Why I'm voting Conservative today

Today is one of the biggest days that this country will face in a generation.  The decisions made by the people over the course of the next 15 hours will shape the future of Britain for the next five years (or longer).  I shall be voting for the Conservatives, and here's why:


My first real memory of politics comes from 2nd May 1997, when I was little more than nine years old.  I remember going into the daily assembly at St Helen's CP School in Ipswich, where Mr. Golding, the headmaster, explained to us that the country had a new Prime Minister, a certain Tony Blair (I remember wondering whether he was the same person as Lionel Blair!).  I remember thinking that "Labour" was a rather funny name for a party, what with the connotations of the word.  Not once did I think I'd be where I am today in a mere thirteen years time.

The 2001 General Election is a very vague memory too.  I remember there being a mock election at school (not that I remember who won), and that there was a chap called William Hague who wanted to take Mr. Blair's job.  Again, not much of a memory.

2005 is a lot clearer.  By this time I was starting to get a grip on politics and already knew my views.  I'd already had enough of Labour and willed Michael Howard on to win; disappointed that the election came just a year too early for me to have my say.  I remember feeling disappointed upon finding out the following day that Blair had hung on for another term, having been certain that his time was up.

And now today brings another such election.  However this year I know a lot more and will remember a lot more.  But it's not just what I will remember from today that counts, but what I remember from the last thirteen years.

I've watched a country go to pot, drowning in a sea of uncontrolled immigration, its leaders unwilling to do anything to close the floodgates.

I've watched the social fabric of society decay, policemen disappearing from our streets, violent crime rising uncontrollably with people afraid to leave their houses after dark.

I have seen a nation lose its national pride.  Whilst England was once a name to be proud of, it is now a showcase of all that is wrong with Europe.

I have watched the pound in my pocket tumble in value thanks to the Government's financial mismanagement; I remember when Berlin was cheap... not any more.

I have seen an army go to war on a lie.  I have sat and watched countless reports of young men like me dying as a result of a former Prime Minister's spinelessness.

I have seen an unelected Prime Minister sow the seeds for the predicament we now find ourselves in.  "An end to boom and bust", he said; he was wrong.

It is the Labour party that has got us into the mess which we find ourselves in today.  They know it, I know it, you know it.  They are a desperate party, resorting to lies, fear and fraud in order to cling on to power.  They inherited one of the strongest economies in the world; now we are just months away from passing around the begging bowl.  Should they really be rewarded for their failure?

The Liberal Democrats just don't add up.  Yes, their policies may sound promising but their manifesto was one written on the basis that they were going to be making up the numbers again; they never expected to have to deliver on their promises.  Yes, their plans on tuition fees are commendable, but at this point in time there are much better uses for public money.

For me there has always been only one choice in this election: David Cameron and the Conservative Party.

Yes, people may not like Mr. Cameron but they are not looking at the bigger picture.  He is the leader of a group of equally talented people who all want the same thing; to get Britain working again.  He and his party are deeply committed to each and every person in this country.  Not only are they Conservative, but they are conservative too.

Britain is broken; they will fix it.

Britain is on the dole queue; they will get it working again.

Britain is the sick man of Europe; they will get him up and fighting again.

They will fight for us... and we will win.