[cite]Posted By: Chizz[/cite]Labour
We know what we will get if Labour are re-elected again. The fools that had their hands caught in the till will have disappeared and been replaced by a fresh crop of talented, hopeful, heart-on-the-sleeve committed Labour MPs, desperate to make their mark and, in the main, failing to do so. Sleaze won't stop, but it will reduce: Labour's been caught out and the country doesn't like it. The country's economy will continue to be run in a way most likely to bring about a gentle, depressingly-slow stutter out of recession. The NHS will continue to be costly and wasteful; but will, more importantly, remain in existence. Schools will be funded close to the amounts needed to keep them running properly. VAT will eventually reduce; income tax will probably remain broadly where it is: we'll get to keep most of what we earn, and get the best-possible return when we spend. The Government will spend about 42% of the money you make. Inflation and interest rates will remain low for years to come; but the pound will also not buy you many holiday Euros. Your mortgage will remain cheap for several years. The value of your house will not rise dramatically, but your next up-size won't be too big a step. Most people will keep their jobs; those that don't will be looked after. We will be in debt.
Conservative
Some of us remember what we've had in the past from the Conservatives: those that do will be able to predict what we'd get with a new breed. Sleaze won't stop, it will get worse: the Conservatives will see a win as being a mandate to do whatever they like. So expect MPs' pay to increase almost as fast as their expenses. Hard-working immigrants will find it hard to stay; the ignorant will cheer. The country's economy will boom; but not before we have sunk into a second-dip of a recession which will make the last eighteen months look liek a tea party. (Conservative cuts will strangle the life out of the recovery). The NHS will cost less; but it will achieve much less. Education will cost tax-payers less; but if you can afford private education, you need not worry: there will be two tiers of education and everyone will know which tier they are destined to remain in, permanently. VAT will remain as it is or increase; income tax will reduce: we'll get to keep more of what we earn, but if we have the audacity to try to spend it on luxuries (bread, milk, clothes, nappies, heating) we will pay more for it. The Government will spend about 42% of the money you make. Inflation will remain fairly low; interest rates will increase fairly dramatically; but those with enough holidays will get to spend lots of cheap Euros. Your mortgage will become increasingly expensive, but the your house value will out-strip this. If you want to up-size, you'll have to bridge a big financial gap. Anyone in work wil constantly fear losing it; anyone out of work will be very badly hit. You will be in debt.
Neither party would be perfect; both have advantages and both have significant flaws. But I hope and pray that we do not fall into the hands of the Conservatives again.
I will vote Labour at the election. Anyone considering voting against them has a perfect right to do so, of course. But they should make sure they weight up the oprtions very, very carefully. Then choose anything but Conservative.
Top quality post. And I agree wholeheartedly with your conclusion. Sadly, I live in a safe Tory seat, so I shall use my vote to send a message to all the mainstream parties by going Green. I hope millions who live in safe seats held by parties they oppose do the same thing. Fat chance...
[cite]Posted By: SantaClaus[/cite]SWP,BNP,Green,UKIP. I really hope the 'none of the above' brigade instead picks a small party as a two fingered salute to the political establishment.
I celebrated in the streets in 1997 when Labour got in. Now I don't think I could ever vote Labour again due to their staggering incompetence and hidden agendas.
Could never vote Tory either - they would just do what Tories do, i.e make them and their rich mates even richer and screw everybody else.
So it will have to be one of the smaller parties. Don't know who for yet, but I will vote just to show the two main parties that I have a vote and they won't get it because they are both a shower of excrement.
Whichever of the two main parties wins in May, I am not going to be happy about it! :(
I'm amazed that anyone is even considering voting labour. I thought they had managed to burn their bridges with pretty much everyone from left to right but people are quick to forget.
Their list of ills is too long to list but the main thing for me is the 45 minutes lie in the lead up to the Iraq war. This was a government lying and falsifying intelligence to take us into a war that would end up costing billions of pounds, hundreds of servicemens lives and thousands and thousands of Iraqi civilians lives. Whether you look at that from the left or the right it is utterly unforgiveable.
If you think you are keeping out toffs by voting labour, you are mistaken. Labour and Conservative politicians are part of a political class who have far more in common with each other than you or I.
