Who would you vote for if the election was tomorrow?

Nice. You’ve gone from careful consideration of all parties and candidates, to ruling out 3, and one in particular because your from the north.

Yep, as CD pointed out. We’re stuck with a government the country wants. :rolleyes:

It has absolutely nothing to do with me being from the North :rolleyes: I just can’t stand racism so that rules out the BNP, UKIP never have had candidates up here, conservatives and LibDem’s aren’t exactly making anything rosy at the moment and the Labour party messed up before.

All in all, government are inept of finding solutions that count useful towards the country otherwise we wouldn’t be in the state we are now and whatever party will be in lead will cause more problems that solutions.

I vote Labour, since you ask.
Perfectly happy with Ed Miliband, though I wish he’d get his adenoids done.

I second that. The unions of the day had a lot to answer for. You only have to look at the British car manufacturing industries of the sixties and seventies, just riddled with strikes and walk-outs which in turn led to shoddy workmanship and a complete lack of pride in the work place and its products.

Rob

Thanks to full employment the unions had acquired a position of strength, but management was still living in the past, manufacturers still thought they could turn out any old rubbish and still sell, they still thought that workers should know “their” place.

The establishment and authorities were very slow to realise that after WW2 things had changed dramatically, working people were not going to be put back in their box as happened after WW1 and treated badly.

The car industry was highlighted as a bad case of union destruction, the car industry was it it’s own worst enemy in the production methods used, the failure to keep up to speed with developments, the classic is of course BMC, BLMC, British Leyland or which ever name it resided under at the time.

This company for many years produced car bodies under the name of Pressed Steel Fisher (I think), with my Dad delivering to one of the factories there, I saw new car bodies stacked up outside going rusty before they were taken into the final assembly, there were literally hundreds of rusty new car bodies going into the factory to be assembled and painted over and we wondered why our cars rotted so damn quick.

Leyland Motors a major truck and bus producer, just carried on building the same old trucks with the same old engines and gearboxes, never noticing that competitors were developing their own equipment, taken totally unaware when the invasion of Volvo and Scania trucks among others arrived and destroyed their business.

Our problems are the same now as then, failure to develop the best ideas, or develop existing equipment, it’s easy in some circles to blame the unions for our decline, but incompetent management played a much bigger part, we lost trade not just to cheaper labour but more to inferior products.

I second that. The unions of the day had a lot to answer for. You only have to look at the British car manufacturing industries of the sixties and seventies, just riddled with strikes and walk-outs which in turn led to shoddy workmanship and a complete lack of pride in the work place and its products.

Rob

Most probable, I’d vote for the labour party as it’s a party quite deared here in Newcastle and it was due to Maggie Thatcher and the conservatives that all our industries in the North East were put out of work and now we don’t have any like mining and shipbuilding

I’m also from the north, but my perspective of those events is different. To me, it was unions demanding unrealistic pay and conditions that contributed to the destruction of those industries.

Well, we’re trying to turn a super-tanker aren’t we…..and each party only get five minutes with the rudder!

The sort of fundamental change that some parties are advocating, UKIP for example, would take decades to implement successfully; that’s not to say that UKIP, or support for UKIP, will not have an influence of where the UK is heading.

UKIP are responding to a heartfelt desire for the UK to have control of our own destiny, and there is nothing wrong with that (very common) desire, a desire that is particularly strong at times of economic hardship. Pushing hard at an open door is a very good way to make a big entrance into a room…

…it is also a pretty good way to fall flat on your face!

Despite what most of us believe, politicians aren’t stupid and one of the great strengths of the democracy that we have is that it allows, or rather forces, a genuine consensus of political views and ideologies into a ‘least-worst’ outcome for the country.

None of the three main, or should that be, three of the main five, political parties want to take us out of the EU; even though this view, apparently, goes against what many voters want. If it is such a good idea, and such a vote-winner, why aren’t more of the parties advocating it?

Many policies, although desirable, aren’t mutually compatible; many here are probably envious of Germany’s industrial success and prosperity (and balance of payments) but Germany didn’t get where it is today without some serious ‘austerity’ of its own plus thousands of Turkish ‘guest workers’ and Germany also wanted, in fact needed, the EU, into which it has poured billions more than the UK. Not everybody in Germany is happy about that I am sure.

Nice. You’ve gone from careful consideration of all parties and candidates, to ruling out 3, and one in particular because your from the north.

