Kingfisher

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.

The Greens would put up fuel duty, road tax, lower speed limits, 'pedestrianisation', car purchase tax, off street parking levies, forced retaking of your driving test every 5 years, "impose safety and pollution standards on historic cars".

No thank you.

Sounds alright to me

Get a bicycle.

Bloody extremists!

Apart from the 'reducing length of journeys' guff (sounds fine, but is unrealistic), their transport policy is OK.

Polluters pay? Encouraging public transport and cleaner technologies? I'm fine with that.

Re-nationalise the railways. Scrap HS2. Both very good ideas IMO.

Out of the Lib Dems, Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP. I probably prefer UKIP's transport policy.

A mess indeed. The local elections were meant to be about parks and potholes not Europe. The media have a lot to answer for, they've pushed and pushed this UKIP rising narrative for weeks.

Do you mind our Royal Mail being sold on the cheap to a 'select few' who made a huge profit at our expense? Does that bother you? No? Don't vote Green then. It does bother me, because I'd like any wealth we work hard to create coming back to us, our schools and hospitals not going into the pockets of the 'select few'. But that's just me, I'm an extremist - I vote Green. I couldn't give a **** about the Romanians - I'm crazy.

BMC merged with British Leyland and was closed down in 1986... 4 years before she was out of office.

Unfortunately the point was concerning BMW, who bought the BAe BMW shares in 94.

Oh oh oh! Whose the biggest word removed, Thatcher or Major? Can I say both! Pleasssseee?

Do you value the NHS? Do you mind it being sold off in sweetheart deals for ruthless profiteers? No? Don't vote Green then. I want the NHS run by people who value it and want it to work for my benefit. That's the kind of extremist politics I like!

Do you earn less than £8.10 an hour, fancy a pay rise? No? Don't vote Green then. I do, it's the kind of 'extremism' I like! I couldn't give a hoot about the Romanians.

Just voted. It's a great feeling to know I've not just completely wasted my time pissing in the wind. Every vote gets counted under PR for the euro election. The system most of our politicians kicked into the long grass after a successful ****, fudge and lie campaign. They only want to count your vote if it suits them.

Unfortunately, UKIP are a single issue party and this is their issue. They'll get a lot of euro sceptic Tory voters and they've had a massive amount of airtime.

Priti Patel has to be one of the thickest MP's ever. Remember her on question time arguing for the reintroduction of the death penalty? Look it up. This woman isn't just backward, she's dangerous with views like that.

But now, she's gone one step further. It seems she accepts bribes from the tobacco industry too.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tory-mp-who-led-plain-3578709

Signing him and giving him the number 9 shirt obviously signalled our intention to use him in the squad this year, obviously something has gone on for him never to even be given a chance.

You can only assume something must have gone on. I've given up trying to second guess football. It seems really bizarre from the outside.

It's pretty shocking news, no doubt about it. I can't believe he's been released.

The problem with people like Russell Brand saying don't vote is that it's only going to appeal mainly to the already current abstainers and a few disillusioned voters on the left who want radical change. The right wing hegemony will love that.

So if you want a shift away from the extreme right wing politics of this country, where greed and capitalism for the rich is god, get out and vote. The EU vote is proportional, your vote will be counted.

Remember, it isn't hard to vote and you can bet a lot of people who are MASSIVE ****** definitely will, so every normo who shows up is a bonus.

If the demographics that tend not to vote did vote, we could instil radical change in our politics through a shift to the left. Make change happen.

In that case then, the only option for those on the left is surely Green? I will be using my vote, and I will be going green in 2 days. I've gone green before, and it felt good. I went Lie-beral Democrat at the last GE, and haven't stop showering to get rid of the dirty, unclean feeling since.

