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

[Dolph]

The political compass has updated their chart with the current positions of the parties.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/ukparties2010

I'm still not convinced entirely by some of their positions, but that may be because I can't see how high taxation can ever be considered anything other than an authoritarian position.

 

[scorza]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8621273.stm

An influential group of 50 leading economists warn that the Conservative spending plans risk moving Britain towards a "double-dip" recession.

 

[Dolph]

Okay, so lets keep plowing money in to a nuclear program and cut the money for schools, hospitals, police force etc etc instead.

Yeh thats the kind of prioritizing i want to see

The money for trident replacement barely makes a dent in any of those budgets, even the small ones (schools and police) are annually about half of Trident replacement's total cost over 20 years.

 

[fenderbass86]

This is why despite Clegg being a likeable honest person, the inexperience and the policies behind him do the country no favours.

How is a man/party supposed to get experience if they've never been given a real chance. I'm all for Lib Dem being given a shot, otherwise we're stuck in a cycle of Labour/Conservatives, neither of which are particularly popular in a positive sense, so why settle for them?

 

[Dolph]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8621273.stm

An influential group of 50 leading economists warn that the Conservative spending plans risk moving Britain towards a "double-dip" recession.

That's been covered already, they've signed Labour's letter, and a great number of them have labour party links.

Not to mention that economists have often been wrong to criticise the efforts to bring the deficit down. Over 300 protested at the Thatcher government's 1981 budget, for example.

 

[Insanties_birth]

For me I can't see how anyone wouldn't vote for the liberal democrats. Lets be honest who had the best policies? Lib dems, who had the best personality? Probably lib dems, who was the only party to have concrete and already costed policies? lib dems. People can claim they can promise what they want but that's just stupid and naive as all there policies have been fully costed so they're promising only what they can deliver.

Gordon brown has done his usual trick of guaranteeing extra NHS sort of dead lines and securing all services pretty much even though he's only going to do it for a year then have massive cuts again and even then we know gordon brown will just borrow all the money again.

For me I don't see what the hate for Cameron was about, he was no worse in his detail on policies than Brown and he used so real examples of people who were effected and who he's trying to base his policies around to help real world problems. I can see why some would dislike him but it's more likely just a bunch of old conservative haters who don't realise just like how we're not responsible for the slave trade our ancestors engaged in they are not responsible for the old recession and what not.

 

[scorza]

That's been covered already, they've signed Labour's letter, and a great number of them have labour party links.

Not to mention that economists have often been wrong to criticise the efforts to bring the deficit down. Over 300 protested at the Thatcher government's 1981 budget, for example.

Well given what happened during the Thatcher government, I'd say they were right to complain.

 

[Dolph]

For me I can't see how anyone wouldn't vote for the liberal democrats. Lets be honest who had the best policies? Lib dems, who had the best personality? Probably lib dems, who was the only party to have concrete and already costed policies? lib dems. People can claim they can promise what they want but that's just stupid and naive as all there policies have been fully costed so they're promising only what they can deliver.

You've fallen for the spin, they don't have anything like concrete and already costed policies. Even the ones they do have aren't costed very well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/parties_and_issues/8615189.stm

Is quite a good read on the subject.

Gordon brown has done his usual trick of guaranteeing extra NHS sort of dead lines and securing all services pretty much even though he's only going to do it for a year then have massive cuts again and even then we know gordon brown will just borrow all the money again.

Gordon Brown is economically incompetent, that's no news

For me I don't see what the hate for Cameron was about, he was no worse in his detail on policies than Brown and he used so real examples of people who were effected and who he's trying to base his policies around to help real world problems. I can see why some would dislike him but it's more likely just a bunch of old conservative haters who don't realise just like how we're not responsible for the slave trade our ancestors engaged in they are not responsible for the old recession and what not.

Indeed, I wish people would actually look at the current policies, rather than harping on and on about evil conservatives and making up the party position as they go along.

 

[Dolph]

Well given what happened during the Thatcher government, I'd say they were right to complain.

Britain became successful and shed it's 'poor man of Europe' label?

Or are you thinking of the thousands of economically pointless jobs that she axed because they achieved nothing?

 

[LiE]

I think now is probably not the time to be taking a risk with Lib Dems - given their experience how can they best know how to manage the country when things are fragile?

 

[Insanties_birth]

You've fallen for the spin, they don't have anything like concrete and already costed policies. Even the ones they do have aren't costed very well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/parties_and_issues/8615189.stm

Is quite a good read on the subject.



Gordon Brown is economically incompetent, that's no news



Indeed, I wish people would actually look at the current policies, rather than harping on and on about evil conservatives and making up the party position as they go along.

Well thanks for that link then and maybe I'll come back once I've had a chance to read it but even so they've seemingly had more money planned to be saved. Even if they can't save it all I believe they will save more than labour and the conservatives so if I'm going for a party that isn't going to borrow money and is going to cut the deficit I've so far got my faith in the lib dems. Maybe I'm wrong but that's the impression I have and I will see the next prime ministerial debates and read your linked article to try and get a better judgement.

It may not be news but it's good evidence that I shouldn't vote for brown. Even though I am somewhat tempted, it's between brown and clegg for me but I'm going to wait till I've seen more before I make a final decision.

 

[scorza]

Britain became successful and shed it's 'poor man of Europe' label?

Or are you thinking of the thousands of economically pointless jobs that she axed because they achieved nothing?

I was thinking more about the tens of thousands manufacturing and mining jobs she got rid of that would actually be quite useful now.