Yep, as CD pointed out. We’re stuck with a government the country wants. :rolleyes:

As I mentioned before, I’m that type of person who can’t decide now without stated information about what a party hopes to achieve; I just know it’ll never be BNP, most likely not UKIP and it’ll probably either be LibDem or Labour and not conservative.

…it was due to Maggie Thatcher and the conservatives that all our industries in the North East were put out of work…

That’s a bit of an oversimplification; the truth of the matter is that those industries were uncompetitive at a time of great expansion in foreign industrialisation. Coal was, and is (?), subsidised but you can’t subsidise everything; something, somewhere has to make a profit for the country or it is unsustainable.

True, Thatcher probably did have it in for the miners (or the NUM at least), but then the miners, and Arthur Scargill in particular, definitely had it in for Thatcher (who had been democratically elected by the country). Had the politics of the party in power been different the end result would have been the same; there was a time that the, unelected, coalminers could hold the, elected, government to ransom; those days were gone long before 1984.

Of course, but having done so, as the election is now today, and in answer to the OP’s question, which party will you vote for….?

Most probable, I’d vote for the labour party as it’s a party quite deared here in Newcastle and it was due to Maggie Thatcher and the conservatives that all our industries in the North East were put out of work and now we don’t have any like mining and shipbuilding

But it isn’t 98% of what it should be, it’s supported by huge borrowing. Remove that and what happens?

Well, to be fair, we’ve nearly always run a deficit in this country and our banks (and foreign banks) have grown fat on the profits of lending us the money.

[Actually, that’s a good point; why do we borrow money from (sell government bonds to) foreign banks? We’re exporting billions of pounds of interest every year. I suppose we must sell the bonds on the open market and the competition of foreign banks brings our interest down.]

Our membership of the EU doesn’t seem to be helping us now? They keep introducing expensive policies that are making us uncompetitive internationally…

How do you know the EU isn’t helping us; things may have been worse for the UK if we weren’t in the EU?

Also nobody forced us into the EU (or EEC as it was then) back in 1973 (and I appreciate that what we joined was very different from what it has become; and I am no fan of a Federal Europe)!

Interesting to read what Prime Minister Edward Heath said when we joined:

“It is going to be a gradual development and obviously things are not going to happen overnight. But from the point of view of our everyday lives we will find there is a great cross-fertilisation of knowledge and information, not only in business but in every other sphere. And this will enable us to be more efficient and more competitive in gaining more markets not only in Europe but in the rest of the world.“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/1/newsid_2459000/2459167.stm

So Britain in 1973 needed to be more efficient and competitive and wanted markets in Europe and the rest of the world; and this is 1973 Britain, still with a larger manufacturing base and without the ‘problems’ caused by our recent immigration.

Seems we got into the EU to solve the very problems that you want to solve by getting out of it! :confused:

It may not have crossed your mind, but we have a large trade deficit with European countries.

And our trade deficit with, not in the EU, China, Japan..?

It may not have crossed your mind, but we have a large trade deficit with European countries.

We buy far more from the Europeans than they buy from us! So by leaving the EU, it’s actually the European’s that have more to lose where trade is concerned not Britain.

That’s something I had never considered. Interesting.

Moggy

Leftist politics do not work when there’s no cash in the coffers

Nobody’s politics work when there’s no cash in the coffers.:rolleyes:

Leaving the EU would place barriers between the UK and our major market and force foreign investment to leave the UK, so destroying much of our remaining industry.

It may not have crossed your mind, but we have a large trade deficit with European countries.

We buy far more from the Europeans than they buy from us! So by leaving the EU, it’s actually the European’s that have more to lose where trade is concerned not Britain.

But I don’t see why we should lose trade. Britain has very strong connections with other European countries and as you mention France, Germany & co. has invested billions into the UK over the years… Surely it’s in those nations interests to keep the UK as a strong business partner, otherwise they’ll have to start again from scratch – investing billions all over again in another country.

And your EU point is further exacerbated by the figure of £2 billion plus hidden away in the figures which we will have to pay in addition to our current commitments to help the struggling Euro PIGS…..

This country is in a financial mess (all parties agree on that) but we must be careful how we define ‘mess’. ‘Growth’ in the economy in 2012, is, or is predicted to be, about 0% (so the economy has ‘shrunk’ because ‘normal’ growth is about 2%). But what does that actually mean? The economy is 98% of the size it would be if we weren’t in a recession? That doesn’t sound too bad does it?

