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General Election


JER
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Who will you vote for (if at all?)  

72 members have voted

  1. 1. Who will you vote for (if at all?)

    • Labour
      33
    • Tories
      16
    • Lib Dems
      26


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It takes the piss, for the first time ever I'm actually factoring it into my decisions, for instance I've been looking at another job, but the cost of actually getting there (not that far, about 15 miles) and parking means I'll probably be out of pocket so might swerve it. Problem is, they've got you coming and going, because public transport is expensive too. The country really doesn't ever give you a break, it feels like you're constantly treading water. Things like buying a house are as unrealistic a dream for me now as it was when I was four, I haven't got a pension, and even shit like physically getting around is now becoming expensive.

 

These are the issues that matter, making the country somewhere were you can actually afford to make plans and fucking live.

 

I think we're left with a simple choice on this. Either we reduce our dependency upon oil or we continue to pay silly money. Ditching the car was one of the best financial decisions I ever made.

 

Whilst the weakness of pound is having an impact at the moment, the long term trend is surely only going to be for price increases. It's a finite resource so we best either kick the habit or hand over your shirt everytime you go to the garage.

 

Although, public transport is silly expensive in this country. I was over in the Netherlands a few weeks back. Albeit its a smaller country, but it cost me about 8 euro to get from Schipol to The Hague. About 10 euro return The Hague to Rotterdam, and about 10 euro from the Hague to Amsterdam Central.

 

When you factor in it is about 20 quid to go from Heathrow to Paddington, you see just what a shit deal we get here.

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I think we're left with a simple choice on this. Either we reduce our dependency upon oil or we continue to pay silly money. Ditching the car was one of the best financial decisions I ever made.

 

Whilst the weakness of pound is having an impact at the moment, the long term trend is surely only going to be for price increases. It's a finite resource so we best either kick the habit or hand over your shirt everytime you go to the garage.

 

Although, public transport is silly expensive in this country. I was over in the Netherlands a few weeks back. Albeit its a smaller country, but it cost me about 8 euro to get from Schipol to The Hague. About 10 euro return The Hague to Rotterdam, and about 10 euro from the Hague to Amsterdam Central.

 

When you factor in it is about 20 quid to go from Heathrow to Paddington, you see just what a shit deal we get here.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they're also trying to build demand for these 'green technologies' that Obama and Brown have been wanking over. Nissan are setting up a factory in the North East to build cars powered by horse shit or peanuts or something, no doubt people will be duly snapping them up when they come on the market. Watch the price of horseshit go through the roof then though, still, at least the new breed of Oligarchs and sheiks will be from Last of the Summer Wine country rather than the arsehole of planet earth.

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I wouldn't be surprised if they're also trying to build demand for these 'green technologies' that Obama and Brown have been wanking over. Nissan are setting up a factory in the North East to build cars powered by horse shit or peanuts or something, no doubt people will be duly snapping them up when they come on the market. Watch the price of horseshit go through the roof then though, still, at least the new breed of Oligarchs and sheiks will be from Last of the Summer Wine country rather than the arsehole of planet earth.

 

Haha, I don't know whether to stockpile shit or pistachio shells. The pistachio shells would smell less mind.

 

It won't matter the Chinese will have bought everything by then and the only time you'll see petrol is when you're working as a gardener and have to ask for a gallon for the lawnmower.

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When you factor in it is about 20 quid to go from Heathrow to Paddington, you see just what a shit deal we get here.

 

Not to be a pedant but that's by Heathrow Express, which isn't actually part of Network Rail. It's privately run by BAA. You can get from Heathrow to central London for £4.50 on the tube - it just takes 50 minutes instead of 15.

 

You're right though, what we pay for rail fares is extortionate. Even if you book well in advance and get one of the cheap deals, it can still be pretty expensive.

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Not to be a pedant but that's by Heathrow Express, which isn't actually part of Network Rail. It's privately run by BAA. You can get from Heathrow to central London for £4.50 on the tube - it just takes 50 minutes instead of 15.

 

You're right though, what we pay for rail fares is extortionate. Even if you book well in advance and get one of the cheap deals, it can still be pretty expensive.

 

I realise you can do it cheaper.

 

But after a 12 hour flight, who fancies lugging their suitcase on a tube?

