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

[Carl the Llama]

Tell me how we change the EU Carl?

By voting for the govt at home and the MEPs that best represent your interest.

[Strokes]

By voting for the govt at home and the MEPs that best represent your interest.

So who do you vote for and what do they stand for?

[johnny the fox]

Can some explain to me why Australia the USA and many none EU countries have some kind of immigration controls IE: a points system etc...but if we advocate one we are being racist?  is there no upper limit on numbers till the quality of every ones life in this country diminishes ? there must be ...so why don't all the PC parties have the guts to tell us what it is?

[Guest Bilo]

The dumb and simple still get voting slips last time I checked, the debates might well be sound bites and drivel but I fail to see what harm they do. If more people take up an interest in politics because of them, then why shouldn't they go ahead?

It's a very important time politically right now, certainly the most in my voting lifetime. The country is at a crossroads on some very big issues, and the how we vote and who gets elected could be very significant in deciding these outcomes. Each and every seat is worth something. I'm never felt so torn on how to vote, my heart says UKIP (I know I hide it well but I'm not particularly fond of the EU) but my head says Tory (I do think they've done a decent job but I'm really not a David Cameron fan and I don't trust him).

 

How else would George Galloway get a seat?

[Guest Bilo]

It's a pretty desperate choice this time around isn't it? I've always been critical of folk who don't vote but now I find myself in the position where I just see myself voting for any of the dross on offer. On the whole, I think the Tories have done a decent job but I just can't vote for a party who've damaged education so immeasurably over the past 5 years - narrow-minded of me maybe but when you're as passionate as I am about it you can't forgive. It'd be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

 

There's no way I can vote for Miliband - can anyone actually imagine that guy as prime minister? The guy has absolutely nothing worthwhile to say. He's in there quickly whenever Cmaeron ****s up but that seems to be his one and only tactic. The Lib Dems are a joke and Clegg has shown that you can say what you want in a TV debate, doesn't make it true - thank God he never ended up as PM.

 

UKIP are a joke in my opinion. I can't see how anyone can argue that they are anything but a one-policy party - and they can't even make their minds' up on that score.

 

As for TV debates, they are a complete falsity (see Clegg, Nicholas circa 2010) however I think Cameron should have agreed to do it on the basis that it could quite feesibly be a PR disaster for him and (with all due respect) many sections of the public will see it quite simply as a weakness - it also hands an unwarranted advantage to Miliband and Farage IMHO. He perhaps shouldn't have called out Brown for doing exactly what he is doing now 5 years ago - I'm sure the media will be all over that in the next few days.

 

Spot on.

 

The damage Gove has done to education over the past few years makes the Tories toxic to anybody working in education. 

[Carl the Llama]

So who do you vote for and what do they stand for?

I'll let you know closer to 2019 when the runners for MEP seats have been declared and started campaigning.  Anybody would be better than the sorry incumbents.

[Strokes]

I'll let you know closer to 2019 when the runners for MEP seats have been declared and started campaigning.  Anybody would be better than the sorry incumbents.

Well I hope come 2019 you don't get the chance but I'm just keen to know what you think we the general public have a democratic say on.

What positives do you think the union has brought to the UK and what are the negatives to us being independent in your opinion?

Btw I'm not angling or being snide, just asking.

[Harry - LCFC]

BBCQT have just tweeted this which I thought was quite interesting.

 

 

@bbcquestiontime Some Labour members have tweeted pictures like the following: #bbcqt

 

 

Clearly we're all aware of the reason why one might vote tactically but I was surprised and amused to see a party actually endorse it as a strategy.

[Carl the Llama]

If you want to start cynically supposing that regardless of which way we vote we still have no say (which I'm all for btw) then again I'd point out it's hardly an "EU problem".

