General Election 2017 | Cabinet reshuffle: Hunt re-appointed Health Secretary for record third time

How do you intend to vote in the 2017 General Election if eligible?

  • Conservatives

    Votes: 80 14.5%
  • Labour

    Votes: 322 58.4%
  • Lib Dems

    Votes: 57 10.3%
  • Green

    Votes: 20 3.6%
  • SNP

    Votes: 13 2.4%
  • UKIP

    Votes: 29 5.3%
  • Independent

    Votes: 3 0.5%
  • Plaid Cymru

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • Sinn Fein

    Votes: 11 2.0%
  • Other (UUP, DUP, BNP, and anyone else I have forgotten)

    Votes: 14 2.5%

  • Total voters
    551
  • Poll closed .
Gotta love how both those politicians of substance, Cameron and May, refused to participate in televised debates.
She could go on a TV debate and have very little control on the questions she gets asked or go on the BBC and be interviewed by either the former President of the Oxford University Conservative Association and the Conservative Party Youth group or the former chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. It must have been a difficult decision.
 
The people voted for Brexit, not the Conservatives. Any government would be going down the same path now.

The offer of a referendum was a Conservative policy... a gamble by Cameron that backfired massively. Only a Conservative Government would be going down this path as without them - no referendum.
 
Exactly why i cannot trust Labour with the UK economy. The idea you can keep spending forever is flawed. The UK has overstretched itself and needs to reign the borrowing in from current levels. Osborne made a good start of it but Brexit has put us back to square one.

The conservatives have their flaws but they're are currently the best option for the country as a whole.
Thing is, the Tories are doing a terrible job of cutting the deficit. We are walking out of the EU, our main trading partner and the number one reason we have any growth at all. If Scotland leaves, then despite what the SNP might be saying, they will become a corporate tax haven like Ireland, and leech off of the rUK even more.

If we keep the Tories in, we will continue to have slow or no growth. The state will shrink and debt will rise.

Do they have any plan at all to get us back in the black?
 
Thing is, the Tories are doing a terrible job of cutting the deficit. We are walking out of the EU, our main trading partner and the number one reason we have any growth at all. If Scotland leaves, then despite what the SNP might be saying, they will become a corporate tax haven like Ireland, and leech off of the rUK even more.

If we keep the Tories in, we will continue to have slow or no growth. The state will shrink and debt will rise.

Do they have any plan at all to get us back in the black?
Keep on killing poor people and watch the funerals industry boom.
 
The offer of a referendum was a Conservative policy... a gamble by Cameron that backfired massively.
Despite my psychiatrist's best efforts, I still believe that this was all planned: Cameron was looking for a way out; the desire for an EU exit was far more widespread amongst Conservatives (not merely a 'lunatic fringe') than reported; and stalking horse Nigel Farage suddenly got more publicity than the Kardashians; these things aren't coincidental, IMO.
 
But do you want Corbyn running the country ?

Yeah why not. We're not in a dictatorship (yet) so I'd take Labour over the Tories any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Exactly why i cannot trust Labour with the UK economy. The idea you can keep spending forever is flawed. The UK has overstretched itself and needs to reign the borrowing in from current levels. Osborne made a good start of it but Brexit has put us back to square one.

The conservatives have their flaws but they're are currently the best option for the country as a whole.

And yet statistics posted in this very thread suggest otherwise but i guess if people repeat something enough then it becomes a truism.
 
Thing is, the Tories are doing a terrible job of cutting the deficit. We are walking out of the EU, our main trading partner and the number one reason we have any growth at all. If Scotland leaves, then despite what the SNP might be saying, they will become a corporate tax haven like Ireland, and leech off of the rUK even more.

If we keep the Tories in, we will continue to have slow or no growth. The state will shrink and debt will rise.

Do they have any plan at all to get us back in the black?
same plan the Tories have always had since the great depression, through the 70's and 80's to post the 2008 crash...... sell the poor down the river till they have a use for them again
 
Despite my psychiatrist's best efforts, I still believe that this was all planned: Cameron was looking for a way out; the desire for an EU exit was far more widespread amongst Conservatives (not merely a 'lunatic fringe') than reported; and stalking horse Nigel Farage suddenly got more publicity than the Kardashians; these things aren't coincidental, IMO.

I don't think the majority of Conservatives wanted/want to leave though... and I think the offer of a referendum was an attempt to appease those factions within the party and it wouldn't do any harm in winning some votes from UKIP. Given the damage this is likely to do to Cameron's legacy longer term... I'm not sure he would have seriously wanted to step down that way.
 