But it isn’t 98% of what it should be, it’s supported by huge borrowing. Remove that and what happens?

There is a need to cut back on public spending (again all the main parties seem to agree on this) because the UK has consistently spent more money than it has earned (even in the good times)! So that means ‘austerity’; even Labour is beginning to talk about ‘hard choices’ (that’s austerity to you and me).

Yet Labour use every spending cut as an opportunity to stick the knife in. The Lanour party have not grasped the trouble we’re in – the shadow chancellor doesn’t even seem to understand the disasterous legacy that he left us with.

The UK is in debt and is still spending too much! You can’t borrow your way out of debt so the money is going to have to come from you-and-I, the taxpayer (in one form or another), and most of us have debt problems of our own! So there IS NOT going to be an easy, painless way out of this…

…and any party that tells you there is…..is lying to get your vote!

😉

I 100% agree. But it’s going to be very tough for us all. The new line is “austerity until 2018”. – rubbish. All that shows is that this current ‘abomolishion
‘ haven’t got a grasp either. Until they stop the deficit, there’s no way of telling.

I’m sorry but I find the ‘policies’ of UKIP a joke. Leaving the EU would place barriers between the UK and our major market and force foreign investment to leave the UK, so destroying much of our remaining industry. The UK financial heart, ‘the City’, in London would cease to be the powerhouse that it is and the UK would be plunged into a real recession, probably lasting decades.

‘Tackle Foreign Aid’? What the hell does that mean? UKIP, or somebody, should look-up how much the UK actually spends in foreign aid; it sounds a lot of money but the reality is that it is a tiny figure. If you scrapped aid completely how much would you actually have?

‘Immigration’? Although a vote-winner, what actually are the ‘problems’ of immigration? In reality the immigrant workers do lots of jobs that the UK unemployed will not do and much industry, farming and the public sector, such as the NHS, could not function without these workers.

No, sorry, UKIP policies are a joke; it all sounds so simple but the sums don’t add-up.

Our membership of the EU doesn’t seem to be helping us now? They keep introducing expensive policies that are making us uncompetitive internationally. Plenty of countries have great trading relationships with Europe without being governed by them. And plenty of that money we send to the EU goes to countries outside the EU!

Foreign aid is a joke. It is not the place of governments to send the people’s money abroad. If people want to donate to foreign causes, that should be a personal choice. Plus, we’re having to borrow money from abroad to spend on foreign aid – this is the infuriating culture that we live in, and it needs to change.

Open door immigration is harming our economy. These foreign worker are taking jobs away from British citizens, though it isn’t their fault. The benefits culture has given indigenous people an alternative to working, so many (not all) just sit around on there arses claiming, because they see basic jobs as ‘below them’. Plus, many of them are sending money home, which is definitely harming the economy.
Also, look at the statistics for ethnicity in the Prison population. They are alarming! The lefties would brand me a racist for even suggesting such – but not acknowledging the facts is ridiculous.

In summary, I’m saying that we need a change in culture. Changing the odd policy is not enough, people need to work, and there should be no alternative. There are plenty of jobs that almost anyone claiming off the system can do, even the disabled. No one should get a free ride!
We need to stop sending money abroad, buying cheap from China et al is costing us all. There needs to be a culture of buying British, and being proud of it.

None of the 3 main parties will offer any of this change, and so I’ll be looking elsewhere come election time.

If I were to vote tomorrow I would have to consider everything via the available candidates,.

Of course, but having done so, as the election is now today, and in answer to the OP’s question, which party will you vote for….?

The Tories are no longer Conservative?, the present gang are the archetypal nasty party in full flow once again.

You didn’t read my post carefully. I realise that in these grim days of text and twit script the choice of capitals and lower case is very optional but I wrote Conservative with a small “c” not a capital “c”, as you have written.

If I were to vote tomorrow I would have to consider everything via the available candidates, taking into account all that has been said and make my mind up based upon the then situation, not looking back on the past and regretting the future possibilities that could come; especially given the circumstances of me being a qualified teacher, I would hate to again see students suffer the sudden rise of fees for University when Scotland pass it out to their students for free …

Furthermore; I think it is important to take into consideration something of this caliber and duly noted that mistakes have been made before but the only way to fix these errors is the look at the best possible circumstances for the majority part of who it may concern, otherwise people will suffer in the longrun if nothing is looked at for the people a.k.a the public eye

However, I will never vote for a party such as the BNP as I personally detest their demeanour.