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Expect to Win: Look at interest rates under Wilson, Callaghan? Crap too. Good years under Thatcher and bad years too. Ditto Brown/Blair.
Interest rates of themselves are no indicator of a good or bad Financial System or Chancellor. Would you be happy with a 0.001% mortgage rate from a governbment that would gas all red-haired babies?
(BTW Global recession? Yes – as long as you ignore Australia.)
Very glad to hear that your mortgage is not crucifyingly high. (Although compare new lending mortgage rates with base rate – not quite 1% is it? Although good luck to those who locked into fixed deal at opportune time).
You can’t seriously be suggesting though that Brown was in any way a good chancellor surely? A good dissembler and user of dodgy statistics and off-book liability deception (PFI, Public Sector Pension liability, Railtrack buy-out etc.)
Pompete. Yep – Cameron’s not going to be looked upon favourably by historians.
Bet he regrets agreeing to leaders’ debates now.
I’m not a lover of Cameron (although I despise Brown).
My hope though was that the main news channels might at least rise above the superficial journalism that allows plants to go unchallenged, as I think Bartley was. Perhaps later news editions will rectify their earlier omissions.Do you think if Cameron doesn’t get an overall majority he will have to go down as one of the biggest failures in British political history, having lost a lead of 26pts in the polls at one stage?
Compared with Brown taking labour to lowest share of vote since 1918? As seems very likely now?
What has gassing babies got to do with interest rates?
If I lent you a tenner cos you are on your arse I would want a tenner back on pay day, not £11.40.
Lots to dislike about all 3 of the party leaders and plenty to despair about in how the media is dumbing things down into a policy free personality based X Factor contest but one valuable outcome we could acheieve irrespective of the result would be if we could have a reprise in all of the newspapers between now and polling day of the complete list of each outgoing MP’s expenses records as originally revealed at the height of the scandal so that at the very least any corrupt MPs seeking re election don’t get voted back in.
Surely any attempt to restore faith in our political system should start with a House of Commons with the expenses system abusers removed and rules to prevent it happening again firmly in place.Bob,
All the info that was published is still available on the Telegraph website.
http://parliament.telegraph.co.uk/mpsexpenses/home
AP
FWIW Guido Fawkes take on Jonathan Bartley (Cameron’s heckler):-
The spin has been that today’s Cameron heckler, Jonathan Bartley, was just an “ordinary dad“. Not quite. He is in fact the left-wing Christian pacifist activist who edits the Ekklesia blog and is a Guardian contributor. Hardly your average random passer-by.
Some of his outbursts show why he might not like Dave so much. He calls Jesus a socialist, which will come as a bit of a surprise to Tim Montgomerie, he rants daily against the Tories on his Twitter page, raging against orthodox religion and the monarchy. With his track record of ranting online Guido is surprised Labour haven’t made him a candidate yet.What saddens me isn’t that Cameron was heckled, just that Sky didn’t have the nous (or maybe just the integrity) to delve into the episode just in case it was a "plant". Heigh-ho, perhaps journalistic standards are slipping (if that’s possible).
Bob,
All the info that was published is still available on the Telegraph website.
http://parliament.telegraph.co.uk/mpsexpenses/home
AP
Thanks AP but unfortunately the electorate aren’t going to bother to check……….but most of them pick up a newspaper so if the information could appear accross ‘Fleet Street’ on the same day,it would be the greatest contribution to British politics in history IMO……..before you say it……..I know it won’t happen.
Don’t find the Commons is an accurate representation of the range of views out there and is too easily bullied by people like Rupert Murdoch.
Hence a change to the political system is what I feel we need the most. More consensus building and less ideology.
David Cameron is most certainly not offering this. Nick Clegg might, hence that’s where my vote will go.
Does anyone know who is offering majority bets or number of seats bets?
Where I live it’s VERY blue so a dog dressed up in blue will/would get in!
I want to see the back of Lord Nasty makes me cringe. So that prospect is looking good.
Voting is a joke so we must change the system to proportional representation and cut the size of both houses. Not sure how to achieve this as the reds and blues don’t want it (too many vested interests in the current wrong system).
I have to vote for change but my vote is pointless.
Last time it was UKIP and BNP (won’t be doing that again).
