Who are you going to vote for?

[Timmy Tiger]

Just wondered who everyone is going to vote for in the next general election....

[Guest]

There's an election coming up??? ...didn't know

[raesewell]

I thought politics were a banned subject

[The Hitcher]

I'm not going to bother as I don't feel particularly strongly about any of them, out of the two parties who could actually win a General Election I'd consider the Conservatives the lesser of two evils,marginally.

[Pete]

Does anyone really believe that this can be the face of the next British Prime Minister?

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406184731342/Ed-Miliband-014.jpg

No way am I voting labour, especially with that guy at the helm! He'd be the face of the British people! Ridiculous.

As an aside - a poll for in/out of Europe would be interesting. I can see arguments for both. A point my dad made the other day though got me thinking - if we leave Europe, countries like Japan will no longer be able to use the UK as a gateway to Europe (for tax purposes) because we wouldn't be in Europe!

[fq-craigus]

Im going for david cameron, done a fair job so far, things have been onthe upsince he been inpower and needs longer to have full effect and inpliment change. Put another leader in and they will change everything again and start from the begining

[rennie]

I'm still undecided between 2 parties,

I've voted for the 1 I usually vote for.

[Joeman]

Labour and lib-dem can't be trusted to run a marathon, let alone a country. Conservatives are stuck in the past and ukip is just a new fad..

As always I won't be voting. When the country becomes no longer a convenient place for me to live I'll vote with my feet and leave...

[Fozzie]

When Brown was in I said I want conservatives in, sure enough getting them in has actually done more good than bad, especially compared with the last labour government. So with plans to keep the NHS living, and firmer rules on things like benefits and immigration in the pipe line, I will give them a vote again.

It's just one vote but that's all it takes, and it's the only voice we have... I heard on LBC when the presenter took on one guest and said "you don't vote, yet you complain, you're as incompetent as the politicians you detest". And it did make a fair point to me I suppose.

Labour would probably win the election had Ed's brother David got the head job when they competed against each other. David left the party to rot, and rot it has... He had PM potential written all over him.

Ukip are just a watered down version of the BNP, they don't have one policy they unify on, just varying degrees of intolerance. Can't trust a man who hates immigrants but has a German wife... The last politician who loved germans and hated immigrants caused a war I hear

[Grumpy Old Git]

Vote - It is the only way you can influence change.

As to who for - That is your personal decision based on your personal circumstances and feelings - It all seems to be about single personalities these days - The PM cannot lead without the 'team' behind him.

Milliband said that! Thatcher did that! Wilson did that! Churchill said that! Cromwell said that!

My advice? Vote for the 'Cat'.

[Glorian]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406184731342/Ed-Miliband-014.jpg

 

 

He looks like he belongs on some sort of register..

[Guest]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406184731342/Ed-Miliband-014.jpg

 

At least a cash register.

Isn't that a tesco uniform???

He looks like he belongs on some sort of register..

[XmisterIS]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406184731342/Ed-Miliband-014.jpg

 

At least a cash register.

Isn't that a tesco uniform???

He looks like he belongs on some sort of register..

 

He looks like he's about to bark, like a jack russel.

As for the next election ... I'm not happy with any of them. In fact, I'm going to launch a military coup and install myself as dictator, and I shall have Eastern-European slave-girls to entertain me.

[humbucker]

I try and see the more local picture. Who is your local M.P.? What have they done recently for their consitituency? Are they in the local news very often, campaigning for solutions to local problems? You will get a prime minister whatever way you vote, you are not voting for them. There have been excellent local M.P.'s not of the party I would vote for if the leader was the only criteria but they work hard for my little world and that is what counts.

National policy tends to be so generalised that by the time it filters down, none of it benefits us very much, no matter who lives in No10 so look a little closer to home and see what the candidate with the rosette on, trying to grab your vote, has done for you and your community. Ironically, some of the best M.P.'s on that rule have been Lib Dems, they are pretty good at local and local council level but would I vote for a party lead by Nick Clegg? Now that is stretching it a bit.

