2015 Election season ..........stuff it in here.

[bovril]

If only Sol Campbell would've thought of powdering his face up sooner, could have been England captain

 

He just wants to go to Poland and not "come back in a coffin".

[sphericalfox]

Pretty sure Sol Campbell has lost his marbles

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/SolManOfficial/status/588300236675743744 

 

Still won't get the England job...cos he's shite.

[Guest Bilo]

Today in Gallowatch: https://twitter.com/georgegalloway/status/587952301689667584

Accuse your opponent of being an Israeli shill even if she's been quite an ardent supporter of Palestine. This is getting beyond a joke now.

Even if you dislike her politics, Louise Mensch is worth a follow on Twitter purely for the new arsehole she's been tearing Respect.

The election is probably going to be thrown out if Galloway wins due to the smear campaign. Expect to vote soon after the election, chap.

[Alf Bentley]

I've only just realised that the BBC leaders' debate is on tonight (8pm, I think).

 

If someone as interested in the election as me has only just realised that it's happening (and no debate on here), I wonder how many will watch? Not many, perhaps.

 

Of course, there's no Cameron or Clegg this time, as they're off sulking in their tents (how silly does that look?), just the other 5 (Lab, UKIP, Green, SNP & Plaid).

 

A free hit for the others to stick the boot into the Tories & Lib Dems, or will the nature of the Lab/SNP dialogue be the most interesting? My guess is that it's in Miliband's interest to go in harder on Sturgeon this time, while remaining "prime-ministerial", but in her interest to stand above it, making calm digs from a position of strength. And what stance will Farage adopt? Firming up his core vote by going on about Europe & immigration or trying to seem the party of "common sense" that will look after our troops, our NHS to attract discontented waverers?

 

Given the contents of the respective manifestos, I assume Miliband will be pushing the "fiscally responsible" line and highlighting all the last-minute spending promises that the Tories have made.

[RobHawk]

I've only just realised that the BBC leaders' debate is on tonight (8pm, I think).

 

If someone as interested in the election as me has only just realised that it's happening (and no debate on here), I wonder how many will watch? Not many, perhaps.

 

Of course, there's no Cameron or Clegg this time, as they're off sulking in their tents (how silly does that look?), just the other 5 (Lab, UKIP, Green, SNP & Plaid).

 

A free hit for the others to stick the boot into the Tories & Lib Dems, or will the nature of the Lab/SNP dialogue be the most interesting? My guess is that it's in Miliband's interest to go in harder on Sturgeon this time, while remaining "prime-ministerial", but in her interest to stand above it, making calm digs from a position of strength. And what stance will Farage adopt? Firming up his core vote by going on about Europe & immigration or trying to seem the party of "common sense" that will look after our troops, our NHS to attract discontented waverers?

 

Given the contents of the respective manifestos, I assume Miliband will be pushing the "fiscally responsible" line and highlighting all the last-minute spending promises that the Tories have made.

 

I still don't understand why nick and Dave aren't there. This gives Milliband the chance to stand up and look the real deal without them there to keep checks on him. Obviously whether or not he can do that is another matter, but it could be a huge mistake not being there tonight.

[Rincewind]

Not trying to get the sympathy vote then? Saves me buying sickness pills.

[Alf Bentley]

I still don't understand why nick and Dave aren't there. This gives Milliband the chance to stand up and look the real deal without them there to keep checks on him. Obviously whether or not he can do that is another matter, but it could be a huge mistake not being there tonight.

 

I could have understood the logic of refusing to do any of the debates. Sitting PMs have usually done that, until Brown in 2010, as they have the advantage of voters already knowing that they are "credible PMs" (ignoring issues of policy) - opposition leaders never "look like a PM" to a lot of people unless they're given a chance. That way, the sitting PM has a natural advantage and seeks to bang it home through party political campaigning.

 

However, Cameron now seems to have the worst of both worlds. He went on the first debate, allowing Miliband to boost his credibility as an alternative PM and allowing other leaders to put him on the back foot. Tonight, if the others have any sense, they'll be able to highlight his absence, accusing him of irresponsibly being unprepared to justify his record in government and the controversial spending pledges he's made recently....

