Bollitics: VT General Election Poll #5 - Leaders Debate Two

[chrisp65]

you have to agree the poll tax was utterly fair and equal to all, it's simply undeniable

in simple terms, any tax that takes 0.01% off the super rich and 10% off the poorest, well, what's unfair about that? Some people just can't see the wood for the trees.

You just presume some things are common sense and general knowledge.

[PauloBarnesi]

Mandy bitter at BBC in his opinion over Peppa Pig

[PauloBarnesi]

Be interesting to see who the Economist back at the end of the week.

[Demitri_C]

but under labour everyones poor! the amount of tax we all have to pay nowdays if its down to petrol going though the roof, or council tax etc so under labour we pay more tax under a new name anyway.

minimum wage was probably the one of the few things labour have got right

Conservative plans would "imply cuts to spending on public services that have not been delivered over any five-year period since the Second World War".

if that happens isnt tht because labour put us in this postion in the first place?!!

[Gringo]

back onto PR. The last time a single party actually won the election, ie had more people vote for them than against them was 1922. On average 57% of the electorate opposed maggie, the same amount opposed bliar at his peak.

[drat01]

Would more people vote if they knew that their vote actually meant something? Also my old pet hate about foreign voters would have less of an impact

Why would a Tory voter in for example Bolsover currently bother? or a Labour voter in Solihull? - under PR they would have more of an incentive?

[Richard]

but under labour everyones poor! the amount of tax we all have to pay nowdays if its down to petrol going though the roof, or council tax etc so under labour we pay more tax under a new name anyway.

minimum wage was probably the one of the few things labour have got right

Conservative plans would "imply cuts to spending on public services that have not been delivered over any five-year period since the Second World War".

if that happens isnt tht because labour put us in this postion in the first place?!!

Dem when will you learn to stop letting facts get in the way!

[Demitri_C]

Also my old pet hate about foreign voters would have less of an impact

this i agree with i think if you cant speak the language you shouldnt have the opportunbity to vote

Dem when will you learn to stop letting facts get in the way!

what can i do!

[drat01]

if that happens isnt tht because labour put us in this postion in the first place?!!

Nope - being of Greek family I would have thought that you may have noticed that this is a world issue and a lot of countries are experiencing the same issues and are addressing them in similar ways. The Tory party would have you believe a lot of things including that they had the answers to the economic problems, shame how Ken Clarke admitted today that Osborne got things like Northern Rock completely wrong. But their agenda is simple to gain power with whatever tactic they can - after all they do have a few people to pay back

[Guest Ricardomeister]

Policy, policy, policy.

far enough it was just the people behind the poll tax riots were a national body of unions set up by Militant Tendency, forerunners of today's Socialist Party ...

although I know plenty of "normal" people in "normal" jobs with no political affiliations who went to demonstrate against the inequitable poll tax so to suggest that it was the doing of some militant organisation is quite patently ridiculous.

The main instigator of the riots that followed was Fuhrer Thatchler!

Interesting as I thought it was policy not the person?

Urm no, it is quite obviously both as a policy doesn't just appear out of thin air.

[Jez]

Whats about Labour and the illegal war Ian, were they right about that?

[Guest Ricardomeister]

Also my old pet hate about foreign voters would have less of an impact

this i agree with i think if you cant speak the language you shouldnt have the opportunbity to vote

Dem when will you learn to stop letting facts get in the way!

what can i do!

That is the sort of racist attitude that should belong to the distant past. Of course people should be encouraged to speak English but to deny them the opportunity to vote if they cannot speak English is quite frankly ludicrous. There are such things as translators!

[drat01]

Whats about Labour and the illegal war Ian, were they right about that?

Illegal war? Sorry you have lost me Jez - not sure where that fits into global economics or PR?

I am assuming you mean the Iraq war? That's the war that Cameron actually complained we did not do enough about at the time - remember the Tory party were complaining that we should have been stronger and quicker? - I think out of the three major parties only the Libs said they were against it, if that is your only stance for voting? Also in pedant mode if it is illegal why have there been no trials?

