The General Election Thread

[skier-hughes]

I look at a lot of my friends who work in the public sector, how easy a life they have, how much they moan, it's about time they were brought into the real world. More than 40,000 jobs would be cut, the rest would be asked to work like the rest of the country... yep they'd moan about how hard life is, but they've had it far too easy for far too long, nows the time to do it.

 

[another_richard]

Had these sent to me:
(visited them all 'cept the Torygraph one.)

Those worried about dataloggers might want to go to a local t'internet caff and visit these sites.

What is your vote worth?: http://www.voterpower.org.uk

A different (shorter) questionnaire: http://whoshouldyouvotefor.com/

Sorry removed the torygrapgh link as it includes Salesf0rc3:


Saleforce are developing sites to get more info from the customer

Don't believe me? Well check it out

http://developer.force.com/sitesgallery

http://www.salesforce.com/platform/cloud-platform/sites.jsp

 

[GeoffP]

I suppose I’ll get slated for this but I feel that I must put in my two-penneth. At 74 years old and after 56 years of voting, I’m sick and tired of the three old parties who promise everything at election time just to get elected then deliver nothing afterwards.

The party that I will be voting for will be the one that: -

1. I can trust! (if that's possible)

2. Says what they mean instead of giving us all this waffle and promises that they have no intention of keeping

3. Brings back the troops from the phoney wars in Afghanistan and Iraq immediately. There's been enough bloodshed over the oil supply issue and it's costing around £3.5 billion and is about to rise to £5 billion each year that could be spent on home affairs such as the NHSS. Let them send their own sons and daughters if they want a sacrifice.

4. Scraps the ridiculous “Yuman Rites” system and the E.C.H.R. where criminals rights are more important than the victims

5. Brings back our manufacturing base where we actually make something and sell it for a profit, getting people off benefits and bringing some pride back to the country.
http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/RowthornCouttsBalancePayments.pdf
Brings back apprenticeships including some of the long lost crafts.

6. Gets us out of the European Union completely. Apparently, it's already cost us over £176 BILLION to be allowed into this club, almost enough to clear the budget deficit and costing us more every year with no apparent advantages to us.
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/stilloutofcontrol.pdf

7. Sorts out the police force and the justice system, allowing my wife and daughters to go into Derby shopping without feeling threatened and me to walk home late from the pub without getting mugged

8. Cuts out foreign aid to countries like India who are rich enough to have their own space program but still keep taking our money. Both main parties have promised to increase the foreign aid budget from £9 Billion to £14 Billion every year – we can't afford it and we can put it to better use. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/5520516/Why_are_we_giving_India_Â1_billion_in_aid_if_it_can_afford_Moon_missions/

9. Dare I say it, stops immigration completely and immediately - this country is full
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8625000/8625801.stm

10. Spends more money and effort on developing an energy program that doesn't rely on oil. And I don't mean by putting obscene wind farms all over the countryside.

11. Cuts out most of the quangos which do nothing but eat money and provide overpaid “jobs for the boys” on both sides. This is our money, not theirs.

12. Takes education back to square one where the teachers (and parents) had the power to discipline the pupils and the pupils actually learned something.

13. Stops the erosion of green belt land. I've just opposed a new development of around 900 additional houses on green belt land near me but I don't suppose it will make any difference.

14. Last but not least – Puts the needs of British people first.

I don’t suppose that anyone will agree with me and at my age I don’t suppose that it really matters but I’m very concerned about the legacy that we’re going to leave for our children and grandchildren to sort out.

Just my ramblings.

Geoff

 

[another_richard]

And GeoffP while you are at it why not demand compulsory repatriation?

Meanwhile back in the real world...

 

[skier-hughes]

With you all the way Geoff, apart from immigration, we do need a flow in and out, but it needs to be heavily regulated and we need to deal with those who are already here, but shouldn't be........ which goes back to my previous question.........

 

[Feltwell]

I look at a lot of my friends who work in the public sector, how easy a life they have, how much they moan, it's about time they were brought into the real world. More than 40,000 jobs would be cut, the rest would be asked to work like the rest of the country... yep they'd moan about how hard life is, but they've had it far too easy for far too long, nows the time to do it.

Rather a sweeping generalisation there! I spent a short while in the public sector and hated it, it really wasn't for me. But to say that they've had it easy for far too long - yes, I'm sure some have, but isn't that the same in many large organisations?. I did come across individuals who frankly would never survive outside of local government. But I also came across many - especially in that most derided of areas, Social Care - that do a fantastic job with limited resources for a salary that is not that great, albeit with what was good job security.

 

[GeoffP]

And GeoffP while you are at it why not demand compulsory repatriation?

Meanwhile back in the real world...

I probably would, Richard, but the party that I will vote for doesn't include this.

And believe me, this IS the real world.

Geoff

 

[JoceAndChris]

I liked your long post Geoff P, and agree with pretty much everything you say.

It's easy to make small, local concerns look trivial - but our little daily environment matters hugely to our levels of contentedness.

 

[Flyfisher]

As far as I can see, reform is a euphemism for sacking 40,000 public service workers. These people all have names, families, and more to the point, jobs. That's 40,000 more sets of unemployment benefit, housing benefit, free school meals.

Why do you assume all these people are incapable of finding new jobs or, perhaps, even starting their own small businesses?