 

Of course, it could all go wrong for Miliband if he performs badly in response to challenges from Sturgeon or Farage, in particular. That seems unlikely, though, as he's performed quite creditably so far and will be well briefed on how to deal with likely attacks. I'm also not sure that he's vulnerable to attacks from them. The SNP is set to do really well already, so why would Sturgeon really lay into Miliband, when she can do as she did last time - make the odd sharp point and look calm and authoritative - particularly when she's hoping to be able to do some sort of deal with Labour after the election, if the vote numbers allow it? Likewise, I reckon most Labour voters liable to switch to UKIP over EU/immigration will already have done so and Miliband should be able to deal with most other attacks. Cameron is potentially the one with most to lose from this, I think.

 

 

On a separate note, quite a good tactical/rhetorical line from Clegg here: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/16/nick-clegg-tactical-voting-rightwing-blukip-government

"Nick Clegg is to warn that a rightwing alliance of Ukip, the Democratic Unionists and the Conservatives could hold power after the election, a scenario the Lib Dems are calling Blukip. The deputy prime minister will call for people to vote tactically for the Liberal Democrats to reduce the chances of a minority Conservative government propped up by rightwing parties. British values of “decency, tolerance and generosity” would be abandoned if Ukip and Northern Ireland’s DUP propped up a Conservative minority government after 7 May, Clegg will say on Thursday".

[Guest MattP]

The Mail would be attacking Caneron for not being far enough to the right.

It's more in UKIP territory than Tory and most certainly doesn't give Labour a fair hearing.

 

UKIP territory? You are losing the plot mate, they appear to have ran as many UKIP smears as the Guardian have, wasn't it them who outed the whole affairgate thing with the Asian girl?

 

I can absolutely assure you they were not attacking him for not being right wing enough, and given the recent record of the Labour party I'd say they more than a fair share in most media than they should.

 

I've only just realised that the BBC leaders' debate is on tonight (8pm, I think).

 

If someone as interested in the election as me has only just realised that it's happening (and no debate on here), I wonder how many will watch? Not many, perhaps.

 

Of course, there's no Cameron or Clegg this time, as they're off sulking in their tents (how silly does that look?), just the other 5 (Lab, UKIP, Green, SNP & Plaid).

 

A free hit for the others to stick the boot into the Tories & Lib Dems, or will the nature of the Lab/SNP dialogue be the most interesting? My guess is that it's in Miliband's interest to go in harder on Sturgeon this time, while remaining "prime-ministerial", but in her interest to stand above it, making calm digs from a position of strength. And what stance will Farage adopt? Firming up his core vote by going on about Europe & immigration or trying to seem the party of "common sense" that will look after our troops, our NHS to attract discontented waverers?

 

Given the contents of the respective manifestos, I assume Miliband will be pushing the "fiscally responsible" line and highlighting all the last-minute spending promises that the Tories have made.

 

Even as a politics buff I'm not even bothering with this tonight (partly due to England playing cricket but still), it's totally pointless, we know what we are going to get. It's effectively going to be Farage talking about Europe and immigration shoring up his core vote, Miliband saying we can do better with a series of buzzwords and envy ridden quotations appealing to the lowest form of voter, Sturgeon yet again going about the 'Torieeeees' non stop for a couple of hours and then Leanne Wood saying fifteen times to every question 'Dere is an alternative to auuuuusterityyyyy' whilst never actually telling us what her plan is for that. Oh and of course Nutty Nat telling us again how they are going to power the country for weeks by burning stockpiles of money stolen from people they don't like.

 

I think Cameron and Clegg have actually made the perfect decision tonight, people will already be sick of these things and the more and more we see of politicians arguing with each other the more the public generally tend to look at them and think they look like twats, this could look like a chimps tea party by the end of it to the average voter with most thinking none of them should be running the place.