GH, I'm glad you finished your post by saying you can't vote for the Tories, because the two parties are as bad/good as each other on a few of your issues (Afgham & Iraq, Europe, political spin & rhetoric, and sleaze). I doubt the Tories would have an English assembly - it'd be more than a little strange for them to help break up the Union, to put it mildly.
I'll probably vote for the Lib Dems. I would vote for one of the other small parties (Greens, UKIP etc) except I don't agree with any of them and think they're just as bad as the main parties.
I would never vote for any party that had a leader with fundemental religous beliefs and discusses a fictional character with his mate accross the pond. Mental illness and religous trauma seem strange bed fellows but I'm afraid NHS stats prove that its not a good idea to believe in characters from a book. I mean, would you vote for someone that thought Harry Potter was a real person who could do magic? Well plenty voted for Blair cos the work of fiction that guides him is 2,000 years old so thats why it must be true!
I think evereyone who says they are voting labour has quite literally lost their mind.
The stereotype of Tory= Eton is not necessarily true however the rich background is true of most politicians Labour included. David Cameron has never disguised the fact that he came from a wealthy Background but just because of that it doesn't mean he doesn't care. I have never been severely disabled but it doesn't mean I don't care about people that are. I would prefer someone well educated and intelligent to run the country than someone who is a complete idiot. The biggest mistake this country ever made was letting Labour in, Blair was good in the beginning but went wrong when he started brown nosing 1st class twat George Bush and sent loads of our soldiers off to an oil war despite the pleas from nearly 3 million people marching through London. He stuck 2 fingers up to the British then and done what he liked, ever since then it's been downhill for Labour then the pompous prick after 'Marginally' winning his 3rd standing realised that his shoddy leadership has lead this country in to certain recession so passes the buck to Gordon Clown, hoping it hits after he takes after and nobody notices that it was already looming when he was in charge. There has been nothing but cockups ever since. Why would anyone want to vote labour??? I have been reading, watching and listening to everything politics for the last few years, I trust Cameron! I believe he has turned the Conservative party around, how many other candidates would LOWER the salary for MPs and reduce the amount of seats in Parliament to save money??
Vote Conservative, get Labour out, any other vote would be a wasted vote!
Depends who you listen to Jolly Robin, I've taken my facts from what Bloomberg were reporting. Even the Tories report our national debt at only around 85% of GDP, but this neglects figures from the massive gaping hole in the public sector pension schemes, the PPP initiatives and various other committed long term government schemes including rail improvement etc.
I would strongly urge everybody to vote. Whilst people may differ into the views as to the cause, or whether it is justified, democracy is being steadily eroded by a political class who live in their own little bubble and ignore the people they are supposed to represent.
In short when it comes to your vote use it or lose it.
I am disillusioned with the 3 main parties in common with many on here it seems. Despite the Eurosceptic noises the Tories make from time to time when it comes to the crunch they, like Labour and the Lib Dems, roll over to have their tummy tickled by the EU which now makes at least 50% of UK laws, by the admission of Europhiles, with the elected UK Parliament powerless to intervene even if it wanted to which it presently does not.
That leaves the smaller parties primarily Green, BNP and UKIP. The Greens are ideologically even more controlling than the present Government and again embrace the Big Government democratically unaccountable tentacles of the EU. The BNP are anti EU but a party that ideologically excludes people because of skin colour, even if on paper no longer applying, is an absolute no, no for me.
That leaves UKIP. Yes they are small and have their shortcomings but if you are unhappy with the status quo, ie policies dictated largely by the EU whatever rhetoric the big 3 leaders might employ, then they are a genuine outlet for a protest vote as they unambiguously want to leave the EU and are not taken in by the man made climate change propaganda which now dominates EU (and therefore by default) UK policy making.
More importantly though you use the vote that people have died to win which takes me back to where I came in....
The problem is that the main parties are like new football grounds.
They are all alike.
Historically their policies and leanings were quite different but now they are almost identikit.
I will be voting Tory as I believe we just need a change.
I am not saying their policies are better, but we cannot give labour another 5 years - time to let the others have a go.
Additionally I dont know why people moan about Cameron and co having gone to Eton etc.
Is there something wrong with being educated?
