The General Election Thread

[blue cigar]

Lol. Keep digging.

We know what you want to happen,what do you think actually will happen? Im assuming you can actually discuss politics without using words like "lol"...

Dave will get over the line,just. If he does the they Will piss the next one. It takes more than five years to fix our broken country.and it really was broken,not points scoring here its just that that's how it was.when in 1997 where Blair got in I thought fair enough perhaps its not a bad thing after all,change is as good as a rest they say. I was worried though because having lived and worked through the last labour government I was apprehensive to say the least. Even I was shocked how badly they did.they were worse than I ever imagined. Gordon brown was a power crazed loon.I can only speak for myself and how their ridiculous policies affected my businesses and my lifestyle.my shop ,which has only ever been a busy little place, was struggling. Customers were brilliant with me and remained loyal but to be fair they too were finding it hard to make ends meet.so yes they bought carpets when needed but the basic stuff,low profit stuff,grateful though I was I used all my savings and more to keep my business afloat.I worked endlessly 7 days a week to survive. I had to otherwise my house would have gone. I also had to let staff go, one I'd known 25 years, its was horrible sitting them down and saying "sorry mate ".
All that changed in may 2010. From the very first day,I'm serious the very first day after the election I had more people through my door that I'd had in the previous week. Its been like that ever since. I still do silly hours cos believe it or nor 5 years on I haven't yet fully recovered, my house is no longer at risk and I have equity in the shop but I won't take my foot off the gas just yet. As I said in an earlier post there is work to do yet.
I'm OK now in reality as I'm old and at a pinch retire/semi retire and trundle along,I won't do that but I could. The people I worry about if we returned a labour government is the youngsters, the people who may have just started a business, if fact anyone just starting out in life.
I couldn't give a flying fuck who is in power,I think when people say " they are all the same" they are not far wrong but going what I have experienced every single time labour get in I'm going with Dave, yes he has flaws, just less than the other lot.
My family and my business is all I care about and want the best for them.whoever can help with that gets my vote.

Sorry BG for going on :)

That is obviously heartfelt and whilst i can understand your stance i cannot agree with much of the reasoning,in fact my experiences are polar opposite.
I was starting working life in the 80's,thatchers time,it was the most depressing period i can think of...mass unemployment,riots in the streets and a lasting image of wealthy traders and bankers peering down. To try and realise how much lasting hurt people still feel you only need to look at how her death was celebrated,the deep mistrust of the tories stems from that era,no doubt about it in my mind.
The blair years seemed to herald a complete transformation for the country and a feelgood factor not matched in recent history. I agree that we should not be so rigid in our voting habits and despite camerons clear advantage in oratory and statesman terms i cannot ignore the road he is taking us down,i fear for the country if he gets a mandate. If labour had a moderatly credible leader instead of miliband it would be a labour landslide...he really is as poor as kinnock...the fact it is so close despite miliband says much about peoples mistrust of the tories.

 

[hilts]

We know what you want to happen,what do you think actually will happen? Im assuming you can actually discuss politics without using words like "lol"...

Dave will get over the line,just. If he does the they Will piss the next one. It takes more than five years to fix our broken country.and it really was broken,not points scoring here its just that that's how it was.when in 1997 where Blair got in I thought fair enough perhaps its not a bad thing after all,change is as good as a rest they say. I was worried though because having lived and worked through the last labour government I was apprehensive to say the least. Even I was shocked how badly they did.they were worse than I ever imagined. Gordon brown was a power crazed loon.I can only speak for myself and how their ridiculous policies affected my businesses and my lifestyle.my shop ,which has only ever been a busy little place, was struggling. Customers were brilliant with me and remained loyal but to be fair they too were finding it hard to make ends meet.so yes they bought carpets when needed but the basic stuff,low profit stuff,grateful though I was I used all my savings and more to keep my business afloat.I worked endlessly 7 days a week to survive. I had to otherwise my house would have gone. I also had to let staff go, one I'd known 25 years, its was horrible sitting them down and saying "sorry mate ".
All that changed in may 2010. From the very first day,I'm serious the very first day after the election I had more people through my door that I'd had in the previous week. Its been like that ever since. I still do silly hours cos believe it or nor 5 years on I haven't yet fully recovered, my house is no longer at risk and I have equity in the shop but I won't take my foot off the gas just yet. As I said in an earlier post there is work to do yet.
I'm OK now in reality as I'm old and at a pinch retire/semi retire and trundle along,I won't do that but I could. The people I worry about if we returned a labour government is the youngsters, the people who may have just started a business, if fact anyone just starting out in life.
I couldn't give a flying fuck who is in power,I think when people say " they are all the same" they are not far wrong but going what I have experienced every single time labour get in I'm going with Dave, yes he has flaws, just less than the other lot.
My family and my business is all I care about and want the best for them.whoever can help with that gets my vote.