40,000 fewer families able to spend money and support businesses.

But these people are being paid out of public funds so how can they really support businesses? Yes, on a micro-economic level they can, but at a national level it's illusory. Might as well just expand the public sector even more in order to eliminate unemployment and give more people more money to spend and get the economy growing again - oh, sorry, it's been tried and we've run out of money funding it because we can't afford it! The illusion has been shattered.

It's the private sector that creates the wealth needed to pay for the public sector. Government doesn't have any money, it uses taxpayers money, taxes that have to come from money earned in the private sector. It's in everyone's interest to have a vibrant, successful and growing private sector doing stuff that actually makes money instead of just spending and/or redistributing it.

 

[another_richard]

And GeoffP while you are at it why not demand compulsory repatriation?

Meanwhile back in the real world...

I probably would, Richard, but the party that I will vote for doesn't include this.

And believe me, this IS the real world.

Geoff

So you would have my wife and child forcefully repatriated?

 

[GeoffP]

Certainly not, Richard, if you are legally here. Whatever you may think,I am not a racist but even you must admit that there is a limit to what this country can hold.

Geoff

 

[biffvernon]

Why is it that every internet forum has at least one complete nutcase?

 

[wobs]

Why is it that every internet forum has at least one complete nutcase?

It keeps you off the streets

 

[Juju]

Well I'm voting Green - it won't make much difference given that I live in Cameron's constituency. Our whole street appears to be voting Green Party - judging by the number of posters up!

 

[DaveBrigg]

1. I can trust! (if that's possible)

There's only one party I know that is led by a convicted criminal and is being investigated by the electoral standards committee after submitting fraudulent accounts. It begins with a 'B'.

5. Brings back our manufacturing base where we actually make something and sell it for a profit...
6. Gets us out of the European Union completely.

Er, the European Union is our biggest market. You can do one of these, but not both.

7. Sorts out the police force and the justice system, allowing my wife and daughters to go into Derby shopping without feeling threatened

I'm not sure that it's possible to jail people because someone walking past feels threatened.

9. Dare I say it, stops immigration completely and immediately - this country is full

An 'immigrant' saved the life of my wife and child. As far as I'm concerned he can live in my house, eat at my table and empty my bank account and I'll still be in his debt.

 

[Flyfisher]

5. Brings back our manufacturing base where we actually make something and sell it for a profit...
6. Gets us out of the European Union completely.

Er, the European Union is our biggest market. You can do one of these, but not both.

I've never quite understood why we have to be part of the EU to trade with the EU. Surely if we manufacture stuff they want, at a competitive price, they'll buy from us whether we're part of the EU or not?

Having said that, I don't see much of a problem with the EEC (as it used to be called), but I do think that the ever-increasing "United States of Europe" trend is building up problems for the future. I can see no reason for a fully-fledged, law-enforcing European parliament in order to become an economic trading community and, I suspect, neither can many others. Add a refusal to allow for a referendum into the mix and it's a recipe for future unrest. History abounds with examples of countries and regions forced together into a greater state without the active consent of the people and it usually seems to end in tears.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

I look at a lot of my friends who work in the public sector, how easy a life they have, how much they moan, it's about time they were brought into the real world. More than 40,000 jobs would be cut, the rest would be asked to work like the rest of the country... yep they'd moan about how hard life is, but they've had it far too easy for far too long, nows the time to do it.

I was saying much the same today to the girl who peels my grapes. :shock:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I suppose I’ll get slated for this but I feel that I must put in my two-penneth. At 74 years old and after 56 years of voting, I’m sick and tired of the three old parties who promise everything at election time just to get elected then deliver nothing afterwards.

The party that I will be voting for will be the one that: -

1. I can trust! (if that's possible)

...

14. Last but not least – Puts the needs of British people first.


Geoff

Why is it that every internet forum has at least one complete nutcase?

And GeoffP while you are at it why not demand compulsory repatriation?

Meanwhile back in the real world...

One of the reasons for the rise of extremist parties like the BNP, is that fairly legitimate concerns from fairly normal people are dismissed by mainstream parties, and debate is dismissed. It happens every day - concerns about the scale of immigration and the impact it has on our infrastructure and public services are shrilly cast as racist or "bigotted". It happened to me today, and I am a mainstream, socially liberal One Nation Tory.

Much of the BNP vote comes from white working class voters who are traditionally Labour. They feel abandoned by the left and seek refuge in the superficially appealing rhetoic of the far right. Unless we wake up to this and allow proper reasoned debate, we will not confront and combat the extremists.

Simply dismissing GeoffP as a "nutcase" "not in the real world" will further detach him from the process and confirm to him that he has hit upon the right party with the right solutions.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

No amount of debating a sincerely-held, but wrong, wrong, wrong, opinions, is going to sort the problem out. Those who are wrong on the issues the BNP claims it wants to "debate" are just plain wrong on them. End of.

 

[Flyfisher]

Hmm. Is it actually possible to have "wrong" opinions? Wrong on facts, yes, but opinions?

The country will be voting for a new government tomorrow. If party X gets wins does that mean that everyone who voted for Y is "wrong"?

I'm with FW. I think suppressing debate is more dangerous than having the debate. Get the issues into the open, ridicule them with reasoned argument and let everyone see them ridiculed rather than continue to be curious because they think the establishment is trying to suppress them.