[Grumpy Old Git]

With you to a point but, we only have the 'track record' of the local MPs who are actually on the local / county seats and therefore, although they may (generally) be doing good things, other MPs from other parties may be 'better'. Those acually in government have yet to be 'promoted' to being a 'local worker'.

Have you researched the work done (and ongoing) by '38 degrees'? Maybe this group should form the next government!

[Joe85]

When Brown was in I said I want conservatives in, sure enough getting them in has actually done more good than bad, especially compared with the last labour government. So with plans to keep the NHS living, and firmer rules on things like benefits and immigration in the pipe line, I will give them a vote again.

It's just one vote but that's all it takes, and it's the only voice we have... I heard on LBC when the presenter took on one guest and said "you don't vote, yet you complain, you're as incompetent as the politicians you detest". And it did make a fair point to me I suppose.

Labour would probably win the election had Ed's brother David got the head job when they competed against each other. David left the party to rot, and rot it has... He had PM potential written all over him.

Ukip are just a watered down version of the BNP, they don't have one policy they unify on, just varying degrees of intolerance. Can't trust a man who hates immigrants but has a German wife... The last politician who loved germans and hated immigrants caused a war I hear

One could argue those who don't vote are the only ones with the right to complain. It's the people.that vote a sh*t government in to power who have no right to complain.

[Guest]

we don't have democracy in this country.. just a very rudimentary version.

case in point.

in 1979 Thatcher won - despite 56% of voters not wanting a tory government.

in 1997 Blair won - despite 57% of voters not wanting a Labour government.

this current shower of nobodies. we got a tory government.. with a liberal lapdog. this result was almost democratic in that the government we got was brought in by a genuine majority of 59%. though individually the 3 main parties failed horribly. we got the tories in charge.. but 64% of voters didn't want them.

I can fully understand why people don't vote.. because for a great many people its a complete waste of time. Tory voters in my local constituency are basically wasting their time.

The safest seat in the courtry.. if you don't like the Tories. why even bother to vote? its been held by them since 1832!! last election the 25,000 who voted for a different party might as well have stayed at home. They made zero difference.. they had no chance. their vote was a complete waste of time. because the winner got over 26,000 votes.

this is democracy in the 21st century.. ~ UK style. more than half the country have no say.. they're wasting their time.

[DreamytimeEscorts]

Sadly, round where I live I can't vote for who I want because there's not a chance in hell they'll get in.

There's always around a 2% difference between Labour and Lib Dem round here so you have to vote for one of those and for me, LD are the lesser of two evils.

[Mr Fro]

I'll see your reasoned political debate and raise you an old ballot paper:

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx246/Mr_Fro/Biking/Image092.jpg

[thebendyfox]

I wont be voting.

If they make me (my mum once marched me down to the ballot station ) I will probably write "Lemmy Kilmister" or "Guy Martin"

[Kirium]

There ain't no way I'm voting tory, 'ole dish face is privatising the NHS (he just hasn't got the balls to say so) taxing people on their spare bedrooms (but only if they're skint or sick) and flogging off the last of our government company's cheap (post office shares anyone?, still his chums made a truckload of cash), all the while telling us we have to suffer austerity as he's paying off the deficit (whilst borrowing more than labour ever did).

As for Nick Clegg, the man who presided over the death of his party, why would you vote for that liar? (Tuition fees anyone?)

Rubber faced Milliband it is for me, I'm voting for the party, not just the man.

[Fozzie]

telling us we have to suffer austerity as he's paying off the deficit (whilst borrowing more than labour ever did).

 

Labour were grilling the tories over only getting rid of half of the deficit just yesterday, even if they borrowed, we aren't in as much debt.

And I know a few people who bought shares in the post office, it was costing more money than it made before it was sold, and has backfired for most who bought shares as the german company who took it on was too optimistic

After Brown, labour lost any chance of having my vote. If David Miliband got the head seat rather than his brother, I'd likely have listened to him as he was always the stronger candidate in the publics eye for labour!

We need a "vote Jeremy Clarkson" option.

