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Election 2015


Gardian
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If you can't stand politics, then this isn't for you. For those who have more than a passing interest, then it must be the most unpredictable one for decades.

However .......... I for one (and I suspect many others) am getting more than a little hissed off with the amount of Scottish coverage.

I doubt that there's a news bulletin that hasn't featured Ms Sturgeon and a BBC reporter somewhere north of the border. Tiverton, Basildon, Northampton? Not much said - and much less said about Wales or Ulster.

Yes I know that what may well happen up there is important, but frankly I'm sick of hearing how the SNP propose to dictate their terms for what happens at Westminster after their separation defeat.

You've got to admire their political knowse, but if I have to put up with another Naughtie report from Scotland, I'll be certified for sure.
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  I have no idea who I am going to vote for. I cannot stand any of them, and some of them, I have developed a loathing for, that I never imagined I would, certainly on a par with that that I had for Maggie.

The scottish coverage, ofcourse there is, the SNP came out of the 'no' vote incredibly well, with support that other parties can only dream of at the moment and they could well end up having real power.

Sadly the numpties in power never did make sure that on the odd english matter that only 'english' MP's could vote, shame on them!

And yes, I am sick of the coverage, all I seem to hear is stupidity and lies and hypocracy, just my opinon ofcourse.

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It's funny that the minorities always seem to make the most noise, I feel sorry for the Scots who voted against the Yes campaign. My problem is that Sturgeon and her cronies don't seem to understand what NO means.Still their blathering is working, as ask most English and I'm sure they would say give them independence now. By that I mean full independence, no Barnett formula, bring the submarines and the jobs back to England, stop giving bribes through awarding work contracts, No monetary back up, have a pound but make it a Scottish pound, not supported by England. Also make sure we the English don't pay the cost of them having what they want.  Also I notice now that the other person, the one who speaks for  Plaid Cymru, is jumping up and down and getting her knickers in a twist, saying "we want what their getting", well I've got news for you madam, so do we the English.[:D]

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[quote user="NickP"]It's funny that the minorities always seem to make the most noise, I feel sorry for the Scots who voted against the Yes campaign. My problem is that Sturgeon and her cronies don't seem to understand what NO means.Still their blathering is working, as ask most English and I'm sure they would say give them independence now. By that I mean full independence, no Barnett formula, bring the submarines and the jobs back to England, stop giving bribes through awarding work contracts, No monetary back up, have a pound but make it a Scottish pound, not supported by England. Also make sure we the English don't pay the cost of them having what they want.  Also I notice now that the other person, the one who speaks for  Plaid Cymru, is jumping up and down and getting her knickers in a twist, saying "we want what their getting", well I've got news for you madam, so do we the English.[:D]

[/quote]

That just about sums up my view.

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The trouble with being English is that we haven't another country to blame. As it is we have to take the blame for what is wrong in the other countries in the UK and half of the rest of the world.

Like you Idun, I don't know who to vote for. In some ways I understand the Scots discontent, London seems much more remote from us here in the Midlands than it used to so I can see that it would seem much worse the further away you get.

As for Cameron, Milliband and Clegg I just see a set of blokes dressed in suits the quality of which I never see in real life. My reason tells me that it shouldn't interfere with my political feelings about them, but it does all the same.

Hoddy
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LOL Hoddy, two of the last three PM's have been scottish! haven't they. Blair and Brown and Cameron's dad was, so what does that make him?

I have to say that our local Labour candidate is making a concerted effort to get themself known. We get adverts through the letter box on a daily basis. Seems like an awful lot of wasted trees to me...... at least the greens aren't up to that[Www]

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[quote user="Hoddy"]The trouble with being English is that we haven't another country to blame. As it is we have to take the blame for what is wrong in the other countries in the UK and half of the rest of the world. Like you Idun, I don't know who to vote for. In some ways I understand the Scots discontent, London seems much more remote from us here in the Midlands than it used to so I can see that it would seem much worse the further away you get. As for Cameron, Milliband and Clegg I just see a set of blokes dressed in suits the quality of which I never see in real life. My reason tells me that it shouldn't interfere with my political feelings about them, but it does all the same. Hoddy[/quote]

A perceptive analysis, Hoddy. The problem seems to be that the present government seem to be very London centric and do not seem to realise that the recovery seems to be limited to the South East. Unemployment may be going down but how much of that is due to zero hours contracts. I also get the impression that there is a time bomb ticking under London where more and more lower paid people can no longer afford to live near where they work.

The ordinary people that I meet have concerns about the future. they worry about the future of the NHS and old age care. They are concerned because their children cant afford to get on the housing ladder.

 

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[quote user="Rabbie"]

I also get the impression that there is a time bomb ticking under London

where more and more lower paid people can no longer afford to live near

where they work.  The ordinary people that I meet have concerns about the future. they worry about the future of the NHS and old age care. They are concerned because their children cant afford to get on the housing ladder. .

