[Archived] Local Elections

[Amo]

Looks like David Cameron and his boys have taken something of a pasting in the local elections.

On the other hand, it was unsurprisingly another Tory whitewash down here, losing only one seat. I didn't know the bourgeoisie were so prevalent in this neck of the woods.

I ended up voting Labour. Not for any particular reason other than I made the mistake of voting Lib Dem in the General Election and there was certainly no way I could ever back the Tories, so that left me with the lesser of three evils.

[thenodrog]

  On 04/05/2012 at 15:41, Topman said:

Looks like David Cameron and his boys have taken something of a pasting in the local elections.

On the other hand, it was unsurprisingly another Tory whitewash down here, losing only one seat. I didn't know the bourgeoisie were so prevalent in this neck of the woods.

I ended up voting Labour. Not for any particular reason other than I made the mistake of voting Lib Dem in the General Election and there was certainly no way I could ever back the Tories, so that left me with the lesser of three evils.

Seems you have a very short memory Topman. Just think cuts, recession, job losses etc and ask youself if you want that to worsen. I'm suprised you have opened yourself up to ridicule in this way tbh.

For anybody looking to change UKIP seems to be the party in the ascendancy these days.

Small wonder too given the sh1t that we have to put up with with all those bone idle dodgepots who have a shoreline on the Meditteranean. If we're funnelled into another 'do' with the Argies I can't see any help or even support from any of that lot of ungrateful garlic munching surrender monkeys thats for sure.

On another issue it seems that Liverpool has a Mayor now. Why this should make the slightest difference to local politics in Livvie I've really no idea. Dick Whittington could improve that lot. Saddest, most predictable and certainly most revealing issue is that only 16% of scousers bothered to vote him in. Political apathy is widespread these days. Not suprising given that Europe runs us and all 3 major parties are clustered tightly around the centre of political ideology.

[jim mk2]

  On 04/05/2012 at 15:41, Topman said:

Looks like David Cameron and his boys have taken something of a pasting in the local elections.

On the other hand, it was unsurprisingly another Tory whitewash down here, losing only one seat. I didn't know the bourgeoisie were so prevalent in this neck of the woods.

I ended up voting Labour. Not for any particular reason other than I made the mistake of voting Lib Dem in the General Election and there was certainly no way I could ever back the Tories, so that left me with the lesser of three evils.

The Tories are in retreat over the handling of the economy, their unfair tax assault on the poor and the old and Cameron embroiled in sleaze. They also have no alternative plan other than to cut spending and have no plan B for growing the economy. Ukip are a bunch of political no-hopers but have succeeded in the local elections in splitting the right-wing vote. The Tories are quite rightly very worried.

The fight against austerity is taking hold in Europe too with Hollande likely to win the French election and the Dutch government resigning after opposition to their programme of cuts. Four years of right-wing ideology have brought another recession in the UK and Europe to the brink of collapse. The left is on the march and it is good to see.

[Mike E]

With my dad being a pensioner (68) I've taken the stance of voting for UKIP. The most sensible party (imo) of those that aren't the 'top 3'. I refuse to vote Labour, conmen or LibDumbs simply cos all three have (in some way) committed daylight robbery against the older generations of our country.

[Amo]

  On 04/05/2012 at 18:48, thenodrog said:

Seems you have a very short memory Topman. Just think cuts, recession, job losses etc and ask youself if you want that to worsen.

I thought it had. Hence why I was never going to vote Tory.

  On 04/05/2012 at 18:48, thenodrog said:

I'm suprised you have opened yourself up to ridicule in this way tbh.

I've already explained my reasoning. If there was a fourth box I would gladly have ticked it.

[thenodrog]

  On 04/05/2012 at 19:55, Topman said:

I thought it had. Hence why I was never going to vote Tory.

Don't be daft, cuts were inevitable whichever party formed the govt. Alistair Darling admitted exactly that before the last election. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2010/03/chancellor.html

History will reveal that the worst thing that the Tories did was win it. Mind you all is not lost I suppose if the majority of the electorate possesses similarly poor memory retention.

[thenodrog]

  On 04/05/2012 at 19:29, jim mk2 said:

and Cameron embroiled in sleaze.

I'll give you that. Camerons performance on the Andrew Marr show was definitely dodgy. He was sweating more than the proverbial on a rape charge. imo there is much more to come out about that Jeremy Hunt business. Blair or Mandelson would have given a Teflon smooth denial but poor old Cameron does not possess their supreme ability to lie convincingly. It's a severe weakness in any politician.

[Sandiway Blue]

  On 04/05/2012 at 19:29, jim mk2 said:

The Tories are in retreat over the handling of the economy, their unfair tax assault on the poor and the old and Cameron embroiled in sleaze. They also have no alternative plan other than to cut spending and have no plan B for growing the economy. Ukip are a bunch of political no-hopers but have succeeded in the local elections in splitting the right-wing vote. The Tories are quite rightly very worried.

