From Left to Right: David Cameron (Conservative), Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat), and Ed Miliband (Labour). (Getty)
The 2015 general election in the United Kingdom is celebrated in the May 7, 2015, Google Doodle. The picture shows a ballot box draped in the Union Jack flag. The voting brings to an end a bitter campaign that pits Ed Miliband’s Labour against the sitting Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservatives. Also waiting in the wings are the smaller parties who could be used to form a coalition government, the Scottish National Party, the Green Party and the (Please God No) United Kingdom Independence Party.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. David Cameron Is the Favorite to Remain as British Prime Minister
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Oddsmakers in the United Kingdom have laid the Conservative party and David Cameron as the clear favorites. The exact odds with Sky Bet are 1/5 and 1/6 with Sporting Bet. The Labour party are the underdogs with 4/1 at Bet 365 the best odds on offer. If you want to waste your money, most betting website are giving 1000/1 odds that another party will win.
2. The Conservative Media Sought to Discredit Ed Miliband Because He Can’t Eat a Sandwich
In their latest smear campaign, the Rupert Murdoch owned The Sun newspaper offered a front page on May 6 that showed Ed Miliband awkwardly eating a sandwich. The Sun referred to Miliband’s policies as “wreckless socialism.” The article gave rise to a hashtag, “#JeSuisEd,” which showed Labour voters also awkwardly eating sandwiches.
3. UKIP Had to Suspend One of Their Candidates Because He Threatened to ‘Personally Put a Bullet Between the Eyes’ of His Opponent
Conservative party darling Ranil Jayawardena is “not British enough to be in parliament” according to former UKIP candidate Robert Blay. (Getty)
Robert Blay, a United Kingdom Independence Party candidate, was shown on a video secretly recorded by the Daily Mirror threatening to shoot his rival, Ranil Jayawardena, dead, if Jayawardena ever became prime minister. Blay has since been removed from UKIP. Jayawardena is considered a darling of the Conservative party and a possible future leader. Votes for Blay won’t count in the election but either way, polls estimated Jayawardena had an 18,000 vote lead over Blay, who says in the clip “His (Jayawardena’s) family have only been here since the Seventies. You are not British enough to be in our parliament.”
4. Just Before the Polls Opened, a Video of UKIP’s Leader Nigel Farage Using the Word ‘Fags’ Emerged
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In a video released by the Conservative backing Daily Mail just hours before the polls opened, UKIP Leader Nigel Farage was shown to make a joke about “fags.” He did so at a wedding where Farage was best man. Also a guest at the wedding was Maggie Mae rocker Rod Stewart. For the record, Stewart looks seriously uncomfortable with the joke.
5. Even Famed Anti-Voter Russell Brand Is Voting for Labour
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Despite saying in October 2013 that he had “never voted, never will,” Russell Brand is asking for people to vote Labour on May 7. This comes after Miliband appeared on Brand’s YouTube news show the Trews, a week before the election. Other celebrities weighing in for Labour are Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter, and The Hobbit star Martin Freeman. On the other side, are Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and former English soccer star Sol Campbell who said that the Labour party would be more welcome in Cuba than in England.