The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Eggs]

.....how somebody eats a bacon butty or exits a stage shouldn't matter but unfortunately I suspect it does.

 

[Tubey]

Don't get me started on this one. Workers are poorer than ever. Figures are being manipulated and massaged by the tories to currently include people who have no guarantee of work as being employed - people on zero hours contracts are not employed. The number of people made redundant from well paying jobs since the tories came to power who are now scraping by on part time jobs is a disaster for this country.

I'll never understand why people can't distinguish between proper employment and glorified slave labour when it comes to employment figures. The way the Tories massage the figures is to use the working class as peasants working in a field in terms of job standards, contracts and pay.

 

[daylightrobber]

But why don't Labour hammer home the Tories record on increasing the national debt, whenever the Tories attack on the economy Labour should be hitting back with "800m to 1.4 trillion on your watch, STFU!".

Like I said, wrong strategy. I'm hoping it changes this week.

 

[Groucho]

Don't get me started on this one. Workers are poorer than ever. Figures are being manipulated and massaged by the tories to currently include people who have no guarantee of work as being employed - people on zero hours contracts are not employed. The number of people made redundant from well paying jobs since the tories came to power who are now scraping by on part time jobs is a disaster for this country.

Employment figures are an ideal example of lies, damn lies and statistics - the zero hours contracts have a lot to answer for. I appreciate they work for a few people, but for most they are a nightmare. I've not spoken to one single person on a zero hour contract who wants to be on one, and every time I've spoken to these people, they're never in work. Never. Yet they count as "employed".

Cooking the books on a massive scale. Nationwide Tory popcorn, even.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

.....how somebody eats a bacon butty or exits a stage shouldn't matter but unfortunately I suspect it does.

X Factor generation in this country at it's best...

 

[The Mighty Quint]

This was a sentiment "worm" for Twitter - basically corresponds with my thoughts on it.



As for focussing on a stage slip, that's TOWIE Britain for you. Collective idiots.

Yet the Sun is proclaiming across it's front page today Cameron won, based solely on Murdoch's brief to back them no matter what the actual public thinks.

 

[Groucho]

Yet the Sun is proclaiming across it's front page today Cameron won, based solely on Murdoch's brief to back them no matter what the actual public thinks.

What does the truth count for?

This is "The S*n" we're talking about.......

 

[Ashtonian]

Im in a rock and a hard place in regards to the election next week. Either i vote for the party i will never vote for or vote for one i have no confidence in. I really don't have any confidence in Labour, they are a shocking state right now.

Last night i watched a man hoping to see the next prime minister and got.....nothing. He clearly won't change things around, he is hoping for the best and in no way does he look like a leader to rule the country.

Here is my irk about it all, Milliband isnt attacking conservative. If he did he would come accross as a man with enough strength to govern but he just isnt doing it. For example

1. the labour no money left letter that balls said was ludicrous- A much better response from ed would be that Ed Balls is not Alistar Darling and he will do a much better job at the rle because of reasons XYZ.

2. Nom Doms and rich for the rich- A better response would be that he will raise x billion through taxes by removing the nom dom rule (estimate figures) and can reinvest the money in these areas and therefore benefit the country and in particular these people.

3. Defending the overspending- A better response would be we didnt overspend but we made some mistakes that were inflated due to the global crisis's. did we make mistakes? Yes we did, were we nieve? yes we were. We have spent 5 years having to learn from that and now the labour party stood here today know what went wrong, know that our predecessors did and most importantly have much better people to do a much better job.

All labour have had to do is to remove the labours fault tag and make it browns fault, blairs fault, darlings fault. They arent there, they have new people in these roles and perhaps just perhaps if Milliband tried to use the past to shake off the negative views then perhaps labour would be in stronger standing

 

[daylightrobber]

Im in a rock and a hard place in regards to the election next week. Either i vote for the party i will never vote for or vote for one i have no confidence in. I really don't have any confidence in Labour, they are a shocking state right now.

Last night i watched a man hoping to see the next prime minister and got.....nothing. He clearly won't change things around, he is hoping for the best and in no way does he look like a leader to rule the country.

Here is my irk about it all, Milliband isnt attacking conservative. If he did he would come accross as a man with enough strength to govern but he just isnt doing it. For example

1. the labour no money left letter that balls said was ludicrous- A much better response from ed would be that Ed Balls is not Alistar Darling and he will do a much better job at the rle because of reasons XYZ.

2. Nom Doms and rich for the rich- A better response would be that he will raise x billion through taxes by removing the nom dom rule (estimate figures) and can reinvest the money in these areas and therefore benefit the country and in particular these people.

3. Defending the overspending- A better response would be we didnt overspend but we made some mistakes that were inflated due to the global crisis's. did we make mistakes? Yes we did, were we nieve? yes we were. We have spent 5 years having to learn from that and now the labour party stood here today know what went wrong, know that our predecessors did and most importantly have much better people to do a much better job.

All labour have had to do is to remove the labours fault tag and make it browns fault, blairs fault, darlings fault. They arent there, they have new people in these roles and perhaps just perhaps if Milliband tried to use the past to shake off the negative views then perhaps labour would be in stronger standing

I get your concerns, but if you want to consider leadership material, he is the only one who is prepared to take full responsibility for keeping us in the EU. All the others are happy for a referendum to take place. That is a massive call.

 

[Tubey]

Im in a rock and a hard place in regards to the election next week. Either i vote for the party i will never vote for or vote for one i have no confidence in. I really don't have any confidence in Labour, they are a shocking state right now.

Last night i watched a man hoping to see the next prime minister and got.....nothing. He clearly won't change things around, he is hoping for the best and in no way does he look like a leader to rule the country.

