The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[ToffeeDoug]

Someone told me yesterday that he had read that Geoffrey from Rainbow had come out and endorsed the Lib Dems!lol

No word yet from Bungle and presumably Zippy had opted to keep it zipped.

 

[The Cowboy]

Ah, the good old "Hanging Chad" that elected Bush .....

Not just that, there was a video of a guy using a touchscreen voting machine, two buttons approx 1 inch high, but the sensor for one candidate was stretched down to cover 90% of the other candidates button, just a sliver of sensor on the 2nd button. Clearly an IT bod with an axe to grind.

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

Apparently Vince Cable has today been asked why he had allowed "a myth to be perpetuated" that the Labour government was responsible for the financial crash.

His response was that it was "not true" that the Labour government ran up a large deficit before the financial crisis.

He said: "I think this very simple view that the Conservatives perpetuate that the last government went in to the banking crisis with a very large deficit simply was not true."

From the mouth of the Business Secretary folks.

Ah, dear owld 'Fluffylugs' Cable. The same gawp who sold off royal mail for a pittance..........And stripped workers of their rights by introducing massive fees for employment tribunals.

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/04/well-respected-vince-cable-leaflet-tribunal-fees/

 

[Tubey]

Ah, dear owld 'Fluffylugs' Cable. The same gawp who sold off royal mail for a pittance..........And stripped workers of their rights by introducing massive fees for employment tribunals.

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/04/well-respected-vince-cable-leaflet-tribunal-fees/

Isn't it amazing the Lib Dems aren't flogging that as one of their "achievements in office".

Horrible goons. I despise the Lib Dems more than the Tories - at least the Tories have the conviction to be what they are; the Lib Dems have no identity whatsoever.

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

Isn't it amazing the Lib Dems aren't flogging that as one of their "achievements in office".

Horrible goons. I despise the Lib Dems more than the Tories - at least the Tories have the conviction to be what they are; the Lib Dems have no identity whatsoever.

Aye. Politically promiscuous whores they are.

Here's another whopper from the 'well respected' cable's department.........

http://politicalscrapbook.net/2015/04/bis-zero-hours-contract-exclusivity-clause-screw-up/

 

[Eggs]

.....nearly time, probably vote at 07.00. Could be a fascinating week.

 

[Ashtonian]

if the right media wanted to they could crush the tories, i wonder why they aren't?

I mean they have significant backings for labour, they have russell brand, steven hawking, the mirror had quotes from major critisising his own party. and the nearest tory tabloid cant even mock up a decent headline to get you to vote for them the day before election day.

Shame ther hasnt been much more of a full on anti tory campaign because it would crush them

 

[Kurt.]

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Apparently Vince Cable has today been asked why he had allowed "a myth to be perpetuated" that the Labour government was responsible for the financial crash.

His response was that it was "not true" that the Labour government ran up a large deficit before the financial crisis.

He said: "I think this very simple view that the Conservatives perpetuate that the last government went in to the banking crisis with a very large deficit simply was not true."

From the mouth of the Business Secretary folks.

In an earlier post I posted some research showing a) how pervasive myths are in politics, and b) how denying them tends to perpetuate them, unless there is someone from the opposition willing to debunk the myth.

So we have things like Labour being responsible for the crash, the NHS being privatised and immigrants being a drain on society. None are true, yet none have been debunked by the Tories, Labour and anyone at all respectively, so they've persisted.

 

[daylightrobber]

In an earlier post I posted some research showing a) how pervasive myths are in politics, and b) how denying them tends to perpetuate them, unless there is someone from the opposition willing to debunk the myth.

So we have things like Labour being responsible for the crash, the NHS being privatised and immigrants being a drain on society. None are true, yet none have been debunked by the Tories, Labour and anyone at all respectively, so they've persisted.

The classic being that we'll all be better off under the Tories.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

The classic being that we'll all be better off under the Tories.

The point being that because so few people (politically) are willing to cross tribal lines, these myths persist. That's a stain on everyones house.

 

[daylightrobber]

The point being that because so few people (politically) are willing to cross tribal lines, these myths persist. That's a stain on everyones house.

I know fella. I was pulling your leg. I missed it when you posted it previously, but I also contributed that there is a 'Thinking that they protest too much' factor, which falsely translates a valid defense as being guilty.

 

[daylightrobber]

In an earlier post I posted some research showing a) how pervasive myths are in politics, and b) how denying them tends to perpetuate them, unless there is someone from the opposition willing to debunk the myth.

