The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Mrk]

But hasn't the national debt risen? In cutting the deficit (essentially the UK's overdraft), they've borrowed on top of an already substantial debt.

They've cut the deficit, but enlarged the debt, which for me begs the question, if the economy was already recovering which I'm led to belive it was, why extreme austerity and mass cuts?

Surely that's just an obvious fact of life? As long as we have a deficit, debt will always increase. You can't have a deficit, even if it's only 1p, and cut debt at the same time.

The part of the deficit they are cutting is the structural deficit - that is the part of the deficit that doesn't change regardless of whether the economy is booming or in recession - so economic growth doesn't have an impact on that.

 

[Blue 1]

 

[davek]

think the libs , might want to be in that mix as well, ukip have shot themselves in the foot in the north with saying they could do deal with the tory and unionist partys.
i have got a feeling this election is going to swing one way or the other with some dirt coming out along the way.

The LDs, IMO, would find it easier tilting more toward Labour if Labour were the largest party. They painted themselves into a corner last time in 2010 by saying they'd only negotiate with the largest party and let them have a chance of forming a government pact. They could have just said back then that no way would they see a future with a LD/Tory coalition and left it at that and backed Labour at the time. So this time they'll (formally at least) have to conduct negotiations with the largest party again (likely to be the Tories at this stage). That's not to say they'd walk back into it again, but their right wing leadership like Clegg, Alexander etc might point to the 'unworkably' broad coalition needed by Labour to secure a majority and continue with the Tories. All that said, they do have this ideal that multiple party government is a good thing (they have PR as their democratic principle) so lumping in with Labour et al might be doable on that basis...and I do think they'd have an internal crisis on their hands with a rank and file up in arms with more Tory pacts.

 

[davek]

That's the point really. People quickly forget the absolute mess that the last government left behind. I would like to see the current coalition continue and be given the opportunity to complete what they started...........constant change does no country any good.....

Pfffft!

Coalition my arse.

This is a right wing Tory Government hammering ordinary people into the ground.

Let's call a spade a spade here and not hide the nature of it behind a Lib Dem facade in order to take the edge off it.

 

[Joey66]

25 percent of those 100 businesses in today's Telegraph or either tory peers House of Lords or tory donators!
It is April fools day after all , or the Tories are getting desperate!

 

[Mrk]

25 percent of those 100 businesses in today's Telegraph or either tory peers House of Lords or tory donators!
It is April fools day after all , or the Tories are getting desperate!

I'm not really bothered about getting into a party political debate, but exactly the same happened at elections for Labour when Blair was in office and I doubt there were many complaints from Labour then. It's not desperation, it's just old fashioned electioneering and both Labour and the Tories have been guilty of it for decades and I'd imagine will be guilty of it for decades to come.

 

[davek]

Well like I said, details aside! As an unusual and rare occurance in the UK, the fact the coalition stayed the course was an achievement imo. And I have given up believing who is right about debt/deficit/cuts!

By pretty much any measurement, the economy is heading in a better direction than it was. Not totally down to the coalition, and I have no idea if Balls would have made it recover quicker as he reckons he would have done.

The economy was growing quarter by quarter in the last year of the Labour Government. It went into meltdown when the austerity cuts were introduced early in this present parliament by the Tories and their Lib Dem luggage. Only of late has there been any movement back to the levels of growth seen in the last year under Labour.

I'm not a LP supporter anymore, btw. The Scottish referendum just about killed any lingering tribal loyalty I had to them when they sided with big business and the Tories to crush a democratic people's movement north of the border. But the Tory claims to have turned the corner in terms of the economy is like someone sh*tting down your letter box, knocking on your door to ask to wipe it up, then tell you when they were leaving that they've done you a favour.

 

[Joey66]

25 percent of those 100 businesses in today's Telegraph or either tory peers House of Lords or tory donators!
It is April fools day after all , or the Tories are getting desperate!

As there are many more business of large companies who never signed it, five who supported Blair wow Tory boy anyway, who wore a red rosette!

 

[Groucho]

Surely that's just an obvious fact of life? As long as we have a deficit, debt will always increase. You can't have a deficit, even if it's only 1p, and cut debt at the same time.

The part of the deficit they are cutting is the structural deficit - that is the part of the deficit that doesn't change regardless of whether the economy is booming or in recession - so economic growth doesn't have an impact on that.

Point being that the Conservstives seem to be trading on 'look how much better off we are' when in fact we owe much more. All the while repeating the mantra "we've cut the deficit" thinking that most people will hear "we've cut the national debt".

I'd rather they (all parties) cut the crap and we had some honesty.

 

[Mrk]

Point being that the Conservstives seem to be trading on 'look how much better off we are' when in fact we owe much more. All the while repeating the mantra "we've cut the deficit" thinking that most people will hear "we've cut the national debt".

I'd rather they (all parties) cut the crap and we had some honesty.

I couldn't agree more, but the only way to remedy that is to cut the deficit an awful lot faster - and I don't think that would please those who are opposed to 'austerity'.

As for them hoping people will think they've cut the debt, as long as they don't say debt, that's fine - it's not their fault if most people are economically illiterate.

 

[Brennan]

Davek, you don't know what you're talking about.

Research suggests that the Lib Dems have achieved as much as 70% of their manifesto despite being the minority party in this coalition. They have achieved many of the things they wanted to put in place despite not actually winning the election.

To say this is just a 'Tory government' is a) wrong and b) spin.

 

[davek]

Davek, you don't know what you're talking about.

Research suggests that the Lib Dems have achieved as much as 70% of their manifesto despite being the minority party in this coalition. They have achieved many of the things they wanted to put in place despite not actually winning the election.

To say this is just a 'Tory government' is a) wrong and b) spin.

Pffffft!

Tory fluffers.

 

[roydo]

Apparently, Ed Balls has said today that he would introduce a 10% tax rate for the lower paid. I am assuming that it will be on earnings above the current nil rate band?

Or did I mis-hear that> Which is quite possible.

 

[Brennan]

Apparently, Ed Balls has said today that he would introduce a 10% tax rate for the lower paid. I am assuming that it will be on earnings above the current nil rate band?

Or did I mis-hear that> Which is quite possible.

If he confirmed that i'd almost certainly vote Labour, depending on the terms of it. I highly doubt they'll offer anything concrete on that score, and it would be between the zero tax allowance and the 20% rate, e.g the 20% rate would start at a higher point.

 

[roydo]

If he confirmed that i'd almost certainly vote Labour, depending on the terms of it. I highly doubt they'll offer anything concrete on that score, and it would be between the zero tax allowance and the 20% rate, e.g the 20% rate would start at a higher point.

You would assume that wouldnt you? But Ed Balls is one of several reasons why I couldnt vote Labour anyrate.