 

It will be interesting I suppose to actually see if Miliband dares challenge Sturgeon tonight, he's totally let down his Scottish MP's so far fighting her (check out Jim Murphy in the Jock's debate who looked superb throughout, I feel sorry for him btw, he's being asked to bat against Michael Holding with a cucumber) and it looks like he's prepared to hang them out to dry to stay on good terms so she's nice to him when negotiations come around, I do hope he proves me wrong tonight.

[Guest MattP]

Labour candidate launches billboard campaign - in wrong constituency

 

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/carlisle-billboard-blunder-leaves-labour-party-bosses-red-faced-1.1205778

 

As you can imagine, they are blaming the billboard company.
 

A prominent billboard on Warwick Road, Carlisle carried a Labour Party poster.

But instead of featuring local candidate Lee Sherriff it encouraged people to vote for Cat Smith, the party’s candidate for the Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

[Alf Bentley]

It's a shame that Clegg won't be in tonight's debate. His "BLUKIP" concept might have livened things up nicely between Cameron and Farage. 

[Guest MattP]

It's a shame that Clegg won't be in tonight's debate. His "BLUKIP" concept might have livened things up nicely between Cameron and Farage. 

 

It would! Problem is if he really wants to warn against the Tories and be consistent across the board he has to really ask people north of the border in his seats to vote SNP. I think he knows he's lost the South West, that's turning more blue

 

Maybe the UKIP (if we can still refer to them as right wing after yesterday's performance and mainfesto) should align to warn against a vote for any of the left wing parties - 'Dont be LeftDim' - What do you think?

[Guest MattP]

Following on from what I said about UKIP lurching left, can you tell which of the policies from the mainfesto's are the Green party and which are UKIPs?

 

I got three wrong, animal welfare, housing and the bedroom tax.

 

1. Elitism

a) “Our current politics (is) dominated by a small social group and the power of vested interests”

b) “Rebalance power from large corporations and big government institutions and put it back into the hands of the people of this country”

 

2. The NHS

a) “Invest an extra £12 billion into the NHS; put £5.2 billion more into social care”

b) “Immediately increase the overall NHS Budget by £12 billion a year; provide free social care as well as free healthcare for older people”

 

3. Higher education

a) “Waive tuition fees for students taking a degree in science; technology; engineering; maths or medicine”

b) “End(ing) undergraduate tuition fees”

 

4. The bedroom tax 

a) “Abolish the bedroom tax, which has saved less than £400m a year”

b) “Scrap the bedroom tax (which is) clearly unfair and is not working”

 

5. Housing

 a) “Housing charity Shelter reports there are 279,000 privately-owned long-term empty homes in England alone, while other bodies, such as the Empty Homes Agency, put the figure much higher still. The most obvious way to create new homes is by bringing these empty homes back into use.”

b) “Take action on empty homes to bring them back into use. There are about 700,000 empty home. Halve this number through Empty Property Use Orders”

 

6. High-speed rail

a) “HS2 will blight thousands of homes and wreak irreparable environmental damage across large tracts of central England. It must face the axe.”

b) “Not support HS2 (the proposed high-speed network). The money to be spent on this hugely expensive project, which will at best reduce journey times for a few passengers, would be much better spent on improving the conventional rail connections between various major cities.”

 

7. Political reform

a) “Introduce recall reforms on MPs and other representatives if 20% of electors request it.”

b)  “Give voters real power to sack their MP and scrap the bogus Recall measures introduced by the Tory-led Coalition. Under our proposals, if twenty per cent of an MP’s constituents demand it, within a period of eight weeks, a Recall ballot will be triggered.”

 

8. Electoral reform

a) “Campaign for a new, proportional voting system that delivers a Parliament truly reflective of the number of votes cast, while retaining a constituency link, so every vote really does count”

b) “Bring in proportional representation (PR) using the Additional Member system for parliamentary elections”

 

9. Foreign policy

a) “The UK’s recent history has been scarred by involvement in ill-advised military interventions that have undermined our national and international security”

b) “(Military) interventions have stretched the UK’s armed forces to the limit and damaged our reputation in the international community. They have caused social problems here at home and jaded the British public’s attitude towards involvement in future conflicts.”

