Research of a different type

In the UK on Thursday, May 5th there will be an election. The adult members of the household have been issued their poll cards, so now it's time to figure out who to vote for — no easy task for Canadian ex-pats. Naturally I will not make my decision based solely on the quality of the flyers stuck through the mail slot. However, if I were to rely on the printed word only (which I shall not do), the decision would be easy.

Would I vote for the local Labour party candidate who merely lists the successes enjoyed by the Blair government over the years, with no inkling given as to what she personally believes or intends? Or how about the Conservative party candidate who went to the great effort of pointing out the shortcomings of the Labour government, along the lines of "They said they'd do this. They lied!"? Only the local Liberal Democrat provided a clear and succinct action plan.

Would it were so easy. The one thing I don't have to research is how the democratic process works in England, yet another benefit of hailing from a former British Colony.