The Election - Decisions Decisions ...

[Lizzie]

If the conservatives get in, will we have massive public spending cuts and tax increases?

 

I'm looking at the situation in Greece, is it possible we could have civil unrest here due to the economic problems. Would we want the EU to bail us out imposing huge conditions attached to possible loans?

 

Thanks to massive debts incurred during WW2, which we are still paying back to America and the underhand way they sold sub primes to our banks, we are still in hock to the good old USA.

 

The recession started there and spread, look how they handled it, offloaded loads of rubbish onto other economies instead of sorting out their problems they caused one of the biggest economic downturns in history.

 

And I'm still undecided how to vote, but it won't be Tory.

[Ian]

Lib Dems have said they will not give any more time to discussing hunting. Which isn't quite the answer I'd like to hear but basically if they are in power they have no plans to do anything to repeal the ban. But yes, with a lot of Lib Dems in country seats it does come down to individual MPs to a large extent. ONLY the tories actively plan to waste parliament time repealing a law which at least 75% of the population support because they find it fun to tear foxes to bits.

 

 

I was watching BBC Parliament & they had Gordon Brown, David Cameron & Nick Clegg on one after the other answering questions in various (each different) places. Nick Clegg was quite clear that unlike David Cameron who wanted to repeal it he wouldn't even put fox hunting back on the table, the law has been passed & he would be sticking to that

[Ian]

If the conservatives get in, will we have massive public spending cuts and tax increases?

 

To what extent & exactly when is being disputed & possibly even hidden but we are in so much debt that whoever gets in that will be happening I'm afraid

[Ian]

For me it's about keeping the tories out. Mostly because of the fox hunting issue but also because they are a party about protecting the wealthy and stuff everyone else, and because, as a civil servant, their getting in puts my job at risk.

 

 

I'm somewhat amused by the reporting I'm seeing saying it's selfish to vote Conservative as they are concerned with the wealth of business owners, whereas people who work in the public sector should responsibly vote Labour to protect their jobs. I'm a small business owner, most of my public sector worker friends earn far more than I do, AND they get pensions, and paid holidays, and sick pay! Hey ho.

 

Just as I was thinking about how I'd love to get rid of certain local civil servants & maybe I ought to vote for Cameron after all I'm thrown back into a quandry.

 

Our local Council, led by a Tory who though I've never met, I just can't stand the sight of, has very recently given a senior Director, who also just happens to be married to the former Chief Executive, a £364,205 discretionary pension boost before allowing her to retire early (as 3 colleagues had already done), on top of the big salary increase they got just over a year ago - in order to keep these valued staff - & they basically refuse to discuss it whereever possible. The move has been opposed by the Tory MP, Graham Stuart who I'm also not especially keen on but who is almost certainly going to be re-elected. A case of caught between the devil & the dep blue sea?

 

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/news/Cabinet-approves-163-360k-early-retirement-deal/article-1918188-detail/article.html

[merledogs]

I finally had Hazel Blears' leaflet through the door last night - there was a nice pic of Ross Kemp endorsing her campaign on the front of it. Got my vote anyway

 

Seriously though, even though I am not a fan of the woman personally, I believe there should be more to politics than personalities, there are deeper issues at stake than whether someone comes across well on camera.

 

I am going to vote on my way into work this morning.

[tegk68]

 

Seriously though, even though I am not a fan of the woman personally, I believe there should be more to politics than personalities, there are deeper issues at stake than whether someone comes across well on camera.

 

 

I couldn't agree more Alex.

 

Lets all hope that whoever gets in can lead us through the dark days ahead

[cycas]

[tegk68]

Oh Cycas that is BRILLIANT LMAO!

[Ian]

[kola]

From the Lib Dems 'Respecting All Animals' Policy Paper 61;

 

7.4 Dangerous Dogs

7.4.1 There have been many serious

incidents involving dangerous dogs attacking

humans, sometimes fatally. In 1991, the

Dangerous Dogs Act was passed in response

to a spate of attacks across the country but

it was a rushed and poorly thought out piece

of legislation. Problems still exist with

dangerous dogs. In 2001, 3,400 people were

hospitalised after dog attacks - a 25% rise

over the previous five years.

7.4.2 In Germany, the police can

confiscate dogs suspected of being

dangerous. The dogs are then subjected to a

series of tests to prove whether they are

actually dangerous. If the dog passes the test

it is returned to its owners. If the dog fails

the test it is given one more chance to be retrained

and re-tested and if it fails again it

is destroyed. Liberal Democrats will:

· Update the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to

move away from breed-specific

legislation and towards a system which

is similar to the German system.

Edited May 6, 2010 by kola

[tegk68]

Well the bull terrier voted conservatives today (but only because there was a biscuit in it - they are very fickle )

 

[greys mum]

When I went to vote, people were queuing out of the door. The people manning the polling station said they had never known it to be so busy.

Edited May 6, 2010 by greys mum

[Rumpole]

same here we go at the same time each election and usually are the only ones there but tonight there were about 40 people waiting outside.

[scotslass]

When I went to vote, people were queuing out of the door. The people manning the polling station said they had never known it to be so busy.

 

Same in our village. But this seems outrageous...

 

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Fury-as-voters-are-turned.6279238.jp

[Lizzie]

What a bloody fiasco!

 

People turned away from polling stations, lack of ballot papers, what the hell happened????

 

Each constituency has a returning officer who is responsible for organising polling stations, staffing levels and sufficient ballot papers. Even if its a low turnout they should have the resources in place to deal with a sudden influx of voters.

I'm concerned in marginal seats that a true result will not be registered.

 

Has our democratic process been compromised?