If only we had a good sized stock of social housing we probably wouldn't be paying anything like as much in housing benefit today, but at least "there's no such thing as society" any more.

 

[Dolph]

I was thinking more about the tens of thousands manufacturing and mining jobs she got rid of that would actually be quite useful now.

They probably would have been. You never know, if our industry hadn't been irreparably damaged by nationalisation and union militancy we may have been much more likely to be able to keep it, as well as having a much more diverse economy.

If only we had a good sized stock of social housing we probably wouldn't be paying anything like as much in housing benefit today, but at least "there's no such thing as society" any more.

I agree with you on right to buy, but please don't start doing a stockhausen and deliberately misquoting that speech, it gets very tedious.

 

[RDM]

I was thinking more about the tens of thousands manufacturing and mining jobs she got rid of that would actually be quite useful now.

How would they be useful? They only reason they survived as long as they did prior to Thatcher is because the government kept propping them up. Considering UK labour costs how exactly would products from said industries be viable in the international market we are in today?

 

[fenderbass86]

I think now is probably not the time to be taking a risk with Lib Dems - given their experience how can they best know how to manage the country when things are fragile?

So Labour know what they're doing?!

 

[Stretch]

For me I can't see how anyone wouldn't vote for the liberal democrats. Lets be honest who had the best policies? Lib dems, who had the best personality? Probably lib dems, who was the only party to have concrete and already costed policies? lib dems. People can claim they can promise what they want but that's just stupid and naive as all there policies have been fully costed so they're promising only what they can deliver.

None of the parties have yet to cost how they're going to save the £40b a year needed to half the deficit by 2014. All the Lib Dems have done is cost the £10bn the other two parties have also committed to. To say their plans are "fully costed" isn't true, they've just costed a bit more.

I was thinking more about the tens of thousands manufacturing and mining jobs she got rid of that would actually be quite useful now.

If only we had a good sized stock of social housing we probably wouldn't be paying anything like as much in housing benefit today, but at least "there's no such thing as society" any more.

You mean like building quality cars in the midlands that no one wanted to buy. Or producing coal that was much cheaper to buy elsewhere.

Most of the "social housing" of the 60s and 70s era was a disaster. I don't see any mainstream political party embarking on a mission to restock the government’s ownership of council houses like they had before 1979.

 

[britboy4321]

It's the wrong time to be taking money out of the economy as the tories want. It risks a double-dip recession. No other county in the world is doing it as every other country in the world thinks it is too risky.

We should pay the interest on the national debt for 1 more year to give our businesses the chance to recover before we start kicking them in the teeth by reducing the money in the back pocket of it's customers.

A double-dip recession would cost us MUCH MUCH MUCH more than reducing slightly 1 year's interest on the national debt. Like 20 times as much.

Why risk it? Every single other country's government in the world disagrees with the Tory 'grand-plan of taking money out of the economy' If we start doing it, as much as anything else, it's going to seem bonkers to out international colleagues. As we slide back into recession and the tories take more money away they'll be rolling their eyes and thinking one big 'omg wtf?'!!

They will of course avoid recession, and Dolph will produce some big thread about 'OMG BROWN CAUSED A DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION FROM WHEN HE WAS IN OFFICE'

 

[JBod]

It's the wrong time to be taking money out of the economy as the tories want. It risks a double-dip recession. No other county in the world is doing it as every other country in the world thinks it is too risky.

We should pay the interest on the national debt for 1 more year to give our businesses the chance to recover before we start kicking them in the teeth by reducing the money in the back pocket of it's customers.

A double-dip recession would cost us MUCH MUCH MUCH more than reducing slightly 1 year's interest on the national debt. Like 20 times as much.

Why risk it? Every single other country's government in the world disagrees with the Tory 'grand-plan of taking money out of the economy' If we start doing it, as much as anything else, it's going to seem bonkers to out international colleagues. As we slide back into recession and the tories take more money away they'll be rolling their eyes and thinking one big 'omg wtf?'!!

They will of course avoid recession, and Dolph will produce some big thread about 'OMG BROWN CAUSED A DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION FROM WHEN HE WAS IN OFFICE'

You are spouting Browns queue cards now, please read:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7595265/CEBR-raises-UK-growth-forecasts.html

In response I'll quote from Camerons queue cards p) - saving £1 out of each £100 spent. It's a bit sound bitey but it actually makes sense.


Edit: Is it queue card or cue card?

 

[britboy4321]

You are spouting Browns queue cards now, please read:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7595265/CEBR-raises-UK-growth-forecasts.html

In response I'll quote from Camerons queue cards p) - saving £1 out of each £100 spent. It's a bit sound bitey but it actually makes sense.


Edit: Is it queue card or cue card?

I think it's 'cue card' though am not sure.

The telegraph is notoriously pro-conservative.

Just promise me this, if the tories get in, and then after their 'super-duper economic plan' of immediate taking away of money from businesses we (funny enough) have a double-dip recession and you lose your job, you won't somehow blame the previous Labour government?

 

[JBod]

I think it's 'cue card' though am not sure.

The telegraph is notoriously pro-conservative.

Just promise me this, if the tories get in, and then after their immediate taking away of money from businesses we have a double-dip recession and you lose your job, you won't somehow blame the previous Labour government?

Ah but of course I will Brown got us into the mess in the first place as Chancellor, who else is there to blame?

His current spending policy is just to shore up his bad mismanagement of the past, ultimately he is delaying the inevitable. I think his NI increase is risking more than the Torys economic policies. Business will simply move out of the UK when it costs too much to run.