Who do Leicester people vote for

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

I have to disagree Benjii, the Lib Dems have been opposed to the war in Iraq from begining to present in a forthright fashion. The fact that this gets little media attention is another debate, but there exist strong differences. The Lib Dems are the only party calling for an full and instant ceasefire in Lebanon...something most of the cabinet want but Blair will not say.

I chose to lend my support to the Lib Dems on the back of serious research and I can honestly say that I believe that the Lib Dems are the only party that believes in the individual anymore...beyond being a vote!

Yeah - they definitely stand out and I don't even live in the country!

Who has economically leftist policies there? I think all three are free market in their approach! And please don't say Green, cos hippies are right next to tories on my 'most liked' scale

[Benji]

That's a good point, but I think it's much our fault as the parties themselves. Nobody really cares about politics anymore, so they only impact the parties can make is the thirty second squabble they get on the six o'clock news, you know? Petty, but coming from a culture where Big Brother is da bomb, can't really blame em

It's the one's inside Westminster that make me laugh

I reckon they hire people from Leicester Haymarket to sit at the back and shout 'YEA' 'AAAR' 'YEYEE'

Here they are issuing on the spot ASBO's yet your watching the screen thinking the only people that deserve one is them!

[Phube]

2005:

CON 20,536 42.9%

LD 16,664 34.7%

LAB 9,222 19.2%

Haha, that's pretty bad

Considering that's the worst result for the Tories since I can remember in my time (i.e. since 1992)...

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

By the way Dan, I'm curious about your support for Sinn Fein, given your comments on the Israel thread.

Especially as Sinn Fein enjoyed close links with the PLO for many years, and may still do so.

I know what you mean - it's hard to explain my position but I'll try to do so briefly

I'm sympathetic to Hamas operations in the Gaza strip, as I don't think Israel should have pushed past the 67 borders. But I don't like the Hamas and Hezbollah platform that would see Israel still being attacked were they to retreat.

I didn't like the IRA operations on English soil either. If Paisley packed up his mob tomorrow and moved to Everton, I doubt the IRA would continue with a campaign to eradicate Britain. Does this make sense?

[Deathside]

I know what you mean - it's hard to explain my position but I'll try to do so briefly

I'm sympathetic to Hamas operations in the Gaza strip, as I don't think Israel should have pushed past the 67 borders. But I don't like the Hamas and Hezbollah platform that would see Israel still being attacked were they to retreat.

I didn't like the IRA operations on UK soil either. If Paisley packed up his mob tomorrow and moved to Everton, I doubt the IRA would continue with a campaign to eradicate Britain. Does this make sense?

Huh - What's the link between Paisley and everton - or was that a random place name plucked from the map of the UK?

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

Huh - What's the link between Paisley and everton - or was that a random place name plucked from the map of the UK?

I dunno about there, but Everton fans here tend to be protestants, and thus enjoy a good natured rivalry with Liverpool supporters

[Daggers]

The only trouble with calling for a ceasefire now though is that you have to wonder about their motives.

but since the new appointment of a leader I have heard nothing more of them.

I think you have to accept that the motives for the ceasefire are based on the consideration of the situation and of the welfare of the innocents caught up in the process. But a healthy cynicism of politics is never a bad thing

With regards the absence of news, it is simply that the media does not devote a proportionate amount of time to them, and I feel the party is very lazy in getting its message out. I was disgusted with the lack of action around Erdington and Sutton Coldfield for the last local elections.

[davieG]

In all my years of being able to vote I've never been in a situation where my vote would have made any difference to the outcome, I have never had an affinity with any political party. Until about 10 years ago I'd always voted having carefully examined what each party's manifesto proclaimed.

I'm now one of the disillusioned millions as I've come to realise that the manifesto's are not worth the paper they are written on, my opinion of established politicians matches those of certain criminals. I therefore very rarely vote; the occasional independent may appeal. My abstinence from voting is a means of protest, and probably just as wasted, as a vote would be.

My opinion now is that all party politics and most politicians are fundamentally corrupt because it's rather like religion there is very little scope for independent thought. Individual principles fly out the window when the whips are out. In the past we had the royalty, the rich and the church running the country. We now have career politicians who will do almost anything to climb the greasy pole.

I'm not cynical about it I just sincerely believe it's like a modern day Sodom & Gomorrah.

[macbeth]

you may think modern democracy corrupt but it is probably the best type of government we can ever hope for not matter what the " benign dictatorship idealists" may preach,

in some ways the corruption of the government reflects the attitudes of the people and it can be argued that we must be more vigilant with regards to our representatives.

[Head Honcho]

I'd be interested to know which party Leicester people here on this forum support... I see all of the Leicester city seats are Labour but most of the country seats are Tory.

Is this a fair statement? If you chew straw you vote Tory and if you bar hop upmarket cottages you vote Labour, or is it a tad more complicated?

Discuss.

