the country then FF. Hence, you see Cowen & the party dropping in support and FG and Kenny rising in support.

I'm not a FF supporter and I'd have to agree that FG are not the answer atleast not on their own,

The bottom line is whatever party is in power and makes the hard decisions is going to be unpopular....if FG won an election and made decisions that are unpopular with the average joe (and they will have to be) then they'd be no different to FF.

The fact that FF are now doing better in the polls means nothing at present.

The country is in debt and neither SF, FF, or FG can create money from nothing, there needs to be cuts in jobs, expenses and budgets how else do you reduce spending and debt?

Cabaal

jiggajt wrote: »

Nearest party to me is Libertas. I never realised i was an anti Eu right wing nutjob!

Its nice to know at least some people are aware what Libertas stands for
How anyone could even consider for voting for them I'll never know

fabbydabby

Excellent link catbear. Really quite helpful.What is really interesting is where you compare your own answers to those of the party in question: Here's me Vs Libertas:

The legalisation of same sex marriages is a good thing

Your answerNeutral
Opinion Libertas:Completely disagree


Religious values and principles should be shown greater respect in politics
Your answerCompletely disagree
Opinion Libertas:Completely agree


The decriminalisation of the personal use of soft drugs is to be welcomed
Your answerTend to disagree
Opinion Libertas:No opinion


Euthanasia should be legalised
Your answerTend to agree
Opinion Libertas:Completely disagree



I would have thought that with a name like Libertas the party would be more liberetarian, even if they are quite right-wing socially, but that has really opened my eyes!


It is also interesting to see the stuff that Libertas has no opinion on, for example:

Government spending should be reduced in order to lower taxes

Your answerCompletely agree
Opinion Libertas:No opinion

I suppose now one can only question the accuracy of this quiz.