Did Tony Blair not attend Fettes school - known as The Eton of Scotland.
BNP, same as DFT says, Dont agree with all they say but then again does anyone who vote for Labour, Conservatives ect ect agree with every one of there policies?
[cite]Posted By: SE9[/cite]BNP, same as DFT says, Dont agree with all they say but then again does anyone who vote for Labour, Conservatives ect ect agree with every one of there policies?
I would have thought that the BNP policies you don't agree with are a lot more extreme and damaging than the polices you don't agree with if you vote say Tory / Labour or Liberal.
[cite]Posted By: SE9[/cite]BNP, same as DFT says, Dont agree with all they say but then again does anyone who vote for Labour, Conservatives ect ect agree with every one of there policies?
I would have thought that the BNP policies you don't agree with are a lot more extreme and damaging than the polices you don't agree with if you vote say Tory / Labour or Liberal.
Depend on your views mate. I think Labour has a very damaging effect but not everyone will agree. I will tell you this and everyone will agree. What ever party (even the small party's) gets in not everyine will be happy with it and that party will do a few good things but by the time the next election or the one after comes round that party will be seen as having done nothing good for the country.
[cite]Posted By: SE9[/cite]BNP, same as DFT says, Dont agree with all they say but then again does anyone who vote for Labour, Conservatives ect ect agree with every one of there policies?
I would have thought that the BNP policies you don't agree with are a lot more extreme and damaging than the polices you don't agree with if you vote say Tory / Labour or Liberal.
Depend on your views mate. I think Labour has a very damaging effect but not everyone will agree. I will tell you this and everyone will agree. What ever party (even the small party's) gets in not everyine will be happy with it and that party will do a few good things but by the time the next election or the one after comes round that party will be seen as having done nothing good for the country.
Also highlights what 13 years of this government and the general lack of mainstream opposition has done to make a racist party in the BNP more appealing to more and more non- racist/ non- extremeist/ normal folk.
[cite]Posted By: D_F_T[/cite]In some countries it is compulsory to vote, you can go into the booth and spoil your paper but you must turn up to vote.
I actually think thats a good idea it might teach the youth a little bit more about the voting system and how to go about it beacuse they would have to vote so they would have to learn about the peopel they are voting for. Maybe we shoudl teach children polotics in school from a young age say GCSE level?
[cite]Posted By: SE9[/cite]BNP, same as DFT says, Dont agree with all they say but then again does anyone who vote for Labour, Conservatives ect ect agree with every one of there policies?
I would have thought that the BNP policies you don't agree with are a lot more extreme and damaging than the polices you don't agree with if you vote say Tory / Labour or Liberal.
Depend on your views mate. I think Labour has a very damaging effect but not everyone will agree. I will tell you this and everyone will agree. What ever party (even the small party's) gets in not everyine will be happy with it and that party will do a few good things but by the time the next election or the one after comes round that party will be seen as having done nothing good for the country.
Also highlights what 13 years of this government and the general lack of mainstream opposition has done to make a racist party in the BNP more appealing to more and more non- racist/ non- extremeist/ normal folk.
Comments
Top quality post. And I agree wholeheartedly with your conclusion. Sadly, I live in a safe Tory seat, so I shall use my vote to send a message to all the mainstream parties by going Green. I hope millions who live in safe seats held by parties they oppose do the same thing. Fat chance...
Could never vote Tory either - they would just do what Tories do, i.e make them and their rich mates even richer and screw everybody else.
So it will have to be one of the smaller parties. Don't know who for yet, but I will vote just to show the two main parties that I have a vote and they won't get it because they are both a shower of excrement.
Whichever of the two main parties wins in May, I am not going to be happy about it! :(
Their list of ills is too long to list but the main thing for me is the 45 minutes lie in the lead up to the Iraq war. This was a government lying and falsifying intelligence to take us into a war that would end up costing billions of pounds, hundreds of servicemens lives and thousands and thousands of Iraqi civilians lives. Whether you look at that from the left or the right it is utterly unforgiveable.
If you think you are keeping out toffs by voting labour, you are mistaken. Labour and Conservative politicians are part of a political class who have far more in common with each other than you or I.
if you are racist, then by all means vote bnp- they reflect your views and so deserve your vote.