So we have things like Labour being responsible for the crash, the NHS being privatised and immigrants being a drain on society. None are true, yet none have been debunked by the Tories, Labour and anyone at all respectively, so they've persisted.

Here's a debunking you might be quite surprised by.....

Last week it was revealed that a letter from 5,000 small business owners pledging support for the Conservatives had not only been orchestrated by the party, but contained several duplicate names. In the same week, The Formations Company carried out an independent survey of business owners, asking them to choose their preferred policy without knowing which party it belonged to.

The Formations Company, which has helped to set up over 250,000 UK businesses, found that although businesses preferred Conservative policies on employment law, pensions, broadband and the high street, they preferred Labour policies on:

· Business support and access to finance

· Devolution to local government and red tape

· Employer NI contributions and minimum wage

· EU and international trade

· Job creation and zero hours contracts

This means that overall, businesses slightly prefer Labour Party policies, contrary to public perception and despite businesses themselves believing they are better aligned to the Conservatives.

The blind survey received over 2,000 online responses from business owners across the UK. They were asked to select their preferred policy from nine key areas for businesses, without knowing which party the policy belonged to.

Overall, 23 per cent of businesses surveyed agreed most frequently with Labour policies, compared to 22 per cent who preferred Conservative policies. Just behind were the Green Party, with 19 per cent preferring their policies. 18 per cent preferred UKIP policies, and 18 per cent preferred Lib Dem.

UKIP’s policies on corporation tax and business rates scored the highest; however, UKIP had the least popular policies in six of the nine business areas including EU and international trade.

Piers Chead, CEO and Founder of The Formations Company, said:

“The results were actually quite surprising. You always hear about the Conservatives being the party of business – but it seems once you neutralise this perception bias and compare policies, Labour are offering businesses the best deal – and that comes from the horse’s mouth.”

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I know fella. I was pulling your leg. I missed it when you posted it previously, but I also contributed that there is a 'Thinking that they protest too much' factor, which falsely translates a valid defense as being guilty.

That was kinda it. If you try and shed the myth yourself you lack the credibility to do so. Even an impartial person (ie a non-politician) was found to have little impact. The only people that really corrected things were your opposition. Yet, in the US at least, something like 2.5% of senators have voted across party lines in the last few years.

I suspect we're slightly better here, but it's a sign of how gummed up politics can get if our politicians get too tribal about things.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Here's a debunking you might be quite surprised by.....

Last week it was revealed that a letter from 5,000 small business owners pledging support for the Conservatives had not only been orchestrated by the party, but contained several duplicate names. In the same week, The Formations Company carried out an independent survey of business owners, asking them to choose their preferred policy without knowing which party it belonged to.

The Formations Company, which has helped to set up over 250,000 UK businesses, found that although businesses preferred Conservative policies on employment law, pensions, broadband and the high street, they preferred Labour policies on:

· Business support and access to finance

· Devolution to local government and red tape

· Employer NI contributions and minimum wage

· EU and international trade

· Job creation and zero hours contracts

This means that overall, businesses slightly prefer Labour Party policies, contrary to public perception and despite businesses themselves believing they are better aligned to the Conservatives.

The blind survey received over 2,000 online responses from business owners across the UK. They were asked to select their preferred policy from nine key areas for businesses, without knowing which party the policy belonged to.

Overall, 23 per cent of businesses surveyed agreed most frequently with Labour policies, compared to 22 per cent who preferred Conservative policies. Just behind were the Green Party, with 19 per cent preferring their policies. 18 per cent preferred UKIP policies, and 18 per cent preferred Lib Dem.

UKIP’s policies on corporation tax and business rates scored the highest; however, UKIP had the least popular policies in six of the nine business areas including EU and international trade.

Piers Chead, CEO and Founder of The Formations Company, said:

“The results were actually quite surprising. You always hear about the Conservatives being the party of business – but it seems once you neutralise this perception bias and compare policies, Labour are offering businesses the best deal – and that comes from the horse’s mouth.”

To be honest with you, it would probably be no bad thing if all policies were given a blind 'taste test' so that they were treated on their merits rather than on who proposed them.

I wouldn't say it's a ringing endorsement for any of them though really. 23 vs 22 vs 19 vs 18 is pretty evenly spread. I suspect, as with most things, it's incredibly difficult to make broad brush statements. If your business is energy then you'll probably have very different requirements than if your business is healthcare, or if you're a large employer vs a sole trader.

I don't think any party can really claim to be 'the party of business' simply because it is so difficult to provide something for everyone.