[fq-craigus]

I wouldnt vote for labour if my brother was the head of the party!

Bedroom tax affects all with spare rooms, the MEDIA focus on the sick and elderly as a talking point, and too right they ahould pay for rooms not being used, allowances should be made for those they cannot rehome though and that HAVE to remain in current house because of it. Selling off royal mail was a oversight to be faif, not a smart move imo.

Clegg wouldnt get my vote because my lil sister has more balls than him he just needs to become a PA or something.

This country is in the right direction and need just one party doing the work, not another one coming in and spending 3 years undoing what the last party done and two years apologising for not implimenting what they said.

As for tuition fees, well...... Im glad they didnt get their way with that, granted it could be a tad cheaper MAYBE but when you look at the aheer amount of atydents that study for 2-4 years living and partying off their student loans and then when they leave they are told if you earn over 20k thats when you pay it back or we write of after certian amount of years, they instantly go work at asda for 14k and stay there knowing they wont have to pay the money. Daft if you ask me. Go to uni for the lifestyle and abuse it so makes it harder for genuine students

[RantMachine]

Having grown up under a Labour goverment, I've got very little love for them. Used to be a staunch Lib Dem supporter until they went all power hungry and threw a load of their core principles out of the window just to get into No.10, and once our local Lib Dem parlimentary candidate was voted in, he turned out to be a closeted Tory with very little interest in sorting any of the more practical issues raised in his election campaign. My fault for daring the believe they'd be different from the rest, I guess

Most of the stuff the Tories have screwed over doesn't have a direct impact on me just yet, although quite a few of their policies have made life very hard for some people I know. But I'm sorry, I can't vote for them while that nasty bast*rd George Osbourne is still in the treasury Plus I don't think I'm quite ready to swallow that much pride just yet; there are few things more tragic than a man on my side of the wealth divide voting Tory

But that being said, my general opinion is "load of bollocks, the only real choice is which barrel you get bent over because either way you're getting f**ked".

An old friend's dad has a habit of spoiling his ballots with a short essay on what is wrong with our political system, because of course a representative of each party has to view each spoiled ballot to make sure nothing dodgy is happening and he feels like it's the only way to get them to listen to him for five seconds. Might give that a go this time.

 

As for tuition fees, well...... Im glad they didnt get their way with that, granted it could be a tad cheaper MAYBE but when you look at the aheer amount of atydents that study for 2-4 years living and partying off their student loans and then when they leave they are told if you earn over 20k thats when you pay it back or we write of after certian amount of years, they instantly go work at asda for 14k and stay there knowing they wont have to pay the money. Daft if you ask me. Go to uni for the lifestyle and abuse it so makes it harder for genuine students

 

If there were a minimum salary for graduate jobs, then I'd be more inclined to agree with you. I work in my field of study, and my pay is so crap that my monthly loan repayment is lower than my monthly loan interest! I need the skills from my degree to do my job, but they don't pay me enough for me to pay off the degree (or afford a remotely healthy bike)!

Plus retail isn't filling up with graduates through choice! Finding work with a degree but no career experience is pretty tough; a lot of good hard working people end up trapped in retail for years after graduation, and by no will of their own. I've been there, and it makes me sad to see it. I even had a couple of people with PHDs from Cambridge University apply to work in my shop...

[fq-craigus]

I see your point and i feel for you on that. Slightly different scale but i done two years at college doing sports therapy and when i left qll the jobs i applied for wanted me to have gone uni and studied the same thing i had just done but it would be called a degree instead of a diploma. So i binned it and started in retail. Now doing my dream job.

Unfortunatly the market is saturated with graduates of all walks of life, a lot genuine but others not, some have dreamt of the media job they are applying for since they were a lil kid and other say 'well i mights as well apply as i just finished studying it' and sodds law states that the chancer would get it.

Repaying of tuition fees should be reflective of pay recieving in current job not just in the line you studied for, and that wouod make it fair and also scrub a lot of dossers who just want the student life because they would actually have to pay back therefore filling the hole

In government funds.