If you are not racist, then please dont vote for them
I'll probably vote for the Lib Dems. I would vote for one of the other small parties (Greens, UKIP etc) except I don't agree with any of them and think they're just as bad as the main parties.
its all just different masks on the same face anyway... waste of time....
Dispanding government, now there is an idea....
Any humanist will get my vote.
As for me, no idea at the mo, probably none of the above.
The stereotype of Tory= Eton is not necessarily true however the rich background is true of most politicians Labour included. David Cameron has never disguised the fact that he came from a wealthy Background but just because of that it doesn't mean he doesn't care. I have never been severely disabled but it doesn't mean I don't care about people that are. I would prefer someone well educated and intelligent to run the country than someone who is a complete idiot. The biggest mistake this country ever made was letting Labour in, Blair was good in the beginning but went wrong when he started brown nosing 1st class twat George Bush and sent loads of our soldiers off to an oil war despite the pleas from nearly 3 million people marching through London. He stuck 2 fingers up to the British then and done what he liked, ever since then it's been downhill for Labour then the pompous prick after 'Marginally' winning his 3rd standing realised that his shoddy leadership has lead this country in to certain recession so passes the buck to Gordon Clown, hoping it hits after he takes after and nobody notices that it was already looming when he was in charge. There has been nothing but cockups ever since. Why would anyone want to vote labour??? I have been reading, watching and listening to everything politics for the last few years, I trust Cameron! I believe he has turned the Conservative party around, how many other candidates would LOWER the salary for MPs and reduce the amount of seats in Parliament to save money??
Vote Conservative, get Labour out, any other vote would be a wasted vote!
In short when it comes to your vote use it or lose it.
I am disillusioned with the 3 main parties in common with many on here it seems. Despite the Eurosceptic noises the Tories make from time to time when it comes to the crunch they, like Labour and the Lib Dems, roll over to have their tummy tickled by the EU which now makes at least 50% of UK laws, by the admission of Europhiles, with the elected UK Parliament powerless to intervene even if it wanted to which it presently does not.
That leaves the smaller parties primarily Green, BNP and UKIP. The Greens are ideologically even more controlling than the present Government and again embrace the Big Government democratically unaccountable tentacles of the EU. The BNP are anti EU but a party that ideologically excludes people because of skin colour, even if on paper no longer applying, is an absolute no, no for me.
That leaves UKIP. Yes they are small and have their shortcomings but if you are unhappy with the status quo, ie policies dictated largely by the EU whatever rhetoric the big 3 leaders might employ, then they are a genuine outlet for a protest vote as they unambiguously want to leave the EU and are not taken in by the man made climate change propaganda which now dominates EU (and therefore by default) UK policy making.
More importantly though you use the vote that people have died to win which takes me back to where I came in....
I'd vote against that.
Policies aside for one moment, is anyone interested in Proportional Representation? Which party has that as one of its mainstream manifesto proposals?
They are all alike.
Historically their policies and leanings were quite different but now they are almost identikit.
I will be voting Tory as I believe we just need a change.
I am not saying their policies are better, but we cannot give labour another 5 years - time to let the others have a go.
Additionally I dont know why people moan about Cameron and co having gone to Eton etc.
Is there something wrong with being educated?
Did Tony Blair not attend Fettes school - known as The Eton of Scotland.
I would have thought that the BNP policies you don't agree with are a lot more extreme and damaging than the polices you don't agree with if you vote say Tory / Labour or Liberal.
Depend on your views mate. I think Labour has a very damaging effect but not everyone will agree. I will tell you this and everyone will agree. What ever party (even the small party's) gets in not everyine will be happy with it and that party will do a few good things but by the time the next election or the one after comes round that party will be seen as having done nothing good for the country.
Also highlights what 13 years of this government and the general lack of mainstream opposition has done to make a racist party in the BNP more appealing to more and more non- racist/ non- extremeist/ normal folk.
I actually think thats a good idea it might teach the youth a little bit more about the voting system and how to go about it beacuse they would have to vote so they would have to learn about the peopel they are voting for. Maybe we shoudl teach children polotics in school from a young age say GCSE level?
I think Rodders comment sums it up for me.