Re: The UK General Election Thread

by Shoeshine Thu 11 Mar 2010, 14:05

JKLever wrote:Fark knows, the SNP are a weird lot. If something is wrong in Scotland it's Englands fault, I think that's the general thinking.

It's been quite amusing to point out the financial meltdown as being the sole responsibility of the two big Scottish banks to the Braveheart brigade. Not exactly true of course, but watching them turn puce with rage is well worth the entertainment value.

by JKLever Thu 11 Mar 2010, 15:19

Yes, the fact that the liabilities for both banks is 4 times the GDP of the entire country puts things into perspective somewhat.

There are some who believe if it wasn't for England, Scotland would be rolling in money and think they're subsidising England. The fact that NS Oil makes up only 2% of GDP is a little lost on them.

by Shoeshine Fri 12 Mar 2010, 23:09

Well, the way they do that is to essentially take things like defence and ignore that completely as any kind of future cost, whilst including it as a current cost. Pretty easy to come up with a way of showing that Scotland subsidises England if you ignore reality. And Scotland has a real problem in that a huge percentage of the economy is public sector - which in economic terms is non-productive. The costs of that aren't factored in either. But that's not to criticise, I rather like being British - but the fantasy of some is just plain annoying. We've ALL done well out of the union.

by Basil Fri 19 Mar 2010, 20:58

Harris Poll yesterday gives Tories a 8% lead over Labour

Tories 36%
Labour 28%
Lib Dem 18%
Others 18%

Others is a tad worrying - could we be heading for our first BNP MP?

by PeterCS Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:00

Hardly, with FPTP.

by PeterCS Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:01

Surely "others" must include "undecided/don't know/don't care/DGAF"?

by Basil Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:04

Might do - just lifted the figures tbh. Scot and WElsh Nats will do well on that basis. Got a horrible feeling that Nigel Farrage might unseat John Bercow - not a fan of Bercow as speaker as he seems to have no authority but Farrage? Dear God, have we sunk that low?

by PeterCS Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:07

We can expect some barnstormers in the Commons if he gets in.

"Farrage - apart from the farrago of crap you spout - has anyone ever told you you possess all the charisma of used bogroll, and your face looks like a hungover rhinoceros's arse"? And this from Cameron, getting into the fashionable style.

by Merlin Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:11

Basil wrote:Might do - just lifted the figures tbh. Scot and WElsh Nats will do well on that basis. Got a horrible feeling that Nigel Farrage might unseat John Bercow - not a fan of Bercow as speaker as he seems to have no authority but Farrage? Dear God, have we sunk that low?

Excellent news about Bercow - the short-arsed fiddling bas*ard - deserves all he gets.
His head's on the block anyway if the Tories get in .... back to the backbenches rapido.
Porkable Missus though ... all 6 feet of her!

Who's Farrage ?

by PeterCS Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:16

UKIP ex-leader.

Got snotty in the EuroPt. On the lines of the above (if slighty less scurrilous)

by Basil Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:18

Merlin wrote:
Basil wrote:Might do - just lifted the figures tbh. Scot and WElsh Nats will do well on that basis. Got a horrible feeling that Nigel Farrage might unseat John Bercow - not a fan of Bercow as speaker as he seems to have no authority but Farrage? Dear God, have we sunk that low?

Excellent news about Bercow - the short-arsed fiddling bas*ard - deserves all he gets.
His head's on the block anyway if the Tories get in .... back to the backbenches rapido.
Porkable Missus though ... all 6 feet of her!

Who's Farrage ?

Ex Leader of UKIP and an MEP (full time tosser as well)

by Merlin Fri 19 Mar 2010, 21:19

** Groans ** ...

A UKIP tosser ... FFS! Rolling Eyes

Rather have Bercow on the back benches tbh

by Allan D Fri 19 Mar 2010, 22:01

Bercow is so unpopular with the Tories in Buckingham that they might field an independent candidate against him allowing Farage to win on a split vote. I didn't think that there could be a worst Speaker than 'Gorbals Mick' but Bercow takes the biscuit, especially in his sucking-up to Nu Labour. Because of the electoral truce I doubt whether any Speaker has been defeated at the polls since the early 19th century but Bercow may well break that record. In that event I expect George Young, currently Shadow Leader of the House, who was defeated in the ballot last time (mainly by Nu Labour) will be nominated unopposed. Buckingham is, of course, famous, or infamous, for having been represented in Parliament by Robert ("I've got a great pension plan for you") Maxwell from 1964-70. No prizes for guessing which party he belonged to.

by Merlin Fri 19 Mar 2010, 22:36

If Bercow gets tossed out, the irony is that his 6 foot Amazonian Missus could well get elected as a Nu Labour girlie-chick MP whilst the little runt stays home to mind the wannabe kiddies!!

