Poll: Which party will get your vote in the General Election?

Which party will get your vote in the General Election?

  • Conservative

    Votes: 704 38.5%

  • Labour

    Votes: 221 12.1%

  • Liberal Democrat

    Votes: 297 16.2%

  • British National Party

    Votes: 144 7.9%

  • Green Party

    Votes: 36 2.0%

  • UK Independence Party

    Votes: 46 2.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 48 2.6%

  • Don't care I have no intension of voting.

    Votes: 334 18.3%
  • Total voters
    1,830
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David Cameron accuses Gordon Brown over expenses MPs
David Cameron has accused Gordon Brown of a "humiliating change" of stance after Labour suspended its three MPs facing charges over their expenses.

The move came as the Tory leader prepared for a speech featuring a claim his Labour counterpart was tolerating the MPs' attempt to "evade justice".
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What took Brown four days to decide whether or not to suspend the Labour MPs?
 
Hatter The Mad said:
David Cameron accuses Gordon Brown over expenses MPs


What took Brown four days to decide whether or not to suspend the Labour MPs?
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More important things to do ? Running a country? Or perhaps hoping that the justice system could be given time to run it's course for once without political parties putting their oar in?

Don't get me wrong I think he's a right plonker, but he's got more important things to worry about than 3 pilfering MPs.
 
Public sector productivity down since 1997

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The European Central Bank (http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp242.pdf), suggests we could save 16% of total public spending, or around £110bn per year, and yet deliver the same services (other EU countries manage it).

The ONS says (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/TotalPublicServiceFinalv5.pdf) that since 1997, public sector productivity has been falling by between 0.3 and 0.9% pa (depending on whether you adjust the output figures for so-called quality improvements). Yet over the same period, private sector productivity has been rising by 2.2% pa. Over a decade that kind of difference mounts up to a total public sector efficiency shortfall of well over 20%.

Before britboy steps in insisting that you can't take money out of the public sector and deliver the same services - yes you can. Other European countries make public sector efficiency savings that vastly outstrip ours, as the European Central Bank paper on the matter shows.
 
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Halfmad said:
More important things to do ? Running a country? Or perhaps hoping that the justice system could be given time to run it's course for once without political parties putting their oar in?
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MPs 'run' our country. You think it is right to have people currently being prosecuted for theft and account fraud remain in their office?


wozencl said:
Indecisiveness, waiting to see the other parties' reponses first or he was waiting for the papers to tell him what to do.
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I agree with you. However, David Cameron announced the suspension of the prosecuted Tory peer in less than two hours. Even Brown isn't usually so late trying to keep up with the Jones. Clearly, people in the Labour party genuinely thought it fit that they still hold office, despite being prosecuted for theft and account fraud.
 
Hatter The Mad said:
MPs 'run' our country. You think it is right to have people currently being prosecuted for theft and account fraud remain in their office?
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Of course not, but come on, just be realistic for a second. You cannot compare Brown and Cameron like for like, Cameron has so, so, so, so, so, so much more time available to come out with tabloid worthy propaganda and headline grabbing nonsense. As much as I'm sure this pains you to behold, yes, Gordon Brown does have more important things to be getting on with. I'd be much more happy with a PM that puts his duty first, and keeping the press happy second. You're quite clearly the opposite, but I'm sure things would be reversed if the roles were also...
 
Also, just for you, Hatter, I'll post some more meaningless political headlines in the interest of political balance (even though I have no interest in such trivial and tedious things):


Andrew Grice: For the first time, the Tories are worried – and with good reason

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinio...rried-ndash-and-with-good-reason-1890902.html


George Osborne - the Tories' little rich boy with an identity crisis this one is particularly impartial:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-st...-boy-with-an-identity-crisis-115875-22019856/


Two Labour gains and UKIP second place surge

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ains-and-ukip-second-place-surge-1890387.html


Tory PR guru held over 'sex attack' on a cleaner

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ies-Tory-PR-guru-held-sex-attack-cleaner.html


UK – CWU blasts damaging Tory plans on broadband

http://textio.co.uk/communications/uk-cwu-blasts-damaging-tory-plans-on-broadband/


Crime, family break-up, drunks and drugs: the Conservatives—and apparently plenty of voters—think that Britain has a “broken society”. Does the claim stand up? (Not very well, according to this article):

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15452867


Tories consider £20,000 tax break for families building granny flats

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lies-building-granny-flats.html#ixzz0ex5Jxpdl


Tory party treasurer rakes in £15m before warning shareholders of plunging profits

http://planetpmc.blogspot.com/2010/02/tory-party-treasurer-rakes-in-15m.html


Mad Nad pays £35,000 in expenses to friend's PR company

http://planetpmc.blogspot.com/2010/02/mad-nad-pays-35000-in-expenses-to-close.html


:o
 
Oh crap. I heard David Cameron talking about electoral reform. I actually thought his ideas not only sounded reasonable, some were quite exciting. I quite liked the idea of being able to comment on bills going through parliament and also giving the PM petitions some teeth with people being able to bring items up for debate.

I still don't think I could vote for them though.
 
naffa said:
:o
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Why are you posting "meaningless headlines" (to quote you), from papers like the Mirror and the scumrag the Daily Mail?

I posted first about something that was in the news today, and then about something that we have spent the majority of this thread discussing (inefficiency/cost of public sector). I did not post about things "trivial and tedious", but instead major.

Don't trash the thread, thanks.
 
I trust in this new spirit of openness and transparency that Cameron et al are promoting, they will also apply it to the tax status of the Tories biggest single donor and vice-chairman of the Party :cool:
 
After about 4 months of being almost completely out of the picture look like Cameron is strapping on the boxing gloves, about bloody time too. Labour as faultered badly this weekend and cameron took the advantage. I don't blame him
 
I dont trust david cameron at all, he seems far too slimy for my liking and still hasnt said anything about whats actually being cut. His current proposal is to destroy uni funding, meaning that my university is set to lose 300 staff, which quite frankly is disgusting if it happens.
 
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Hatter The Mad said:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...ejection-after-Mandelson-university-cuts.html

The policy isn't Cameron's, really. With what money do you want them to fund your University with, anyway?
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I think I already pay enough for my university as it is so any sort of government cut backs which threaten how well that education will be delivered is a joke. Plus before anyone asks, I'm doing a degree with a 100% chance of the chosen career path at the end of it, instead of a "mickey-mouse" one...
 
James J said:
I think I already pay enough for my university as it is so any sort of government cut backs which threaten how well that education will be delivered is a joke.
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But what you think != what something costs, clearly - otherwise the Universities wouldn't need to "cut resources" in order to balance their books after the Government funding cut backs.

The Government is strapped for cash, and they already make substantial contributions to each student's education (far more than what you actually pay). I ask again - where is the money going to come from?

I think it is about time the University sector gets squeezed, anyway. Hopefully (and I am sure they will) the cuts will be made to fluff degrees and departments.

There is also too much overlap - two Universities in the same city should not offer always the same courses, especially when one of them is under-subscribed.
 
Don't worry, Dave will save the day:

At their annual conference last week, the Conservatives announced plans for another 10,000 places in university for 2010-11 if they were elected.
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Or will he?

The Tory spokesman on higher education, David Willetts, said he could not promise to reverse the cuts if his party was in power.
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(Yet) Another example the Tories' contradictory and muddled approach to their policies - promise the Earth but the inevitable U-turn when it comes to the details?
 
so looks like the connys are getting in by default, as the 2nd best option is dont care :p
since i went for dont care i guess im happy with this :D
 
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