 

Positives: For one thing I'd say the UK has benefited hugely from the influx of European labour since joining the EU.  I suppose many would want to say the opposite here, but let's be honest it's not EU immigrants who are causing problems like abusing young girls - they travel to the UK genuinely looking for work.  For instance I've known many Eastern Europeans both during my time in the UK and over here in Belgium - people from the sort of places that always get held up as scroungers and thieves - and they all had legitimate jobs and contributed to society or were fully applied to their education in order to become so.  We get a lot of say in European issues as one of the 'big' powers, despite what many may proclaim - the very fact that we manage to retain membership status and our own currency is testament to that fact.

 

Negatives: Clunky bureaucracy, deadlocked politics, flagrant excess, and a raft of imbecilic individuals make the EU a soft target for anyone looking for something to swing at.  If I were to seriously catalogue the EU's flaws we'd be here a long bloody time.

[Webbo]

I don't want to be part of a United States of Europe, I don't want the policies of this country to be decided by the voters of France and Germany. I'm not sayi ng they're bad people but they have their own concerns and traditions which are nothing to do with us. Britain should be run in the best interest of the British people and no one else.

[Strokes]

If you want to start cynically supposing that regardless of which way we vote we still have no say (which I'm all for btw) then again I'd point out it's hardly an "EU problem".

Positives: For one thing I'd say the UK has benefited hugely from the influx of European labour since joining the EU. I suppose many would want to say the opposite here, but let's be honest it's not EU immigrants who are causing problems like abusing young girls - they travel to the UK genuinely looking for work. For instance I've known many Eastern Europeans both during my time in the UK and over here in Belgium - people from the sort of places that always get held up as scroungers and thieves - and they all had legitimate jobs and contributed to society or were fully applied to their education in order to become so. We get a lot of say in European issues as one of the 'big' powers, despite what many may proclaim - the very fact that we manage to retain membership status and our own currency is testament to that fact.

Negatives: Clunky bureaucracy, deadlocked politics, flagrant excess, and a raft of imbecilic individuals make the EU a soft target for anyone looking for something to swing at. If I were to seriously catalogue the EU's flaws we'd be here a long bloody time.

I said I wasn't angling and i meant it, I agree British politics is by no means perfect but I don't think you can compare that to a political union.

My main problem with the the EU is the power it has gained without the electorate permission, whether you agree with it or not, you weren't consulted. I think we should have the final say on anything here, as a paying sovereign member but that is not the case. There is nothing to say once left the EU we wont still attract positive immigration, just hopefully we can make it just that.

The economic benefits are really unknown, I cant find any conclusive evidence that leaving the EU would have a long term detrimental effect.

So that's my reasons for supporting an exit, I don't think we need them.

[johnny the fox]

I don't want to be part of a United States of Europe, I don't want the policies of this country to be decided by the voters of France and Germany. I'm not sayi ng they're bad people but they have their own concerns and traditions which are nothing to do with us. Britain should be run in the best interest of the British people and no one else.

The EU is a tool of the multi nationals.. and have a far too undue influence over governments,  By far the biggest blunder made by all these European politicians  is...they have forgot about the people.. the people are being made to fit the system rather than the system fitting the people.. a tragic error that will lead to disaster.

[Strokes]

I don't want to be part of a United States of Europe, I don't want the policies of this country to be decided by the voters of France and Germany. I'm not sayi ng they're bad people but they have their own concerns and traditions which are nothing to do with us. Britain should be run in the best interest of the British people and no one else.

I think the emergence of the EU has alot to do with British politics becoming so stale, its more difficult to hold politicians and parties to account. They have all moved closer to centre as a result, self preservation.

[Carl the Llama]

I said I wasn't angling and i meant it, I agree British politics is by no means perfect but I don't think you can compare that to a political union.

My main problem with the the EU is the power it has gained without the electorate permission, whether you agree with it or not, you weren't consulted. I think we should have the final say on anything here, as a paying sovereign member but that is not the case. There is nothing to say once left the EU we wont still attract positive immigration, just hopefully we can make it just that.

The economic benefits are really unknown, I cant find any conclusive evidence that leaving the EU would have a long term detrimental effect.

So that's my reasons for supporting an exit, I don't think we need them.