I myself am a Labor bloke with centrist social views and leftist economic tendencies, though as I understand it Tony Blair's Labour might as well be Tory when it comes to economic management. I also support Sinn Féin, but I'm told it's not uncommon to move around on the political spectrum between countries depending on the issues etc.

Why Sinn Fein?

[macbeth]

Why Sinn Fein?

i think he tried to explain in post 29 ..........not sure i get the reasoning though

[Dunc]

Just a point about Maggie Thatcher. Love her or loath her, at least you knew what she stood for and her beliefs were what you chose to vote for or against.

The one change in politics since she was ousted is that politicians as a breed are afraid of standing for what they believe, instead they wrongly believe that they should tell us they stand for what they think we want to hear.

I am no great fan of Tony Benn, George Galloway, Dennis Skinner, Ken Clarke etc etc - but at least they stand up for what they believe in and you either buy into what their beliefs are or you don't.

The sooner the main parties and individual politicians revert back to standing for what their beliefs are as part of a wider party manifesto then the sooner people will start trusting what they are being told.

I for one applaud Thatcher, Benn, Galloway et al, for the simple reason the general public knew what they stood for and they had the confidence to basically say "like it or lump it".

Not like Blair/Cameron who just try and agree with as many people as possible without offending anyone at the same time.

[Ultra]

My opinion now is that all party politics and most politicians are fundamentally corrupt because it's rather like religion there is very little scope for independent thought. Individual principles fly out the window when the whips are out. In the past we had the royalty, the rich and the church running the country. We now have career politicians who will do almost anything to climb the greasy pole.

Sadly very true...

Leicester has a fair share of careerists who would pimp their own kids if their leaders demanded it.

[macbeth]

i hardly think blair is trying to win any popularity contests at the moment, indeed most would argue he is flying in the face of popular opinion;

what do we want a leader that adheres to the old motto

" there go my people , i must follow them, i'm their leader"

[Head Honcho]

Just a point about Maggie Thatcher. Love her or loath her, at least you knew what she stood for and her beliefs were what you chose to vote for or against.

The one change in politics since she was ousted is that politicians as a breed are afraid of standing for what they believe, instead they wrongly believe that they should tell us they stand for what they think we want to hear.

I am no great fan of Tony Benn, George Galloway, Dennis Skinner, Ken Clarke etc etc - but at least they stand up for what they believe in and you either buy into what their beliefs are or you don't.

The sooner the main parties and individual politicians revert back to standing for what their beliefs are as part of a wider party manifesto then the sooner people will start trusting what they are being told.

I for one applaud Thatcher, Benn, Galloway et al, for the simple reason the general public knew what they stood for and they had the confidence to basically say "like it or lump it".

Not like Blair/Cameron who just try and agree with as many people as possible without offending anyone at the same time.

No one party will satisfy your every need so you have to make a decision based on which manifesto best suit you.

Every party in power will be criticised on health, tax,crime and education, as long as I've got a hole in my arse they will be criticised, so you have to look at the economy.

I have always voted Labour and can remember only too clearly how the Tories kept themselves in power by borrowing vast amounts of money to ensure the feel good factor we endured during the 80's was maintained!

Then the slump, they couldn't maintain the debt, interest rates rose to over 15% not just for one or two month but for over a year. This crippled the UK and thousands lost their homes, Labour did the same in the 70's but to a lesser extent, but this is not the Labour party of the 70's and as long as they are looking after the economy they will get my vote.

..................and don't get me started on privatisation, how they were allowed to sell our Nationalised Industies for peanuts is mind boggling, thank god the crown jewels were in the Tower of London they'd have sold them for another week in power!

British Rail

British Steel

BOAC

British Gas

GPO

British Coal

Rolls Royce

[Dunc]

British Rail

British Steel

BOAC

British Gas

GPO

British Coal

Rolls Royce

And how many of those were the tax payers subsidising because they were loss making organisations? Coal for example - I get sick to the back teeth about people moaning about Thatcher on that one, because at the end of the day the ecomony of the UK is a business and if coal is cheaper from abroad and as a consequence you can't afford to keep the mines open then only a fool would continue. Agreed, it should have been handled better but at the time, I don't think you would have found many tax payers willing to pay extra to keep the mines open.

The Tories, by general consensus (you can argue by good or bad policies) rescued the UK from the Labour regime it endured in the 70's. The country was being held to ransom by the Unions, thousands of council workers employed and doing feck all (nothing changes!), and famously the sick man of Europe.

The country by the mid 80's was a far better place to live than when Thatcher came into power.

As for the economy, it did it indeed go tits up in the early 90's however by the time Blair came into power in 97, he was inheriting an economy that was increasing and was in essence onto a winner, indeed, an economic high he has ridden almost to exhaustion.

the Tories kept themselves in power by borrowing vast amounts of money to ensure the feel good factor we endured during the 80's was maintained!

As opposed to the current Labour regime which is doing..........oh yeah......exactly the same.