If you are to condemn Lab for Iraq then the same has to be applied to the Tory party

It's funny how little Iraq has been mentioned as part of what is quite a dirty and scrubber campaign to date

[tonyh29]

shame how Ken Clarke admitted today that Osborne got things like Northern Rock completely wrong

What he did say was he backed Labour's decision to nationalise Northern Rock but there were weeks of delay in recapitalising the banks because of Brown's indecision

What he did not say was Osborne got things completely wrong

[markavfc40]

What he did not say was Osborne got things completely wrong

In all fairness as most people have worked that out for themselves he didn't need to reiterate it.

[blandy]

shame how Ken Clarke admitted today that Osborne got things like Northern Rock completely wrong

What he did say was he backed Labour's decision to nationalise Northern Rock ...What he did not say was Osborne got things completely wrong

Osborne opposed it, saying ""This is the day when Labour's reputation for economic competence died...We will not back nationalisation....it is a catastrophic decision"

Clarke supported the deecision of Labour, from the Tory back benches.

Throughout the whole financial mess, Osborne in particular has been out of his depth, and consistently wrong.

[drat01]

That may be your interpretation of it Tony but others are all saying that he showed Osborne to have got it wrong.

Me thinks that Old Ken is making a play for the Chancellors job if the Tory party form the next gvmt. would Dave ditch his oik mate?

[Richard]

OIK = Oaf or Lout acording to one dictionary definition.

ANd some people talk about a dirty and scubber campaign.

[PauloBarnesi]

Spending cuts will be the deepest

Spending cuts to be deepest since 1970s, IFS says

The next government will face tough budget decisions, the IFS warns

The UK faces the deepest spending cuts since the late 1970s if the three main parties are to meet their budget commitments, new analysis suggests.

The years between 2011 and 2015 must see the largest cuts since 1976-80, according to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Its estimates suggest the Conservatives would need to make the biggest cuts.

Meanwhile a Labour government would see the biggest tax rises, the think tank predicts.

Based on commitments made so far, the Liberal Democrats would need to cut an accumulated £51bn from spending on public services by 2017.

Labour's plans would require a slightly smaller cut during that time of £47bn, the IFS said, while the Conservatives would cut by the largest amount - £57bn.

Tax rises expected

Conservative plans would "imply cuts to spending on public services that have not been delivered over any five-year period since the Second World War".

Tax increases would be highest under Labour, the analysis suggests, totalling £24bn over the course of the next parliament.

More than halfway through this election campaign, the three largest parties have still given us only a small hint of what they would do

Stephanie Flanders

BBC economics editor

Read Stephanie's thoughts in full

£17bn of these have already been announced, leaving £7bn unaccounted for.

But the IFS said Conservative plans to raise taxes by £14bn looked optimistic, given the party's commitment to scrap a rise in national insurance, and added that a further rise of £3.5bn would be necessary.

The Liberal Democrats' plans to raise taxes by £20bn matched the party's current budget plans, the IFS said, but it meant they would have to make the harshest cuts later on in the parliament.

In presenting the report, the IFS director, Robert Chote, criticised all three parties for failing to spell out their budget plans more clearly to voters.

"Given that this fiscal repair job is likely to be the major domestic policy challenge for the next government, it is striking how reticent all three main UK parties have been in explaining how they would confront the task," he said.

The IFS also said government borrowing over the next few years would be broadly similar for the three major parties.

[tonyh29]

Me thinks that Old Ken is making a play for the Chancellors job if the Tory party form the next gvmt. would Dave ditch his oik mate?

Clarke is Pro Euro though isn't he ?

Saw one newspaper that suggested if it becomes a hung parliament Cameron may be moved up to the Lords in 6 months or so .. then maybe Hague will go for leader and promote Clarke back to Chancellor ?