Labour Slip to 4th, Tories 3rd

grizzly1911

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Think the answer would be that both are a problem.

The problem for me, and it seems many others, is that not only are the leaders just saying whatever they feel they need to say to get a vote, they also disregard their promises and policies once in government.

You seem surprised by this. in my memory nothing has changed.

Who on earth would have thought that at a point of record welfare, the tories would come in and actually increase welfare spending? That's what they have done by allowing more and more to take housing benefits, more on unemployment benefits, more on other benefits such as SMI. That should be labour. Labour would of course do exactly the same thing. The tories are like rabbits in headlights when it comes to their "tough approach" on sorting out benefits.

Do they have a choice? Governments make the policy if it hasn't been quick enough to adapt (can't be done overnight) then it has to live with the consequences. They have been (willingly?) taken for a ride by the private sector.

It's all too blurred at the moment, it doesn't seem to matter who or which party is in power, the result will be the same. UKIP appear, at the moment to go against this.

A lot of the parties all being the same can be blamed on the step change in the economy. On this week last night, both ex MPs stated people are now seeing what has happened around them. I.e. business has taken over and it's no longer politicians who pull the strings, it's business.

Bankers and big business have had control for a long long time it is now apparent that is all.

Thrugelmir

ukcarper wrote: »

The actual numbers make interesting reading

2010, 2013

LibDem 24,966, 13,342

Tory 21,102 10,559

UKIP 1,933 11,571

Labour 5,153 4,088

Others 496 2,056

Turn out 53,650 41,616

So cutting through the same old spin.

37,531 people didn't bother to vote.

Enough to give a credible independent candidate a landslide victory at the General election.

There were no winners last night. Merely a death knell for the current political elite.

As people want individuals with talent to govern not career driven puppets who would struggle to organise a village jumble sale. .

Moby

Wookster wrote: »

I think this presents quite a serious problem for Cameron: how to be conservative without being toxic to centrist voters.

I really struggle to see how the Conservatives stand a chance of re-election given the inherent biases in the current boundary regime and given that the right vote is now split between UKIP and the Conservatives.

I'll bet lots of folks will be saying that the Tories need to move to the right but this is definitely wrong - all you need to do is look across the pond to see what moving farther to the right does to electoral success.

Getting the jitters are we?:rotfl:

Moby

Thrugelmir wrote: »

So cutting through the same old spin.

37,531 people didn't bother to vote.

Enough to give a credible independent candidate a landslide victory at the General election.

There were no winners last night. Merely a death knell for the current political elite.

As people want individuals with talent to govern not career driven puppets who would struggle to organise a village jumble sale. .

So what policies would you suggest will make all the difference to drag us out of our cynicism and apathy? I'm all ears!

Graham_Devon

Moby wrote: »

So what policies would you suggest will make all the difference to drag us out of our cynicism and apathy? I'm all ears!

UKIP seem to be doing very well on apathy...if thats what it is. I don't thik anyone can conclud etheir policies themselves have bought in that many voters, as I don't reckon that many voters wouldn know their policies....other than the main 1 or 2.

Or maybe people are so sick of the EU now (now we've seen whats really going on - no one cared when the world ws peachy) that UKIP have a real chance of becoming a real party.

It's certainly going to be difficult to simply write them off as racists now.

Moby

Graham_Devon wrote: »

UKIP seem to be doing very well on apathy...if thats what it is. I don't thik anyone can conclud etheir policies themselves have bought in that many voters, as I don't reckon that many voters wouldn know their policies....other than the main 1 or 2.

Or maybe people are so sick of the EU now (now we've seen whats really going on - no one cared when the world ws peachy) that UKIP have a real chance of becoming a real party.

It's certainly going to be difficult to simply write them off as racists now.

....but be fair what policies would you say UKIP have apart from Europe related...that are distinctive?

Graham_Devon

Moby wrote: »

....but be fair what policies would you say UKIP have apart from Europe related...that are distinctive?

I've referenced already that people won't know the policies.

It doesn't neccesarily take policies to end cynicism and apathy. Infact, I'd suggest policies are the last thing that would achieve that.

It's the look of change that can radically upset things. Thats what the UKIP currently offers, without being too crazy a party. I guess the Greens could offer it too, but their whole theory seems to be to tax us all more and more and borrow more and more, so it's a non starter really.

Thrugelmir

Originally Posted by Moby
....but be fair what policies would you say UKIP have apart from Europe related...that are distinctive?

Not suggesting growth is generated by borrowing more, not promising an unfunded 10p tax rate.

There's 2.

Moby

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Not suggesting growth is generated by borrowing more, not promising an unfunded 10p tax rate.

There's 2.

That will drive us all to the polls in thousands...and surely that's the Tory position anyway?

Graham_Devon

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Not suggesting growth is generated by borrowing more, not promising an unfunded 10p tax rate.

There's 2.

Little known, but according to Radio 5, the whole 10p thing has now been dropped.

Dunno if true. Again, it's one of those things that one MP states and no one else will back up. No minister want's to announce it's dropped, probably due to fear of the whole "u-turn" thing they have been lambasting the lib dem and tories for.

But no one will say it's still a promise, let alone policy either.

Pressurised on 5live, the labour MP simply said they were not in government so it's not their place to have to answer the questions, it's the governments place.