General Election 2010 Thread

[natweststaffmember]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

That was what I was thinking. It's good that they are encouraging people to vote but realistically they do stand very little chance of winning the election.

[Sapphire]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

I agree, but then again there's a lot to be said for the power of Facebook and similar sites. This afternoon I was listening to a programme on LBC with Ken Livingstone and a couple of others today and they were talking about how Obama 'twittered' profusely throughout his campaign, apparently he had over 100 people running his online campaign. Similarly the parties over here are doing the same approach although on not such a grand scale:

Labour - 6 people
Tory - 3 people
Lib Dems - not disclosed but admit its far more than the others combined

[Amy]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Labour 6, my arse.

[Sapphire]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Yep 6 amazing eh !

Loving this, think I'm going to drive you all mad now and keep updating this thread.

[Amy]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

It's not amazing, it's a lie.

[Niklowe]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

I'm a member of the Libertarian party. This is a new small party that believes in as little state interference as possible in our daily lives.

I have always voted conservative in the past, but now believe that a vote for conservatives under "call me Dave" is voting for Blue labour.

After all the expenses scandals, I would suggest, that you vote for the local candidate who you most trust, regardless of party. Let us return to an age of honest politics where a candidate doesn't slavishly follow the party whip, but has our interests at heart.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
two trains of thought on a hung parliament.

1. If labour form a new Government, they will have to sort out the mess that they have created. This, they will be incapable of doing and could result in them being destroyed for ever.

2. If the Conservatives are in with a hung parliament then, eggs are eggs, there will be a leadership contest to oust "call me dave" within 6 months. We then, maybe get a strong leader that the country deserves. The days of soundbite politics need to be gone forever

[charitynjw]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Royal proclamation ends the 'rotten parliament'

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/11/20100411...p-0a1c1a1.html

The most discredited parliament of modern times will finally end today with dissolution.

The Queen will issue a Royal proclamation, a formal announcement made under the Great Seal of the Realm, which dissolves parliament and also sets the date the new parliament will meet after the election.
New MPs will begin taking the oath on May 18, nearly two weeks after polling day.
A Downing Street spokesman explained that the later than usual date of parliament's return "reflects the wishes of the Speaker and the new arrangements proposed by the cross-party House of Commons modernisation committee in the June 2007 report 'Revitalising the Chamber.'"
Parliament was prorogued by way of a Royal commission on Thursday, in a ceremony in the House of Lords, with MPs present at the bar of the House.
Today's Royal proclamation dissolves this parliament and summons a new one.
It requires the despatch of writs of election in all 650 constituencies.
The 707 members of the House of Lords are issued new writs of summons during dissolution.
By law a general election must be held 17 days after the proclamation summoning parliament issues, excluding weekends and bank holidays.
While the law requires a general election every five years, the prime minister can ask the Queen to call one at any stage within a parliament's lifetime.
When parliament is dissolved every seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant.
MPs revert to being members of the public and lose all privileges.
They and their staff must vacate their offices in parliament by 5pm on the day of dissolution and all facilities for MPs cease.
Former MPs, inlcluding those standing as parliamentary candidates, and their staff are barred from the Palace of Westminster during the campaign.
The unelected members of the House of Lords remain, but the House does not sit.
Peers can still access the Palace of Westminster but there are limited facilities and services are available to them.
Ministers remain in post during the election campaign, but there will be no policy announcements and the civil service enters into a period of 'purdah'.
Government ministers remain in charge of their departments until after the result of the election is known.
The Queen will then ask the leader of the majority party, or a leader who can form a government with support from other parties, to form a new government.
On May 18, the 650 new MPs and the existing members of the Lords are required by law to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown when they take their seats in the new parliament.
This year for the first time peers will also sign an undertaking to abide by the House of Lords code of conduct.
Sinn Fein MPs, such as the five elected in 2005, refuse to recognise the right of the British state to rule in Ireland, refuse to take an oath of alliegance, and therefore do not take their seats in the Commons.
There could be as many as 250 new MPs after the election.
So far 146 MPs have announced their retirement, among them 95 from Labour, 35 Conservatives and seven Liberal Democrats.
The first Queen's Speech of the new parliament is expected to take place on Wednesday May 26.