That's fair enough and you're right we don't need them.  But you're supposed to be self-sustainable when you join the EU.  Unfortunately that whole principle's been shot to death (thanks, Greece, Spain, Portugal...).  The continuing economic woes of the Union make it pretty easy to sympathise with anyone calling it a sinking ship.

[Strokes]

That's fair enough and you're right we don't need them. But you're supposed to be self-sustainable when you join the EU. Unfortunately that whole principle's been shot to death (thanks, Greece, Spain, Portugal...). The continuing economic woes of the Union make it pretty easy to sympathise with anyone calling it a sinking ship.

Yeah I think you summed it up in a nutshell, we are very fortunate that we kept our currency. I dread to think what it would look like now.

[leicsmac]

Spot on.

 

The damage Gove has done to education over the past few years makes the Tories toxic to anybody working in education. 

 

Quoted for emphasis.

 

I would not vote Conservative for this reason alone.

[ADK]

The main issue for me is the freedom of movement of labour. If we removed ourselves from that agreement then I'd be fine with the EU.

[Jon the Hat]

The main issue for me is the freedom of movement of labour. If we removed ourselves from that agreement then I'd be fine with the EU.

 

Complete crap.  Free movement of goods and Labour is the only bit that works! 

[MooseBreath]

I can't pretend that I've kept up to speed on education but hasn't performance improved drastically since the tories came in? That was the last I heard. Seems like a natural consequence of pushing the profession to work a bit harder. Hard work = results. It's also what they're paid for.

[leicsmac]

I can't pretend that I've kept up to speed on education but hasn't performance improved drastically since the tories came in? That was the last I heard. Seems like a natural consequence of pushing the profession to work a bit harder. Hard work = results. It's also what they're paid for.

 

According to the PISA tests we've gone backwards rather than forwards. Mind you, those tests don't tend to be taken seriously by anyone outside of Asia in any case.

 

I'm also inclined to think that when an entire profession turns against the minister for that profession, then things are going wrong somewhere.

 

PS. Your hard work = results argument is flawed in many many cases and I'm pretty sure you're aware of that too. Luck and knowing the right people is just as important for success now.

[bovril]

The main issue for me is the freedom of movement of labour. If we removed ourselves from that agreement then I'd be fine with the EU.

 

Careful what you wish for, you might want to move abroad one day. It's interesting how many people seem opposed to freedoms and rights that apply to them as well.

[leicsmac]

Careful what you wish for, you might want to move abroad one day. It's interesting how many people seem opposed to freedoms and rights that apply to them as well.

 

I doubt it. Those people who favour isolationism don't want to go any further than perhaps the coast of southern Spain for a couple of weeks every year. And even then only if there's good battered sausage and chips.

[bovril]

I doubt it. Those people who favour isolationism don't want to go any further than perhaps the coast of southern Spain for a couple of weeks every year. And even then only if there's good battered sausage and chips.

 

Not necessarily. I've met loads of Brits working in the EU who are in favour of abolishing freedom of movement, obviously oblivious to the kind of shit Americans and Australians have to go through to work here.

Similarly I've met loads of Eastern Europeans who complain about being negatively portrayed in the British press then get into a moral panic people from the Middle East moving there.

Basically everybody thinks their tribe are the only ones who have the right to move around the world.

[MooseBreath]

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/23/schools-improve-performance-dfe-data

Sounds like improvement to me.

Not surprised at all the Gove was so unpopular though. Any boss who rocks up and demands better performance is going to face a backlash. I'm not interested in that, I'm interested in results, and they appear to be improving.

[leicsmac]

Not necessarily. I've met loads of Brits working in the EU who are in favour of abolishing freedom of movement, obviously oblivious to the kind of shit Americans and Australians have to go through to work here.

Similarly I've met loads of Eastern Europeans who complain about being negatively portrayed in the British press then get into a moral panic people from the Middle East moving there.

Basically everybody thinks their tribe are the only ones who have the right to move around the world.

 

Yeah, I know. I'm in a facietous mood this evening.