[Politics] The General Election Thread

[nicko31]

I have plenty of tory pals. And before the last election I urged people to vote for anyone who would keep Corbyn out (I said this on here). Admittedly my motive was to see Corbyn binned, so that labour could recover its sanity. Right now I regard Boris as more dangerous than Corbyn. And far more odious.

Under May I wouldn't have said this, but now Boris has arrived and all the adults have been kicked off they are a far more dangerous option.

 

[Stat Brother]

The American Election II.

2 unelectable candidates go head to head.

 

[kemptown kid]

Haha.

No need to discuss the past, but in the past...

The original point doesn't stand it falls flat on it's face. I didn't bring up the past to score points, someone else brought up the past, and now so are you (while at the same time dismissing the actual things that actually happened in the actual past).

The argument isn't simply about free broadband, I'm sure if broadband were really free nobody would oppose it would they. The issue is about broadband for all, which by the way is the goal of both parties. Some people think that they way you achieve that is by having the state take ownership of businesses. Others think that is a simplistic idea which won't work in practice, and they have a point.

If the state running things makes things better, why don't we have the state produce our mobile phones? Mobile phones are surely a neccessity these days, and there is enourmous mobile phone inequality. Some people have £800 handsets, some people have £50 handsets and can't possibly afford the new iphone or can't meet the conditions of the contracts required to get one.

Imagine for a moment that you no longer chose in a competitive market place between say Apple and Samsung, but instead the state made all mobile phones for the good of society. What do you imagine would happen? Higher quality devices next year? lower prices? great service? When the providers of a product or service are not competing with one another in order to make a profit, where does the incentive to innovate and improve come from? Altruism? Government targets?

The state is not a savior, nothing is free, the only money the state has, all of it, first has to be taken out of the economy, i.e. from you and me. Then we get something back, usually a lot less than what we paid for, after also having paid for the beauracracy, inflated no bid contracts, subsidies, nepotism, general corruption and waste, and a whole bunch of other great stuff.

The free market has done a fine job of providing affordable housing for all...

 

[GT49er]

The free market has done a fine job of providing affordable housing for all...........

......millionaires.

 

[GT49er]

No need for the eye-rolling: it's perfectly possible to be no fan of Corbyn and yet feel a government led by him is preferable to one led by Johnson - not least because the first action of a Johnson government would be damaging, far-reaching, nation-changing and irreversible.

This thicky gullible masses narrative is largely an invention by victimhood-obsessed leavers. It reached tired cliche status long ago. As you well know, the argument made for a second referendum is that people will now know what they are voting for, or indeed against.

OMG! The superiority complex, the entitlement, the contempt of your fellow citizens who happen to disagree with you .................... if I hadn't voted leave already, with attitudes like yours around, I would now!

 

[Bozza]

Just re-watching the first Kingsman film and now get where Labour got the "free internets for everyone" idea from.

I'll keep an eye out during the remainder of the film for other policy announcements that may be coming our way.

 

[JC Footy Genius]

Amusing seeing the Tories and the Liberal non democrats involved in a tree planting bidding war today .... Tories promising 30 million trees a year by 2025 and the Libs promising 60 million a year by 2025. Labour have yet to announce their plans but a figure of a trillion magic money trees every year is rumoured.

 

[dingodan]

This was the argument made in the 80s when everything was sold off, services will be more efficient run by private companies, more investment, higher quality, lower prices. Instead we got limited investment, lower quality, higher prices. The argument that private was better than state, in the case of a service provided to all, has been shown to be baloney. So don't repeat the argument now, please.

I'm sorry, when you say "we got limited investment, lower quality, higher prices.", what precisely are you talking out?

Do you think Jaguar would be more successfu and provide a better and cheaper service today it today if were still state owned? British Gas? BT?

Really?

Don't you see the obvious problems with state ownership? If you are a business and you provide a sh*t product or service what happens? You go under. If you are a nationalized industry and you provide a sh*t product or service what happens? Nothing.

If you are a business who do you need to make sure that you are pleasing? Customers. If you are a nationalized industry who do you need to make sure you are pleasing? Policy makers.

If you are a business who bares the risk for your decisions and the consequences of your mistakes? You do. If you are a nationalized industry who bares the risk for your decisions and the consequences of your mistakes? The tax payer.

Blows my mind that people still don't understand this.

 

[Bozza]

What a bad policy. Can not possibly have the poor having internet now can we.

Strange way of thinking you have there, but each to their own.

I have no idea of the true practicalities of the policy. To this telecoms layman, it strikes me that 100% rollout, literally, could be problematic and/or incredibly expensive, but I certainly agree that internet access is close to being a necessity in 2019.

 

[Lincoln Imp]

OMG! The superiority complex, the entitlement, the contempt of your fellow citizens who happen to disagree with you .................... if I hadn't voted leave already, with attitudes like yours around, I would now!

Sorry? Where on earth in my post was expressed a superiority complex, entitlement and contempt?

