general election. When. It can`t come soon enough

JasonLVC

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote: »

1) Vote Labour - they will try to keep people in work and maintain good standards of public services. - but they will put up taxes e.g.VAT increase, raise top levels of tax.

No brainer for me;)

Well they can 'try' all they like, but they're not doing a very good job at the moment of saving or creating jobs are they?. They can't put taxes up much more as they've already squeezed most folks and the pips are sqeeking now and its hard to pay more taxes when no-one has a job.

Good standards of public service? Where exactly? CSA was disbanded, council child protection services are a sham, education system churns out dumb clones, prisons are full, the police are waving 'gay' flags, roads are full of potholes and in-between striking teachers, nurses and bin men, we have hospitals spending more money on 'art' than healthcare, etc, etc and I could go on, but then people may think I read The Daily Mail:D .

dervish

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote: »

People haven't minded paying higher taxes in the good times - this has been shown in research and by Labour winning in 3 general elections.

There are only 2 ways forward imho:-

1) Vote Tory - They will take the axe to public services (the current crisis will give them an excuse - they don't believe in them, paricularly good healthcare and schools for all ). The Tories will argue that axing public services is necessary to get rid of the budget deficit. (The UKs deficit is not a problem but look at how the Tory press is trying to convince everyone it is - scaremongering). They will put vast amounts of people on the dole and crime will rise. Life will be truly sh!! just like it was under Thatcher and why - just so rich people can pay less taxes.

1) Vote Labour - they will try to keep people in work and maintain good standards of public services. - but they will put up taxes e.g.VAT increase, raise top levels of tax.

No brainer for me;)

It is a no brainer

VOTE TORY! - less taxes - Middle England wins!

treliac

kittie wrote: »

I have just seen june 2009 as a possibility. I hope so, I and countless others have had enough of this shower of a labour tax and spend government

Brown will leave it as long as possible. Few trust or believe in him. He had years running the economy and now tries to blame everyone and everything other than nu labour for the mess we're in.

He's an inherently cautious man, knows he hasn't been elected and, deep down, recognises that the game's up and most of the country can see beneath the spin.

The emperor's new clothes comes to mind.

treliac

matthewcb wrote: »

Sometimes you have to put your personal agenda aside for the good of all.

The problems we face are bigger than mere politics now.

The problems we face are caused by mere, and mediocre, politics.

hethmar

I reckon there will be a huge turnout of labour voters at the next election - lets hope the silent majority who wouldnt benefit from erm, benefits - will get out and vote aswell.

Snooze

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote: »

People haven't minded paying higher taxes in the good times - this has been shown in research and by Labour winning in 3 general elections.

There are only 2 ways forward imho:-

1) Vote Tory - They will take the axe to public services (the current crisis will give them an excuse - they don't believe in them, paricularly good healthcare and schools for all ). The Tories will argue that axing public services is necessary to get rid of the budget deficit. (The UKs deficit is not a problem but look at how the Tory press is trying to convince everyone it is - scaremongering). They will put vast amounts of people on the dole and crime will rise. Life will be truly sh!! just like it was under Thatcher and why - just so rich people can pay less taxes.

1) Vote Labour - they will try to keep people in work and maintain good standards of public services. - but they will put up taxes e.g.VAT increase, raise top levels of tax.

No brainer for me;)

I've no real grumble with your argument other than your 'no brainer' comment - presumably then you are quite happy for Labour to implant RFID chips into everyone so they can be tracked 24/7/365? Because that's exactly where you'll be headed if Labour get in again. We're already well on our way :

CCTV
ANPR
DNA records
Phone call recording/tracking
Email recording/tracking
Overseas travel tracking (on its way)
Thumb print ID/recording for the police forces (on its way)
RFID ID card (on its way)
RFID implants (???????????????)

VOTE ANYONE BUT LABOUR. :eek:

Rob

Rochdale_Pioneers

There are so many red herrings about the surveillance state idea that make me laugh. I am personally against ID cards purely because they are politically caustic. But scrap the card and we still need the biometric database. Some of you either haven't noticed or deliberately are ignoring the fact that if UK citizens want passports recognised abroad ongoing they will need to be biometric.

So get this notion out of your head that the Tories will scrap the database - they can't. They can bin ID cards and a good thing too, but the database is going to happen. What else is on the list - CCTV. The Tories are hugely critical of how crime is on the increase. They will change their tune in government because crime is actually on the decrease according to both the recorded crime and British Crime Survey stats, but never mind that. CCTV - are some of you seriously saying that a "crack down on crime" Tory Home Secretary will obligate councils to remove CCTV - one tool which plays a large role in crime reduction?

And Phone/Email recording and tracking? Sheesh, ECHELON has done that for years - there is no new story here. Watch a Tory government back away from a big international security arrangement like that - in your head only of course as it will never happen.

Seriously, attack whatever government policies you don't like - thats fair sport. But ditch the notion that the Tories will be bastions of liberty and dismantle the whole thing. Common sense, international treaty obligations and past history suggests otherwise. Howard as Home Sec was more than happy to show how tough he was, and the consistent message from the string of Shadow Home Sec's over the years has been that Labour are soft on crime. Clearly then a new Tory government will get really soft......

Wookster

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote: »

1) Vote Labour - they will try to keep people in work and maintain good standards of public services. - but they will put up taxes e.g.VAT increase, raise top levels of tax.

Except we just can't keep living beyond our means. At some point, the coffers will be bare.

Wookster

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

There are so many red herrings about the surveillance state idea that make me laugh. I am personally against ID cards purely because they are politically caustic. But scrap the card and we still need the biometric database. Some of you either haven't noticed or deliberately are ignoring the fact that if UK citizens want passports recognised abroad ongoing they will need to be biometric.

I don't think this is correct - I have a "biometric" passport and all it has is a chip which has a digitisation of the passport photo. No uniquely biological data about me at all.

dervish

Snooze wrote: »

I've no real grumble with your argument other than your 'no brainer' comment - presumably then you are quite happy for Labour to implant RFID chips into everyone so they can be tracked 24/7/365? Because that's exactly where you'll be headed if Labour get in again. We're already well on our way :

CCTV
ANPR
DNA records
Phone call recording/tracking
Email recording/tracking
Overseas travel tracking (on its way)
Thumb print ID/recording for the police forces (on its way)
RFID ID card (on its way)
RFID implants (???????????????)

VOTE ANYONE BUT LABOUR. :eek:

Rob

George Orwell saw it coming... 1984

The Big Brother style state is already here and we are just starting to see Thought Police style things happening - the disgusting way Carol Thatcher has been treated simply by having a provate joke with somone/.