If Proportional Representation is going to used, I’d love to know how any government is going to scrap between 25% – 50% of constituency MP’s to allow for a new, more balanced system. The last thing I want to see is 1,000 MP’s in a new system. If the Conservatives achieve an overall majority, we will not be seeing a Proportional Representation system regardless of any Liberal Democrat ideas.
The PR or FPTP debate is (to me anyway) a fascinating one.
Both methods are flawed and yet both have their strong points too.
I had a long chat over a few pints the other night with a LibDem friend who extolled the STV – PR method. It sounded good at the time (and he reckoned it’s the method that we Brits "gave" to the Irish upon their independence. (Don’t know how right that is. Anyone care to enlighten me?)). Trouble is, it’s very complicated in comparison to FPTP.
Since Brown first mentioned his desire for electoral reform via the ATV method (a method opposed by the LibDems), many a tory-leaning journo has suggested that this would be the death-knell for the Conservatives and that they’d never hold the reins of power again. Hence Brown’s enthusiasm for it. Maybe so. But, to counter that, there was a great piece in yesterday’sTelegraph
by Andrew Gilligan
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7655468/General-election-2010-Adopting-PR-would-push-Britain-to-the-Right.html
suggesting that it may well lead to a more "right leaning" parliament. Fascinating times ahead. Stock up on food now!
PR has it’s place. The Scottish Parliament uses a version of it, and so does the London Assembly, but it’s not straightforward for many voters to understand. All I’ll say in defence of the FPT system is, the Premier League table isn’t done on goal difference. You don’t get rewards for losing narrowly. One of the biggest problems is the size of each constituency that we judge parliament on. Even now with the negative Labour stuff we’re hearing, they have so many safe seats that it’s impossible for them to finish 3rd. And nothing will ever change in those areas. It doesn’t matter if people vote for other parties in certain areas, because Labour will still win certain seats, the Conservatives the same, and if PR was introduced, maybe it could help vote turnout as people will know their vote/s counts.
And I agree with that Independent article completely. I’ve put that on the Betfair forum in the political section over a week ago. Whilst the Liberals would gain in the short term, the long term is parties like the BNP prospering. If the London Assembly result of them gaining one seat out of 25 was replicated in parliament in the same proportion, (of course it wouldn’t for a lot of reasons) they would have 26 seats.
I’m becoming more and more fearful a hung parliament is inevitable. But, worst of all, Labour’s poll percentage is on the rise again. It’s on the rise to the point where I just hope Conservatives gain the most seats.
My main interest in this election is taking the 1.8+ available on Betfair for Labour to win the newly formed Dagenham and Rainham seat, for small money admittedly. (Thank you Boundary Commission for meaning we all have to guess on individual seats!!!) If Labour can’t win this seat, it’s the type that will indicate an overall majority is coming for the Conservatives, but I can’t see the Conservatives winning it.
I am preparing to be absolutely staggered by the number of MPs who were found to be ‘ acting within the rules’ over their expenses that are still going to be elected back into parliament….you couldn’t make it up…..a poor poor day for democracy when expense pee takers can still get votes and we can’t wipe the slate clean with a parliament of representatives ( not fussed which parties to be frank) who at least are not starting out with disgusting self serving dishonesty on their records…….a real opportunity missed by the British people and the media who could have seriously helped it happen…….instead, we’ll get business as usual.
My own inclination is to not vote or spoil my paper in protest at what we would be calling corruption if it happened anywhere else but here.
I am preparing to be absolutely staggered by the number of MPs who were found to be ‘ acting within the rules’ over their expenses that are still going to be elected back into parliament….you couldn’t make it up…..a poor poor day for democracy when expense pee takers can still get votes and we can’t wipe the slate clean with a parliament of representatives ( not fussed which parties to be frank) who at least are not starting out with disgusting self serving dishonesty on their records…….a real opportunity missed by the British people and the media who could have seriously helped it happen…….instead, we’ll get business as usual.
With the British political system being so fixated on leaders, the actual MP’s people are voting for, people know very little if not nothing about. It’s the way it is, I suppose. Gordon Brown had his Sky bill thanks to us, and yet he can carry on like nothing’s happened.
I’m lucky this general election, I have a candidate I actually want to vote for.
He is standing on a "Reduce Taxation on Beer" ticket. His economic arguments are sound and I’ll be there shortly after 7am to get my vote in.
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