The fight against austerity is taking hold in Europe too with Hollande likely to win the French election and the Dutch government resigning after opposition to their programme of cuts. Four years of right-wing ideology have brought another recession in the UK and Europe to the brink of collapse. The left is on the march and it is good to see.

We were never out of the recession in the first place,some people just kidded themselves that we were...

[thenodrog]

  On 05/05/2012 at 08:50, bacup blue said:

We were never out of the recession in the first place,some people just kidded themselves that we were...

And they try continually to kid others too. Topman being a case in point.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

  On 05/05/2012 at 08:50, bacup blue said:

We were never out of the recession in the first place,some people just kidded themselves that we were...

No we weren't but we were heading in the right direction until Cameron, Osbourne and Co got their hands on the levers of economic power. Their doctrinaire cuts, cuts, and more cut's policy has plunged us back into the pit we were attempting to climb out of. They will of course be forced to come to their senses and adopt a more rational policy before too long but by then it will be too late. " Arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk ", couldn't have put it better myself. Ukip ? Just the BNP with shiny shoes and a collar and tie.

[jim mk2]

  On 05/05/2012 at 08:50, bacup blue said:

We were never out of the recession in the first place,some people just kidded themselves that we were...

Perhaps those growth figures under Gordon Brown as we pulled out of the worst worldwide financial crisis for the past 70 years were just a mirage then. Even the Tories managed to keep the growth going until their cutbacks and lack of growth strategy took their toll.

[Sandiway Blue]

  On 05/05/2012 at 09:48, jim mk2 said:

Perhaps those growth figures under Gordon Brown as we pulled out of the worst worldwide financial crisis for the past 70 years were just a mirage then. Even the Tories managed to keep the growth going until their cutbacks and lack of growth strategy took their toll.

Considering how much the cost of Electric,Gas,Water and petrol etc has risen in the last 5 years whilst my wages have remained the same (I'm sure I'm not the only one, I think that is evidence that the recession never looked like ending nor is it likely to for at least another 2-3 years.

  On 04/05/2012 at 19:29, jim mk2 said:

The Tories are in retreat over the handling of the economy, their unfair tax assault on the poor and the old and Cameron embroiled in sleaze. They also have no alternative plan other than to cut spending and have no plan B for growing the economy. Ukip are a bunch of political no-hopers but have succeeded in the local elections in splitting the right-wing vote. The Tories are quite rightly very worried.

The fight against austerity is taking hold in Europe too with Hollande likely to win the French election and the Dutch government resigning after opposition to their programme of cuts. Four years of right-wing ideology have brought another recession in the UK and Europe to the brink of collapse. The left is on the march and it is good to see.

The Conservatives have only been in power for 2....

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

  On 05/05/2012 at 10:23, bacup blue said:

Considering how much the cost of Electric,Gas,Water and petrol etc has risen in the last 5 years whilst my wages have remained the same (I'm sure I'm not the only one, I think that is evidence that the recession never looked like ending nor is it likely to for at least another 2-3 years.

The Conservatives have only been in power for 2....

The Lib-Dems really have vanished then. I thought it was just my impression.

[jim mk2]

  On 05/05/2012 at 10:23, bacup blue said:

Considering how much the cost of Electric,Gas,Water and petrol etc has risen in the last 5 years whilst my wages have remained the same (I'm sure I'm not the only one, I think that is evidence that the recession never looked like ending nor is it likely to for at least another 2-3 years.

You're confusing the wider economy with household income. The economy has recovered from the depths of 2007 - 08 but only slowly and unique among the G7 countries has still not reached the levels of five years ago because of this govt's obsession with cuts and lack of a strategy for growth.

Utlity and petrol prices have soared partly owing to the huge rise in commodity prices (oil, gas) because of demand from China and other emerging countries and partly because successive govts here have failed to plan ahead for the coming energy crisis - basically our oil and gas reserves are running out. The sad reality is those prices will keep on rising in the long term.

Lower and middle incomes have been stagnating for years but of course the wealth of the richest few has continued to rise despite the recession. I cannot find it at the moment but there is graph showing the "wealth gap" between the rich and poor started rising 30 years ago and has carried on ever since. I'll leave it to you to work out why.

[Sandiway Blue]

  On 05/05/2012 at 11:04, jim mk2 said:

You're confusing the wider economy with household income. The economy has recovered from the depths of 2007 - 08 but only slowly and unique among the G7 countries has still not reached the levels of five years ago because of this govt's obsession with cuts and lack of a strategy for growth.