Sorry BG for going on :)

That is obviously heartfelt and whilst i can understand your stance i cannot agree with much of the reasoning,in fact my experiences are polar opposite.
I was starting working life in the 80's,thatchers time,it was the most depressing period i can think of...mass unemployment,riots in the streets and a lasting image of wealthy traders and bankers peering down. To try and realise how much lasting hurt people still feel you only need to look at how her death was celebrated,the deep mistrust of the tories stems from that era,no doubt about it in my mind.
The blair years seemed to herald a complete transformation for the country and a feelgood factor not matched in recent history. I agree that we should not be so rigid in our voting habits and despite camerons clear advantage in oratory and statesman terms i cannot ignore the road he is taking us down,i fear for the country if he gets a mandate. If labour had a moderatly credible leader instead of miliband it would be a labour landslide...he really is as poor as kinnock...the fact it is so close despite miliband says much about peoples mistrust of the tories.

As someone who also lived through the 80's i have never subscribed totally to the image the left portrays of this decade, Labours problem has always been they are mistrusted with the economy, Blair and Brown had a great opportunity that they wasted, we have now reached a point where right minded people have come to the conclusion
that whatever happens we will be let down

 

[Bill]

We know what you want to happen,what do you think actually will happen? Im assuming you can actually discuss politics without using words like "lol"...

Dave will get over the line,just. If he does the they Will piss the next one. It takes more than five years to fix our broken country.and it really was broken,not points scoring here its just that that's how it was.when in 1997 where Blair got in I thought fair enough perhaps its not a bad thing after all,change is as good as a rest they say. I was worried though because having lived and worked through the last labour government I was apprehensive to say the least. Even I was shocked how badly they did.they were worse than I ever imagined. Gordon brown was a power crazed loon.I can only speak for myself and how their ridiculous policies affected my businesses and my lifestyle.my shop ,which has only ever been a busy little place, was struggling. Customers were brilliant with me and remained loyal but to be fair they too were finding it hard to make ends meet.so yes they bought carpets when needed but the basic stuff,low profit stuff,grateful though I was I used all my savings and more to keep my business afloat.I worked endlessly 7 days a week to survive. I had to otherwise my house would have gone. I also had to let staff go, one I'd known 25 years, its was horrible sitting them down and saying "sorry mate ".
All that changed in may 2010. From the very first day,I'm serious the very first day after the election I had more people through my door that I'd had in the previous week. Its been like that ever since. I still do silly hours cos believe it or nor 5 years on I haven't yet fully recovered, my house is no longer at risk and I have equity in the shop but I won't take my foot off the gas just yet. As I said in an earlier post there is work to do yet.
I'm OK now in reality as I'm old and at a pinch retire/semi retire and trundle along,I won't do that but I could. The people I worry about if we returned a labour government is the youngsters, the people who may have just started a business, if fact anyone just starting out in life.
I couldn't give a flying fuck who is in power,I think when people say " they are all the same" they are not far wrong but going what I have experienced every single time labour get in I'm going with Dave, yes he has flaws, just less than the other lot.
My family and my business is all I care about and want the best for them.whoever can help with that gets my vote.

