UK general election May 2015

[Altfish]

Not even Farage can barrage himself.
Farage stays as UKIP leader after resignation rejected - BBC News

Matthew 17:23
and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day".

The prophecy has been fulfilled.

Please tell me that was a joke

 

[philbo]

Please tell me that was a joke

..I'm sure even the most ardent UKIP supporter doesn't think their Great Leader is Christ resurrected.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

..I'm sure even the most ardent UKIP supporter doesn't think their Great Leader is Christ resurrected.

He is the High Priest of the Kipperati, so maybe he does have a direct line to God.

Probably he can turn water into beer, and magically produce enough **** for the whole of South Thanet.

 

[philbo]

He is the High Priest of the Kipperati, so maybe he does have a direct line to God.

Probably he can turn water into beer, and magically produce enough **** for the whole of South Thanet.

I don't know about turning water into beer, but I'm sure he manages the reverse on a regular basis

 

[Yerda]

Well, it was the worst result possible. You have to love UK politics; Establishment always wins.

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

Well, it was the worst result possible. You have to love UK politics; Establishment always wins.

The traditional left-wing party up against the traditional right-wing party, with the traditional result, to paraphrase Tony Blair. It's not hugely surprising in retrospect, the British people tend to hang around the political centre, and Labour was getting a bit too lefty, as well as the fear of an even more left-wing SNP, the electorate had spoken.

Upset that the people disagree with you, so have to blame it on the big bad establishment?

 

[The Emperor of Mankind]

The traditional left-wing party up against the traditional right-wing party, with the traditional result, to paraphrase Tony Blair. It's not hugely surprising in retrospect, the British people tend to hang around the political centre, and Labour was getting a bit too lefty, as well as the fear of an even more left-wing SNP, the electorate had spoken.

Upset that the people disagree with you, so have to blame it on the big bad establishment?

In what way were Labour being "too left"?

 

[Yerda]

The traditional left-wing party up against the traditional right-wing party, with the traditional result, to paraphrase Tony Blair. It's not hugely surprising in retrospect, the British people tend to hang around the political centre, and Labour was getting a bit too lefty, as well as the fear of an even more left-wing SNP, the electorate had spoken.

Upset that the people disagree with you, so have to blame it on the big bad establishment?

England always disagrees with me. I'm Scottish. I think it's a legal requirement.

I'm amused that we terrify the English so much that they voted for the party that introduced the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Or as doctors know it, The Abolition of the NHS in England Act. This is also the party that was trying to push a communications bill through parliament that gave even more power to the proffesional privacy invaders, the snoopers charter, you may recall.

We scare England so much that they've voted for five more years of the austerity that is literally killing people, sending families to foodbanks, and putting the vulnerable in the street. With another £12 billion of welfare cuts to come...

The also sold the Royal Mail (cheaply) to their friends in the city and lifted the cap on higher education. Remember that?

Has this government done anything good for the people of the UK? I'm trying to think of something. Anything. Oh wait, they saved the economy didn't they.

 

[Ultimatum]

England always disagrees with me. I'm Scottish. I think it's a legal requirement.

There is clearly a political hostility between England and Scotland--and rightly so! An anti-austerity state has been shackled to a, mercifully, capitalist country.
But there is also hostility because of a nationalist spirit that has been encouraged by Conservative scaremongering and a rising Ukip--all of this aided by the "the evil Tories" vibe as donated by the SNP.

Scotland should have gone independent.

EDIT: Let's also remember that this Conservative government, in only 5 years, doubled the national debt. And if this warrants the "THE EVIL TORIES" vibe, then could you imagine how bankrupt this country would become under a Labour government?

 

[Ultimatum]

Fraud probe in Thanet South: Ukip say that they did not call for the investigation.
Fraud probe in Nigel Farage-contested Thanet South seat - BBC News

Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me if there was evidence of fraud--especially considering how Nigel said he would resign as leader if he won.

*tips tinfoil hat*

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

Has this government done anything good for the people of the UK? I'm trying to think of something. Anything. Oh wait, they saved the economy didn't they.

There is clearly a political hostility between England and Scotland--and rightly so! An anti-austerity state has been shackled to a, mercifully, capitalist country.
But there is also hostility because of a nationalist spirit that has been encouraged by Conservative scaremongering and a rising Ukip--all of this aided by the "the evil Tories" vibe as donated by the SNP.

Scotland should have gone independent.

EDIT: Let's also remember that this Conservative government, in only 5 years, doubled the national debt. And if this warrants the "THE EVIL TORIES" vibe, then could you imagine how bankrupt this country would become under a Labour government?

To be fair to the Tories, they have cut the deficit in half relative to GDP.

