The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Groucho]

I could have sworn I heard Miliband say in the thing during the week that Labour will also make cuts. Haven't they pretty much signed up to the Tory spending plans for the next term? I might have misheard though as Paxman didn't seem to push him on it.

Something along those lines yes. I'm not sure exactly what cuts are to remain if Labour win though.

I imagine I'll be voting Labour, however I'm not convinced by any party these days. Certainly not UKIP or Lib Dem.

I actually like the Greens, they appear, policy-wise, to be far more socialist than Labour, however I'm put off massivly by their (what I perceive to be) anti-car policy. I am a motoring enthusiast but more importantly, I absolutely rely on my car for work - not just commuting, actually my job.

 

[edge]

Won't raise VAT, my arse, they raise it everytime they get in, Cameron has proved you can't trust him to keep his word.

If he got back in, give it 6 months and they'll trot out we have to raise it to keep on track with the recovery, sorry we lied, but you can all swivel on it, we're in for 5 years now.

last four tory goverments have put vat up so so are correct why believe them now, they said the same last time.

 

[Pienaar's gloves]

I could have sworn I heard Miliband say in the thing during the week that Labour will also make cuts. Haven't they pretty much signed up to the Tory spending plans for the next term? I might have misheard though as Paxman didn't seem to push him on it.

Nearly. They will get there over five years while the Tories look to get there in little over three.

Not that I expect you to be of this opinion, however for anybody who does lean leftwards, it's a clear indication that Labour 2k15 are just another watered down version of the Conservatives when it comes to the economy.

Now that has been the case since 1995 and I still though the first ten years of the last Labour government was needed, because they offer more to the table than just their economic policy - unlike the Tories who at present offer little other in policy than their economic rhetoric.

BUT, back to my main point, they are certainly not a party of the left or a real alternative from Cameron, and for anybody looking for such a thing, bear in mind that they may want to look elsewhere on the ballot paper.

 

[edge]

I could have sworn I heard Miliband say in the thing during the week that Labour will also make cuts. Haven't they pretty much signed up to the Tory spending plans for the next term? I might have misheard though as Paxman didn't seem to push him on it.

he did say they will make cuts, but in a diffrent way and seemed to be saying that due to projected increase in tax revenue, living wage ect that they would be able to end them sooner, not much flesh on the bones to be honest.

 

[edge]

Just registered to vote in my local area. I'm pretty much torn on who to vote for, I think the current incumbent (Tory) has done a decent job and shares many of my views, however he remains neutral on the issue that matters most to me and that's my local football club moving back to the city. The Labour candidate is very much in favour, and every political test I've done has put me closer to Labour. That said, I don't like the two Ed's and feel that they would be an embarrassment on the international stage, and would be bent over a barrel by far more skilled foreign leaders. I don't really want to contribute to that. However, I also don't want to contribute to another 5 years of the poorest paying for mistakes that the richest have made.

This would have been an easy decision had Labour done the right thing and installed the brother as leader.

by the time the two Eds got anywere near a meeting the ground work is mostly done behind the scenes, most of those meeting are photo ops, cans see were your coming from tho

Something along those lines yes. I'm not sure exactly what cuts are to remain if Labour win though.

I imagine I'll be voting Labour, however I'm not convinced by any party these days. Certainly not UKIP or Lib Dem.

I actually like the Greens, they appear, policy-wise, to be far more socialist than Labour, however I'm put off massivly by their (what I perceive to be) anti-car policy. I am a motoring enthusiast but more importantly, I absolutely rely on my car for work - not just commuting, actually my job.

I was quite taken with some of the greens stuff, but spent a boring morning in work looking at there website to see what they stood for, it was a load of pie in the sky, stuff like we are working towards a fairer world order, put me off them and there dope of a leader dosnt help, surely they have better than her in the party.

 

[Seanjd]

If Labour came out and said they would reverse all Tory cuts and make no further cuts at all, their share of the vote would drop massively. In the same way the Tories talk about protecting the NHS while selling it off to private companies in small chunks, sometimes, you have to say what the people will hear to be considered. The Tories have built themselves up over the last 5 years to be the party of the economy, and that seems to wash with the public, so labour need to pretend they will make tough cuts too. I have no doubt that public spending cuts under Labour will be nowhere near as deep as under the Tories.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

If Labour came out and said they would reverse all Tory cuts and make no further cuts at all, their share of the vote would drop massively. In the same way the Tories talk about protecting the NHS while selling it off to private companies in small chunks,

Goodness, that really is not happening. Privatisation would mean you go to a private/non-profit organisation and pay them for your healthcare. Is that what happens when you go to a hospital? That didn't even happen at Hitchingbrooke.

 

[Pienaar's gloves]

Goodness, that really is not happening. Privatisation would mean you go to a private/non-profit organisation and pay them for your healthcare. Is that what happens when you go to a hospital? That didn't even happen at Hitchingbrooke.

It is happening, where private companies tender for new contracts for services that would previously have been provided by the NHS.

That's definitely privatisation.

 

[Seanjd]

Goodness, that really is not happening. Privatisation would mean you go to a private/non-profit organisation and pay them for your healthcare. Is that what happens when you go to a hospital? That didn't even happen at Hitchingbrooke.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/...est-ever-privatisation-deal-to-tackle-backlog

It is happening though...

 

[Bruce Wayne]

It is happening, where private companies tender for new contracts for services that would previously have been provided by the NHS.

That's definitely privatisation.

It's really not. Privatisation means the ownership of an entity moves from public to private hands. BT was a privatisation. A government using non-state suppliers for certain things is not privatisation.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/...est-ever-privatisation-deal-to-tackle-backlog

It is happening though...

That isn't privatisation. The NHS still owns the process, they're just using another organisation to help them meet demand.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/privatization.asp

Nothing the NHS is doing meets the definition outlined above. It's incredibly lazy journalism to suggest it is. If it was privatisation, then you would have to pay those companies directly for your scans. That isn't what's happening, you still go into your hospital, and the NHS gives it to you free of charge, with the trust paying that company to deliver you the results.

 

[Seanjd]

That isn't privatisation. The NHS still owns the process, they're just using another organisation to help them meet demand.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/privatization.asp

Nothing the NHS is doing meets the definition outlined above. It's incredibly lazy journalism to suggest it is. If it was privatisation, then you would have to pay those companies directly for your scans. That isn't what's happening, you still go into your hospital, and the NHS gives it to you free of charge, with the trust paying that company to deliver you the results.

My original point was that the contract service selling off are small steps towards privatisation.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

My original point was that the contract service selling off are small steps towards privatisation.

It's not being sold off, they're hiring a private company to help them meet demand. It's like a school using a supply teacher and being accused of privatising the school.

 

[boris]

I haven't got a clue about politics or who to vote for really.

I want to vote, probably will but I really need the dummies guide to the election before doing so.

 

[bring the ghost on]

It's not being sold off, they're hiring a private company to help them meet demand. It's like a school using a supply teacher and being accused of privatising the school.

You're getting a bit pedantic over the definition of privatisation, which is broad enough to encompass the government outsourcing of services to the private sector.

No one is arguing that the govt have sold the NHS to private companies. Selling the NHS would be political suicide, so the way they introduce competition into the health sector is by tendering the contracts to private companies, who have been providing more and more services over recent years, with worrying results.

All the studies show that introducing competition into health care results in poorer service for the patient.

@Seanjd is right, it represents steps towards privatisation. It's a worrying trend which anyone who cares about the NHS should be wary of.