How will you vote in the next election?

[Ccider]

Green party i smade up from complete plonkers. Many of their policies will make environmental issues and quality of life WORSE not better.

My 2p.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

What choice do we have in the Lewes area? Surely you agree we need to get Baker out?

I would still not vote Tory.

Ok so Baker is in oposition to the football stadium and is a bit of a tool BUT your vote should not be made purely on the basis of the football stadium and I could never vote Tory.

Living in Horsham I would LOVE a Lib Dem MP instead of the tory we get lumbered with every election.

 

[Lammy]

Whichever gets Norman Baker out of office which may have to be Tory

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat!

The annoying this is I want to vote Lib Dem but I can't whilst that TWAT is in his seat.

So I'll probably end up voting Tory just to out Baker. But I'll still be hoping the Lib Dems do well. Why couldn't Baker be Tory so I could hate him properly?

 

[Lammy]

First time voting and it'll be for Labour. They arent the best party in the world, but theyre not exactly doing badly with our country, it's still running, and economically we're doing well, universities are still alive and kicking and theyve banned fox hunting! All fine by me.

I'd rather be shot than vote for the backward, out of date, posh, pro-hunting, criticise anything that Labour does rather than saying what theyre going to do Conservatives

Bellotti used to be in the Lib Dems - nuff said

UKIP - dont even get me started

You're obviously too young to remember Neil Kinnock then. When the Tory's were in power all Labor did was to dissagree with everything they said. It's the nature of being in opposition.

Whilst I don't agree with fox hunting I respect the right to do it and quite frankly I think the issue has taken up far too much time and money.

I don't agree with the war but the Tory's were for the war too. The Lib Dems were not.

If we didn't have the Tory's in last time around we would still be working a 3 day weeks and at the mercy of the miners.

The universities are running ok but the students are not. Students now are coming out of university with massive debts and finding it hard to get on the property ladder. Labour introduced fees and virtually abolished grants. Not a very socialist thing to do. They also privatised the post office. So I'm not sure what the difference is now between Labour and Tory?

The Lib Dems are the only one IMHO to be honest with the electorate and admit they will raise taxes. They will do this by taxing people on over £100,000 a year 50%. This is a policy that Labour should adopt if it is to honour it's labour voters. But of course it won't as they are the same as the Torys now.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Labour are not a socialist party and never have been in the true sense of the word.

During the 80s the party allowed the likes of Benn to draw up the manifesto knowing they would lose anyway and by losing on the terms of the far left within the party, they effectively blew them out of all reconning for future policy decisions.

The argument with top up fees is a contensious one but it will actually increase the number of working class kids in top universities because their top up gets paid by their LEA so in actual fact THEY will be better off. It is the lower middle class that will be punished under that system.

Student debt is also contensious. I am a student and I am in deby but you do not have to make payments back until you are earning a decent wage, and then it is only about £10 a week..an amount people spend on coffee and fags easily.

In America, where their university system is working well the majority of students have part time jobs to fund their way through university. I had less then ten hours lectures a week as do most other courses. It would have been easy to get a part time job had I been arsed to do so and would not have inflicted on my studies at all.

Also, if students lived more within their means then student debt would not be such a problem. I was as guilty of this as anyone but because of the large available disposable income that students get it is tempting to go out and buy new designer clothes, the newest mobile phones etc.

New Labour are the best option we have in this country and too many people are ignoring their many successes.

 

[Simster]

Lib Dem for me. I can see there being little to choose between the three main parties in terms of percentage of the vote, but as usual it will be the lib dems who lose out because of the first past the post system. Nevertheless, I'm hoping for a labour/lib-dem government...

 

[Lammy]

The argument with top up fees is a contensious one but it will actually increase the number of working class kids in top universities because their top up gets paid by their LEA so in actual fact THEY will be better off. It is the lower middle class that will be punished under that system.

i.e. the majority of the population.


Student debt is also contensious. I am a student and I am in deby but you do not have to make payments back until you are earning a decent wage, and then it is only about £10 a week..an amount people spend on coffee and fags easily.

You have to start paying it back as soon as you are earning £10k or more. If you regard £10k as a decent wage then that's fine. I'm not sure I do. You have to pay it back at about £40 a month for each loan you take out. If you take out three (one for each year of study in a standard length degree) you are talking about £120 a month. Take rent, food, bills etc out of your wages and you will see that it doesn't leave much for saving for a house/flat. Now if you have a partner who has been to university you will be paying back £240 a month. It' no onger becomes coffee and fags money.

In America, where their university system is working well the majority of students have part time jobs to fund their way through university. I had less then ten hours lectures a week as do most other courses. It would have been easy to get a part time job had I been arsed to do so and would not have inflicted on my studies at all.

That would depend greatly on the course you are doing.


Also, if students lived more within their means then student debt would not be such a problem. I was as guilty of this as anyone but because of the large available disposable income that students get it is tempting to go out and buy new designer clothes, the newest mobile phones etc.

Yep I agree with you. I had a part time job but only worked during the holidays. I managed to get away with only one loan and that was to buy a computer to help with my course.