On the national debt point, in response to @Ultimatum that was unavoidable. The financial crisis created a huge deficit as shown in the above images, and in order to pay off that deficit, you have to borrow more, and that is what comprises the large majority of what we have borrowed. As the deficit has gone down, annual borrowing has also reduced. The remaining borrowing was for investments in infrastructure and such, which also are necessary to keep things moving and stimulating the economy, and it should be noted that the borrowing for investments was less than what Labour borrowed last government.

In the calendar year 2007, the Labour government borrowed £37.7bn, of which £28.3bn was invested in big projects (the balance of £9.4bn represents the current budget deficit). Conversely, in 2013, the Conservative-led coalition borrowed £91.5bn, with just £23.7bn invested.

The huge increase in borrowing is necessary to pay off the deficit, and it's clear that the borrowing for investment has reduced.

One may think, "Why not just cut the deficit completely right now, just stop spending so much money, and therefore stop so much borrowing?" The Tories have been careful to reduce the deficit at a steady pace, despite the accusations of lack of care for the people by their detractors. Cut too much too quickly, and the economy could have grinded into deeper and worse recession.

Only once we shrink our deficit down to reasonable levels, or even have a budget surplus as the Tories intend in the next few years, can we start doing something about the debt properly (e.g. refinancing our debts, expanding the economy by cutting taxes or increasing spending to decrease the debt relative to GDP, or just directly paying them off with the surplus).

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Fraud probe in Nigel Farage-contested Thanet South seat - BBC News

I noticed this: "Comedian Al Murray, who stood for election in the guise of The Pub Landlord for the Free United Kingdom Party, came in sixth place with 318 votes."

Al Murray is brilliant and would make a fantastic MP!

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

I noticed this: "Comedian Al Murray, who stood for election in the guise of The Pub Landlord for the Free United Kingdom Party, came in sixth place with 318 votes."

Al Murray is brilliant and would make a fantastic MP!

Ha, he was doing it as a joke though.

 

[Yerda]

There is clearly a political hostility between England and Scotland--and rightly so! An anti-austerity state has been shackled to a, mercifully, capitalist country.
But there is also hostility because of a nationalist spirit that has been encouraged by Conservative scaremongering and a rising Ukip--all of this aided by the "the evil Tories" vibe as donated by the SNP.

To be fair to the SNP most of Scotland has viewed the Tories as evil since Thatcher.

Scotland should have gone independent.

Yep. We're people, therefore mental. And full of contradiction. We hate the union...but we're scared to leave. We want change...but worry that it might mean things are different. We're only happy when we're moaning.

Anyway, it may be hindsight, but could anyone imagine that the goon Miliband could ever have been PM? It was just about impossible to picture. Credit to the Tories, they may be evil incarnate, but they are bloody good at sounding and looking like natural rulers.

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

To be fair to the SNP most of Scotland has viewed the Tories as evil since Thatcher.

Yep. We're people, therefore mental. And full of contradiction. We hate the union...but we're scared to leave. We want change...but worry that it might mean things are different. We're only happy when we're moaning.

Anyway, it may be hindsight, but could anyone imagine that the goon Miliband could ever have been PM? It was just about impossible to picture. Credit to the Tories, they may be evil incarnate, but they are bloody good at sounding and looking like natural rulers.

I don't see it as a peculiarly Tory advantage, it's really just a Miliband-specific disadvantage.

Blair was very good at coming across as a capable and strong leader, Labour just needs someone who can carry that charisma, leadership and strength. Miliband probably was strong, though it's how well that is communicated to the public that counts, not the reality itself, sadly.

 

[Ultimatum]

To be fair to the Tories, they have cut the deficit in half relative to GDP.

In 2010, the Conservatives promised to eliminate the deficit by 2015.
And, as I said, if halving the deficit warrants the "evil Tories" vibe as pushed forward by Labour and the SNP, then how can Labour ever promise to "balance the books", lest they become the "evil Labour"?

On the national debt point, in response to @Ultimatum that was unavoidable.

Unavoidable, of course it was. Could Labour have minimised the damage as much as possible? Absolutely. The problem with Labour is that they spent too much and taxed too little.

The financial crisis created a huge deficit

Bold claim. Pre-crisis, Britain had one of the largest structural deficits in the developed world: this is due to the overspending nature of Labour's Blair and Darling. We entered into the crisis in a horrible condition and with an unsustainable fiscal policy--even Blair and Darling have admitted this.

As the deficit has gone down, annual borrowing has also reduced.

And, therefore, is posed the question for the "evil Tory" shouters: Why don't you want this country to achieve economic credibility?

In the calendar year 2007, the Labour government borrowed £37.7bn, of which £28.3bn was invested in big projects

Perhaps this is because Labour never strived for deficit eradication?