PMSL if that happens ....... !

by Allan D Fri 19 Mar 2010, 22:55

Mrs B isn't standing for Parliament. She's standing as a Nu Labour candidate in the May elections for Westminster City Council in the proletarian district of Pimlico. If only one area in the country returned a Tory council the odds are that it would be Westminster (closely followed by Wandsworth) so the chances of Mrs B getting elected to public office anytime soon are less than zero. Looks like John B may have to return to tennis coaching. Wonder if the taxpayers could ask for their money back (£45,000) on the refurbishment of Speaker's House (on top of the £700,000 spent by Gorbals Mick):

John Bercow spends taxpayers' money on refurb

by PeterCS Fri 19 Mar 2010, 22:58

Still, he seems a pleasant enough chap.

by Allan D Sat 20 Mar 2010, 00:08

Basil wrote:Harris Poll yesterday gives Tories a 8% lead over Labour

Tories 36%
Labour 28%
Lib Dem 18%
Others 18%

Others is a tad worrying - could we be heading for our first BNP MP?

Possibly in Barking where the incumbent is the ghastly Margaret Hodge, former Leader of Islington Council and next-door neighbour to Tony Blair (when he was an Islington resident). Labour score in that poll is the same as they achieved under the recently-departed Worzel Gummidge in 1983 when Mrs T won with a majority of 146. Even in the recent polls showing the Tory lead shrinking Labour only averages about what Michael Howard got in the last election - 31.7%. Hardly a stunning endorsement for GB, I would have thought.

by Allan D Sat 20 Mar 2010, 00:12

PeterCS wrote:Still, he seems a pleasant enough chap.

But with an unpleasant side:

Speaker accused of taking Labour prompts as Tory anger at Bercow erupts

by JKLever Sat 20 Mar 2010, 01:39

I honestly don't mind Farage at all. Wouldn't want him as a diplomat, but would like to see him stir things up in the commons.

'Prime Minister, you have the appearance of a damp rag...........'

by Allan D Sat 20 Mar 2010, 11:35

The last incumbent Speaker to be defeated in a General Election was Sir Richard Onslow who failed to be returned by the burghers of Surrey in 1710. This did not prevent him (after being returned by a rotten borough) from becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer 4 years later:

He proved to be a poor Speaker as he made no effort whatsoever to show any kind of neutrality, a fact which upset all but the most fervent Whigs.

Richard Onslow

His nephew, Arthur, was unanimously elected Speaker 18 years after his uncle and became, at 34 years, the longest-serving, and, arguably, the greatest of all Speakers. I wonder if Bercow can match the elder Onslow's dubious record on its tercentenary?

by tellitlikeitis Tue 23 Mar 2010, 11:44

Having lived through some truly awful (Labour) governments - 3 day week, national strikes, uncollected 6 weeks of rotting rubbish and power cuts - I can say that we can all look back at previous times and say 'never again'.

But this would be like looking back at the West Indies in 1980's as trying to say TODAY, ''aren't they good TODAY'?''.

The problem people have is they only remember what they want to remember and we cannot plan the future by looking at the past.

Cameron et al are mostly inexperienced after 12 long years of Labour. But Bliar and his cronies were equally inexperienced when they got a 1997 landslide.

My personal view is that in the past 3 labour administrations they have left office with a ruined economy - FACT. The Conservatives have left office with a bouyant economy - FACT. If you are choosing to vote based on economic factors then you must look at this. But there's just something about the Labour party that doesn't work for me., with them NEVER taking responsibility for anything that happens.

The Lib Dems may as well offer the moon because they are not going to get in and they cannot seem to make their minds up who their target audience is.

I personally do not care if Cameron or Osbourne are 'Toffs' as long as they do the right things to get this country back on track. In the same way that I don't care that Brown is a Scot or Darling is a Scot, or Douglas Alexander is a Scot etc etc, as long as they do a good job. Sadly, they have not and with 12 years to change things (6,000 new laws is an idea of how much they believe the governments should control our lives), it really is time for a change.

The Conservatives deserve a chance - it's their 'go', and a chance to learn from the mistakes of all governments before.

by horace Tue 23 Mar 2010, 22:25

is Cabinet Minister Miliband related (eg son of) to the old social theoretician and historian Ralph Miliband???

by PeterCS Wed 24 Mar 2010, 02:30

No, of course not.

Half the people in Britain are called Miliband.

*very simply researched link*

by JKLever Wed 24 Mar 2010, 22:41

YouGov poll puts Tory lead at just 2 points. Eek
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/03/december-2008-lead-lowest-poll

by LeFromage Thu 25 Mar 2010, 00:23

Why eek? Wouldn't a hung parliament be the best outcome for everyone: Labour turfed from power, the Tories denied an overall majority, the Lib Dems - who'll never get to govern any other way - handed a shot at actually contributing something.

A coalition of spastics forced to meld all of their incompetence together in the vain hope that, between them, they might come up with something bordering on, well, not total shit.

Good times, no?

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