 

10. Animal welfare

a) “Triple the maximum jail sentences for animal cruelty and torture. Impose lifetime bans on owning and/or looking after animals on any individual or company convicted of animal cruelty or torture”

b) “End government funding of animal experimentation, including any that is outsourced to other countries"

 

Answers

1 a) Green b) UKIP

2 a) UKIP b) Green

3 a) UKIP b) Green

4 a) Green b) UKIP

5 a) UKIP b) Green

6 a) UKIP b) Green

7 a) Green b) UKIP

8 a) UKIP b) Green

9 a) Green b) UKIP

10 a) UKIP b) Green

[fuchsntf]

Just an honest question..?

I am now a long time anglo expat.So I wouldnt apply for reg.vote

BNP , I detested.I am an old socialist, but havent seen any Socialist party that I could follow for over 40yrs.

I am also too far away in mind and interest to have the right to vote.

I just seen ( yesterday) UKIPs manifesto debate.

Their major points they put forward, arent they the major points what the UK electorate would really like to see.

Why with labour n conservative drivelling out old rhetoric, with no trustworthy or honest belief that they can change, the normal Life of the people on the street.

NHS, and across the board socialservices and staff employment, improvements.

Improvement suggestions, on employment and getting a job.

No anti foreigner or immigration issues based on hidden racism, but controlled and organised, and actually welcoming.

Cutting out on health tourism, and like other European countries, yes you can come to look for a job,

but no more financial support after 3 months, also use the Ausi, NZ, Canada policies as examples, for immigration processes.

New housing to be researched on Brownsites before releasing fresh new greensites for building, especially in cities.

Military pers. Support.plus many other points that seem to want to action the real everday problems.

SO !!Why wouldnt that attract Mr average from socialist to the middle-liners, to give UKIP at least a 20-25% interest of the vote..??.

Its just a question, to understand opinions. On UKIP I dont have one of my own opinion, I dont live under the British cloak, to judge, also I have nothing untoward my country of birth, I love my memories, and am more than happy to say I am a Brit.

[Strokes]

I'm afraid UKIP lost me yesterday, I wasn't particularly interested in their other policies but its more the tone I'm not happy with. I will vote conservative once again, I just hope Cameron honours his plege to hold an EU referendum, if they get in.

[Webbo]

I'm afraid UKIP lost me yesterday, I wasn't particularly interested in their other policies but its more the tone I'm not happy with. I will vote conservative once again, I just hope Cameron honours his plege to hold an EU referendum, if they get in.

Welcome back Strokes, we've missed you.

[ADK]

Shock as Tory voters decide to vote Tory at election

[Stadt]

The Question Time thing at my school was ok, didn't learn much as the questions were standard ones. The ukip representative (the original failed his CRB ) started off alright but started spouting nonsensical anecdotes. Argar and the Labour candidate came off the best.

[Head Honcho]

VOTE UKIP

 

They'll be lucky to win one seat but and some might say this is a vote wasted but in my opinion with our current electoral system every vote is wasted vote.

[The Doctor]

Watching bradford west hustings - this is hilarious. UKIP candidate seems to be forgetting the question the moment he hears the question and is desparately sucking up to the tory candidate, who has pretty much criticised every tory policy mentioned. Shocked any of these candidates expect me to take them seriously - even the labour candidate seems unsure who she's standing for. 

 

Galloway repeatedly referring to the Lib Dem candidate (Alan) as Nick is getting annoying.

[Guest Electric Yetis]

Ukip really going for it in Narborough. Just went to my front door to find 7 different ukip leaflets on my mat. Why they couldn't put it all on one I don't know.

[The Doctor]

Galloway giving his phone number and address away live on radio/tv stream, reminds me of this:

 

[Danno]

**** off Farage you ****

[Guest Kopfkino]

This debate is just complete left wing bollocks. Glad Cameron didnt turn up cos they're all just showing what a mess this lot will create

[sphericalfox]

Hahahah Farage just took a shit on stage and smeared it all over the front row! 

[Tielemans63]

Oh well played Nige you dick. Insult the audience, solid tactics.