Conservative government

Itismehonest

It is very easy to say something won't work without having any idea of what will.

I think most people would appreciate politicians coming up with credible suggestions of how to get out of the mess rather than just tinkering around the edges trying to make tabloid headlines & get individual MPs chucked out.
We need them to be working for us more than ever but all they are doing is trying to ensure they keep their own seats.
Meanwhile we have our own version of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

wotsthat

Wookster wrote: »

Nit picking leads to more and more negative politics, which is what we have at the moment. I've never heard a positive word out of milliband's mouth. I've often heard that British elections are more about who you vote against, rather than who you vote for. This sniping entrenches that further.

If I was in his position, I'd want to run a positive message rather than a thoroughly negative message. Its easy to snipe from the sides but hard to actually provide meaningful solutions.

The negative politics we have at the moment is partly due to the Conservatives. I can't remember a time when we've had a government making such an effort to tell us how bad things are. The Conservatives should be very grateful that Ed Milliband is the leader of the opposition.

Just when we need some heavyweights we seem to have been cursed with a bunch of lightweights (on both sides) as evidenced by the rush to Greggs for recent photoshoots.

GlynD

I think the Conservatives are brilliant.

Itismehonest

wotsthat wrote: »

The negative politics we have at the moment is partly due to the Conservatives. I can't remember a time when we've had a government making such an effort to tell us how bad things are. The Conservatives should be very grateful that Ed Milliband is the leader of the opposition.

Just when we need some heavyweights we seem to have been cursed with a bunch of lightweights (on both sides) as evidenced by the rush to Greggs for recent photoshoots.

Much of the 'lightweight' problem is the nature of a Coalition Government. Nobody can get their individual policies put through. In some ways coalitions can be a good thing - they temper excesses - but often it means things just can't get done properly.

Pennywise

wotsthat wrote: »

Why do the opposition need to give policy ideas which might work?

Because ALL MPs are voted in by their constituents to look after their constituents' interests. All MPs should be concentrating their efforts towards helping their voters, not merely toeing the party line. Sadly far too many MPs forget this and spend all their time attacking the other party rather than working together for the voters' benefit.

IronWolf

They have a tough job to do, despite Labours insistence that everything could be solved by increasing borrowing and hiring all youths in useless public sector jobs funded by a 'bankers bonus tax', which incidentally they are using to fund about £50bn of policies so far but it only raises what, £2bn...?

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

It's the government that are meant to be implementing policy ideas which (they said) would work. The opposition should be holding them to account if they don't work.

Yes, but the opposition don't actually do that currently. They simply attack regardless. They block stuff out of pure spite. They are attacking the 50% tax removal on the one hand, but suggesting it's neccesary on the other...dependant on the interviewer and how the question is asked.

It's just constant and uninterupted attack...simply because they are in opposition.

Why do the opposition need to give policy ideas which might work?

Because without any ideas themselves, it just looks as I have laid out above....like a simple attack with no basis.

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Yes, but the opposition don't actually do that currently. They simply attack regardless. They block stuff out of pure spite. They are attacking the 50% tax removal on the one hand, but suggesting it's neccesary on the other...dependant on the interviewer and how the question is asked.

It's just constant and uninterupted attack...simply because they are in opposition.

Because without any ideas themselves, it just looks as I have laid out above....like a simple attack with no basis.

It's nothing to do with spite. It's an adversarial political system - if Labour had won the last election then the Conservatives would be doing exactly the same. First past the post get to be in charge. Second place in UK politics is nowhere.

The opposition don't need any ideas until the election comes around. Then, as an interested voter, I can see what Labour say they'd do instead. Rather than worrying just yet about Labour's ideas I'm becoming increasingly concerned that the government are struggling to explain their own ideas in a clear way.

wotsthat

Pennywise wrote: »

Because ALL MPs are voted in by their constituents to look after their constituents' interests. All MPs should be concentrating their efforts towards helping their voters, not merely toeing the party line. Sadly far too many MPs forget this and spend all their time attacking the other party rather than working together for the voters' benefit.

Constituents interests are best served by an opposition that forces the government to justify every single policy decision they make.

The last thing we need is some sort of cosy-up after each election. Can you imagine the mess we'd be in if all politicians 'worked together' for the common good of the voters? Who would act on the voters behalf to ensure that the resulting groupthink could be justified?

System

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Yes, but the opposition don't actually do that currently. They simply attack regardless. They block stuff out of pure spite. They are attacking the 50% tax removal on the one hand, but suggesting it's neccesary on the other...dependant on the interviewer and how the question is asked.

It's just constant and uninterupted attack...simply because they are in opposition.

That's what politics is, and why it's pointless.