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

What about Tories and their "3" then..

[natweststaffmember]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

The Labour manifesto for 2010
The Labour Party Manifesto 2010 | The Labour Party
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
This was the draft manifesto of the Conservative Party
Conservative manifesto: 2010 general election party policy - Telegraph
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
LibDems manifesto
Liberal Democrat manifesto: 2010 general election party policy - Telegraph

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Any chance of a quick post Natty. I have a question for all though, read through this, ( i acknowladge that its A, only Labour and B, not All their views but...)


Gordon Brown has insisted Labour has a "plan for the future" as he unveiled manifesto pledges not to raise income tax and reforms to "renew" Britain. They would be "relentless reformers" of financial markets and public services if they won a fourth term, he said.
Pledges include minimum wage rises, extending paternity leave and a £4-a-week "toddler tax credit" from 2012.
The Tories say Labour is out of ideas and the Lib Dems say they cannot be trusted to reform tax and politics.
In Monday's other election developments:

• Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has been outlining how he plans to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000
• SNP leader Alex Salmond launches his election campaign in Scotland as Scottish Labour unveils its manifesto
• A 17-year-old is believed to be the youngest election agent in England

What I was getting at here is im a young voter (23) and I've been debating amoungst myself and close friends who to vote for, well to be honest nobody offers ANYTHING of any sort of interest to anybody 21-25 and a bit, Minimal wage goes up, well im on above minimum wage, but pretty sure i could also do with a raise, is there a singal party that intend to help people my age with at least on thing, do the parties believe we have an easy ride or somthing?????

OPB - Soon to change to One****edvoter hehe

[PocketTheDifference]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Also sorry to ask, who voted SNP, I would just like to see what views of theirs you share, i read them and thought...mhmm

[EXC]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

If you were considering voting for the Tories in the general election, now is definitely the time to think again.

The Times reckon that the Conservatives could replace the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Myners - who is charged with reigning in the banks after the mess they left us in - with our old friend Angela Knight (MBE, of course)

Political economy: A knight or a Knight?
In the end, the effort may have been wasted. Despite frequent sightings of Sir James Sassoon in the public gallery of the Lords, dutifully observing how the Upper House operates, I am told he may not be appointed to the City Minister job under the Tories after all.

Sir James, the former UBS investment banker, has been tipped to get a peerage and replace Lord Myners in a Tory Government. But now I gather that Angela Knight, the feisty and highly paid head of the British Bankers’ Association, is being considered as an alternative.

Sir James and Ms Knight could hardly be more different in style. He is a cerebral Oxford-educated Old Etonian, related to the war poet. After a stint as a senior Treasury civil servant he set about improving Gordon Brown’s relations with the City. But he switched horses to the Tories at the end of 2008.
It was Sir James who came up with the Tories’ flagship City policy of returning financial regulation to the Bank of England.

Ms Knight was an unexceptional junior Treasury minister under Chancellor Ken Clarke whose main claim to fame, according to her detractors, was introducing the £2 coin.

When she later chaired the Association of Private Client Investment Managers, Ms Knight lobbied for the abolition of stamp duty on shares — a tax she had strongly supported during her time at the Treasury.

Appointing a lobbyist for the City to be City Minister might appear to confirm everything the Tories’ critics say about them. Although Lord Myners had a long and distinguished City career, he became a fierce critic of the City’s failings when he joined the Government.
But Ms Knight has the experience of political rough and tumble that, despite his sessions in the public gallery, Sir James lacks.


Spotlight falls on Tories dancing by numbers - Times Online

[scoobydoo]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

started to look at the labour manifesto - sorry after a few seconds of looking at the little screens and pictures found it very patronising and gave up.

[hicskis]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Vote None Of The Above

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/103006/detail/

It's time the people of the UK sent a message to those in charge that enough is enough.

[Guest]

Re: General Election 2010 Thread

Why do any of them bother with a manifesto, in particular Labour, since here at post #16 it was shown in court that they are meaningless?