wherever I go in my area I will be tormented by the fact that every other person I see voted for a corrupt tory – 50% of the vote for this twunt – are they insane? surely they can't all be farmer-toffs?

A Tory MP billed the taxpayer more than £1,200 a month to rent a London flat from his daughter – despite having a home of his own closer to Westminster.

Bill Cash claimed his daughter Laetitia's West London property was his second home for a year in 2004 and 2005. At the same time, Cash owned his own home in Pimlico, close to Parliament. Yesterday he said he wasn't living in the Pimlico flat or renting it out but didn't explain why.

Cash has said the £15,000 in claims was within the rules and was approved by the fees office.

Cash, MP for Stone in Staffordshire, designates a country house in Shropshire as his main home.

Seems like I'm a stranger in a stranger land…

in a stranger land…

add to that the 2 parties that lost may yet be the ones that get in power – jeez!

add to that the 2 parties that lost may yet be the ones that get in power – jeez!

Define 'lost'… Between them, they probably got more than 50% of the vote.

The two parties together didn't lose, did they? That's why it's called a coalition. If they form a govt together, then they are more representative than the largest single party.

It's not like a running race.

Grasp of percentages FAIL

are they insane? surely they can't all be farmer-toffs?

No, many are not 🙂 There's two ways to view it though – one is that they're all deluded and have been somehow fooled (a slightly arrogant and bigotted suggestion if ever I heard one), the other is that they genuinely prefer Tory ideals and the policies put across. Either way it's just their opinion, and it's as valid as yours. Oh, no, hang on, more valid in the eyes of the rules as more people chose it.

Oh, no, hang on, more valid in the eyes of the rules as more people chose it.

Wrong. Fewer people chose the Tories than those who didn't choose the Tories, by quite some margin…

Wrong. Fewer people chose the Tories than those who didn't choose the Tories, by quite some margin…

True, with no overall majority there are more "other" voters than conservative, but ultimately you're not in a race for "not this group". They didn't vote for "not conservative policies", or at least they shouldn't have done if they had any decent convictions towards another group. Flip it about a bit, if the 3 parties involved were conservative, BNP and Nazis (not invoking goodwins yet!) then I'm fairly sure you'd be arguing that the conservatives won because the other two couldn't raise sufficient numbers to get themselves in power.

Conservative 10,152,097
Labour 8,211,677
Liberal Democrat 6,426,742

Maybe this was just a tactical voting fail.

I quite like the idea of a coallition (I've often said I liked some of the views of each of the parties, not one in particular, I just tend to err more towards one as it seems to have more "good" policies than the others to me). On a democracy basis, if they were all forced to work together it would be nice, in actual fact what will probably happen is 2 will get together and argue endlessly.

Maybe, but a lib-lab coalition would have a majority of 4m+ voters – Not sure if the two wish to govern together that anyone can morally object to that, given that the constitution states that he who is there can stay put and try to form a coalition if he so chooses.

Thing is, many folk have voted against Labour probably because of all the expenses scandal etc.

Tory voters just expect it. I think they'd be more surprised if their MPs weren't corrupt lying cheating self-serving scum…

This agreeing thing is getting worryingly common, Fred…. 😉

truth is i have never known a government truly serve the people, as the people are a disparate huddle of indifference or polarised views. govt serves members of govt. say what they need to to get in power, do what they like when in power, say what the need to to get re-elected.

good to see the BBC think we need a helicopter following Nick Clegg's car into London 😯

Thing is, many folk have voted against Labour probably because of all the expenses scandal etc.

Seems very low down on the interest levels of the people I've spoken to, even avid labour supporters.

Tory voters just expect it. I think they'd be more surprised if their MPs weren't corrupt lying cheating self-serving scum…

But truth be told it turns out that all are just as guilty of it, so maybe the ideals they used to vote for have been proven wrong, maybe the other labour party ideals are lies too? Wouldn't that be a shock. Not.

As iDave says, its just people having a long and drawn out interview battling for a job, they're not serving anyone regardless of party. At the end of the day you just have to hope that those who you pick improve things for most people while serving themselves too.

Seems very low down on the interest levels of the people I've spoken to

And why would you consider that significant enough to mention it?? 🙄

Conversely, many people I know are pissed off with many of our politicians being lying, cheating self-serving scum.

And as I live in London, and you live somewhere insignificant, that makes me better. 😀

And as I live in London, and you live somewhere insignificant, that makes me better.

Phew – I thought I'd have to carry on agreeing with you all day there…

😆

Let's face it; Tories expect corruption and sleaze; it's part of being a Tory! Values that are deeply enshrined in Conservative philosophy: sort yourself out and **** the rest…

And as I live in London, and you live somewhere insignificant, that makes me better.

Quite! As you live in the giant capitalist financial centre and obviously profit from that personally (as there's surely no other reason to live in that godforsaken hell-hole), you're in a cracking position to vote labour and comment on others being self-serving 😉

Don't really see your point, CK. I was born in London, so what's the problem in me living and working here? Any more than there would be with a Welsh farmer living in the same village he was born in, and tending the land there?

As for 'Godforsaken Hell-hole'; I'll respect your right to be wrong. I like it, so I'm not particularly bothered what somebody who doesn't live here thinks of the place, in the same what that my onion of wherever you live isn't important either.

London's mostly Labour anyway. Personally, I'd quite like to kick a lot of the Capitalists out, actually. Move them to Birmingham or somewhere.

Self-serving? Hmm. Many large charities are based in London, and it's home to some fantastic hospitals, such as Great Ormond St Childrens' Hospital, the Royal Marsden Hospital, and Moorfields; specialist hospitals whose work benefits the whole nation. The Salvation Army and Dr Barnados were founded in my hometown. The work that began here has gone on to help people all over the World.

Then of course there's the Universities, Arts, Law, Seat of Government etc, which are all there to serve Britain. That they are based in London is by accident of History.

You were saying?