Utlity and petrol prices have soared partly owing to the huge rise in commodity prices (oil, gas) because of demand from China and other emerging countries and partly because successive govts here have failed to plan ahead for the coming energy crisis - basically our oil and gas reserves are running out. The sad reality is those prices will keep on rising in the long term.

Lower and middle incomes have been stagnating for years but of course the wealth of the richest few has continued to rise despite the recession. I cannot find it at the moment but there is graph showing the "wealth gap" between the rich and poor started rising 30 years ago and has carried on ever since. I'll leave it to you to work out why.

Not really,I work for a kitchen manufacturing company in an industry which is heavily linked to the housing market.Around 4 years ago we had to make 80 people redundant out of a workforce of around 400 and have struggled since.The fact that everything the company has it owns,property machinery etc,has saved the company from going bust.Although it has slightly recovered since then it is a long slow process to get the company back to where it was,hence my comment about the country not really being out of recession.

[Baz]

UKIP will never get anywhere with that clown Farage in charge.

[Sparky Marky]

Id say they've done marvellously with him in charge - whether you agree with him or not he's a sharp cookie.

[thenodrog]

  On 05/05/2012 at 12:45, bacup blue said:

Not really,I work for a kitchen manufacturing company in an industry which is heavily linked to the housing market.Around 4 years ago we had to make 80 people redundant out of a workforce of around 400 and have struggled since.The fact that everything the company has it owns,property machinery etc,has saved the company from going bust. Although it has slightly recovered since then it is a long slow process to get the company back to where it was,hence my comment about the country not really being out of recession.

Wasting your time BB. Most Labour voters can't recognise the requirements of business and commerce.

[thenodrog]

  On 05/05/2012 at 22:48, Sparky Marky said:

Id say they've done marvellously with him in charge - whether you agree with him or not he's a sharp cookie.

Indeed. Ukip really has been a success and illustrates a whole lot of dissatisfaction and mistrust toward the garlic munchers.

btw ..... That Penguin did OK too.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

  On 04/05/2012 at 15:41, Topman said:

Looks like David Cameron and his boys have taken something of a pasting in the local elections.

On the other hand, it was unsurprisingly another Tory whitewash down here, losing only one seat. I didn't know the bourgeoisie were so prevalent in this neck of the woods.

I ended up voting Labour. Not for any particular reason other than I made the mistake of voting Lib Dem in the General Election and there was certainly no way I could ever back the Tories, so that left me with the lesser of three evils.

Can I ask which Western Hemisphere nation suffered the largest net loss to their economy during the recession? Then you will see why the coalition of had to embark upon a cut strategy .Boris also got re-elected with a 3% majority in London.

Can I also ask how Labour’s economic strategy differs? Ermm it doesn’t. I don’t read too much into local elections results, Labour endured worse results in the past and still got re-elected.

It does amaze me that party in power during the economic debacle; seem to be free from blame, its laughable and indicative as to why Labour councils are notoriously poorly run

[jim mk2]

  On 06/05/2012 at 09:44, Bazzanotsogreat said:

Can I also ask how Labour's economic strategy differs? Ermm it doesn't. I don't read too much into local elections results, Labour endured worse results in the past and still got re-elected.

Errmm it does differ substantially. Labour have advocated from the start of the crisis cutting the deficit more slowly because it would damage the recovery started by Gordon Brown. Those warnings have proved correct because - hey presto ! we are now back in recession because the Tories have been slashing jobs and wages. Labour have also pushed for growth to get people back into work and increase tax revenues but boy George only has a plan A. With Tories smashed in the local elections look out for a plan B forcusing on growth soon.

  On 05/05/2012 at 12:45, bacup blue said:

Not really,I work for a kitchen manufacturing company in an industry which is heavily linked to the housing market.Around 4 years ago we had to make 80 people redundant out of a workforce of around 400 and have struggled since.The fact that everything the company has it owns,property machinery etc,has saved the company from going bust.Although it has slightly recovered since then it is a long slow process to get the company back to where it was,hence my comment about the country not really being out of recession.

Did you read my previous post ? The country is out of recession but not back to its pre-recession levels, which is probably reflected in the fortunes of your company.

[Amo]

  On 05/05/2012 at 08:56, thenodrog said:

And they try continually to kid others too. Topman being a case in point.

Who did you vote for, Drog, if you don't mind me asking?

[jim mk2]

  On 06/05/2012 at 12:07, Topman said:

Who did you vote for, Drog, if you don't mind me asking?

Alf Garnett's lot, as if it were not already obvious.

[Amo]

  On 06/05/2012 at 13:14, jim mk2 said:

Alf Garnett's lot, as if it were not already obvious.

In which case, he really shouldn't be pointing fingers.

[BuckyRover]

Hague won over 1000 seats at the 2000 locals and then Labour went on to get a majority. It means little