 

[/quote]

Nothing new there then, they were saying the same when I started work. Still when the the pip squeak north of the border gets independence, and all of those oil rich Scots come south to escape the draconian Scottish tax laws. London will have loads of workers to fill the gap. [:D]

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I'm happy. There are three proper minority candidates standing in my constituency for whom I could vote, none of whom will geat anywhere, but one of whom will allow me to cast my vote without spoiling the paper and without running the very real risk that by casting a tactical vote I will accidentally become complicit in getting someone elected whom I don't want to be.

Having made my peace with that idea, I can switch off the TV with impugnity whenever I see or hear yet another politician banging on about whatever the topic of the day might be.

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[quote user="NickP"][quote user="Rabbie"]

I also get the impression that there is a time bomb ticking under London where more and more lower paid people can no longer afford to live near where they work.  The ordinary people that I meet have concerns about the future. they worry about the future of the NHS and old age care. They are concerned because their children cant afford to get on the housing ladder. .

 

[/quote]
Nothing new there then, they were saying the same when I started work. Still when the the pip squeak north of the border gets independence, and all of at those oil rich Scots come south to escape the draconian Scottish tax laws. London will have loads of workers to fill the gap. [:D]
[/quote]

Not quite sure why mass immigration from Scotland will help the London housing shortage. Anyway isn't UKIP opposed to immigration even from Scotland. It has been said a country gets the government it deserves so perhaps this is a mass judgement on the British people.

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Of all the platitudes that are trotted out at election time the one about us getting the government we deserve is the one that makes me most angry.

Like millions of others, I am an ordinary law abiding member of British society. I started work when I was sixteen and apart from taking six years off to care for my young children worked full time until I retired.

I brought my children up to be useful and contributing members of society and neither of them have ever been a drain on it.

My only brush with the law was when I got a parking ticket after misreading a badly worded sign in a council car park.

For many years now I haven't felt that the country was being run in the best interests of the whole of society and that people are encouraged to vote in the light of what will appeal to their narrow self interest.

For example, I hate the presumption that I will automatically vote Tory because I'm old, when I am in fact much more concerned about tuition fees and the cost of housing for the young. The election appears to have turned into some sort of auction with both Tory and Labour offering to spend money which they keep telling us we don't have.

I have never been so disillusioned as I don't feel that any of them, even the minority parties, represent my views at all.

Grrrrrrrrr !

Hoddy
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Rabbie please read my comments again, and try to understand when someone is attempting to inject a little humour into a subject. I didn't mention housing but as you did,  they will be oil rich so they will have plenty of money to afford the housing that will be vacated by the poor southerners moving to the suburbs. Also UKIP won't be in any position to influence anything (and that is a fact, not a joke). As you say a country gets the government it deserves that is why Scotland has Pipsqueek and Salmond.[:P]

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NickP, sorry if your humour escaped me. I have not been well for the last four/five weeks and it has somewhat blunted my perception of subtle humour. 

We do have some common ground however because I agree with you that the present division of assets is a) unjust and b) unsustainable in the medium/long term. Why Cameron made the concessions to the SNP immediately after the referendum result still baffles me especially when even Darling had advised against it.

I also agree that if Scotland does ever vote to leave the UK then it should be a clean break but the terms should be spelled out before the vote and not after to avoid potential dishonest statements as were made last time.

Personally I have never made a secret of my view that we are better together but everyone is entitled to their own views on that.

It still puzzles me that the SNP seem to be going from strength to strength electorally despite what should have been a  major setback in the referendum. If the polls are correct then the Scottish electors seem to think their government is doing a fantastic job - not a sentiment I hear from my friends who live there.

Nick, can we please bury the hatchet from our past clashes and continue to debate these points robustly and without personal rancour. I apologise if I have been guilty of this in the past but lets start afresh

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[quote user="Rabbie"]

Nick, can we please bury the hatchet from our past clashes and continue to debate these points robustly and without personal rancour. I apologise if I have been guilty of this in the past but lets start afresh

[/quote]

[kiss] [kiss] [kiss] [B][B][:D]

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I agree Hoddy, only, the trouble is that good, decent people with boat loads of common sense do not put themselves forward so we end up with for the most part the flotsam of those who want power and are well off and/or are  professional politicans who know nowt about owt. And that because we don't have options to vote for someone who would really do a good job and suit us, and make a good and fair country.

I have just been watching a little news and all the fuss about not joining up with other parties to form a government. ie the Tory's and UKIP, Labour and SNP.

It got me thinking, as IF there are UKIP and SNP MP's, then they like everyone else who is elected will have been lawfully elected by their consituency. They are not 'lesser' politicians, they are EXACTLY the same as the rest of them.

SO, if no one wins a majority, would Cameron or Milliband ever say that they are taking the moral high ground and not joining forces with other parties to gain power? Maybe they are all just full of verbal bouse!! I rather think that they are....... !

Interestingly I spoke to my local Labour candidate recently and asked them about a couple of things, and they more or less implied that they will be very low down in the party and would not be able to do anything about  XY and Z. And that, if they get elected. Not encouraging is it and sounds like we could well be getting what we deserve.

