oh dear... Lib Dem Support Slumps To 8%

lemonjelly

Graham_Devon wrote: »

The ronseal party, LOL, I love it

In all seriousness though, people want to live in fairy land. Promising reality won't actually get people anywhere.

Really? I'm not sure.
If I go to a restaurant, & they promise me my meal within 5 mins, as I order, & half an hour later I'm still waiting, am I going to maintain my custom there?

Or am I more likely to go to the one where I walk in, & am advised that they are busy, however it will be ready in 20-25 mins. & 20 mins later it arrives.

I know where I'd go.

It isn't rocket science. Fulfil what you say, that is all I'm asking. I don't tolerate people lying to me at work. I don't tolerate people lying to me at home. I have been in relationships before where people have lied to me. That is not the way to treat a person.

To me, the lies/spin thing is actually a means of treating the electorate with a form of contempt.

There used to be a time when your word was your honour. Perhaps we should resurrect this for politicians?

If they are honest, and they fulfil what they promised, then surely they will increase their chances of getting voted for again. If they boolsheet consistently, when the wheel turns, & whatever party falls from grace, their opponents have tons of mud for slinging.

Graham_Devon

I agree with everything you say.

But can't see honesty ever working in politics. Simple reason being, you will be being honest about the job losses you are going to create, the tax rises you will implement, the endless things you will spend millions on messing around with only to put them back to how they were in the first place, while the other party will be promising la la land where everything is lovely, everyone pays less, but gets more and so on.

People, in general, will put their cross next to the party promising the impossible.

That's why we go round and round in circles with labour > tory > labour > tory. Labour promise the impossible, mess it up, tory promise to clean it up, people get bored, labour promise the good land, mess it up, tories clean up people get bored, labour promise.... and so on.

lemonjelly

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I agree with everything you say..

Interesting, & good!:D

Graham_Devon wrote: »

But can't see honesty ever working in politics. Simple reason being, you will be being honest about the job losses you are going to create, the tax rises you will implement, the endless things you will spend millions on messing around with only to put them back to how they were in the first place, while the other party will be promising la la land where everything is lovely, everyone pays less, but gets more and so on.

People, in general, will put their cross next to the party promising the impossible.

That's why we go round and round in circles with labour > tory > labour > tory. Labour promise the impossible, mess it up, tory promise to clean it up, people get bored, labour promise the good land, mess it up, tories clean up people get bored, labour promise.... and so on.

You spoilt it.

I don't understand why it can be so hard.
The problem as I see it, is people voting with their wallets. To me, that is the biggest spanner in the works.

A man, who was honest, and also a genius said the following:

Base the choice not on your f****** wallet. ‘But he’s not going to raise taxes!’ But he’s the devil. ‘He’s not going to raise taxes!’ But he’s Satan, he’s destroying the planet. ‘But he won’t raise my taxes!’ F*** you, f****** little greedy pig. Vote with your f****** heart, just once

Sometimes, the greater good has to come first.

Edit, the above routine was actually based on a sketch about the Bush senior/clinton stand off. I digress. However the debate in the US of A was "a vote for clinton, is a vote to raise your taxes". One response, was that voting for Bush was voting for a mass murderer.

Bush junior lowered taxes. He also has the blood of many on his hands. As does Blair.

D'you see where this is going?

DervProf

Any political party that puts the good of the people before their own popularity gets my vote.


PS. Maybe that`s why I find it hard to know who to vote for.

chucky

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Those people, influenced by a TV contest were always going to be volitile. If you can influence them by a TV programme, then they can so easily be influenced elsewhere at the drop of a hat. One policy they like by the green party could have them backing up the green party, until labour come on the TV and promote something else they will never do, and they become a labour voter.

They were very useful at the time, when the actual election was going on, but to actually compare todays normal ratings against those ratings is at the least disingenuous.

so it's a good thing that in the last 3 months the support for the Lib Dems has plummeted

i never looked at it a that way but no........

Degenerate

Puddleglum wrote: »

Very true, but how far would the coallition have got if the Lib Dems had stuck to their principles on everything? Most marriages take a fair amount of compromise to keep them out of the divorce courts and the first 6 months is probably the period of greatest readjustment! Especially when it's a shotgun wedding!

Cameron hit the jackpot, he found a bride willing to take it right up the **** on their wedding night, for nothing but some sweet talk in return.

RJP33

A two party system would be a disaster as seen with the current stagnation in America. It's unhealthy to a point now where what is right is not the issue and everything becomes party politics for votes - the Lib Dems did the right thing in supporting the party with the only chance of forming a stable government.

They'll be unpopular for a while until people see the value in reducing the deficit.

ash28

lemonjelly wrote: »

The last 3 posts are quite demoralising.

Here's a radical facking idea. How about a party that does what it'll say it'll do. Lets call it the ronseal party or something, does what it says on the tin.

I dunno, perhaps that could give us some political stability. Perhaps it'll go some way to restoring trust in the political system, & cause the populace to re-engage with their MP's, and have faith in what they're doing.

Perhaps then, with a reasonable and defined set of policies we could have a cohesive government, displaying good standards & integrity. Perhaps this would spill over into evreyday life?

We could have a government able to hold its head high, able to form good long term plans. We wouldn't have nasty suprises hitting us, or devils hidden within detail.

Maybe it'd improve us as a nation.

Am I being unrealistic? Is it really too much to ask? Really?

I agree with everything you say, the problem with politics and especially the Libdems since the election is, as Marx once said, “Those are my principles, if you don’t like them, I’ve got others”

That's Groucho not Karl btw.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

The thought of a two party system fills me with horror. I really don't think I could choose between Labour and Conservatives. I'm naturally left wing, but most Labour policies and attitudes left me cold and I cannot realistically envisage ever voting for them. So the LDs are the party that most closely fits my principles and am happy they have a chance to implement some of their policies in coalition. It's not ideal, but then I'm a realist.

Lemonjelly, although it's easy to describe politicians as greedy, lying, dishonest etc I actually don't believe a genuinely honest politician would get elected in this country. The truth hurts. People don't like it. They don't want to be informed that they might have to pay more tax to benefit society as a whole, that we can't have a booming manufacturing-based economy AND import cheap tat from China to fill the rails at Primark, that Britain isn't as globally important as we might think, that dirty forrens like the French and Germans do many things much better than us, that most of the world speaks and spells our own language better than our 11 year olds. People want cheap tellies, cheap meat (but want the countryside to still look all pretty when they visit at weekends), cheap booze (but no troublesome youths), cheap clothes, more TV channels, cheap petrol (but less drivers on the roads so they can get home faster), cheap holidays with a great exchange rate and believe wholeheartedly that they are ENTITLED to all this.

robin_banks

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

I'm naturally left wing, but most Labour policies and attitudes left me cold and I cannot realistically envisage ever voting for them..

Probably because the parliamentary labour party aren't left wing.