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PART TWO: Your Irish in Britain A-Z guide to the general election

N is for Nicola Sturgeon

Winning the leaders debate according to a YouGov poll with 28 per cent, Sturgeon is turning out to be a fiery successor to Alex Salmond’s leadership of the SNP. Just eight months after failing to win the independence referendum, she lately hinted at seeking a new one if something "material" changed. already First Minister of Scotland, this is a politician to watch - and be wary of for those who want a United Kingdom.

O is for Oh no Osborne

Those who were lucky, or unlucky, enough to catch Andrew Marr’s interview with George Osborne, were made to endure an excruciating interview in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer failed to answer a question on NHS funding 18 times. Mr Osborne was asked on numerous occasions how the Conservatives would fund their proposed increase in NHS spending if they were to win the General Election. His failure to answer is disconcerting to say the least.

P is for Pink Buses

Election tour buses don’t usually attract this much attention. Labour sent their female MPs round the country on a ‘Woman to Woman’ campaign bus, but got calls of being patronising and even sexist from the press due to its bright pink colour. Harriet Harman got an uncomfortable grilling from Zoe Williams on Channel 4 News alongside unsurprising criticism from Cameron and Clegg. Back to the drawing board.

Q is for Queen

Q is for Queen

To this day, successful party leaders don’t become PM until they are invited by the Queen to come to Buckingham Palace and form a government. Like-wise, Cameron cannot formally resign until the Queen accepts his resignation. Thus, the Queen is likely to have a vital constitutional role if the murky waters of a hung Parliament are entered. An exciting May in store for Her Royal Highness one thinks.

R is for Results

On election day the polls close at 10pm. After this happens, broadcasters will reveal the results of the exit poll, which will give an early indication of who will be the next prime minister, or not, as the case may be. The possibility of a Brexit – Britain’s exit from the EU is a big no-no for the Irish Government who fear Britain might just decide to go-go if a referendum is held on the matter in 2017 – as promised by David Cameron should he remain at No. 10 post- election.

S is for SNP

S is for SNP

As well as Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon (and maybe for suspicious deal with Labour?) Despite losing the Scottish Independence referendum, the SNP look likely to take the majority of seats in Scotland. Party leader Nicola Sturgeon really gave those Westminster chaps a run for their money in the leaders’ televised debate and looks set to be Kingmaker in May. ‘FREE- DOMMM!,’ as one Mel Gibson put it in Braveheart is still on the cards.

T is for Trident

It is a topical issue and the debate is still raging. There is a Tory commitment to build four new nuclear missile-armed submarines. Labour leader Ed Miliband has said his party would renew the Trident system. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon maintains a deal cannot be agreed with Labour unless Trident is dropped and other powerful political figures have offered to do so. It could cost around £24billion to procure the replacement system.

U is for Ukip

U is for Ukip

What’s in a name? Quite a lot for Ukip and Nigel Farage if research is to be believed. A YouGov poll, published by the Huffington Post, has found that those with the name Nigel are twice as likely to vote Ukip. Mean- while if your name’s Samantha you are least likely to vote Conservative, something we’re sure the Prime Minister will hope doesn’t hold sway. Most likely to vote Tory are Charlotte, Pauline and Fiona. While Labour supporters are most likely to be called Michelle, June and Andy with the Tim, Kathryn and Samanthas of this world voting Lib Dem. As for Irish names such as Sinéad, Séan or Róisín it looks like the verdict’s still out!

V is for Votes and Victors (you can’t have one without the other)
You might be sick of Cameron, apathetic about Ed or determined to keep Ukip out of parliament. But none of your opinions will matter – nor make any difference - unless you make yourself heard by voting on May 7. Every Irish person currently living in Britain is entitled to vote in the general election and have their say about who is the next person to lead this country.

W is for Westminster

There is calm before the storm at Westminster. This April is a quiet month at the House of Commons. On Monday, March 30 the dissolution of Parliament took place before the general election on May 7. The Palace of Westminster covers eight acres with 110 rooms, 100 staircases, and 4.8km of passageways.

X is for BreXit

X is for BreXit

The possibility of a Brexit – Britain’s exit from the EU – is a big no-no for the Irish Government who fear Britain might just decide to go-go if a referendum is held on the matter in 2017 – as promised by David Cameron should he remain at No. 10 post-election.
“Keeping the EU intact, with the UK at the centre of it, is really worth fighting tooth and nail for,” Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan has said in relation to Britain cutting ties with Brussels.
“It’s in our country’s fundamental interests that the UK remains a member of the European Union. There is, I think, absolutely no doubt about that. The Brexit ship has certainly not sailed. Far from it.” Game on!
A Centre for European Reform report earlier this month also showed that Britain’s poorest regions – those most dependent on manufacturing exports - would be hit hardest by a Brexit unless a free trade deal was put in place, with the West Midlands, North- East and the North of Ire- land among those that would be worst affected.

Y is for youth vote

Astonishingly, 3.3million young people will have their first opportunity to vote in the general election this May. But according to 2010 trends, only 44 per cent of them actually will, compared to three-quarters of pensioners. While perhaps explaining the policy focus of this Government, the youth vote can have huge influence nonetheless. Many key marginal seats are in student towns, with even Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam seat seemingly up for grabs. Might regret that trebling of fees after all...

Z is for Zero

The amount of time Clegg, Cameron and Miliband will remain party leaders if they do not succeed in this election. Clegg may have caused a generation to distrust the Lib Dems, Miliband ‘costs me votes’ according to Labour MP Simon Danczuk and Cameron’s flirtation with social liberalism and his views on Eu- rope anger much of his party. For Labour, Andy Burnham or Chuka Umunna are smart, young replacements. For the Lib Dems, Tim Farron and Danny Alexander would provide contrasting options and
for the Tories, Boris Johnson would be most likely to “er... pick up the ball if it came loose from the back of the scrum...”