2015 post UK election discussion

[The Equaliser]

I actually think you've touched on it a bit there. It's easier to sway somebody who doesn't have an interest in politics through bombardment than somebody who does. Loads of people who don't have a real interest in politics vote, and loads of people who don't have a real interest in politics read news papers.

Correct. Seem to remember the Murdoch press having an influence on floating voters to get Blair elected in 1997. Of course the press can make a difference as many of their readers don't have a particular affiliation and are open to persuasion.

 

[TGW89]

I'm in Wirral West. I didn't vote Labour myself, but I'm glad to see the hoop end of that utter wasp McVey!

Couldn't have happened to a nicer person - let's see her try to live on that proposed "minimum wage" of £2.95 per hour!

 

[Joey66]

I think it definitely played a role. But ultimately after 5 years of austerity Labour should have been able to convince the electorate enough to win a majority.

They would have too if they voted for David Milliband as leader and not Ed.

The SNP factor would have been hard for even dave MilabaNd!

 

[Clint Planet]

. Most S*n readers will never change their party allegiance.

Hugely questionable, that. I, for one, do not believe it for a second.

It's depressing that even enlightened people are buying into that idea that "WE" are all to clever to ever be influenced by "THEM." I mean, I don't want to lay it on with a trowel but, for heaven's sake, it's as clear as the nose on my face that the media hugely influences voting. Ergo, if you control the media, you have more sway on events - more political power. It does us all a disservice to assert that we have "free will" in this.

Sorry - had a few to numb the pain tonight....

 

[Seanjd]

Hugely questionable, that. I, for one, do not believe it for a second.

It's depressing that even enlightened people are buying into that idea that "WE" are all to clever to ever be influenced by "THEM." I mean, I don't want to lay it on with a trowel but, for heaven's sake, it's as clear as the nose on my face that the media hugely influences voting. Ergo, if you control the media, you have more sway on events - more political power. It does us all a disservice to assert that we have "free will" in this.

Sorry - had a few to numb the pain tonight....

Yes. Even if you are not a reader of that particularly newspaper, you can be influenced by it. It's the drip, drip, drip effect which is most powerful, and especially in modern times as it is reported in every format. I don't read the Sun, but I know what it's headlines have been over the last few weeks.

 

[Moomin]

When Murdoch dies I'm opening a special single malt I've been saving

 

[marty mcfly]

I'm just watching Questiontime and Paddy Ashdown's answer to why the liberal democrats being punished was brilliant and hopefully people will think about it.

The answer was tutition fees obviously but now they've been punished I hope they recover.

 

[marty mcfly]

I mentioned this earlier, do you think the foreign secretary who presided over one of the most unpopular wars in a century would be electable?

Blair got the blame for that. I think he would have had the right policies plus Ed Miliband never struck me as PM material. He seemed either weak or reactionary. He doesn't have that balance that I think leaders need to have to what the americans call appear presidential.

 

[marty mcfly]

Correct. Seem to remember the Murdoch press having an influence on floating voters to get Blair elected in 1997. Of course the press can make a difference as many of their readers don't have a particular affiliation and are open to persuasion.

It's a different world. There's so many more forms of sources for news that attributing it to one person is probably giving them more credit than is due.

If anything Murdoch just put forward, which he has the power to do so an argument that many people agreed with.

 

[marty mcfly]

The SNP factor would have been hard for even dave MilabaNd!

The SNP where going to win in Scotland no matter - infact David Milliband would have probably done worse. However I think David Milliband would have won the English vote.

 

[Joey66]

The SNP where going to win in Scotland nomatter - infact David Milliband would have probably done worse. However I think David Milliband would have won the English vote.

Maybe if he had gone for an in out referendrum perhaps otherwise no as it was clear UKIP hurt labour more than the Tories!

 

[marty mcfly]

Maybe if he had gone for an in out referendrum perhaps otherwise no as it was clear UKIP hurt labour more than the Tories!

I agree - The lack of the European referendum definitely hurt Labour and probably even more so than the Scottish issue.

It's typically Labour though - Like all socialists they believe themselves to be the political elite and can dictate to the people what they should think and do.

However ultimately I still think "It's the economy stupid"

 

[marty mcfly]

They get desperate for male company as they hit their late 20s and early 30s though - it's an investment in our future.

I agree but they get pregnant because the state then picks up the bill. If the state wasn't going to pick up the bill it would act as a deterrent and you wouldn't get so many single mothers and kids who then grow up in single parent families.

Ultimately it's bad for society to reward bad behaviour which is exactly what this is.

And it's not an investment in our future. Look at the statistics regarding children born to single parent families. They're shocking.

Now you might argue but what about the individual kids and here is where it gets difficult and why certain ideologies appear nasty because it obviously hurts them but society as a whole is better.

Women choose men based on two things. 1. Their sexual attractiveness, that's not just looks but the whole package and 2. Their ability to provide and willingness to stay around.

If you eliminate the need for reason 2. then women will choose exclusively 1.

You can see this if you go out to any night club and see the guys the girls pick to go home with. I'll give you a hint, it's not the stable hardworking decent men who they might not have the sexual chemistry with but whom would make good fathers and husbands.

This not only creates a burden on the state but also demotivates the men to want to be those stable hardworking men.

If you disagree then look at any ghetto or matriorical based society around the world. What you get is poverty and woman doing all the work and all the childcare.

 

[degsy]

Before Groucho closed it did the GOT poll come any where near matching the actual result?
just asking like

 

[degsy]

The actual numbers from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results suggests otherwise.

In life, the simplest explanation is often the most accurate, and the simplest explanation is that a lot of voters feel more comfortable with the Tories running the country rather than Labour, were wooed by the Lib Dems last time round but have failed to see the moderating effect that the Lib Dems have had, so they moved to the Tories.

So it's all Occam's fault then, nothing to do with the press

maybe it was always so, but it seems to me that ever increasingly people don't vote for, they vote against