not giving a flying fish about the general election.

Much better to vote for the party that is honest about it….I will leave that one with you!

Not at all – it will happen. Preparation is what is required and a hint of honesty would help the medicine go down

@binners, I have a feeling the Tories are going to strengthen further into the GE and that the Lib Dems won’t do as badly as is suggested as in the seats they currently hold.

Lynton Crosby has ben telling Dave and George this for months. The problem is that the polls aren’t budging. As for the lib dems, you may well be right. I don’t think anyone can predict the freak results that the UKIP vote is going to deliver in all kinds of different constituencies. They won’t win any seats, but they’re going to reek havoc on complacent sitting MP’s in previously ‘safe’ seats, never mind marginals

One things of sure, it won’t be the wo main parties who benefit. The lib dems might fluke a few seats as a result though

A prize for the most clueless STWer post of the day?

It was a bit of a pisstake; lost on you by the looks of things.

My point was exactly as teamhurtmore outlined above.

So you want increased minimum wage, improved NHS and a free meal for an aging society.

Fair enough, where are you intending to fund it? Tax the higher earners because they bothered to work hard/get an education?

Fair enough, where are you intending to fund it? Tax the higher earners because they bothered to work hard/get an education?

You’re assuming people on low pay are lazy and ill-educated and the well off are deserving?

Nope, that’s wasn’t mentioned. I’m from a working class family of life-long labour supporters, so I would disagree with your comment.

Nope, that’s wasn’t mentioned.

Yes it was. You said : “the higher earners because they bothered to work hard”.

The term “hard” is relative, so your inference is very clear – that higher earners work hard relative to others in society. Or in other words that lower wage earners are lazy in comparison.

You might be choosing to backtrack now but were very clearly suggesting that higher earners work harder relative to lower wage earners.

BTW I come from a working class family of lifelong Labour supporters, which presumably means that I am right.

I’d not like to see our election process or democratic system change particulatly .
However a compulsion to vote, just might stimulate a better appreciation of just how many folk might vote in favour of some of the ‘no hope’ options and perhaps bring an end to the huge amount of apathy we hear with regard politics .
I know which way my vote will go.
Despite being sick of the media war and almost childlike bull…. we see being traded across the commons.
More now than ever, much of this causes me to vote for what might benefit me the most.
All the major parties are just as likely to ensure that the country goes round in circles. All of them can and will only rob Peter to pay Paul.
We don’t have much of a pot and it’s already been pi…. in .
I now have a vehemence toward the centre left, since a change in policy by Mr. Brown’s government directly caused me to barely keep my home, cost me my marriage, yet , ironically also gave me the circumstance to renew my interest in mountain biking .
Random ( slightly tainted by bitterness) ramblings from me once more. 😉

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-32094423

I feel I have a dilema. I thought Sturgeon gave a good speech at the SNP conference and I agree with much of what she says. The question I have is can I forgive her being two faced and the fact that those present should hold their heads in shame and beg for forgiveness rather than self congratulate themselves prior to becoming the party for all of the UK’s dissaffected?

I think that a low turnout indicates that the country, and democracy, is in a pretty good state.

Because if there was an emerging party which had genuinely better solution to many of the problems that are supposed to be facing the country, and was radically different to the present parties there would be a much bigger swing towards it.

Imagine if there were proper free and fair elections (with no fear of victimisation and a real prospect of change) in some of the most oppressive and dysfunctional countries in the world, everybody would go out to vote.

I’m excluding North Korea, where the turnout is already up to 120%.

There is still absolutely no point in me voting, for the Tory always gets in. I’ve always voted in the past, when I’ve been home, this time I see no reason to bother.

If mass apathy demonstrates a fatigue with the posturing in Parliament and the increasing distance between the main parties and the electorate, then some good may come of it.

‘Don’t vote, it only encourages them’ comes around again.

For me, the general election will be about poking the liblabcon in the eye with my ukip vote.
The thought of it gives me a very small buzz.
I know it’s not a popular viewpoint on this forum, but there you go.

And if you carry on with that sort of short-term thinking, it will never change.

Do people not have private pensions?

Obviously not, but even more worrying is that of the minority who do, the mean total fund is only £25k ish, which will buy a pension worth £1250 a year!

Source: http://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/pension-facts/pension-facts-tables/private-pensions-table-16

As Nick Clegg said on the last leg, not voting is like going into Nandos, letting someone else order and then complaining that you haven’t been given what you wanted.

However, when I’ve ordered chicken at Nando’s, at least I’ve always been given chicken. They didn’t substitute pork once I’d paid.

And if you carry on with that sort of short-term thinking, it will never change.

But if none of the candidates support PR…

With luck, I’ll be voting with my feet sometime.

But if none of the candidates support PR…[/quote]As I’ve already pointed out on this thread, you maybe can’t expect to “win” at this election but if everyone bothered to vote then some of the non-incumbents would be seen to have a better chance next time, and the time after, and the time after until, eventually, change happens.

With luck, I’ll be voting with my feet sometime.

And you’ll have another option on your ballot paper 🙂

Mass apathy utterly devalued the election of Police Commissioners, whatever the Tories may say. The one hereabouts got in with the largest single share of the 15% (about) of the electorate who voted. Did you have them in Scotland? I forget. Anyway, the Tory got in, no surprise there.

Now if there were a ‘None of the Above’ box, and a fine for not voting, that would serve democracy better.

ok every news website is full of spin doctor sanctioned party press releases, stw has been overrun with threads about it

how long to go? im borred, can we not get back to arguing about wheelsize or compulsory insurance

fwiw

I reckon its all about money in yer pocket and despite all their huffing and puffing governments have less influence on it than they like to think, a bunch of very very rich guys in the dessert have the real power…….. if petrol prices stay low or drop, then the the incumbents will win, if they rise then ed gets his turn in the wendy house