Offical Election thread

[kronkonite]

one perverse deal it'll be if it happens

a bunch of fox hunting euro sceptic robber barrons obsessed with butchering the public sector

cosying up to unilateralist,pacifist,constitutional reformers who want an amnesty on illegals

still if it means shitting on northerners why not?

secede

 

[Challenger1978]

They have desimated manufacturing

Thatcher did that. Mass privatisation which means the people owning the industries are in it for profit with shareholders to answer to and it's cheaper to operate abroad. It's therefore inevitable that industry will head elsewhere.

Labour did nothing to halt the privatisation and they should be criticised for that but ultimately Thatcher started it off.

You're right Thatcher started it of but Labour have done nothing about it in 13 years to sort the situation out, they just let it get worse. The working mans party not looking after the workers wtf is that all about. Same with the financial crisis Thatcher started off the deregulation. Labour though carried on deregulation, removing more and more safeguards from the financial markets leading to the bloody situation we are in now.

The Evil old woman has been gone for 20 years get the fuck over it. Labour have had 13 years to sort the mess out she left behind. Instead of fucking about with i.d. cards, removing the right of trial by jury, banning fox hunting, fighting wars that have fuck all to do with us, wasting untold millions trying to force a congestion charge on us that we didn't want. They could of spent those years sorting out the shit Thatcher left us, but no they shat on our heads while we paid ever increasing taxes.

 

[Ducado]

They have desimated manufacturing

Thatcher did that. Mass privatisation which means the people owning the industries are in it for profit with shareholders to answer to and it's cheaper to operate abroad. It's therefore inevitable that industry will head elsewhere.

Labour did nothing to halt the privatisation and they should be criticised for that but ultimately Thatcher started it off.

So you are saying that nationalised industry worked? Like hell it did, they were inefficient and loss making, and who picked up the tab, the taxpayer!

Are you sure she decimated industry? Sure in the early 80's interest rates were too high, but the country needed to adjust, what happened would have happened regardless.

I am not saying the Tory governments of the 80's and 90's were perfect far from it, they did much that I disagreed with at the time, however if they would have kept in power we would not be in the mess we are in now, and yes we face one of the biggest economic crisis every faced by this country

 

[1.618034]

So when's Gordon going to resign...?


Another report of aggression towards anyone who holds a different but reasonable viewpoint...

<a class="postlink" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8669816.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8669816.stm</a>


His position is completely untenable and the sooner he goes the better it is for The Labour Party and therefore the better it is for the opposition which makes it better for the country.

I can't see him resigning because he's so stubborn. But they need rid of him and as soon as the Dem-Con coalition is agreed, he's gone.

 

[kronkonite]

if the price of a lib lab pact is Gordon's head so be it

just cut the deal to keep the tories out

A PR general election within 2 years

 

[1.618034]

The Lib-Dems must stick to their guns about PR. To get 24% of the vote and only 8% of the seats is an absolute non-sense and a scandal.

They hold the balance of power though anyway, but the Tories surely cannot claim that they have a clear mandate to carry out their manifesto with 36% of the vote, because they clearly don't.

The clear message from this campaign/election is that we want them to work together more and make the right decisions, not just follow the dogma of one party or the other. This is what's got us into the social, political and economic mess that we're currently in.

I expect there to be a referendum within the next year or so. The Tories will probably oppose it, but that's their right or they may all agree to withdraw the Whip and make it a free vote.

But even if we're to stick with FPTP then even that needs to change to make it fairer. I'm guessing we'll get the choice between a revised FPTP system vs some form of PR. But there are various options about which system so there should be a an all-party conference to discuss the various options. Whatever it is needs to be relatively simple to understand for the ordinary punter otherwise it will be rejected at the referendum stage. People don't like complicated systems.

It's going to be interesting though, whatever happens.

But the economy is the No1 priority so agreement on how to move forward needs to be made quickly.

 

[kronkonite]

the economy is agreed!!!! all 3 parties want to cut cut cut
the compromise is surely delay cuts by 6 months as opposed to the year labour were on about
it's the electoral system that needs sorting

I just can't see the tories cutting a deal on electoral reform

 

[1.618034]

the economy is agreed!!!! all 3 parties want to cut cut cut
the compromise is surely delay cuts by 6 months as opposed to the year labour were on about
it's the electoral system that needs sorting

I just can't see the tories cutting a deal on electoral reform

Why can't they agree to a referendum? They'll get to put their case! If they get beaten then that's what democracy is all about, isn't it?

 

[Ducado]

The simple fact of the matter is that a Lib-Lab coalition would still not have enough votes to push through a referendum on PR, if the mad man now holed up in no 10 attempted to form a rainbow coalition it would collapse in weeks. Many Labour MP's are opposed to PR, in particular those in Northern Marginal seats

Under the system we have the Tories won the largest share of the votes, Labour seems to have it's power base in Scotland and certain parts of the North, but in the south they are irrelevant outside London and some other Urban centres.

To be honest though electoral reform is hardly a priory, when parts of Europe are in danger of going under and the threat of financial contagion spreading to France (French Banks are exposed to large Club Med debt, plus Frances deficit is not too healthy)

Getting out economy in shape is the priority, and that means reducing the mammoth deficit that Labour have landed us with (35k for every household and going up by the day)

 

[1.618034]

So the question is...

Are the Tories willing to agree to at least put the system to the vote, or delay getting a "strong, stable government"...?

Too many vested interests have been at the top of too many people's agendas for too long.

Why should they agree to it? Because it's what most of the country want! FUCK the MPs holding onto their safe seats and jobs for life. The expenses scandal showed them for what they are. A bunch of free-loading philosophical prostitutes. Labour, Conservative and lib-Dem.

This is the biggest CHANGE that's needed and demanded.

The electoral system is just the beginning.

If the Tories dig their heels in now, just watch their vote collapse at the next election. They got 36% vs Lib-Dem 24%. Only a 6% swing needed to obliterate that. Democracy? My arse!