And another thing!

I dont see it ending anytime soon.
It is sad.

sad doesn't seem to cover it, but I can't see anything changing unless we all get off our butts and do something about it. It is interesting that when we are collecting for our foodbanks we find that the most regular and most generous donators look to be pretty poor themselves. Except for our local (New Labour) MP who shows up every 2/3 months with his carrier bagful and a photographer.

What can be done about the rich getting richer at the expense of 95% of the population.
I am not sure that UKIP, or Russell Brand are credible enough to cause a political upset.
Unless the system changes at the top, what is going to change?

The system is not going to change at the top because the current leaders and MPs are all doing quite nicely from it. The UKippers are mainly ex Tories and as rich as the rest of them. If change is to be effected it will need to come from the grass roots and through direct action. It was not the massive demonstrations that led to scrapping the unfair Poll Tax but rather the eventual success of the Can Pay - Won't Pay Campaign when those who could afford the tax withheld payment in support of those who could not.

But who would replace the leaders?
And which party?

Leaders! what leaders?! They are all pretty useless. They always seem to me to be playing at it.

Perhaps leaders is the wrong word.
Who will govern us?
Pay the country's bills?

The country has to function.
Someone has to educate the children, put someone in place to run hospitals etc etc, pay staff

I am not advocating complete ANARCHY!!! If enough of us make it plain in the next few months that we will not support the big parties unless there are cast iron guarantees of change to a more equitable system of wealth distribution, then they might, just might, take notice and put something worthwhile in their manifestos. Failing that (and I am not hopeful) we would all have to vote for the smaller parties who do advocate change - SNP & Plaid in Scotland and Wales, Greens elsewhere. It would be an uphill struggle to motivate generally apathetic voters particularly when the press and media will only present the big parties for our consideration (as in the big televised debates) but now that we can campaign for alternatives via social media as well as the time honoured street stalls and door-knocking there is a chance of making a difference.

I'm just guessing, but think that apart from post WW2 for about 30 years the UK, and especially England, has been dominated, ruled by the moneyed classes. All policies to ensure that the " lower orders" are kept in their place.
So there's a long way to go to counteract this trend.
I had hoped that the Pensioner's Party would make some headway, now that there's a bigger proportion of retired folk in the population, but they don't seem to have made much progress.
I used to be involved in local politics in the 70s, but I'm past it now

I dont want to pour cold water on things.
But them putting something in their manifesto would probably only result in them amending it further down the line.

I lookedinto the greens about 3 years ago.
As far as I could see, they were shockingly far from really being a party. And their right hand didnt seem to know what their left hand was doing.

Never heard of the Pensioner's Party.
They are 1 issue too?

SNP wouldnt have interest in England and Wales and NI I presume.
And Plaid the same.

Agree though that social media may help with change though in one way or another.

I wonder too how much influence the higher civil servants have. The Sir Humphreys of Whitehall. The faceless, unelected experienced bods for whom the status quo is a definite advantage.

True, hadnt thought of that.

The next election is the best chance we have of getting our views known about not putting up with parachuted-in politicians who have all studied PPE at Oxford or Cambridge.
Voting for the smaller parties might not get the party elected, but it might get us a few who can control the big three, whoever the big three are now.
Anyone who believes in the NHS and lives where there is a candidate for the NHA should vote for that candidate to save the NHS. All the big four parties want the TTIP in which will mean we have no chance of saving the NHS or organic agriculture.

Never heard of TTIP.
Googled it.
Heck, that doesnt look good at first glance.

I think waiting around for the tiniest parties to get enough seats to unbalance the biggest ones, is going to be far too slow.
Hence my tentative UKIP wishes.

whitewave, thanks for your post. I read this news yesterday and felt angry, frustrated and worried about the future.

To some extent, it's understandable that distrust and dislike of the 3 main political parties is leading to apathy, to fewer people joining or supporting political parties or even bothering to vote. It's unacceptable though, given how hard won the vote was for working class men, and even later for women. All of europe seems to be lurching to the right, as often happens when recession hits. It's easy to be cynical and superior about the 3 main political parties, I've done my share of moaning, but we need to become more, not less, politically active.

I'm with Granny23 - change must come from grassroots level. I went to my first political party meeting in years on Saturday. It was good to see the audience telling it like it is, an not allowing the powers that be to get away with positively re-framing unacceptable moves in our local council. Small steps, but the notion of Ukip gaining ground in my area makes my heart sink.

To my tiny mind, I may not want UKIP to get too big.
But it does start to make the 3 main parties actually properly listen to the grassroots, to a certain limited extent.

[I am beginning to sound like a party political for UKIP. I dont think I have voted for them in a General election yet]

Lots of tiny people voting for UKIP and hoping it doesn't actually get too big could result in a landslide result for UKIP. Unless you really hope that will happen, don't vote for them.

Please not UKIP though they are pretty ghastly and not the sort of people that you would surely like to mix with??! They may seem OK but there are many stings in their tails.

I just don't know any more. This rot has been going on for years. Labour were no better, the gap started widening alarmingly when they were in power and it is getting no better now under the squabbling 'coalition'.

I listened to Nicola Sturgeon with her demands of what she wants for Scotland which, presumably, will have to be subsidised by the rest of us. For one thing, she wants 30 hours of nursery placement per week for 2 year olds upwards - 15 hours is not good enough! Well, in Wales they only get 12.5 hours. Salmond was a pussy cat in comparison.
I hope they get their own tax raising powers and fund another referendum.
It is no good voting for the Greens or UKIP or Plaid - they all have their heads in the clouds as do the Lib Dems.

I have never net a UKIP candidate.
And I am afraid to look closely at the policies for the moment.
I hope that they can get their act firmly together before the next election.

Up to now, FarNorth, I have been happy that they are making the status quo sit up and listen, and slightly bend.

Cant see UKIP having a landslide.
But if say they were to get 20 MPs, things might a start a changing in Westminster?

Hark at me. I am surprised I am so pro them.
I am not really, but want a voting upset given to the other parties.

I suspect that UKIP will thoroughly manage to mess it up before May.

The whole lot of them are an absolute shower.

The political system in this country needs a good shake up. If UKIP can accomplish this, all power to them.

I wish Scotland had been brave enough to go it alone!

That might have given the others a fright. What is happening about the reforms Cameron promised after the Scottish referendum?

Aren't the reforms going ahead ?

The West Lothian question has been discussed for years and watching the SNP conference it is without a doubt the hatred or Westminster and the Tories is going to be disruptive after May if they gain as many seats off of Labour as thought.

Now some who do find the thought of anarchy amusing may cheer them on but I don't.

The SNP actually declared it was out to disrupt. The SNP stated it will never back a Tory proposal if they were in government. The fact they have until now played a fair game and not voted for laws and decisions for the governance in England and Wales looks set to end if they apply their statement.

I can hear the whoops from the left but what if the Tories were in power and there was an immediate danger to the UK and you have a block of votes that stopped any legislation required, not because it was wrong but because they could just to bugger the works up. That to me is juvenile politics and I am seeing more and more of it.

The SNP called Labour the enemy of Scotland whilst it suited them during the referendum. Now they have declared they would prop up a Labour government. Now in my book that makes them hypocrites and disingenuous with words and actions. You can't call a coalition then go and offer to be part of one.

It's said the voter is disenfranchised with politics but after May the voter could be ashamed of the hypocritical, power grabbing way the parties OF ALL COLOURS behave.

Well said, POGS.