I don't think the majority of Conservatives wanted/want to leave though... and I think the offer of a referendum was an attempt to appease those factions within the party and it wouldn't do any harm in winning some votes from UKIP. Given the damage this is likely to do to Cameron's legacy longer term... I'm not sure he would have seriously wanted to step down that way.
Oh yeah, that's far more likely than my conspiracy theory, chief.
 
I don't think the majority of Conservatives wanted/want to leave though...

According to a Spectator article from last year..

So far, 17 members of the Cabinet—or 78 per cent—have said they want Britain to stay in Europe, whilst five—or 22 per cent—want out

It’s a mixed bag amongst Tory Ministers, too, with 48—or 71 per cent—opting ‘In’, 12—or 17 per cent—for ‘Out’ and 3 MPs yet to say.

And there are 112 MPs on the backbenches who are backing the Prime Minister, 120 MPs who want ‘Out’ and 14 backbench Conservative MPs who are yet to say for certain which way they intend to vote.

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/...xit-who-doesnt-and-who-is-still-on-the-fence/
 
A little? Even Nick Cleggs manifesto was way to the left of Corbyns proposals now. Mansion Tax, No Trident Renewal, Free Tution, No new nuclear, huge investment into education, get rid of academies, reduce minor criminal sentences for community services, immigrant amnesty and it goes on and on.

Anyone supporting Clegg back then should be throwing in with Corbyn not the fraud of the party that is left with Farron in charge.

What does Nick Clegg's manifesto have to do with the 2017 election? You are missing the crucial point that Corbyn is committed to a hard Brexit and that he is well known to be anti Europe on a personal level. It is the key point here.

The other key issue is his ability as a leader, the trust that the public has in him to lead a country and there isn't any.
 
What about the people that voted him in twice? Should he not represent them first? I'm sure none of them want a center left leader that just ends up being a form of tory lite

I don't remember him running as an anti-EU candidate in the leadership election. I do however know loads of people who were big supporters and had joined the Labour party purely because of him, who totally lost faith (and gave up their memberships) after he came out as pro-Brexit.
 
Well yesterday has really changed my view on this election. I was thinking that it would be hard to summon the energy to campaign this time round (because Corbyn) but talking to friends yesterday, the sheer number of people who say they won't vote Labour has left me thinking this is a battle to save the party.

First I found that not one person in my immediate office (from 6) was planning to vote Labour, 5 of them having voted Labour 2 years ago. Then I had a Board meeting where three of my Directors who were Labour members said they might not be voting Labour this time. Then I discovered my parents - both activists, former councillors & members since the 70s - aren't sure if they can vote Labour this time.

The only person that said they'd definitely vote Labour was my wife, whose exact words were "I can't be fecked with another fecking election, can't I just fecking vote Labour now so I don't have to listen to Jeremy Corbyn and his freakish man-child voice for the next six weeks". Which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

I know that a handful of my mates & colleagues is not exactly a representative sample, but it still feels alarming.
This anecdotal evidence matches conversations I've had. Unless the campaign goes well (which it definitely could do, expectations couldn't possibly be lower), Labour are going to be annihilated to a ludicrous degree. I think we're looking at the much lower end of current projections. 150-170 seats.
 
What does Nick Clegg's manifesto have to do with the 2017 election? You are missing the crucial point that Corbyn is committed to a hard Brexit and that he is well known to be anti Europe on a personal level. It is the key point here.

The other key issue is his ability as a leader, the trust that the public has in him to lead a country and there isn't any.

It has a lot to do with the post i was replying to based on Lib Dems standing. Funny how discussion works.

Labour (i.e. the party) as thats what we're discussing is not for a hard Brexit, its for making the best out of the referendum result. Good to know Corbyn hates the continent of Europe though.
 
Been the leader of the 'Liberal' party and thinking homosexuality is a sin isn't really going to go down well with your voter base.

Being the leader of the Liberal party, thinking homosexuality is a sin, but supporting gay rights is probably as Liberal as you can get
 
What does Nick Clegg's manifesto have to do with the 2017 election? You are missing the crucial point that Corbyn is committed to a hard Brexit and that he is well known to be anti Europe on a personal level. It is the key point here.

The other key issue is his ability as a leader, the trust that the public has in him to lead a country and there isn't any.

Corbyn seems quite keen on a norway style deal, so I am not sure where you get this hard brexit policy from. Its not something he has ever said as far as I can see, he talks about retaining membership of the free trade zone, and workers rights have long been his line in the sand, so I am not sure where this hard brexit is coming from.
 
Feck me, what a thread. I was tagged in on page 1 by @Charlie Foley although I have absolutely no idea why. :wenger: I'm just disappointed that I missed the @Dwazza kicking. If anyone should kick that Canadian fruitcake around it should be me, and he knows it too. Biatch! H

Kicking? I stood up to some baseless, and frankly libellous accusations of wrongdoing for advising someone that they had a pretty big risk exposure in their cyber security protocol.
 
