Bolitics The New Condem Government

[MakemineVanilla]

 

 

 

Greens on course to getting 10% of the vote, apparently.

 

Not bad.

 

If they'd been given the same TV opportunities as UKIP, it might have been better still.

 

 

I am not sure about that.

 

If the Greens had been subjected to as much scrutiny as UKIP, people might have got round to actually reading their manifesto and might have concluded that behind the benign Lucas smile is the sort of left-wing statist agenda which promises to bring about an environmentally sound version of East Germany.

 

Euphemisms like, "quieter, cleaner, safer streets" can only mean fewer and slower cars, and "move away from an obsession with growth" means shrinking the economy.

 

Raising the tax-burden from 36% to 40% of gdp is probably not what the 'squeezed middle' would want to inflict upon themselves, especially if that gdp is shrinking.

 

Re-introducing the fuel-tax escalator, increasing tax on alcohol by 50%, and adding VAT to the price of a new house, are not the sort of things the vast majority of people want and would probably consider extreme.

 

If members of the Green Party were subjected to the same amount of scrutiny as UKIP, there is little doubt that we would find all sorts of eco-idealists who would want long-haul flights banned, strict limits to be placed on the import of food, and a ban on the slaughter of farm animals etc.

 

It is the Green Party's aim to base the UK economy on manufacturing and agriculture, which would take the country backwards. 

 

They would assume a lot more power to the state, control the economy centrally, and ensure capital flight would impoverish the country.

 

This is far more extreme than UKIP's promise to control immigration and cut a few taxes.

 

 

So you genuinely wouldn't want to live in a quieter, cleaner, safer street? 

 

That list has actually got me interested......

 

 

I made no reference to what I would prefer, I only mentioned, what I thought most of the people I know, would dislike because they are obsessed with getting more stuff and enjoying more services.

 

The Green Party's vision may be laudable but it would be dissimulation to pretend that what they want to do, is entirely moderate or benign.

[Davkaus]

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

 

What is it, to build a big fence and blow up the channel tunnel?

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

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.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Interestingly a UKIP candidate just topped a poll here.

[villaajax]

 

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.

 

 

Bicycles are for children.

[Kingfisher]

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!

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Also interesting, to me at least, is a win for the 'People Before Profit Alliance'. Real lefty party. I think they've a few council seats in the Republic too.

[Mantis]

Always be wary of parties that have "people" in their name.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Mantis

[chrisp65]

I strongly believe there should be regular re testing of all drivers, say, every 5 or 10 years.

 

As a minimum it would create self funding employment and get people to refresh their knowledge of the highway code. Potentially it would reduce the number of accidents and save lives.

[villaajax]

Better get BMW drivers off the road for a start.

[drat01]

Interestingly a UKIP candidate just topped a poll here.

He killed an immigrant?

[TrentVilla]

Interestingly a UKIP candidate just topped a poll here.

 

Murderer!!!

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

 

Murderer!!!

 

 

Well in that case he's in good company.

[darrenm]

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 fantastic

[bickster]

lowering speed limits isn't very green, to be green the speed limit should be 57 on all roads

[drat01]

It's interesting how the media re reporting all of this and the spin they put on it. If you were to believe a lot of the right wing media for example you would think that Labour did disastrously, the Lib dems have been killed off, UKIP have won everything and the Tory party had a letter from their mom so their results can be ignored.

 

When you start looking at the results though a different picture is painted

 

Vote 2014 England Party Councils Seats Party Total Change +/- Total Change +/- lab 81 +6 1891 +292 con 41 -11 1259 -201 ld 6 -2 404 -284 ukip 0 0 157 +155 grn 0 0 35 +17 oth 0 0 111 +21 noc 31 +7 N/A N/A

 

So in reality the only losers as such are the Lib Dems - who lets be honest are totally screwed now as any sort of political force following cuckold Clegg's alliance with his Tory chums and Cameron and the conservative party - yet another election fail. How that then fits in with the media take on it certainly leaves a lot of head scratching.

 

Re UKIP they still have no MP's, no Councils and really through ignorance and deceit (e.g. lack of published policies, lies about immigration, pandering to borderline racist xenophobic views) and are a protest party. The core followers are littered with extreme views and for once I agree with Cameron re the comment about them being ""fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly".  Yes at the moment they are grabbing headlines but closer scrutiny of what they actually stand for and what they align to will bring a lot of removal of this support IMO come general election time.

 

Milliband and Cameron have a lot of work to do re their own parties certainly, Clegg might as well start thinking about his next career and Farrage should start to be slightly concerned about how closer scrutiny of his party will map out

[Awol]

So if UKIP win the popular vote in the euro election results tomorrow does that mean those who voted for them are mostly extremists, or might they be expressing a legitimate objection to the EU and uncontrolled immigration from its member countries?

[bickster]

So if UKIP win the popular vote in the euro election results tomorrow does that mean those who voted for them are mostly extremists, or might they be expressing a legitimate objection to the EU and uncontrolled immigration from its member countries?

Here's a prediction, no one party will "win" the popular vote, which I'd define as achieving over 50% of the votes cast. Its very close between Labour and UKIP for who will win the most seats, I suspect it'll still be Labour because it has a much better geographical spread of votes i.e. the Welsh, Scottish and London constituencies. I also think the Greens may take a bigger percentage of the vote than people suspect.

Also if UKIP do get the most seats does that mean a large proportion of the country want a dismantled and privatised NHS too? It was in their last manifesto (the last one published) so we can only assume it's still their stance. I think only a fool would argue that huge chunks of the country want that but in all likelihood lots of people have just voted for a party that wants just that. given a straight choice between in the EU with an NHS or out of the EU and no NHS, I also suspect the NHS would win. UKIP, no matter what the beer drinking buffoon whose party admits it can't attract the votes of educated people,says might just fall by the wayside when all domestic policies are weighed up in a general election. They are still a protest vote, but right now, its a very big protest.

[villaajax]

I'd like to add that there are still a couple more results to go and Labour have made more gains since Drat's post. At +338 councillors now.

[blandy]

Who knows AWOL. I'd guess there's a strong element of anti EU, a stronger element of anti immigration, a good deal of protest against, just everything.

 

On the local elections, their share of the vote dropped a chunk since the last ones 12 months ago, they did badly in that there fancy London, where their own candidate said London voters are younger and better educated and that's why they don't vote ukips.

 

ukips are predominantly older, white, conservatiive and fearful.

They did well in Eastern places where there's a lot of migrant seasonal farm workers, so I'm guessing people there are disturbed at their smaller towns and villages being "inundated" with outsiders which puts a strain on all kinds of services and a kind of familiarity and to an extent insularity.