The EU is a bit more complicated. Labour are part of a socialist party in Europe, the second biggest party. The Greens are part of another (I think more radical left) socialist party, the third biggest party. The conservatives used to be aligned with the biggest party, who were centre right - Cameron left them and moved to a party on the right of politics, the fourth biggest party and subsequently lost a lot of influence in Europe. UKIP have taken a typically though not exclusively far right stance by not aligning themselves to any party (non-inscrits), don't vote, don't do anything - except pick up their salary.

The socialists that labour and the greens are aligned to want to reform Europe, as you'd expect to become a more egalitarian and democratic model.

The centre right, which Merkel and the other big players occupy seem to be moving further to the right, with some alarming policies such as the transatlantic trade agreement. The Conservatives jumped ship because they want root and branch change to the way the EU operates, along with less restrictions on trade.

I decided it's time I learnt about the EU myself, I'm learning as I go along. I might be wrong on some of those points. But that seems to be the gist of it.

I'll be voting Green, because I'd like to see a radical shift to a more egalitarian socialist Europe. I'd also like to see the system operate more democratically. So fundamental changes to the way it's run.

The problem with people like Russell Brand saying don't vote is that it's only going to appeal mainly to the already current abstainers and a few disillusioned voters on the left who want radical change. The right wing hegemony will love that.

So if you want a shift away from the extreme right wing politics of this country, where greed and capitalism for the rich is god, get out and vote. The EU vote is proportional, your vote will be counted.

Remember, it isn't hard to vote and you can bet a lot of people who are MASSIVE ****** definitely will, so every normo who shows up is a bonus.

If the demographics that tend not to vote did vote, we could instil radical change in our politics through a shift to the left. Make change happen.

Oh dear. Isn't it about time Michael Gove was sacked. Teachers have zero confidence in him, with good reason it seems.

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/first-academy-chain-closes-leaving-the-fates-of-six-schools-in-the-balance-9398957.html

His policies are failing. His disrespectful comments to teachers and the teaching profession. His disrespectful comments regarding WW1. The guy is clearly in over his head.

In primary school there would always be one kid not trusted with the scissors. Usually for good reason. Someone please for the love of god take the scissors off Michael before he does any more damage.

Anybody intending to vote on Thursday, get a good nights sleep. Otherwise you may inadvertently put and X in the UKIP box.

Remember. Tiredness makes you racist.

I will definitely put an x in the UKIP box.

Aww bless. Go to bed.

Anybody intending to vote on Thursday, get a good nights sleep. Otherwise you may inadvertently put and X in the UKIP box.

Remember. Tiredness makes you racist.

Didn't the Tories promise an end to corruption, and the greenest government ever?

I must have imagined it because they appear to have managed to kill two birds with one stone here (pun intended).

http://tompride.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/heres-the-real-reason-the-tories-are-allowing-the-destruction-of-robin-eggs-and-nests/

At one end of the scale people cannot afford to feed themselves, are resorted to using food banks and having their much needed benefits taken away at every opportunity.

At the other end of the scale the rich are getting richer, getting tax breaks or avoiding tax altogether.

This has been the trend all under the watch of conservative, labour & the liberal democrat governance. UKIP blame the Romanians.

All as bad as each other.

http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/5346048?1400399463

That's great logic by the Greens!

Two people in the economy, one earning £50, the other earning £10. The mean salary is £30, so the second person gets a pay rise up to £18. The average salary is now £34, so they should now get a payrise up to £20.40! Except that's now raised the average salary as well, so they need another pay rise....... It's almost Osborne-esque in its stupidity.

What the Green Party idea would currently mean:-

Mean weekly income in UK is around £500 a week therefore £300 a week for 60%

£300 divided by 37.5 (hours worked in a week) = £8 an hour

minimum wage is currently already £6.31

The living wage foundation says it should be £8-80 in London and £7-65 outside

Somethings wrong in this country, somethings broken if the min wage is that far off what it costs to live a decent existence

Now my maths is absolutely abysmal. But when we talk about UK average wage, what is meant is the most often occurring wage or modal value (I think, straining to remember GCSE maths). Average wage is not the highest plus the lowest divided by the population.