 

If you want to compare that, 3 years ago i got a tube in Madrid from the new terminal to Sol, cost me 68 cents. It was 6,80 for ten journeys, can fault that*

 

 

*it has occurred to me that I may have unintentionally fare dodged

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I realise you can do it cheaper.

 

But after a 12 hour flight, who fancies lugging their suitcase on a tube?

 

Me :whistle: Getting from Tokyo Narita airport into Tokyo is even worse, even on the express train it takes an hour and a half. 2 and a half if you take the metro. And the express train was still cheaper than Heathrow Express too despite being over an hour longer.

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Me :whistle: Getting from Tokyo Narita airport into Tokyo is even worse, even on the express train it takes an hour and a half. 2 and a half if you take the metro. And the express train was still cheaper than Heathrow Express too despite being over an hour longer.

 

I was on that a couple of years ago, didn't remember it being that long, thought it was about 45 mins.

 

Anyway, if you want fucked up ticketing Japan is your destination. Buy a ticket, then buy another one for your express pass. That is a serious head fuck when your head is full of jetlag, you can't read any signs and every Japanese person is avoiding answering the 6ft 4 ill and rough looking white bloke.

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I was on that a couple of years ago, didn't remember it being that long, thought it was about 45 mins.

 

Anyway, if you want fucked up ticketing Japan is your destination. Buy a ticket, then but another one for your express pass. That is a serious head fuck when you head is full of jetlag, you can't read any signs and every Japanese person is avoiding answering the 6ft 4 ill and rough looking white bloke.

 

Haha, yea that's about right. Definitely worth the battle though, amazing place.

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Personally, I think whoever does the least amount of negativity I would vote for, between labour and Lib dem.

 

Election is pissing me off already, not heard any campaign pledges yet other than "the other side will do this"

 

What happened to you know, telling people what the fuck you would do in power instead of just telling everyone what the other side is going to do. negative fucking garbage and pointless. All politicians are shithawks anyway.

 

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Three Labour politicians mired in the parliamentary expenses scandal have been granted legal aid for their courtroom defence - paid for by the taxpayer.

David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine are all due to go on trial later this year accused of theft by false accounting.

Speaking on Sky News the Justice Secretary said that people were right to be "hopping mad" over the decision to give legal aid.

Jack Straw continued that the Government had changed the law to ensure legal aid would now be means tested and was in the process of being rolled out throughout the country.

He accused Tory leader David Cameron of seeking to oppose the law change.

Earlier David Cameron had reacted furiously to the decision to grant legal aid saying: "It is a complete outrage that people who wouldn't even stand in the dock and answer the charges now expect everyone to pay for their legal defence."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne also condemned the decision by the three former MPs to accept legal aid.

He said: "If these MPs had any shred of decency, they wouldn't have applied for legal aid in the first place."

The three are accused of stealing almost £60,000 in allowances through false mortgage applications, rent claims and invoices for services.

 

But the cost of preparing their defence and of paying their legal representatives is likely to run into six figures, depending on the length of the trial.

Yet, the cost could spiral far higher as the men threaten to take their battle to have the case against them thrown out to the Supreme Court.

The three ex-MPs have brought together some of the country's most eminent barristers, who can charge hundreds of pounds an hour, to fight their cases.

An HM Courts Service spokesman confirmed an application for legal aid for the three men was granted last Friday.

Scotland Yard said its inquiry into the expenses scandal has cost £508,500 so far, with the final bill likely to be considerably higher.

A spokesman for Edward Fitzgerald QC, who is due to represent at least two of the MPs at the crown court, said he was not aware of a legal aid decision.

Chaytor, the 60-year-old representative for Bury North, from Todmorden in Lancashire, is accused of falsely claiming rent on a London flat he owned, falsely filing invoices for IT work and renting a property from his mother, against regulations. He has no plans to stand again for this seat in the upcoming General Election.

Scunthorpe's ex-MP Morley, 57, of Winterton in North Lincolnshire, allegedly falsely claimed £30,428 in interest payments between 2004 and 2007 towards a mortgage on his home which he had already paid off. He will not stand for re-election.

