General Election, June 8th

[Alf Bentley]

1 hour ago, Finnaldo said:

 

I think there's more than one Webbo!

 

What a nightmare! One Webbo was one too many. 

 

I assume you mean: "I think there's more than one, Webbo!".....from your friend the comma Nazi.

 

Altogether now..... "There's only one Webbo! One Webbo! There's only one Webbo!"

 

 

1 hour ago, Webbo said:

Russian is in Europe.

 

Many Russians are in Europe, but only part of Russia is in Europe. Much of it is Asia, albeit mainly the less populated bits. 

 

I can further confirm that Australians in Europe:

 

 

[Guest MattP]

10 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

 

Nah - you post in such styles all the time. Your response was disproportional and now you are back tracking. You post anecdotal, piss-taking stuff about Labour all day long, you just allowed yourself to get wound up about it because I posted it!

I posted a link from the Sunday Times with a story that's quite relevant given Diane Abbott wants to be in charge of our security services.

 

I wish it was only piss-taking, this is far more serious than that given how close the polls are starting to get now.

 

I'm not that bothered, I'll be OK whatever happens and I never have any sympathy for the electorate - you certainly won't see me behaving like others, if Corbyn does win I'll be the first in line to day it's his duty to fully implement the manifesto he has produced.

[Nick]

4 minutes ago, MattP said:

I posted a link from the Sunday Times with a story that's quite relevant given Diane Abbott wants to be in charge of our security services.

 

I wish it was only piss-taking, this is far more serious than that given how close the polls are starting to get now.

 

I'm not that bothered, I'll be OK whatever happens and I never have any sympathy for the electorate - you certainly won't see me behaving like others, if Corbyn does win I'll be the first in line to day it's his duty to fully implement the manifesto he has produced.

Thank goodness you'll never get to create that thread!  

[Guest MattP]

4 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

Thank goodness you'll never get to create that thread!  

Nothing is ever certain, we know that as City fans.

[Nick]

Just now, MattP said:

Nothing is ever certain, we know that as City fans.

 

There is no way Labour are winning this election.... despite the seeming self sabotage of May to make herself less popular than Thatcher on some issues...

[Buce]

1 minute ago, Swan Lesta said:

 

There is no way Labour are winning this election.... despite the seeming self sabotage of May to make herself less popular than Thatcher on some issues...

 

Maybe that isn't such a bad thing - give the Tories enough rope to hang themselves with in the next five years.

 

The problem, of course, would be what five years of Mayhem will do to society.

[lgfualol]

May have been said before but just can't understand why anyone would vote Tory. Teresa May doesn't even dare do a TV debate, how is she the best choice to get a good deal from the EU.

 

She'll just be shrieking STRONG AND STABLE until she has a mental break down and puts every foreigner, disabled person and poor child in a gulag.

[Guest MattP]

3 minutes ago, lgfualol said:

She'll just be shrieking STRONG AND STABLE until she has a mental break down and puts every foreigner, disabled person and poor child in a gulag.

I can't do this anymore, see you all in a couple of weeks.

[Nick]

Just now, MattP said:

I can't do this anymore, see you all in a couple of weeks.

 

Get a grip.

[Facecloth]

11 minutes ago, MattP said:

I can't do this anymore, see you all in a couple of weeks.

At least your taking a leaf out of May's book and walking away from difficult questions and discussions  

[LiberalFox]

38 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

 

Yeah - I'm no Labour voter either. Just making a point. It's a shame Fallon is so floored otherwise I'd have considered voting for him.

 

I assume you meant Farron (Fallon is the robotic Tory defence minister). Remember you aren't just voting for a leader, it's extremely unlikely Farron will be in government, especially since the Lib Dems have ruled out a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives. I also don't think a flawed leader should matter unless those flaws are likely to lead directly to bad decisions on policy. 

[Sharpe's Fox]

 Matt has retreated into his safe space the snowflake

[lgfualol]

10 minutes ago, MattP said:

I can't do this anymore, see you all in a couple of weeks.

Was my comment the breaking point for you? not sure if I should feel pride or shame.

[Alf Bentley]

19 minutes ago, MattP said:

if Corbyn does win I'll be the first in line to day it's his duty to fully implement the manifesto he has produced.

 

Does anyone seriously expect ANY party to fully implement its manifesto?

 

I'm just thinking of some Tory promises in the last couple of elections: deficit to be eliminated & surplus by 2015-2020 (nope); immigration to be below 100,000 (nowhere near); no increase in N.I. contributions (attempted); increase in inheritance tax threshold (cancelled); £70,000 cap on social care payments (immediately postponed, now reversed)....

 

Very specific promises are fair game: "we'll do x by the year x". Everything else is an aspiration, in practice - it may happen if politics and economics allow.

 

I just had a look at the nationalisation policies in Labour's manifesto, as they're among Labour's most controversial manifesto pledges:

- Rail: "as franchises expire", so zero cost

- Energy: "Regain control [NOT ownership] of energy supply networks" by changing operating licence conditions and "transition to a publicly-owned system" .....sounds like stricter regulation, followed by gradual, long-term nationalisation, so not massively costly in short-term

- Water: "Replace system with a network of regional, publicly-owned water companies" - this one sounds potentially the most expensive, but no timescale is stated, so easily kicked into the long grass

- Royal Mail: "Reverse the privatiisation....at the earliest opportunity".....so pure, cost-free aspiration that would probably be one of the first policies "postponed, maybe permanently, due to the state of the public finances inherited from the Tories"  

[Dr The Singh]

12 minutes ago, MattP said:

I can't do this anymore, see you all in a couple of weeks.