Yes there is something very wrong if people are on a wage so much lower than it should be possible to exist on. It's even more obscene if say ASDA or Tesco are paying it whilst profiting to the tune of billions of pounds a year.

It's not your maths, but the average is the sum total of all the wages earnt, divided by the number of people earning. That's different to the most often occurring wage.

The average is skewed upwards by a few (relatively) people earning a ton of money. Like the average wage at a football club will be high, because the players earn gaziliions more than the cleaners. The 50 million quid total wage bill at Villa this season, divided by 500 employees equates to an average wage of 100K. In reality it's 40 players and staff earning 45 million, and the other 60 people earning 5 million. That's the problem with the thing, when you do the same exercise for a country.

I'm far more in favour of something which says the top earners in a co. can only earn a set multiple maximum of the lowest paid. Directors getting 5 million, or 8 million a year, as happens, and then staff earning the minimum wage is ridiculous.

I'd like to see a minimum wage based on the living wage calculation.

I loath to post anything about UKIP, they get enough publicity. However this is worth a watch as Farage gets a bit of a grilling.

http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/5336322?&ir=UK

What would you do, scrap it?

I like linking it to an independently calculated living wage. Or just do what the Green Party propose and make the lowest wage 60% of the average net income. A minimum wage of around £7.80 would raise a huge number of people out of in work poverty and save the government a huge amount on in work benefits.

There's a lot I like about the Greens, but that idea is bonkers. Small local shops and businesses would be goosed and have to lay people off. The papershops, tyre fitters, coffee shops and florists and greengrocers and bookshops and fishmongers and so on. There would have to be simultaneous massive other changes to render it not totally counter-productive.

Indeed. A more just taxation system so that Starbucks pay up and John the butcher pays less rates on his business.

That's great logic by the Greens!

Two people in the economy, one earning £50, the other earning £10. The mean salary is £30, so the second person gets a pay rise up to £18. The average salary is now £34, so they should now get a payrise up to £20.40! Except that's now raised the average salary as well, so they need another pay rise....... It's almost Osborne-esque in its stupidity.

What the Green Party idea would currently mean:-

Mean weekly income in UK is around £500 a week therefore £300 a week for 60%

£300 divided by 37.5 (hours worked in a week) = £8 an hour

minimum wage is currently already £6.31

The living wage foundation says it should be £8-80 in London and £7-65 outside

Somethings wrong in this country, somethings broken if the min wage is that far off what it costs to live a decent existence

Now my maths is absolutely abysmal. But when we talk about UK average wage, what is meant is the most often occurring wage or modal value (I think, straining to remember GCSE maths). Average wage is not the highest plus the lowest divided by the population.

Yes there is something very wrong if people are on a wage so much lower than it should be possible to exist on. It's even more obscene if say ASDA or Tesco are paying it whilst profiting to the tune of billions of pounds a year.

If incomes were not so low for so many people, taxes would not be an issue. Low pay is the problem.

Wasn't the minimum wage introduced to eradicate low pay?

no it was there to ensure there was a degree of fairness. Dont forget the tory party did not want it and predicted wrongly that many businesses would go bust because of it.

The issue now is that many companies use it as the norm rather than what it should have been, ie a minimum. Ironically i read a report last couple of days about the many many company directors who are non doms to avoid taxes here in the uk. I suppose minimum wage or even god forbid a living wage would concern them

Ah ha.

There's me, fingered as a Tory on here, and probably a baby eating one at that, and that was my observation then and has been consistent ever since.

Minimum wage - great idea, introduced with the best intentions, but it is now the wage, which is perhaps not so good.

What would you do, scrap it?

I like linking it to an independently calculated living wage. Or just do what the Green Party propose and make the lowest wage 60% of the average net income. A minimum wage of around £7.80 would raise a huge number of people out of in work poverty and save the government a huge amount on in work benefits.

Whatever happens we need this sorting ASAP. We have to spend money this summer.