Livingston's former MP Devine, 56, of Bathgate in West Lothian, is said to have wrongly submitted two invoices worth a total of £5,505 for services provided by Armstrong Printing Limited. He will not be standing again.

Devine also faces a second charge alleging that he dishonestly claimed cleaning and maintenance costs of £3,240 by submitting false invoices from Tom O'Donnell Hygiene and Cleaning Services.

The politicians could face up to seven years in jail if found guilty of stealing taxpayers' cash.

 

Smart move that by labour, really gone and fucked there election up there.

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Guest Pistonbroke

Living in Germany now so obviously i can't vote. If i was back in the UK then it would be Labour. Better the Devil you know.

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Guest Numero Veinticinco
Living in Germany now so obviously i can't vote. If i was back in the UK then it would be Labour. Better the Devil you know.

 

On the cover of Economist this month, there is a picture of Brown with 'the devil you know', Cameron with 'the devil you don't' and Clegg with 'who the devil'. I thought it was pretty funny.

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The Historian David Starkey was on This Week last night, and although quite clearly a lunatic, he often makes some very good points. He was asked if the British people were ready to be told the truth about spending cuts (he was comparing us to Canada, where they had to cut public spending by as much as 60% in some places, and the public sector workforce by a quarter) and he said "No, and I blame Labour". He said New Labour was, and always had been, not a machine for Government but a machine for winning elections, which had functioned by telling people they could have everything they wanted and never gave anyone the hard choice. It tried to be the party of the poor, and the party of the rich, the party of the state and the party of the private sector. I thought it was a pretty good point.

 

I've often thought there's been two Britains, the real Britain and the bullshit Britain. The real Britain is where you can't get a copper to come to your house when you've been robbed, the Bullshit Britian is where there are 'more police than ever before and crime is falling across the board'.

 

In its desperation to make it appear as though it's got a handle on absolutely everything - even though it physically can't - Labour has IMO tried to control and deceive people into thinking this is exactly what it's done.

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You don't see so many posters in people's windows these days.

 

In the 80's around election time every street had houses with Tory/Labour/Lib Dem (or whatever they were called then) posters in the window

 

Nah instead you get mailshots. I've had three off Labour this week. Two yesterday, including one asking me to register for a postal vote; and then another leaflet this morning.All this to add to pretty much an monthly update I get of them. they are certianly chucking the cash at this area.

 

Not a peep from either of the other major parties; or the Greens who must have this seat targeted as it must be in their top 10 (especially given the neighbouring seat is their no1).

 

My constituency is a bit strange though. Its spread out right down the coast, the Tories pick up thier votes to the east of Brighton, then Labour pick up theirs in East Brighton.

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It's like X Factor or Big Brother these days. Just spin and PR bollocks. And for people who aren't that interested or feel out of touch, if they happen to tune in all they can see is media savvy fakes dodging questions. The live debates will be a waste of time, just childish squabbling and no straight answers.

 

Next time around the leaders and deputies will probably be put in a Big Brother style house with the public voting on who wins.

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Guest Pistonbroke
On the cover of Economist this month, there is a picture of Brown with 'the devil you know', Cameron with 'the devil you don't' and Clegg with 'who the devil'. I thought it was pretty funny.

 

Both funny and probably true. Pretty shit when you think these people you vote in are in control. All as bad as each other and Politics World wide is just one big slagging match these days with each party trying to outdo the other with tell tale stories etc etc. No wonder the World is in such a shit state.

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Guest Numero Veinticinco
Both funny and probably true. Pretty shit when you think these people you vote in are in control. All as bad as each other and Politics World wide is just one big slagging match these days with each party trying to outdo the other with tell tale stories etc etc. No wonder the World is in such a shit state.

 

It might seem like that at times, but this mantra of 'the world is fucked' or 'the country is fucked' is a bit nonsensical. It's the places that don't have the systems that we have, no matter how flawed those systems might appear, that are the 'fucked' ones.

 

Sometimes we forget how privileged we are. Especially us. Me and you; sitting here on our computers, typing about highbrow subjects that we learned about during our 'free' education. We'll drive home to our 3 bedroom detached houses in our Audi (that we moan so much about because we couldn't afford the BMW M5 and had to settle for the Audi A4; life is so unfair) whilst stopping at Tesco to pick up our steak for dinner, although, we know we shouldn't because we're never going to fit into our Calvin Klien swimming trunks on our trip talk the Maldives next month.

