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According to the Grauniad, Chipping Barnet is 16 on their target list. The current (Tory) MP is retiring, so they have a shot at it.
I don't get to vote but I would be voting Labour, albeit not entirely happily. It's a fairly close seat, the Tory (Theresa Villiers) is Eurosceptic and the Lib Dems are weak here. They've been trying to target Muslim seats with their anti-war platform, which doesn't really work in a constituency where Jews outnumber Muslims. No party would satisfy me though; my positions are somewhat eclectic. For example, I believe in the abolition of selective education, but support tuition fees. (Opponents fail to have policies that stand up to scrutiny. Raising taxes would fail, although the Lib Dems at least have intellectual integrity on this. The Tories' idea of abandoning the 50% target probably wouldn't produce enough money--you'd have to cut student numbers substantially. And of course, they'd never acknowledge that they starved universities of finance in the first place. Arguably, Labour's policy is the worst of both: it angers leftists by making students pay, while not actually producing enough money to make a difference. I'd go for market fees, myself; then British and EU students wouldn't be at a disadvantage when competing with full fee paying foreigners.)
It's a shame we don't live about a quarter of a mile south. Then we'd be in Finchley and Golders Green, which is less competitive and likely to be much quieter during the election.
I don't get to vote but I would be voting Labour, albeit not entirely happily. It's a fairly close seat, the Tory (Theresa Villiers) is Eurosceptic and the Lib Dems are weak here. They've been trying to target Muslim seats with their anti-war platform, which doesn't really work in a constituency where Jews outnumber Muslims. No party would satisfy me though; my positions are somewhat eclectic. For example, I believe in the abolition of selective education, but support tuition fees. (Opponents fail to have policies that stand up to scrutiny. Raising taxes would fail, although the Lib Dems at least have intellectual integrity on this. The Tories' idea of abandoning the 50% target probably wouldn't produce enough money--you'd have to cut student numbers substantially. And of course, they'd never acknowledge that they starved universities of finance in the first place. Arguably, Labour's policy is the worst of both: it angers leftists by making students pay, while not actually producing enough money to make a difference. I'd go for market fees, myself; then British and EU students wouldn't be at a disadvantage when competing with full fee paying foreigners.)
It's a shame we don't live about a quarter of a mile south. Then we'd be in Finchley and Golders Green, which is less competitive and likely to be much quieter during the election.
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