Well done ITV. May will either look weak (and even more prone to u-turns) or cowardly. She'll still win, but it all helps.
 
Despite my psychiatrist's best efforts, I still believe that this was all planned: Cameron was looking for a way out; the desire for an EU exit was far more widespread amongst Conservatives (not merely a 'lunatic fringe') than reported; and stalking horse Nigel Farage suddenly got more publicity than the Kardashians; these things aren't coincidental, IMO.

You're not being paranoid.

http://highexistence.com/wonder-ter...ents-misuse-media-manipulate-bewildered-herd/

This article about Noam Chomsky on Propaganda offers a theory on how Cameron did a deal with Rupert Murdoch (pro-Brexit):

After being exposed in the Panama Papers leak and losing the respect of the public, Cameron struck a deal with Murdoch in which he would campaign for the Britain to stay in the EU, involve the labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, fail, ensure Corbyn’s reputation as a leader is tarnished, and resign. He would ruin Labour’s best chance at getting in at the next general election, give Murdoch exactly what he wants, and go on to pursue a prosperous career in a position of power with a little help from his special friends
 
Well the reason for Corbyn's movement is his speeches. The only reason people are because the media have ignored policy and focused entirely on 'does he do his tie up' and other irrelevances. That and the fact that the Blairites have plotted against him from the beggining. If Labour were united behind him and the focus were on discussions about the NHS, Education and worker's rights Corbyn would poll far better but the tie wasn't done up so...

The main reason for the Corbyn movement is because the left-wing of Labour really wanted an MP from the solid left-wing of the party to stand, and Corbyn was the only one who was really up for it. As a speaker he's okay. Better than May, probably, but then that's not saying much for her.

As for the rest of it, all I'm really seeing at this stage is excuses for his inevitable defeat. Yes, the media have treated him unfairly. Yes, his party have continually plotted against him...but, well, quite frankly that doesn't matter to a lot of voters. Either he wins and gets his party into power or he doesn't...and right now it's looking like he won't. At some point he's got to take some responsibility of his own for the current mess. What are his flagship policies, for example? How's he planning to promote himself as a genuine PM over the coming weeks? How's he going to negotiate Brexit, and why will he do a better job of it than the Tories?



It's blatantly untrue. Here we have an MP getting involved in every cause on local and level no matter how big or small. An MP that always has made time for his constituents.. He is a London MP, but his policies would be for the country. He's likely the only leader who would re-distribute London's wealth throughout the country.

I don't think an MP should go against their own beliefs to serve the will of the party either. Calling Corbyn part of the 'elite' is pretty laughable in all honesty.

His weakness is clearly his inability to united the party but that's mainly Labour's own in-fight. He doesn't have much experience in organising. His strength is clearly that he presents a socialist vision.

It might be untrue but quite frankly that doesn't matter because it's about how he's perceived. As a whole he's deeply unpopular among the electorate and struggles to connect with people outside his base. He might not be part of the elite, but he's a comfortably living MP who's spent most his career rebelling against his own party. That's how a lot of people see him and, for rightfully or wrongfully, they don't see him as a hard-working, capable man who connects with them. Only his core support seems to see him as that, and his core support isn't going to win an election.

And again...his socialist vision is all well and good if he actually can implement it. As it stands all he's doing is ensuring Britain isn't going to have a serious socialist party at the top level for decades to come. Presuming the moderates/Blairites/whatever we want to call them resume control after the election, they'll be able to refer to Corbyn every time Labour's left-wing really wants someone in power.
 
The problem is, as the Tories like to repeat as mantra, that Labour didn't run a budget surplus even before the financial crisis.

uk-budget-deficit.png

http://www.debtbombshell.com/britains-budget-deficit.htm

It's just not a sensible way of running a country, and this applies to any of them. USA, UK, Germany, Japan, etc.

So, why can't we just borrow money ad infinitum? After all, it's perfectly common to get a mortgage... and then another one and another one, only stopping when you die. And the UK Government doesn't have a life expectancy, so they can borrow money forever?

You can, and that's fine. But doing this is a perfect way to create brutal and crippling inequality.

You could view the UK Government as the owner of much of the UK Wealth, of which, every UK Citizen is an equal shareholder. As the UK Government gets richer, we all get richer. As the UK Government gets poorer, we all get poorer. The Tories say that Labour should have "put away money for a rainy day", but I think it's even more fundamental than that...