 

The world is fucked, but not where we live. Not whilst we can focus our attentions on why Clegg is less known that David Cameron. Not whilst we are sat at home crunching popcorn in front of our 42" (I wanted the 50", boo-hoo) plasma with the worry of whether Liverpool will get 4th or not. Except from a few, even the poor are doing pretty well.

 

All this from a socialist, too. I hate the inequality, but we're not fucked and it isn't because political figures take pot shots at each other.

 

EDIT: I'm aware that I've gone over the top on your throw-away comment. It wasn't really aimed at you, so don't take offence!

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Bloody Labour in their manifesto claiming they will support pubs, yet they have done their best to destroy the industry over the last 13 years. What relly fucks me off is the poor political interviewing. When talking about sky high taxes, arsehols like Brown, Dahling go '....blah ......blah... NHS...blah schools...' No one every interrupts them and questions them about MP's expenses or the tremendous waste that goes on. And a final point; how can Mandelson be in a position of authority when he has had to resign TWICE in scandel?? And no interviewer ever asks him about it when he's on preaching to us. As Stu Monty said - people would vote for a goat if it had a red rosette on.

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Guest Pistonbroke
It might seem like that at times, but this mantra of 'the world is fucked' or 'the country is fucked' is a bit nonsensical. It's the places that don't have the systems that we have, no matter how flawed those systems might appear, that are the 'fucked' ones.

 

Sometimes we forget how privileged we are. Especially us. Me and you; sitting here on our computers, typing about highbrow subjects that we learned about during our 'free' education. We'll drive home to our 3 bedroom detached houses in our Audi (that we moan so much about because we couldn't afford the BMW M5 and had to settle for the Audi A4; life is so unfair) whilst stopping at Tesco to pick up our steak for dinner, although, we know we shouldn't because we're never going to fit into our Calvin Klien swimming trunks on our trip talk the Maldives next month.

 

The world is fucked, but not where we live. Not whilst we can focus our attentions on why Clegg is less known that David Cameron. Not whilst we are sat at home crunching popcorn in front of our 42" (I wanted the 50", boo-hoo) plasma with the worry of whether Liverpool will get 4th or not. Except from a few, even the poor are doing pretty well.

 

All this from a socialist, too. I hate the inequality, but we're not fucked and it isn't because political figures take pot shots at each other.

 

EDIT: I'm aware that I've gone over the top on your throw-away comment. It wasn't really aimed at you, so don't take offence!

 

I haven't mate. Plus i drive a Ford Mondeo estate, only got a 40" LCD TV and a rented 5 bedroom house.

 

I do get your point like. Still won't stop me believing most politicians are lying cunts who act like spoilt brats.

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Guest Numero Veinticinco
What relly fucks me off is the poor political interviewing.

 

Yeah, me too. It's a bigger game than just negligence, though.

 

As Stu Monty said - people would vote for a goat if it had a red rosette on.

 

I'd vote for a goat with a red rosette if the conditions were right; the other candidate was a goat with a blue rosette.

 

I haven't mate. Plus i drive a Ford Mondeo estate, only got a 40" LCD TV and a rented 5 bedroom house.

 

Aye, tough life isn't it?

 

I do get your point like. Still won't stop me believing most politicians are lying cunts who act like spoilt brats.

 

Many are, I don't disagree.

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You have to laugh at the Tory manifesto launch. There was a question about the economy asked to George Osborne AND HE DIDN'T KNOW!! He flipped through the booklet for a while and basically shat himself. Confident?!? And no reference anywhere to VAT or Income Tax.

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You have to laugh at the Tory manifesto launch. There was a question about the economy asked to George Osborne AND HE DIDN'T KNOW!! He flipped through the booklet for a while and basically shat himself. Confident?!? And no reference anywhere to VAT or Income Tax.

 

None of them are talking about VAT except to say that the other party will put it up. It's going up, we knew that when it went down last year.

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Maybe only extreme times breed exciting politics? Maybe politics is so bland because sociologically speaking, there's not much happening. I suppose the encroachment of the BNP into traditional Labour turf is the most fascinating thing happening at the moment, politically speaking.

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