The Politics Thread

[Prufrock]

[Worthy4England]

Dave tells it like it is, yo!

[Hoboh]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... e-unravels" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We will properly fund the 'safe in our hands' NHS, really?

[Hoboh]

Nothing like a good old dose of out of touch Socialists is there, 6000 down to 617 after a massive campaign, what a result!
Ukip the one issue party, or is it Labour? Yes the NHS is important but so are other things and a lot of them are hitting people harder being most are fortunate enough not to need the specialist NHS facilities.

Labour threw everything at retaining the seat and getting their vote out, only to nose ahead by a few percentage points
McInnes chose – or more likely, was ordered – to run what was basically a single-issue campaign based around the preservation of the NHS. Labour presumably thought it was safe ground given that McInnes has worked for the NHS for 33 years as a scientist. Plus they had plenty of ammunition to attack Ukip: the Tory-Ukip defector Douglas Carswell in 2012 wrote a book advocating the wholesale privatisation of the NHS, and Nuttall posted a letter on his website praising the coalition for bringing “a whiff of privatisation” to the health service.
But while many voters in the constituency undoubtedly hold dear the idea of universal healthcare for all, it was not their first concern in this byelection. In three visits to the area over the last two weeks, almost all the voters I spoke to began each conversation by saying, unprompted, that they were concerned about immigration – the electrician complaining about wages being undercut by eastern European workers, the parents unable to get their offspring into local primary schools because immigrant children were taking up scarce places, the patients waiting for a GP appointment in a waiting room filled with foreign chatter. Others said things like: “I just want our country back.”
Yet Labour didn’t seem to want to engage with immigration as a topic. Perhaps they know they are on shaky ground, blamed by many for vastly underestimating the consequences of allowing Poland and other new EU countries unfettered access to the employment market after they joined the union in 2004.
I asked Ed Miliband on Tuesday why I had not heard him mention immigration during his two visits to the constituency when it was so obviously so many people’s number one bugbear. He replied: “I’m proud of our policy on immigration,” before claiming it was the NHS that people had raised as an issue on the doorstep.

I'll bet your proud of getting almost ten times the amount of Poles Ed! The whole family's here.

Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour party, moved to reach out to people attracted to Ukip. She said: “I profoundly understand the concerns people have that make them feel despairing or angry but I profoundly disagree with the proposals that Ukip are putting forward.

“People see them [Ukip] as outsiders and therefore giving people a kick up the backside. But the reality is that the policies that are being put forward would make the problems that people have and the struggles they have in their lives actually worse rather than better.

Yeah right Harriet, you wouldn't understand a non gender issue if it smacked you in that smug mug you carry round.

Best snigger of the night,

The Liberal Democrats lost their deposit for the tenth time in a byelection this parliament after Andy Graham came fifth in Clacton behind the Greens with 483 votes, securing just 1.1% of the overall share compared with the 12.9% his party won in 2010.

Nick wannabe deputy PM in the next hung Parliament, you won't have enough MP's to fill a table for four in McDonald's.

last but not least not forgetting the remnants of the nasty party, return to proper Tory policies instead of just hitting the poor, stand up for your country, put statesmen back in the party, ditch the wet behind the ears kids and yuppies, throw out the babies with the bath water.
Folk are sick of the bankers ruining the country by default.

[Athers]

Looks like a massive concern for Labour this - "Why aren't they 'protesting' against the Coalition/Tories/Westminster by voting for us?"

[Harry Genshaw]

Aye I was gob smacked when I heard the Labour victor in Heywood celebrating her victory with "The voters here rejected UKIP" bollo**s. Love em or hate em both parties would be foolish to ignore em

[William the White]

Aye I was gob smacked when I heard the Labour victor in Heywood celebrating her victory with "The voters here rejected UKIP" bollo**s. Love em or hate em both parties would be foolish to ignore em

Impossible to love em. Haven't got the energy to hate them. I can manage despise. will that do?

[Hoboh]

Aye I was gob smacked when I heard the Labour victor in Heywood celebrating her victory with "The voters here rejected UKIP" bollo**s. Love em or hate em both parties would be foolish to ignore em

Impossible to love em. Haven't got the energy to hate them. I can manage despise. will that do?

The dream of a continent ruled by a central committee is dying William, the fledgling EU substitute won't be around too long now people are waking up to it's sinister, control all, power grab.

[Worthy4England]

Aye I was gob smacked when I heard the Labour victor in Heywood celebrating her victory with "The voters here rejected UKIP" bollo**s. Love em or hate em both parties would be foolish to ignore em

Impossible to love em. Haven't got the energy to hate them. I can manage despise. will that do?

