Do you think the result of US elections will effect the decision of UK citizens on whom to vote.

Do you think if George Bush Wins, will Tony Blair will win as well?

It's a difficult situation, I've just said in another thread that there's a much stronger feeling for Kerry over Bush in Europe and the UK. Either one is a good allie to Blair, historically we have had good relations with the Democrats and the alliance between Bush and Blair has been tight.

If Bush wins, their may be a backfire on our election next year. People may protest and vote against Blair because they feel he's Bush's puppy dog.

BUT. We have no realistic alternative for a Prime Minister. Conservative popularity is shrinking due to the the increasing strengths of the UKIP and the Lib Dems. Michael Howard cannot realistically get elected, the history of the Conservative party damages them too much as well as his own history.

Labour are most likely to serve another term with Blair. Those protest votes will hurt though. Our election isn't going to be heavily driven by foreign policy like in the US though it will be a factor.

Good question! I think this election, with the Iraq war, and with the UK being, for the most part, our only ally, I wonder too what the impact of our election would be on the UK.

I always got the impression that Blair/Clinton had a good relationship, not only politically but personally as well. I wasan't so sure about Blair/Bush.

Turi, when is your next election? How long is each PM term?

TIS

Turi, why the Labour party does not change its candidate? I heard Tony Blair saying he is going to stay with that party for one more term and then he leaves. There seems to be more opponents to his policies especially about war in Iraq within the Labour party than in general. I always wondered how these parties choose their candidates. Although I agree that right now the Labour party is more dominant but they can jeopardise their chance by Tony Blair for another term.

Hear hear. Bring on Gordon Brown.

He sounds like a great guy, do you think that actually the Labour party would announce him as its candidate instead of Tony Blair for next year's election?

Gordon Brown, is not very popular among voters and instead of Tony Blair there is not any cabinet minister worth becoming PM. Tony Blair will run the 2005 election and most probaly will win.

It works slightly differently over here from your system TIS. The last General Election was on 7 June 2001 (elections are usually held on a Thursday though they don't have to be). The only thing we are certain about is that there must be a General Election before 14 June 2006 as Parliament must be dissolved at least once every five years. Apart from this stipulation it is up to Tony Blair when the next election will be. The PM very rarely lets the process run the full five years though this did happen between 1992 and 1997 because John Major knew he was going to lose no matter when the election was. So it is likely there will be an election sometime next year. The date will depend on when Blair thinks he has the best chance of winning.

I dont know much about the Uk politics, but unfortunately, I dont think Blair will win no matter what happens in the US. Thats too bad too, cause I always liked him.

Actually RB, Blair is almost certain to win the next election whatever happens tomorrow. I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the UK electoral system but the Labour Party (Blair used to be a socialist you know but nobody calls him a flip flopper ) had a majority of 167 at the last election. In other words they have 167 seats more than the rest of the parties put together out of a total of 659. Put simply this is a HUGE lead going into the election. My guess for the next UK eletion is a Labour win but with a majority somewhere between 60 and 75 seats.

I would like to see Mr. Blair win again, but I don't know much about anybody running against him.

But he supports Mr. Bush, and that's a good nod in my opinion. He also has chosen to stick with decisions that are better in the long run but unpopular with some of his countrymen.

Some lecturing for the Americans here : UK isnt a republic, Blair doesnt run like Kerry or Bush. He is the leader of the Labour party, and the parlament gives the leader of the biggest party the right to build government after the election.

There are three major parties in the UK (to make it easier to overlook I write what ideology they come from inside the (), Labour (socialist), Liberaldemocrats (liberal) and the Tories (conservative). John Major and Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill were Tories. Tony Blair and Neville Chamberlain are/were from Labour.

While the main thrust of your post is correct LBG, Neville Chamberlain was actually a Tory. Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and James Callaghan have been the other post WWII Labour Prime Ministers

I would easily vote for Gordon Brown if he was the lead the Labour Party. I like him, I trust him but he's not seen as a real leader. He lacks a little charisma. So far with Blair I'm only 80% inclined to vote for him. The only reason I vote Labour is because we have no viable alternative. I will never vote Conservative. I like Charles Kennedy, one of the few men I trust in politics but I'm not convinced with the Lib Dems.