UK voters put off by lack of clear direction from parties

THE UK goes to the polls in May, the first election since fixed-term parliaments were introduced. Previously, if a government felt it needed to, it called an election at any time. This government has been unable to do this and has limped along with many compromises because no party had an overall majority at the last election. There is a coalition of uneasy bedfellows - Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with many an opposing view. Both parties have broken promises as a result, but it is the Liberal Democrats who have come off worse, with latest polls indicating that their share of the vote will have been decimated.

The new election has been puffed in the media as the most interesting since . . . umm . . . since . . . another one some time ago. The electorate has yet to engage with this view and current betting odds are for a very low turnout (wouldn't it be nice if we had compulsory voting, like you do in Singapore?).

But, the media are correct because this is a fairly crucial election on a number of platforms. The Conservatives are basing it on the economy and they are right. Everything else pales into insignificance if the economy goes down the pan. To the average voter, this is yawn territory because all the economy means is whether I have money, a roof and access to satellite TV (a sort of updated Malthus view).