(If I have any sort of complex it is an inferiority one; I have no sense of entitlement but confess to distrusting those who do, such as Boris Johnson, and as for contempt... I can only say that I stand in judgement of no one. I tend to leave that sort of thing to God.)

 

[Rodney Thomas]

Strange way of thinking you have there, but each to their own.

I have no idea of the true practicalities of the policy. To this telecoms layman, it strikes me that 100% rollout, literally, could be problematic and/or incredibly expensive, but I certainly agree that internet access is close to being a necessity in 2019.

The internet is so powerful now studies suggest it could be considered a human right. My first thought was 'you what, mate' but the more I think about it the more I'm convinced by the argument.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-11-free-internet-access-basic-human.html

 

[Bognor Seagull]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7693553/Boris-Johnson-surges-ahead-Jeremy-Corbyn-polls.html

15 point lead!

Ordinary decent working people don't like privately educated millionaire metropolitan elitist Bollinger Bolsheviks like Jeremy Steptoe Corbyn who despises this country, loves our enemies and hates us. Labour isn't Labour any more and most of us have realised this.

 

[keaton]

What a bad policy. Can not possibly have the poor having internet now can we.

Do you curse daily the existence of Freeview?

 

[Bakero]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7693553/Boris-Johnson-surges-ahead-Jeremy-Corbyn-polls.html

15 point lead!

Ordinary decent working people don't like privately educated millionaire metropolitan elitist Bollinger Bolsheviks like Jeremy Steptoe Corbyn who despises this country, loves our enemies and hates us. Labour isn't Labour any more and most of us have realised this.

But why do ordinary decent working people like privately educated millionaire metropolitan elitist toffs like Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster ****-Business ****-the-Families Get-Off-My-****ing-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-BullshitJohnson who despises this country, loves your enemies and hates you?

 

[BN41Albion]

But why do ordinary decent working people like privately educated millionaire metropolitan elitist toffs like Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster ****-Business ****-the-Families Get-Off-My-****ing-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-BullshitJohnson who despises this country, loves your enemies and hates you?

Exactly this. I'm no Corbynite whatsoever, but people Bognor Seagull who spout what he did about Corbyn and Labour but then promote and revell in the Tories supposedly having a 15 point lead (taken from the Mail, no less), are morons, imo.

 

[nwgull]

But why do ordinary decent working people like privately educated millionaire metropolitan elitist toffs like Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster ****-Business ****-the-Families Get-Off-My-****ing-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-BullshitJohnson who despises this country, loves your enemies and hates you?

Because Boris is actually seen as the least worst option. Corbyn is that bad, and the Labour Party has been taken over by nutters. There’s a reason that the membership was infiltrated back in 2015 to get Corbyn elected as leader: they knew that the Labour Party would never win an election under him.

 

[Beach Hut]

Free dental check ups today, Labour are going to spend us into a massive debt if this carries on

 

[keaton]

Because Boris is actually seen as the least wo 35rst option. Corbyn is that bad, and the Labour Party has been taken over by nutters. There’s a reason that the membership was infiltrated back in 2015 to get Corbyn elected as leader: they knew that the Labour Party would never win an election under him.

Because Boris wouldn't waste pubic money on stupid things? Like a garden bridge, or American skirt

 

[Chicken Run]

Free dental check ups today, Labour are going to spend us into a massive debt if this carries on

I hope they haven’t printed their manifesto yet as they’ve now u turned on their immigration policy [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[WATFORD zero]

Good Morning Watford,
May be it is my age, but you've lost me. Could you explain more fully.

P.S. Love your Jag. Mine is a more sedate XJ!

Sorry for the delay in responding, I had a busy day yesterday because of the lack of football

In your reply to [MENTION=1200]Harry Wilson's tackle[/MENTION] you talked of him being somewhat sheltered from the financial lunacy of the left, being a Uni lecturer with a secure pension, and yourself being rather more exposed, so I assumed that you don't see yourself in such a sheltered or advantageous position.

All economic predictions for Brexit have the UK economy taking an almighty hit, from a customs union through to the full 'no deal'. The predicted impact on the economy really makes the spending plans of all parties pale into insignificance (which are pure guesswork as nobody has released a manifesto yet ). The simple fact is that every party of whatever colour needs a healthy economy to implement their political aims.

There is no doubt that a conservative majority will mean that Johnson will go for the harder end of the Brexit scale and this (together with tax cuts for high earners and businesses) means that that vast majority at the lower end economically will suffer badly, exactly the same way as in the last 10 years of Austerity. (Even when we were 'all in it together' !).

Now, even with the smallest of majorities and the softest of Brexits, the numbers who will gain, will be a very small as a proportion of the country. Certainly not a big enough proportion to ensure a University lecturer with a secure pension would gain from Johnson in power.

Therefor, Johnson, JRM and Cummings are completely dependant on people who are not so well off voting to make themselves poorer, something they have been very successful with up to now.

(And a Jaguar XJ is much nicer when it's raining )