New Labour are the best option we have in this country and too many people are ignoring their many successes.

this is your opinion that you are stating as fact. Labour have had a lot of success and I particularly salute their decision to let the bank of England control interest rates. It is that deceision alone that has stabalised to acconomy. If not then you can be sure labour would have reduced interest rates in the run up to the election to win votes. Boom/Bust etc.

However, there are still a lot of things they do which I don't agree with. They don't tax the mega rich enough and they go to war at the say so of an oil loving cowboy!

 

[Meade's Ball]

I'm hoping the tories have shot themselves in the foot by trying to turn this election into a race war.

Last election i spoilt my ballot. A democracy ought not be about voting for the lesser of 2 evils. This time, i may well vote Lib Dem. I will wait and see what their battleground is first.

 

[Simster]

The Lib Dems are the only one IMHO to be honest with the electorate and admit they will raise taxes. They will do this by taxing people on over £100,000 a year 50%. This is a policy that Labour should adopt if it is to honour it's labour voters. But of course it won't as they are the same as the Torys now.

It's worth remembering that promising tax rises is a sure fire vote loser in this country, and has been for 4 decades. It's very easy to make this sort of promise if you haven't got a hope of forming a government. If the Lib Dems get into a position where they can properly challenge the other two after this election (by securing, say, 150 seats, then I would imagine the Lib Dems would have a lot of soul searching to do. Would they ensure they hold their current vote or go for the big pie by abandoning that particular manifesto pledge (and risk alienating their current support in doing so).

I think Labour would love the chance to raise income tax and lower VAT, but for various reasons (not necessarily in their control) could expect a fall in support.

 

[chip]

The argument with top up fees is a contensious one but it will actually increase the number of working class kids in top universities because their top up gets paid by their LEA so in actual fact THEY will be better off. It is the lower middle class that will be punished under that system.

Student debt is also contensious. I am a student and I am in deby but you do not have to make payments back until you are earning a decent wage, and then it is only about £10 a week..an amount people spend on coffee and fags easily.

New Labour are the best option we have in this country and too many people are ignoring their many successes.

Top up fees will be applied by certain universities that can meet specific standards. The £3000 fee will then be used to fund scholarships and "needy" students regardless of their real ability. In effect, this is a tax on the children of slightly better off parent, i.e. 18 year olds will be charged on the basis of their parents income or given money from other 18 year olds if their parents are poor. About 5-10% of the money will be available to the institution, but its overheads will probably increase by that ammount or more. A typical university lecturer costs approx £90000 pa to employ so it is unlikely that their will be many more new staff. In any case, their is a very finite supply of suitable candidates.

Coupling increasing numbers of poorly qualified students with pressures to raise grades and widen admissions is a recipe for a sharp decline in standards. A 2:2 is now worthless in many subjects. Its no wonder that universities would rather take the £8-12K fees for overseas students and reduce the home students to the ones who can actually do the course. Far better in my opinion to take only the ones who will really benefit from their course and support them properly.

Whoever said that they are still working fine clearly does not deserve to attend one (unless its of the poly variety) as they do not have the intellectual skill to make a proper analysis on the basis of available evidence. In fact, they justify the old secondary modern system. rant over.

 

[Lammy]

It's worth remembering that promising tax rises is a sure fire vote loser in this country, and has been for 4 decades. It's very easy to make this sort of promise if you haven't got a hope of forming a government. If the Lib Dems get into a position where they can properly challenge the other two after this election (by securing, say, 150 seats, then I would imagine the Lib Dems would have a lot of soul searching to do. Would they ensure they hold their current vote or go for the big pie by abandoning that particular manifesto pledge (and risk alienating their current support in doing so).

I think Labour would love the chance to raise income tax and lower VAT, but for various reasons (not necessarily in their control) could expect a fall in support.

personally I'd rather abolish income tax and put it all on VAT. This way visiters to the country would be contributing too!

 

[Norman Baker suck my lozenge]

Draw your own little box and scribble next to it"Falmer for all."
Up the Workers.
Also I cannot wait for that weazly little f*ckknuckle Loughton to knock on My door.

 

[bhaexpress]

Frankly it's too early to make a decision, there's so many issues that are still unresolved. As has been said earlier it's a question as to the lesser of evils.

 

[Simster]

personally I'd rather abolish income tax and put it all on VAT. This way visiters to the country would be contributing too!

But that is effectively a tax on low income families.

 

[sleepynick]

Green.

 

[sleepynick]

Green party i smade up from complete plonkers. Many of their policies will make environmental issues and quality of life WORSE not better.

My 2p.

hmmm...

 

[Lammy]

But that is effectively a tax on low income families.

How so? Are low income families not taxed at the moment then?

Surely low income families purchase less luxury goods than the rich?

I'm not talking about VAT on food and fuel but on luxury goods like TVs, satellites, cars, boats, videos, food processors, postcards...

-edit-

I have to say I would still be in favour of taxing the income of people earning over £100k a year.

 

[Trufflehound]

Groen Links

 

[Biscuit]

To be fair Labour are the lesser of the evils.

Would never vote Tory. Can never see my self vote Lib Dem. Don't trust UKIP, what other option is their? Green? BNP? Monster raving looney?

 

[looney]

f***ing hell! Eight people on this board would vote Tory.

That's a bit like voting for Bill Archer to be Albion chairman...

comments like that reflect your mental immaturity and/or the small circles you mix in.