Sorry BG for going on :)

That is obviously heartfelt and whilst i can understand your stance i cannot agree with much of the reasoning,in fact my experiences are polar opposite.
I was starting working life in the 80's,thatchers time,it was the most depressing period i can think of...mass unemployment,riots in the streets and a lasting image of wealthy traders and bankers peering down. To try and realise how much lasting hurt people still feel you only need to look at how her death was celebrated,the deep mistrust of the tories stems from that era,no doubt about it in my mind.
The blair years seemed to herald a complete transformation for the country and a feelgood factor not matched in recent history. I agree that we should not be so rigid in our voting habits and despite camerons clear advantage in oratory and statesman terms i cannot ignore the road he is taking us down,i fear for the country if he gets a mandate. If labour had a moderatly credible leader instead of miliband it would be a labour landslide...he really is as poor as kinnock...the fact it is so close despite miliband says much about peoples mistrust of the tories.

you have to look at what condition the country is in as a party leaves office. i am 60 and seen both tories and labour come and go but the last labour government were by far the worst to leave number 10. we simply can't allow that again. as i say i'm not mithered as i'm not skint but my word the kids coming through stand no chance. thatcher was quite simply the best PM of my lifetime. hard as nails and she too had a right job tidying up a terrible mess left by labour back then. i n 1974 i was 20 and saving to get married. i was made redundant 3 times in that year alone. all because the electorate were too spinless to back Ted Heath. Maggie came in and the rest is history.

oh and just for the record i didn't vote for her.

 

[hilts]

Dave will get over the line,just. If he does the they Will piss the next one. It takes more than five years to fix our broken country.and it really was broken,not points scoring here its just that that's how it was.when in 1997 where Blair got in I thought fair enough perhaps its not a bad thing after all,change is as good as a rest they say. I was worried though because having lived and worked through the last labour government I was apprehensive to say the least. Even I was shocked how badly they did.they were worse than I ever imagined. Gordon brown was a power crazed loon.I can only speak for myself and how their ridiculous policies affected my businesses and my lifestyle.my shop ,which has only ever been a busy little place, was struggling. Customers were brilliant with me and remained loyal but to be fair they too were finding it hard to make ends meet.so yes they bought carpets when needed but the basic stuff,low profit stuff,grateful though I was I used all my savings and more to keep my business afloat.I worked endlessly 7 days a week to survive. I had to otherwise my house would have gone. I also had to let staff go, one I'd known 25 years, its was horrible sitting them down and saying "sorry mate ".
All that changed in may 2010. From the very first day,I'm serious the very first day after the election I had more people through my door that I'd had in the previous week. Its been like that ever since. I still do silly hours cos believe it or nor 5 years on I haven't yet fully recovered, my house is no longer at risk and I have equity in the shop but I won't take my foot off the gas just yet. As I said in an earlier post there is work to do yet.
I'm OK now in reality as I'm old and at a pinch retire/semi retire and trundle along,I won't do that but I could. The people I worry about if we returned a labour government is the youngsters, the people who may have just started a business, if fact anyone just starting out in life.
I couldn't give a flying fuck who is in power,I think when people say " they are all the same" they are not far wrong but going what I have experienced every single time labour get in I'm going with Dave, yes he has flaws, just less than the other lot.
My family and my business is all I care about and want the best for them.whoever can help with that gets my vote.

Sorry BG for going on :)

That is obviously heartfelt and whilst i can understand your stance i cannot agree with much of the reasoning,in fact my experiences are polar opposite.
I was starting working life in the 80's,thatchers time,it was the most depressing period i can think of...mass unemployment,riots in the streets and a lasting image of wealthy traders and bankers peering down. To try and realise how much lasting hurt people still feel you only need to look at how her death was celebrated,the deep mistrust of the tories stems from that era,no doubt about it in my mind.
The blair years seemed to herald a complete transformation for the country and a feelgood factor not matched in recent history. I agree that we should not be so rigid in our voting habits and despite camerons clear advantage in oratory and statesman terms i cannot ignore the road he is taking us down,i fear for the country if he gets a mandate. If labour had a moderatly credible leader instead of miliband it would be a labour landslide...he really is as poor as kinnock...the fact it is so close despite miliband says much about peoples mistrust of the tories.

you have to look at what condition the country is in as a party leaves office. i am 60 and seen both tories and labour come and go but the last labour government were by far the worst to leave number 10. we simply can't allow that again. as i say i'm not mithered as i'm not skint but my word the kids coming through stand no chance. thatcher was quite simply the best PM of my lifetime. hard as nails and she too had a right job tidying up a terrible mess left by labour back then. i n 1974 i was 20 and saving to get married. i was made redundant 3 times in that year alone. all because the electorate were too spinless to back Ted Heath. Maggie came in and the rest is history.

oh and just for the record i didn't vote for her.