The dream of a continent ruled by a central committee is dying William, the fledgling EU substitute won't be around too long now people are waking up to it's sinister, control all, power grab.

We have seen populist breakaways before, of course...

The SDP formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the Liberal Party late in 1981, under the joint leadership of Roy Jenkins (SDP) and Liberal leader David Steel. During an era of public disillusionment with the two main parties – Labour and the Conservatives – and widescale unemployment, the Alliance achieved considerable success in parliamentary by-elections. At one point in late 1981, the party had an opinion poll rating of over 50%.

David Steel was able to address the Liberal Party conference with the phrase "Go back to your constituencies, and prepare for government!"

In the 1983 general election, the SDP–Liberal Alliance won more than 25% of the national vote, close behind Labour's 28%, but well behind the 44% secured by the Conservatives. However, because of the first-past-the-post electoral system used in the United Kingdom, only 23 Alliance MPs were elected, six of whom were members of the SDP

[a1]

this nigel farage, is he a posh bob hawke ?

:/

[Hoboh]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... lag-halted" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great isn't it all this love and peace across Europe because of the EU or people wishing to join it.

Tensions simmer beneath the surface, more and more with all these sorts of nations the expansionists want to acquire.

[Athers]

The EU is many things but one of the great successes of the EU has been to maintain peace within its members since 1954, well done EU, a force for peace!

[Hoboh]

The EU is many things but one of the great successes of the EU has been to maintain peace within its members since 1954, well done EU, a force for peace!

I know, what utter cobblers.
Nukes, armed forces and Germans obsessed with money making are the real reasons along with Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and a host of others having no forces to speak of.
Eastern Europeans such as the Ukraine, the Slavs etc are the big problems to peace seeing nearly everyone has an AK47 under their bed along with shed loads of criminals ready to take advantage, yet we let them join!!!
Europe and the EU will fall apart in the next two decades, just a shame I won't be on the hill to watch it burn.

[Worthy4England]

The EU is many things but one of the great successes of the EU has been to maintain peace within its members since 1954, well done EU, a force for peace!

Eastern Europeans such as the Ukraine, the Slavs etc are the big problems to peace seeing nearly everyone has an AK47 under their bed along with shed loads of criminals ready to take advantage, yet we let them join!!!

Surely, given your projections. all these people are in the UK now?

So we've got the problem anyhow.

[Hoboh]

The EU is many things but one of the great successes of the EU has been to maintain peace within its members since 1954, well done EU, a force for peace!

Eastern Europeans such as the Ukraine, the Slavs etc are the big problems to peace seeing nearly everyone has an AK47 under their bed along with shed loads of criminals ready to take advantage, yet we let them join!!!

Surely, given your projections. all these people are in the UK now?

So we've got the problem anyhow.

We will have more than a few thousand to watch when these countries kick off, God help us if India and Pakistan ever start up big time.

[Worthy4England]

The EU is many things but one of the great successes of the EU has been to maintain peace within its members since 1954, well done EU, a force for peace!

Eastern Europeans such as the Ukraine, the Slavs etc are the big problems to peace seeing nearly everyone has an AK47 under their bed along with shed loads of criminals ready to take advantage, yet we let them join!!!

Surely, given your projections. all these people are in the UK now?

So we've got the problem anyhow.

We will have more than a few thousand to watch when these countries kick off, God help us if India and Pakistan ever start up big time.

No, I could've sworn you were predicting Poland/Serbia/Albania etc. would be empty by now? Busloads coming in every day since January? India and Pakistan, I don't expect to be in the EU any time soon.

[Hoboh]

Just what are they not telling us about Ebola?
The scale of help and professionals heading for Africa is unprecedented, not the usual half hearted efforts of government.

[Bruce Rioja]

Just what are they not telling us about Ebola?
The scale of help and professionals heading for Africa is unprecedented, not the usual half hearted efforts of government.

I thought we'd sent about two dozen squaddies to shoot it. What happened there then?

[Worthy4England]

Just what are they not telling us about Ebola?
The scale of help and professionals heading for Africa is unprecedented, not the usual half hearted efforts of government.

I'm not sure what you think you're missing? They've said it's a epidemic, that it's a huge fecking problem and likely to kill lots of people and try your best not to catch it.

[Hoboh]

Just what are they not telling us about Ebola?
The scale of help and professionals heading for Africa is unprecedented, not the usual half hearted efforts of government.

I'm not sure what you think you're missing? They've said it's a epidemic, that it's a huge fecking problem and likely to kill lots of people and try your best not to catch it.

I'm thinking more like is it mutating and going airborne