The Polls - Labour Lead At 14 - Is It The Economy?

angrypirate

DecentLivingWage wrote: »

Wondering why polling of ordinary voters is telling a different tale to story of confidence the coalition is spinning? Conservatives are at an all-time low in polls since April (29%) They need to be at 40 to even have a whisker of winning. The old saying goes for US election winners 'it's the economy stupid' Do you think it's the same here? Or maybe the NHS as waiting times in A & E have shot back up to 4 hrs due to staff cuts. Either way, Labour's on 14.

The public dont seem to care or understand about the national debt. All they seem to care about is that they get what they are "owed" by the government. Right now this government is cutting spending and thats been pedalled by the opposition as bad and nasty.

As someone who works in the private sector in a company whose majority of clients are foreign, i dread to think where I would be right now if Labour had remained in power.

CLAPTON

Joeskeppi wrote: »

There's far too many of these people, makes the whole thing a farce

maybe

I call it democracy.

CLAPTON

angrypirate wrote: »

The public dont seem to care or understand about the national debt.

and please explain what they ought to think about our quite modest debt and very low interest rates (by historical standards)

Wookster

I recently read a great analogy of our political parties: a child will always prefer an aunt who offers chocolate over an aunt who makes them do their homework for hope of a better future.

Graham_Devon

BertieUK wrote: »

Just one of the many 'messes' this lot are responsable for, they are showing just how incompitent they are so before you rattle on about others, show some sort of spead sheet that shows that you are not as iresponsible as the last lot.

And there was no wastage, or !!!! ups under labour?

Hello.... ID cards!??!

Hello.... Election that never was (used to steal ideas)?!?

Every party wastes money and makes mistakes. But being blind to one lots mistakes while shouting from the rooftops about a tiny (in comparison) waste of money is the height of hypocrisy.

paulmapp8306

BACKFRMTHEEDGE wrote: »

Indeed they do have short memories. Take your post, you seem to have forgotten that

1)Thatcher and her cronies reduced this country to rubble in the 18 years they were in power - so when the Labour Party won in 1998 we had schools, hospitals and infastucture fit for the Third World.

2)The Tories have been increasing the country's debts for the last 2 and a half years

3)The coalition government is incompetent.

Opinion - not fact. for me:

1. 18 years of Tory rule set the country right - to where it could afford to be. Lets face it we all want what we cant have. There was nothing wrong with the schools/hospitals etc from my POV at the time, and they actually went down under Labor.

2. The RATE of debt increase is lower than under Labor. You have to slow the increaes before you can reduce the total.

3. Not as incompetant as the last lot.

angrypirate

CLAPTON wrote: »

and please explain what they ought to think about our quite modest debt and very low interest rates (by historical standards)

Modest debt? Last time debt was this high relative to GDP was in war time.

It is saddling future generations with massive debt. Future generations who are going to have other concerns that this current generation doesnt have - such as high energy prices, shortage of oil and gas, global warming, over population.

High debt has a reflection on financial markets which has a major bearing on the UK economy. Imagine if the UK falls out of favour with big companies as a place to do business - it would permanently cripple the UK. It would be akin to banks moving out of Switzerland.

paulmapp8306

It really gets to me how self centered EVERYONE is.

I ger up in the 80s recession, in a northern Town built on coal and steel. We were hit hard, I didnt have work etc - but unlike others who seem to think they have a right, I realise that the reasons behind what happened were economical. The "workers" wouldnt accept what was affordable. It was a choice of subsidisation to the hilt or shut things down.

Labour would have (and did in the 70s) subsidised as is their belief, and would have bankrupted the country (if it wasnt already). The Cons didnt, which led to hardship for some, but let the country as a whole much much better off - and was responisble for 10-15 ytears of very good living and prosperity.

There is NO right way - there are only Opinions and options. Both have pros and cons. Currently however, we cannot as a county afford one of the options. There is no choice at present, and it wouldnt matter which party was in control.

Ultimately - as was said at the time - the worst thing that could have happened was a co-alition. All the policies are watered down and thers compromise anywhere. We needed strong/firm leadership from whichever party was in power, but you never get that with a co-alition.

Wookster

Graham_Devon wrote: »

And there was no wastage, or !!!! ups under labour?

Hello.... ID cards!??!

Hello.... Election that never was (used to steal ideas)?!?

Every party wastes money and makes mistakes. But being blind to one lots mistakes while shouting from the rooftops about a tiny (in comparison) waste of money is the height of hypocrisy.

Announcing that he (Brown) was going to sell gold before he did so.

Negotiation of PFI contracts grossly in favour of the PFI "partner"

More seriously and insidiously Labour's solution to problems was to throw money at them, without demanding good value. This culture permeated most of what they embarked on in their 13 years in government.

CLAPTON

angrypirate wrote: »

Modest debt? Last time debt was this high relative to GDP was in war time.

It is saddling future generations with massive debt. Future generations who are going to have other concerns that this current generation doesnt have - such as high energy prices, shortage of oil and gas, global warming, over population.

High debt has a reflection on financial markets which has a major bearing on the UK economy. Imagine if the UK falls out of favour with big companies as a place to do business - it would permanently cripple the UK. It would be akin to banks moving out of Switzerland.

No, the last time the national debt was as high was not in war time; the debts may well have been initially caused by wars but they extended well into peace time and we managed to pay them back as well as invest, expand and enjoy a good life.
They didn't cause the end of life as we know it.

The future generations will indeed face major problems but they will also inherit a country with good infrastructure, good education, good health services if we so decide.
Some of that will be funded by debt.

The debt, with common policies agreed by all the major parties are being steadily inflated away and future generations will see the real value of debt fall.

One must form one's own view on what makes foreign companies invest in the UK but low growth and a stagnant economy, would I would guess, be a more discouraging factor than a high national debt (at very low interest rates).

The balance today is between investing for the future which benefits all (specifically future generations) and increasing debts which are a disadvantage for all.
Debt reduction, however desirable is only one side of the balance sheet.

Sadly we are once again playing with a single golf club.