Dont go Matt, I love you

[Dr The Singh]

1 minute ago, lgfualol said:

Was my comment the breaking point for you? not sure if I should feel pride or shame.

Apologise to him, NOW,before it's too late..

[Facecloth]

3 minutes ago, lgfualol said:

Was my comment the breaking point for you? not sure if I should feel pride or shame.

 

Just now, Dr The Singh said:

Apologise to him, NOW,before it's too late..

No, put the final nail in his coffin, gwon Buce!  

[The Floyd]

54 minutes ago, LiberalFox said:

 

I get what you are saying, as a Liberal though I really wouldn't know who would be worse between May and Corbyn. I like Jeremy Corbyn on a personal level, he's a social liberal who clearly believes aspects of socialism would deliver a more socially liberal society. On the other hand I think May is a bit of a moralist. She's like Thatcher on social issues without the redeeming economic liberal side. I'd prefer Corbyn as PM but would rather Hammond or some other centre-right Tory as CotE. I don't trust John McDonnell who seems to have a nasty streak. 

His earlier performance on The Andrew Marr Show did him no favours in this regard. 

[Nick]

16 minutes ago, LiberalFox said:

 

I assume you meant Farron (Fallon is the robotic Tory defence minister). Remember you aren't just voting for a leader, it's extremely unlikely Farron will be in government, especially since the Lib Dems have ruled out a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives. I also don't think a flawed leader should matter unless those flaws are likely to lead directly to bad decisions on policy. 

Yeah I did but me getting his name wrong may actually make my point considering I side with more liberal and green values than other parties!

 

And respectfully, a flawed leader most definitely matters - especially when leading a party of liberals harbouring religious based prejudices....

 

A terrible choice of leader an even wetter flannel than Clegg, sadly. And that's a friend saying that.

[Alf Bentley]

1 hour ago, LiberalFox said:

 

I don't trust John McDonnell who seems to have a nasty streak. 

 

Does he have a nice streak, then?! 

 

Every football team needs its Huth or Wasyl, its Keane or Costa - and every political party needs its McDonnell or its Tebbitt.

Not sure who the Lib Dems have as hatchet man, but they're certainly not averse to dirty tricks in local campaigning.

[Rincewind]

16 minutes ago, Facecloth said:

 

No, put the final nail in his coffin, gwon Buce!  

Its more fun reading this thread than partaking in it. Less stressful and you do not need to bang your head against the wall.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

Does anyone seriously expect ANY party to fully implement its manifesto?

 

I'm just thinking of some Tory promises in the last couple of elections: deficit to be eliminated & surplus by 2015-2020 (nope); immigration to be below 100,000 (nowhere near); no increase in N.I. contributions (attempted); increase in inheritance tax threshold (cancelled); £70,000 cap on social care payments (immediately postponed, now reversed)....

 

Very specific promises are fair game: "we'll do x by the year x". Everything else is an aspiration, in practice - it may happen if politics and economics allow.

 

I just had a look at the nationalisation policies in Labour's manifesto, as they're among Labour's most controversial manifesto pledges:

- Rail: "as franchises expire", so zero cost

- Energy: "Regain control [NOT ownership] of energy supply networks" by changing operating licence conditions and "transition to a publicly-owned system" .....sounds like stricter regulation, followed by gradual, long-term nationalisation, so not massively costly in short-term

- Water: "Replace system with a network of regional, publicly-owned water companies" - this one sounds potentially the most expensive, but no timescale is stated, so easily kicked into the long grass

- Royal Mail: "Reverse the privatiisation....at the earliest opportunity".....so pure, cost-free aspiration that would probably be one of the first policies "postponed, maybe permanently, due to the state of the public finances inherited from the Tories"  

I don't know the ins and outs of water privitisation but corbyn has said that it's zero cost what they'll be doing. 

Possibly like the gradual renationalisation of trains?

[Guest]

MattP has had his arguments ripped apart so many times over the last week that he's had to hide away so he can try to retain his belief that a tory vote is a good vote.

[Alf Bentley]

26 minutes ago, toddybad said:

MattP has had his arguments ripped apart so many times over the last week that he's had to hide away so he can try to retain his belief that a tory vote is a good vote.

 

I doubt that. 

Like the rest of us, he generally thinks his views are correct and it takes a lot to change them (same applies to me and most others).

 

Matt has never struck me as so insecure he has to hide away when challenged. 

The arguments in here can ruin anyone's mood occasionally (it's certainly happened to me) - and then it's a good idea to take a short break, before returning to the battle! 

 

Even though I agree more with what you say politically than what Matt says, I don't think petty jibes help us have a decent debate - and Matt is a good contributor to that debate, even if he's a filthy fascist (just joking, Matt!).

[Sharpe's Fox]

40 minutes ago, toddybad said:

MattP has had his arguments ripped apart so many times over the last week that he's had to hide away so he can try to retain his belief that a tory vote is a good vote.

Pretty unfair. Matt's more informed than most of us and genuinely enjoys talking about politics. He's a really nice bloke in reality and I'm sure he'll be back once Dianne Abbott says Mao did nothing wrong or something of the like.