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We've been watching the election coverage in France, and as others have said it's overwhelming and just makes me want to switch off. Husband is addicted.

We registered for a postal vote (so we thought), but the forms they sent were out of date so we didn't bother to get the new ones. You can vote from abroad for up to 15 years after leaving.

We're both traditional Labour voters, but the party lost its way when TB took over and has never had its fire and enthusiasm since.

I still regard England as home, especially the NE, and just hope the country doesn't sink further into the ethos that Cameron, Osborne et al have created.

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[quote user="idun"]

I have just been watching a little news and all the fuss about not joining up with other parties to form a government. ie the Tory's and UKIP, Labour and SNP.

[/quote]

Idun , Labour have categorically declared several times that they will not join up with the SNP, they know full well that if they did it would be political suicide; and that the Labour party possibly wouldn't ever recover. The Tories and UKIP I can't see that, UKIP will be a one election wonder. I have a sneaky feeling that a Tory majority is possible, mainly because the English don't want the SNP to dictate what happens in England, what they do in Scotland of course is theirs to do as they wish, although I do remember that they lost the last vote, probably down to their posturing and boasting and of course telling lies. So until I see 50 odd seats for SNP I'm not entirely convinced that all Scots want them. 

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[quote user="Patf"]

I still regard England as home, especially the NE, and just hope the country doesn't sink further into the ethos that Cameron, Osborne et al have created.

[/quote]

As a traditional labour voter would you care to elaborate on this sentence because, at the moment, it just looks like another throw away line from the UK media.

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The UKIP vote seems to be sinking in the polls and they on present showing will be lucky to have more than 4 MPs and possibly only one. time will tell. In Scotland the SNP seems to be picking up the protest vote as well as their core support. Sturgeon seems to be more of an electoral asset than Salmond. What did surprise me was the number of voters in England asking how they could vote SNP after the leadership debate.

If Labour can actually get more MPs than the Conservatives then I think we will see a minority Labour Government getting support on an issue by issue basis from the rump of the Lib Dems and the SNP. Of course they won't need SNP support for Trident because the Conservatives would have to support that on the basis of present statements.

Of course with approx 2.5 weeks to go a lot could change so we will have to wait and see. 

 

NickP[:D][B][B]

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[quote user="NickP"][quote user="idun"]

I have just been watching a little news and all the fuss about not joining up with other parties to form a government. ie the Tory's and UKIP, Labour and SNP.

[/quote]

Idun , Labour have categorically declared several times that they will not join up with the SNP, they know full well that if they did it would be political suicide; and that the Labour party possibly wouldn't ever recover. The Tories and UKIP I can't see that, UKIP will be a one election wonder. I have a sneaky feeling that a Tory majority is possible, mainly because the English don't want the SNP to dictate what happens in England, what they do in Scotland of course is theirs to do as they wish, although I do remember that they lost the last vote, probably down to their posturing and boasting and of course telling lies. So until I see 50 odd seats for SNP I'm not entirely convinced that all Scots want them. 

[/quote]

NickP, I believe that most of these politicans are rather lacking in any scruples at all and I really believe that to get power, they would get into bed with just about any other party.  There are lovely words in dictionnary to describe such a lack of moral scruples, and I am spoilt for choice, so will leave it at that.

I am sick of the news broadcasts showing poll '% 's'. Nonsense really, as we have first past the post and when it boils down to it, it is down to one vote per constituency that will make the difference and in fact more people could have voted for those who end up in opposition throughout the country.

I still have no idea what I am going to do, as of our list of about 6 or 7 candidates, there are only a couple I would consider voting for, and I'm not very happy about them either.

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[quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="Rabbie"]

 What did surprise me was the number of voters in England asking how they could vote SNP after the leadership debate.

[/quote]

Do you have a source for that statement Rabbie?



[/quote]I think it could have been on the BBC website where they were analysing google searches during and just after the first debate. I am sorry but I do not have a precise reference. It just stuck in my memory as it seemed bizarre
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[quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="Rabbie"]

 What did surprise me was the number of voters in England asking how they could vote SNP after the leadership debate.

[/quote]

Do you have a source for that statement Rabbie?



[/quote]I think it could have been on the BBC website where they were analysing google searches during and just after the first debate. I am sorry but I do not have a precise reference. It just stuck in my memory as it seemed bizarre[/quote]

I've seen 'letters to the editor' in a couple of newspapers myself and friends have mentioned that they've read some too, in different papers. I do wonder if it was the strong stance that was evident at the group of 7 debate from the SNP that they found attractive. Others seemed very washy-washy by comparison, although I didn't see the group of 5 debate.
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I heard that a candidate has been pulled up because he was offering free sausage rolls for anyone attending one of his meetings. This was perceived as bribing the electorate.

Whereas, vote for us and

we will increase spending on the NHS by £xBillion,

or

we will let you pass on £1m free of inheritance tax

or

we will offer you discounted shares in Llyods bank

or

we will reduce student fees

or

.......

are apparently not bribing the electorate.

Strange old world isn't it?

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