I agree she was needed at the time but a back lash towards her was always going to happen, unless we have a party that is made up of all classes and is perceived as acting on behalf of us all we are going to get this shit every election

Our system promotes short term fixes and looking after their own core vote, the last labour govt could have detroyed the tories for a generation but due to the world wide crash and their inability not to be prudent they messed up

 

[Len Rum]

Dave will get over the line,just. If he does the they Will piss the next one. It takes more than five years to fix our broken country.and it really was broken,not points scoring here its just that that's how it was.when in 1997 where Blair got in I thought fair enough perhaps its not a bad thing after all,change is as good as a rest they say. I was worried though because having lived and worked through the last labour government I was apprehensive to say the least. Even I was shocked how badly they did.they were worse than I ever imagined. Gordon brown was a power crazed loon.I can only speak for myself and how their ridiculous policies affected my businesses and my lifestyle.my shop ,which has only ever been a busy little place, was struggling. Customers were brilliant with me and remained loyal but to be fair they too were finding it hard to make ends meet.so yes they bought carpets when needed but the basic stuff,low profit stuff,grateful though I was I used all my savings and more to keep my business afloat.I worked endlessly 7 days a week to survive. I had to otherwise my house would have gone. I also had to let staff go, one I'd known 25 years, its was horrible sitting them down and saying "sorry mate ".
All that changed in may 2010. From the very first day,I'm serious the very first day after the election I had more people through my door that I'd had in the previous week. Its been like that ever since. I still do silly hours cos believe it or nor 5 years on I haven't yet fully recovered, my house is no longer at risk and I have equity in the shop but I won't take my foot off the gas just yet. As I said in an earlier post there is work to do yet.
I'm OK now in reality as I'm old and at a pinch retire/semi retire and trundle along,I won't do that but I could. The people I worry about if we returned a labour government is the youngsters, the people who may have just started a business, if fact anyone just starting out in life.
I couldn't give a flying fuck who is in power,I think when people say " they are all the same" they are not far wrong but going what I have experienced every single time labour get in I'm going with Dave, yes he has flaws, just less than the other lot.
My family and my business is all I care about and want the best for them.whoever can help with that gets my vote.

Sorry BG for going on :)

That is obviously heartfelt and whilst i can understand your stance i cannot agree with much of the reasoning,in fact my experiences are polar opposite.
I was starting working life in the 80's,thatchers time,it was the most depressing period i can think of...mass unemployment,riots in the streets and a lasting image of wealthy traders and bankers peering down. To try and realise how much lasting hurt people still feel you only need to look at how her death was celebrated,the deep mistrust of the tories stems from that era,no doubt about it in my mind.
The blair years seemed to herald a complete transformation for the country and a feelgood factor not matched in recent history. I agree that we should not be so rigid in our voting habits and despite camerons clear advantage in oratory and statesman terms i cannot ignore the road he is taking us down,i fear for the country if he gets a mandate. If labour had a moderatly credible leader instead of miliband it would be a labour landslide...he really is as poor as kinnock...the fact it is so close despite miliband says much about peoples mistrust of the tories.

you have to look at what condition the country is in as a party leaves office. i am 60 and seen both tories and labour come and go but the last labour government were by far the worst to leave number 10. we simply can't allow that again. as i say i'm not mithered as i'm not skint but my word the kids coming through stand no chance. thatcher was quite simply the best PM of my lifetime. hard as nails and she too had a right job tidying up a terrible mess left by labour back then. i n 1974 i was 20 and saving to get married. i was made redundant 3 times in that year alone. all because the electorate were too spinless to back Ted Heath. Maggie came in and the rest is history.

oh and just for the record i didn't vote for her.

The last labour government was worse than the one that left office in 1979 - IMF and winter of discontent and all that - unbelievable!
Notwithstanding that the economy is not the only measure of a government's success, did you miss the global financial crisis of 2008? That had a hell of a lot more to do with the economic state of the country rather than the last Labour government's economic policy.