Here is my irk about it all, Milliband isnt attacking conservative. If he did he would come accross as a man with enough strength to govern but he just isnt doing it. For example

1. the labour no money left letter that balls said was ludicrous- A much better response from ed would be that Ed Balls is not Alistar Darling and he will do a much better job at the rle because of reasons XYZ.

2. Nom Doms and rich for the rich- A better response would be that he will raise x billion through taxes by removing the nom dom rule (estimate figures) and can reinvest the money in these areas and therefore benefit the country and in particular these people.

3. Defending the overspending- A better response would be we didnt overspend but we made some mistakes that were inflated due to the global crisis's. did we make mistakes? Yes we did, were we nieve? yes we were. We have spent 5 years having to learn from that and now the labour party stood here today know what went wrong, know that our predecessors did and most importantly have much better people to do a much better job.

All labour have had to do is to remove the labours fault tag and make it browns fault, blairs fault, darlings fault. They arent there, they have new people in these roles and perhaps just perhaps if Milliband tried to use the past to shake off the negative views then perhaps labour would be in stronger standing

Why should he attack the Tories? He's adopting a positive campaign about what he would do, instead of talking about what the other guy isn't.

I can't expect the guy to lie - if he believes that Labour didn't overspend, then he should say that. To be honest, his point actually holds water in that regard - we would have been goosed by the financial crisis regardless. He only briefly mention that our whole economy was held up by financial services at the time (and still is) so we were exposed massively, but he should highlight that fact much more often.

He can't win with the non doms regardless. If he wants to scrap that rule, they will hate him for it regardless of what concession he makes instead.

And it wasn't Balls who left the letter, it was Liam Byrne. And it actually was intended as a private joke and is a long running tradition.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/17/liam-byrne-note-successor

 

[Groucho]

Im in a rock and a hard place in regards to the election next week. Either i vote for the party i will never vote for or vote for one i have no confidence in. I really don't have any confidence in Labour, they are a shocking state right now.

Last night i watched a man hoping to see the next prime minister and got.....nothing. He clearly won't change things around, he is hoping for the best and in no way does he look like a leader to rule the country.

Here is my irk about it all, Milliband isnt attacking conservative. If he did he would come accross as a man with enough strength to govern but he just isnt doing it. For example

1. the labour no money left letter that balls said was ludicrous- A much better response from ed would be that Ed Balls is not Alistar Darling and he will do a much better job at the rle because of reasons XYZ.

2. Nom Doms and rich for the rich- A better response would be that he will raise x billion through taxes by removing the nom dom rule (estimate figures) and can reinvest the money in these areas and therefore benefit the country and in particular these people.

3. Defending the overspending- A better response would be we didnt overspend but we made some mistakes that were inflated due to the global crisis's. did we make mistakes? Yes we did, were we nieve? yes we were. We have spent 5 years having to learn from that and now the labour party stood here today know what went wrong, know that our predecessors did and most importantly have much better people to do a much better job.

All labour have had to do is to remove the labours fault tag and make it browns fault, blairs fault, darlings fault. They arent there, they have new people in these roles and perhaps just perhaps if Milliband tried to use the past to shake off the negative views then perhaps labour would be in stronger standing

I do see your points, however Miliband has impressed me a little more than I expected since the campaign started.

I do agree though, that they should've gone on a "Tory-aggressive" campaign, because they have enough ammo - it does beg the question, why has this not been the case? I accept Tubey's point above.

 

[Ashtonian]

I get your concerns, but if you want to consider leadership material, he is the only one who is prepared to take full responsibility for keeping us in the EU. All the others are happy for a referendum to take place. That is a massive call.

Aye but have you looked at it this way.

Cameron says he wants to give us the vote on yes or no. He gives us that chance, and we can have our say on it. Except he spends weeks on end i nthe build up pointing out why we shouldn't leave, pointing out the families whats voting yes would do to them, small business, private sectors, the cost of everything etc. As much as he can give us the vote he can also manipulate the outcome using nothing else but actual facts that focus on the bad side of leaving. Fairs fair it would be the truth but he would have fulfilled his end of the bargain and still got his own way.

 

[Blue 1]

GOT and this thread are several days ahead of BBC "This Week" - we've been discussing electoral outcomes and post election strategies that Portillo thinks are "too sophisticated" for politicians to talk about.

Patronising slug.

 

[daylightrobber]

Why should he attack the Tories? He's adopting a positive campaign about what he would do, instead of talking about what the other guy isn't.

I can't expect the guy to lie - if he believes that Labour didn't overspend, then he should say that. To be honest, his point actually holds water in that regard - we would have been goosed by the financial crisis regardless. He only briefly mention that our whole economy was held up by financial services at the time (and still is) so we were exposed massively, but he should highlight that fact much more often.

He can't win with the non doms regardless. If he wants to scrap that rule, they will hate him for it regardless of what concession he makes instead.

And it wasn't Balls who left the letter, it was Liam Byrne. And it actually was intended as a private joke and is a long running tradition.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/may/17/liam-byrne-note-successor

Very good points. We as the electorate keep bashing on about how we need more honesty.

I think that the line about under-promising and over-delivering as opposed to over-promising and under-delivering will resonate.

 

[daylightrobber]

Aye but have you looked at it this way.

Cameron says he wants to give us the vote on yes or no. He gives us that chance, and we can have our say on it. Except he spends weeks on end i nthe build up pointing out why we shouldn't leave, pointing out the families whats voting yes would do to them, small business, private sectors, the cost of everything etc. As much as he can give us the vote he can also manipulate the outcome using nothing else but actual facts that focus on the bad side of leaving. Fairs fair it would be the truth but he would have fulfilled his end of the bargain and still got his own way.

He should be focusing on running the country. That would be weeks on end non too well spent imo.