Kingfisher

Whilst big corporations get away with avoiding billions in tax, benefit changes plunge millions of children into poverty.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-real-costoflivingcrisis-five-million-british-children-face-life-of-poverty-thanks-to-welfare-reforms-9442061.html

Maybe that's why my glass is half full...

I'm sure UKIP will make it all better though.

They will make it worse but Labour won't reverse what this coalition govt have done.

This is surely just the man we need to sort out the problem of tax avoidance...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/03/nigel-farage-uses-private-company-reduce-tax-bill-ukip

Green Party have had it in writing since 2010 their desire to stamp out tax avoidance. UKIP have no manifesto, but they do have a leader that likes to avoid tax.

I have just read the Green Party line from this, by Caroline Lucas. She says £16bn could be lost.

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/17-03-2011-tax-evasion-bill-parliament.html

Well doesn't that guardian report state that £8bn has been clawed back?

If that's the case haven't they reduced the problem by 50% in 2 years

As Blandy put it, negotiations with our European partners would be the way forward. Otherwise the wealth we all work hard to create will continue to go into the pockets of the few instead of on schools and Hospitals etc.

Farage avoids tax and wants us out of Europe, so he ain't the answer. The current government have to go because half of them want a further deregulated free market European trading block, rather than a federal Europe.

Whilst big corporations get away with avoiding billions in tax, benefit changes plunge millions of children into poverty.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-real-costoflivingcrisis-five-million-british-children-face-life-of-poverty-thanks-to-welfare-reforms-9442061.html

Maybe that's why my glass is half full...

I'm sure UKIP will make it all better though.

They will make it worse but Labour won't reverse what this coalition govt have done.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/03/nigel-farage-uses-private-company-reduce-tax-bill-ukip

Green Party have had it in writing since 2010 their desire to stamp out tax avoidance. UKIP have no manifesto, but they do have a leader that likes to avoid tax.

Whilst big corporations get away with avoiding billions in tax, benefit changes plunge millions of children into poverty.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-real-costoflivingcrisis-five-million-british-children-face-life-of-poverty-thanks-to-welfare-reforms-9442061.html

Maybe that's why my glass is half full...

I'm sure UKIP will make it all better though.

The government recouping a fraction of the tax revenue they've lost us is hardly champagne celebration stuff.

You're a real 'glass half empty' kind of guy!

Awww listen to me moaning, I should leave poor wittle Amazon, Google et all alone with their billions. I'm sure the government are doing their very very best, I'm nothing but a meany pants bully.

You're not going to like this, but the rules of the EU allow Google, Starbucks et al to pay their taxes in whichever jurisdiction within the union that they choose to. Our government is powerless to do anything about that, but you can vote UKIP and be the change you want to see.

The government recouping a fraction of the tax revenue they've lost us is hardly champagne celebration stuff.

You're a real 'glass half empty' kind of guy!

The government recouping a fraction of the tax revenue they've lost us is hardly champagne celebration stuff.

That's because it is pretty much spot on.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_local_elections,_2014

If there is a problem with immigration nobody has convinced me. I'm completely turned off by the debate. It's a debate the right are having between themselves, and if it grew up and stated its case better I might get interested.

Otherwise to me it just stinks of right wing politicians playing politics, and it's disgusting the way this 'problem' has been manufactured for political reasons. It's politicians tapping into people's irrational fears. It's horrible and completely irresponsible.

So no, I don't see immigration as a problem. It's the government I want to kick out, not the immigrants.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/reality-check/2014/mar/05/immigration-migration-british-jobs-economy-newsnight-

Well UKIP are a bunch of xenophobic idiots, and the party has no policies outside of immigration. They've used fear and prejudice as a political tool. That is a fair and accurate summation of that party based on evidence.

What we know of their political leanings is that their policies on the economy and taxation will be very much the same old shit that we're getting now. Tax breaks for the rich, paid for by more cuts to public services. I don't see how that can be attractive to 'a working class lad' like Donnie?

As for Milliband, Labour should be hammering the government with their atrocious record at this point. He's no conviction or bravery. He's trying to not upset anybody, big business, the Rothemere press, the Murdoch press, the middle classes.

There is no policy to read up on though. Farage basically said their most recent manifesto doesn't reflect their party, and they haven't announced policies to replace it.

I am not sure that any party has a policy for the next General Election yet. That is why I am happy to wait.

Greens certainly have

The Greens' manifesto on their site is dated 2010.