And as for labour since 97, the most telling change in society is a lack of civil liberty and human rights, oh and he banned foxhunting. Not a great CV for 10 years of un paralleled power and majority.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that he's a borderline war criminal and with the US, managed to generate a whole new generation of islamic extremists and terrorists through a ill thought and aged foreign policy, has seen petrol strikes, increased the tax deficit, national insurance, overseen a cabinet as full of sleaze as the tories that preceded him and given honours for cash.

What a great 9 years so far...

[Head Honcho]

And how many of those were the tax payers subsidising because they were loss making organisations? Coal for example - I get sick to the back teeth about people moaning about Thatcher on that one, because at the end of the day the ecomony of the UK is a business and if coal is cheaper from abroad and as a consequence you can't afford to keep the mines open then only a fool would continue. Agreed, it should have been handled better but at the time, I don't think you would have found many tax payers willing to pay extra to keep the mines open.

The Tories, by general consensus (you can argue by good or bad policies) rescued the UK from the Labour regime it endured in the 70's. The country was being held to ransom by the Unions, thousands of council workers employed and doing feck all (nothing changes!), and famously the sick man of Europe.

The country by the mid 80's was a far better place to live than when Thatcher came into power.

As for the economy, it did it indeed go tits up in the early 90's however by the time Blair came into power in 97, he was inheriting an economy that was increasing and was in essence onto a winner, indeed, an economic high he has ridden almost to exhaustion.

As opposed to the current Labour regime which is doing..........oh yeah......exactly the same.

And as for labour since 97, the most telling change in society is a lack of civil liberty and human rights, oh and he banned foxhunting. Not a great CV for 10 years of un paralleled power and majority.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that he's a borderline war criminal and with the US, managed to generate a whole new generation of islamic extremists and terrorists through a ill thought and aged foreign policy.

Take it your not a fan of Tony's then Dunc

[Dunc]

Take it your not a fan of Tony's then Dunc

As a student about to enter Uni in 97 he managed to secure the student vote by promising not to implement student fees.

3 months after getting into power, he implemented student fees.

He went down in my estimation at that point, and I thought he was a prat anyway and didn't vote for him even in 97!

[Head Honcho]

As a student about to enter Uni in 97 he managed to secure the student vote by promising not to implement student fees.

3 months after getting into power, he implemented student fees.

He went down in my estimation at that 3 month point, and I thought he was a prat anyway and didn't vote for him even in 97!

It's all me me me with you (ex)students

So is it because he lied (which no politician does right )

..........................or is it because you had to pay for higher education to enable you not to have to work on the tills at Tesco?

I don't see why my taxes should pay for you to go to University!

I don't wholeheartedly agree with students getting into debt to pay for higher education but I see no reason why they cannot pay a couple of % more tax then the rest of us when they are able to.

[Janx]

It's all me me me with you (ex)students

So is it because he lied (which no politician does right )

..........................or is it because you had to pay for higher education to enable you not to have to work on the tills at Tesco?

I don't see why my taxes should pay for you to go to University!

I don't wholeheartedly agree with students getting into debt to pay for higher education but I see no reason why they cannot pay a couple of % more tax then the rest of us when they are able to.

they do! where do you think they get the money for student loans....

[Head Honcho]

they do! where do you think they get the money for student loans....

I know they do but if they are loans aren't they paid back

[macbeth]

also we've got too many stoodents doing mickey mouse subjects that have no relevance in the real world to which they will eventually have to return; the government want the older generation to work on and on until about 95 to subsidise layabouts and loafers who can't be arsed to drag themselves out of bed until mid afternoon coz they have been drinking cheap booze in the uni bars all night

most of the courses could be done on a part-time basis if the so called stoodents really wanted to learn some self improvement.

[Ultra]

i hardly think blair is trying to win any popularity contests at the moment, indeed most would argue he is flying in the face of popular opinion;

what do we want a leader that adheres to the old motto

" there go my people , i must follow them, i'm their leader"

But as long as uncle Rupert and cousin George still love him, he'll be fine..

They matter to him much more than his party or country.

[Janx]

I know they do but if they are loans aren't they paid back

yeah right! You need to sniff the aroma of the latte mate!

I place graduates into jobs all the time... most of them pay f all a week for the rest of their lives and many try to stay UNDER the repayment salary threshold!

[Ultra]

And how many of those were the tax payers subsidising because they were loss making organisations? Coal for example - I get sick to the back teeth about people moaning about Thatcher on that one, because at the end of the day the ecomony of the UK is a business and if coal is cheaper from abroad and as a consequence you can't afford to keep the mines open then only a fool would continue. Agreed, it should have been handled better but at the time, I don't think you would have found many tax payers willing to pay extra to keep the mines open.

If the coal industry had been subsidised in the way the nuclear power industry was, VERY few pits would have had to be closed. Thatcher had a vendetta against the miners and used the police and army (at great public expense) to help pursue it.

The country by the mid 80's was a far better place to live than when Thatcher came into power.

Really? Not for those enduring mass unemployment it wasn't, or the riots that frequently shook the inner cities.