Norway has their oil fund. An $892 billion fund that helps pay for the running of their country and will help even further in future generations. They are by no means, the only country to have one of these. Lot's of countries have them. They simply use the money to invest in the global market, and as Warren Buffett knows, the value of the fund will increase by approximately 7% above inflation. That doesn't sound like much, but over 35 years, in grows in value by 10x above inflation. Over 70 years, the fund it grows in value by 100x above inflation. So this sounds like a pretty nifty thing to have, right. Could help pay for country. Just like a pension, put £1000 away today, and take out £10,000 when we retire...

Well the UK doesn't have one of these. We don't have a fancy wealth fund. We've been one of the richest countries for a long time, (occasional periods of crippling debt when we had to rescue a King or fund a War aside), and yet we have no super-kitty kept in reserve. And we're a bit short on fancy natural resources like oil.

Instead, we're taking the opposite approach, borrowing more and more money and putting that debt onto future generations (partly us, partly our kids). Maybe we should sell off the crown jewels. Privatise the Royal Family. Get sponsorship from Barclays.

But all of this is sad really. The rich will become super-rich as the money they hold doubles, and doubles and doubles again. The poor will become poorer as the debt we hold doubles and doubles and doubles again.

Debt is a useful tool; Want to build a fancy bridge that will bring in £1m a year... borrow £5m to build it. Great! But we are all going to get poorer and poorer as the rich get richer and richer.

Note - I am not saying we need austerity. Cutting back on spending when you need growth is fundamentally wrong too.

Edit x1 - I should point out, Labour were the ones to most recently propose a wealth fund

There's little truth to the piling debt onto children mantra. Its not a business or a household, ROI isn't the driving factor, the money the goverment spends does not evaporate.
 
Well done ITV. May will either look weak (and even more prone to u-turns) or cowardly. She'll still win, but it all helps.

Yep, will be funny if she's empty seated. I'm no massive fan of the TV debate format because they tend to descend into shouting matches instead of promoting actual debate, but there should be some platform on which party leaders/prominent politicians debate policy in the lead-up to an election.
 
I don't remember him running as an anti-EU candidate in the leadership election. I do however know loads of people who were big supporters and had joined the Labour party purely because of him, who totally lost faith (and gave up their memberships) after he came out as pro-Brexit
That says more about the people you know that it does about Corbyn, had they never ever heard him talk about Europe and the eu before, ever?
 
Despite my psychiatrist's best efforts, I still believe that this was all planned: Cameron was looking for a way out; the desire for an EU exit was far more widespread amongst Conservatives (not merely a 'lunatic fringe') than reported; and stalking horse Nigel Farage suddenly got more publicity than the Kardashians; these things aren't coincidental, IMO.

The whole Remain camp really was quite poor, admittedly. The referendum itself was put together very quickly to be held within a matter of months, perhaps making an uncertain, kneejerk result more certain, and Cameron himself was quite weak during campaigning. Even saw someone make the point half-jokingly that holding it during the Euros, a time when England/Britain was at competition with Europe, was a pretty terrible idea.
 
This article about Noam Chomsky on Propaganda offers a theory on how Cameron did a deal with Rupert Murdoch (pro-Brexit):

After being exposed in the Panama Papers leak and losing the respect of the public, Cameron struck a deal with Murdoch in which he would campaign for the Britain to stay in the EU, involve the labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, fail, ensure Corbyn’s reputation as a leader is tarnished, and resign. He would ruin Labour’s best chance at getting in at the next general election, give Murdoch exactly what he wants, and go on to pursue a prosperous career in a position of power with a little help from his special friends

I could buy him making a deal to hold the referendum but the whole 'then I'll make sure we lose it!' part is way too '10th dimensional chess' for my liking. It was so tight that a single headline or event the day before could have swung it the other way. Quite plausible that Murdoch pushed for the referendum, confident that his media mouthpieces could swing the vote though.
 
That says more about the people you know that it does about Corbyn, had they never ever heard him talk about Europe and the eu before, ever?

Probably not, they'd probably not even thought about it as Labour are pro-EU anyway, and then later heard him say he supported the Remain campaign and actually believed him.
 
Yep



BBC are rumoured to be planning one as well but they haven't confirmed.
Good stuff. As Cheesy said, they are a bit of a nonsense but the government shouldn't be allowed to stop them happening just because they think their leader wouldn't benefit from them.
 
.
Keep on killing poor people and watch the funerals industry boom.

A decade ago there was a farm crisis, drought, and power crisis simultaneously in my state. The only places getting 24*7 electricity in rural areas were crematoriums because of the suicide rate.
 
I'm not sure the debate stuff is going to have much impact, the public are probably so sick of elections at this point that they just want to get to the booths and vote. But I am (very) often wrong.

Also just saw that Clive Lewis voted against the election, not entirely surprising.