The question is whether manifestos should be updated to account for changing priorities and to reflect the shift in voters' perceptions/demands.

The most crippling costs the NHS face are the PFI contracts. That's new labour and the conservatives putting our money into the pockets of profiteers. That needs to stop, I'd rather extra money went into the pockets of the cleaners and nurses. Big corporations will need to start paying tax.

It certainly represents a substantial pay rise for the lower-paid.

A classroom assistant gets around £12k a year so paying them £15k amounts to a 25% rise.

Obviously, teachers would have to co-operate and not complain about the erosion of differential, which seems unlikely.

A new teacher gets £21k outside London - would they be happy?

The most crippling costs the NHS face are the PFI contracts. That's new labour and the conservatives putting our money into the pockets of profiteers. That needs to stop, I'd rather extra money went into the pockets of the cleaners and nurses. Big corporations will need to start paying tax.

They've put figures on it. They sound more decisive, like it's a policy they really believe in, rather than it being a jam tomorrow give us your vote.

Ah, the living wage. Labour will be offering that too.

The implementation of a minimum wage that's a living wage. They estimate it at £8.10 I think. That would effectively be a pay rise for a hell of a lot of people.

Beyond 'get out of Europe', beyond 'immigration control', what are UKIP's policies? On available evidence, more of the same. It's basically the euro sceptic wing of the Tory party.

Different shyster, same old shit with a more noticeable undercurrent of racism and a bit more homophobia thrown in (that's where the far right parallels are drawn).

Will UKIP offer a living wage? No. So whilst they're twitting about, arguing about some or other shit, the only party offering me a pay rise that I deserve are the Green Party - now I'll vote for that.

I honestly believe that self-interest is the only legitimate reason to vote for any party.

...the only party offering me a pay rise that I deserve are the Green Party - now I'll vote for that.

the greens are the only ones who haven't realised you spend all day posting in here That's what they're called the greens

Beyond 'get out of Europe', beyond 'immigration control', what are UKIP's policies? On available evidence, more of the same. It's basically the euro sceptic wing of the Tory party.

Different shyster, same old shit with a more noticeable undercurrent of racism and a bit more homophobia thrown in (that's where the far right parallels are drawn).

Will UKIP offer a living wage? No. So whilst they're twitting about, arguing about some or other shit, the only party offering me a pay rise that I deserve are the Green Party - now I'll vote for that.

Playing the man not the ball? I wasn't making fun of you, I hadn't read your post only the one I replied to. Apologies if it looked like I was having a pop.

The Hyperspace sequence looks great.

http://youtu.be/FIPVegyKksI

I worked for 3 years in Malta doing a job a Maltese person could have learnt in a couple of months.

Whilst I was there I hogged a 3 bedroom beach front apartment all to myself because the company could afford it.

On HIGNFY they made the correlation between UKIP being called racist and their poll rating. Not sure if they were joking as there seems to be something to that...

Its the politics of fear, it always works. Tap into people's inbuilt fears. It's easier to do that than try to explain complex issues and humane policies. 'You know who's to blame? It's them lot. Them poor people, comin' over 'ere, taking your jobs. It's them people with even less than you, trying to take what little you've got'.

It's a brilliant slight of hand magicians trick, because it takes the heat of the real people who are to blame for the problems we have. The BBC have pushed and pushed and pushed that agenda for years through their news and political output.

But if that was the case then you would have to dismiss Marx's concept of a 'reserve army of labour' and his explanation as to how it is an essential part of the function capitalism.

You have to somehow explain why the law of supply and demand does not apply to the commodity of Labour, and explain why an oversupply of Labour has not contributed to falling wages, growing inequality and the necessity of the minimum wage.

Surely the very existence of the minimum wage is an indication that the Labour market has been rigged against low-skilled workers, by ensuring an oversupply, and the minimum wage is there to mitigate the market's negative effect?

Politics can't be made inaccessible to the average person to engage with, policies and viewpoints have to be 'sold'. But it surely has to be done without constantly laying blame at the doorstep of people with no presence or voice in the media to defend themselves.

He's better than Clark. Bakers weakness is his inconsistency and his lack of ability to pass but I see potential to improve that I don't see in Clark. I think we should sell Clark. He can't pass, can't tackle, is slow and has poor awareness.

This is Question Time that has a UKIP member on virtually every week. The programme Farage has appeared on more times than anybody else. No agenda?

The QT questions are asked by the audience.