 

[blue cigar]

We'll have to agree to disagree. My view of the economy and thatcher in the 80's wasnt a lefty view,i didnt have a view back then, i think she was a disaster for this country and many agree. No tory victory since the early 90's is not coincidence and shouldnt be dismissed by narrow thinkers as "just labour voters unable to change", that is pure arrogance and quite frankly fits a stereotype for many. From a personal perspective,i am fearful of the snp securing a referendum promise as part of a power deal,id rather have a tory landslide than go through that and risk sturgeon let loose.

 

[Len Rum]

We'll have to agree to disagree. My view of the economy and thatcher in the 80's wasnt a lefty view,i didnt have a view back then, i think she was a disaster for this country and many agree. No tory victory since the early 90's is not coincidence and shouldnt be dismissed by narrow thinkers as "just labour voters unable to change", that is pure arrogance and quite frankly fits a stereotype for many. From a personal perspective,i am fearful of the snp securing a referendum promise as part of a power deal,id rather have a tory landslide than go through that and risk sturgeon let loose.

No way will the snp get a referendum promise as their price for being in a coalition with Labour.
They will probably try for more devolved powers and removal of nuclear bases from Scotland.
They won't get that either.
Unless they agree to form a coalition in the interest of Britain (extremely unlikely as they are a nationalist party) it won't happen.

 

[law74]

Not a chance due to the "I'm a Labour voter me, just like my Father was and just like my Grandfather was" mob.

The Conservative party has been in power far more often and for longer than any other party these last 100 years. In the post war years, including these past 5 years of coalition, they've been in power 40 out of the last 70 years.

The period of real destruction to our ecomomy was the early 80's, where we lost 45% of our manufacturing industry.

Yet all our woes are down to labour, including, I assume, the global meltdown brought about by bankers engaging in wanton casino gambling of toxic assets, poisoned by millions of sub prime mortgages, mostly originating in the USA.

Christ! Labour really knows how to fuck up on a global scale!

Fallacy. Manufacturing as a share of GDP fell from 21% in 1979 to about 16% in 1997 so it fell by about a quarter in 18 years. It then fell from 16% to about 12% in 2010, so about a quarter in just 13 years. Manufacturing fell faster under Blair and Brown than it did under Thatcher and Major.

By all means criticise the Conservatives; they've done plenty to be critical of. But it's misleading to suggest, as you did, that the Conservatives destroyed manufacturing, when Labour destroyed it quicker.

You're dead right about the financial meltdown in 2007 though. That was absolutely down to Labour's decision to stop regulating the City in order to suck all the dodgy money in from elsewhere in the world where there were tighter regulations (eg the USA) when they introduced the Financial Services Act 2000. No single person anywhere in the world bears more responsibility for it than that act's author, Gordon Brown.

Would this deregulation of the financial services act be the one the tories ridiculed Brown for as they felt it didn't go far enough?
for the sake of the nation and to prevent another lost generation we simply cannot afford the tories in power in any shape or form, though the oily **** has played a blinder by insisting that the Greens have to be in any televised debate, as they are the nearest we have to a socialist party

 

[Dextersmate]

Anyone earning below £100,00 voting Tory,are just pretentious pricks.

 

[malg]

We'll have to agree to disagree. My view of the economy and thatcher in the 80's wasnt a lefty view,i didnt have a view back then, i think she was a disaster for this country and many agree. No tory victory since the early 90's is not coincidence and shouldnt be dismissed by narrow thinkers as "just labour voters unable to change", that is pure arrogance and quite frankly fits a stereotype for many. From a personal perspective,i am fearful of the snp securing a referendum promise as part of a power deal,id rather have a tory landslide than go through that and risk sturgeon let loose.

No way will the snp get a referendum promise as their price for being in a coalition with Labour.
They will probably try for more devolved powers and removal of nuclear bases from Scotland.
They won't get that either.
Unless they agree to form a coalition in the interest of Britain (extremely unlikely as they are a nationalist party) it won't happen.

If it meant Labour getting into Govern this country, they would definitely give Scotland another referendum. They'd do anything to get back in.