2015 Election - antidotes?

So long as we realise that we are all subject to rogering by the spinners. I think Churchill is reputed to have said that that the truth is so precious it must be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies - and he certainly knew a thing or two about managing publicity in bad times.

magpie - he was correct - please read my post above.

No, it is Gideon's slight of hand ensuring us that the economy is safe in his hands. Hmm how much are we in debt and how big is the deficit and what did he say would be the case by this time in the current parliament. Wrong wrong wrong.
His makeup must be getting in the way of his thought processes.

Labour,s % of Debt to GDP in 2007 was about 36%. In the previous Tory government it was as high as 50%.
In 2008 the British government - for that read tax payer - bailed out the banks after the crash to the tune of £500bn and our debt soared.

Labour's handling of the economy and the banking crash was recognised by many in the world and copied as they tried to tackle the world/banking crises. To say that Labour was at fault for the subsequent debt and deficit is simplistic in the extreme.

What Gideon however is trying to do is to reduce the state to a pre-war level - this has absolutely nothing to do with the good handling of the economy and everything to do with Tory ideology.

Cabinet Office minister David Laws made public the glib note, left by outgoing Treasury chief secretary Liam Byrne for his successor.

It states: ‘Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam.’

TOUCHE

Ah, that's the message Ed's hoping to impress upon the 4m households he intends to doorstep, is it papaoscar? Perhaps he's going to hypnotise them all...

Write out one thousand times and learn by heart - "Balls & Co were not responsible for the world financial crisis. That was caused by those greedy Tory capitalists".

papa we are looking for an antidote to it all .......... all suggestions gratefully received!

roses we could all be in a state of alcoholic poisoning by May if we aren't careful if it carries on the way it has started.

magpie is your real world our Gideon then?

Sorry*Brenda*, Tony Benn and Barbara Castle are not available unless you want a government of the living dead. No.... wait....

DH and I are running a competition on a daily basis to see who is the first to hear a politician refer to 'hard working' families.

I have never seen a definition of this term. Is it a eupemism for being in work? In which case are all the City Link employees who were 'hardworking' until they were redundant now reclassified as not hardworking now they have been made redundant? How about the retired and disabled, those without families are we hardworking or not hardworking. Having decided who are sheep and who are goats, what are the non-hardworking going to be excluded from because they are not ardworking.

In other words this stupid cliche used only by mind dead politicians i totally meaningless.

Bring back some of the last generation politicians, Tony Benn, Barbara Castle and Shirley Williams and or course dear Ann Widdecombe. Why have I listed mostly women. ,!!!!!!

My antidote to the election onslaught would be a large bottle of something very alchoholic.

papaoscar, I'm afraid that we don't all hold your views !

papaoscar so in your opinion Balls and Co are our only hope, God help us then.

They are the only ones who will bankrupt Britain again and bring us to our knees.

Get in the real world!

You're right, you're right, you're so right! The constant Punch-and-Judy trivialisation of our electoral system makes me sick, as does the selective use of dodgy statistics trying to prove that black is white and white is black. They insult us. So many of our national needs require sound strategic planning and sensible funding and we're just not getting them. Short-termism and the markets dictate, and until we crack that nothing will change. No Tory government is ever going to go down the Keynsian route again, and I'm not sure that Balls and Co have got the guts to do it, even though they are the only hope we've got left. I am really angry to see the reappearance of greed, selfishness and discrimination in favour of the already rich. We need some good old-fashioned 'fire-in-the-belly' Socialists. Let's hope we still have some. These smug Tory hypocrites must be stopped before they take the country back to Victorian times!

ayse I thought that Sweden and Finland had a higher suicide rate than the UK. So I presume that not all is wonderful in Scandinavia.

Anya I agree, I would like to watch the news without half of it being taken up by what amounts to political canvassing from now until May.
Can we have a news programme without political campaigning and a completely separate programme following the different parties canvassing around the country. We can then turn it off if we wish.

Maybe they truly believe what they are saying! If so they are living in cloud cuckoo land. We never have any canvassers just stuff pushed through the door. We are a 'safe' labour seat so no one bothers.

I wish we had a countrywide proportion representation. Then maybe people would be encouraged to vote and see something for their cross on the ballot paper. It would also prevent the continual re-drawing of boundaries to advantage on party or the other.

I'd like to see a principled coalition government. I wish governments of any character would stop squeezing the poorest elements of society to the benefit of those who are better off. But it's all about buttering your own bread these days!

Oh for a more equal society along Scandinavian lines - apparently they are the happiest societies in Europe!

I've been doing poll clerk for many years. Before retirement I would take a day's annual leave from my full time job.
I applied when I saw an advert in the local paper.

I've been asked many times to do Presiding Officer who is the person responsible for ensuring everything tallies and getting.g the boxes collected in the early morning, and delivered back after close of poll. The fee for PO is much more than for poll clerk but I'd be worried about it not tallying.

Poll clerk is well enough paid. Not a fantastic hourly rate, but add up the hours and it's ok.

There's always a bit of craic. And boring spells ......

Canvassers? Never see them, just get a leaflet stuck through the letter box. I would welcome a political discussion on the doorstep as in the old days.

What I really object too is the way the my favourite TV programme (The News) is bring hijacked by all these plastic men in dark suits who expect us to believe them

If there's a candidate for the Monster Raving Loonies standing around here they will definitely get my vote.

I've got a sign on my front door which reads, "No canvassers. No religious groups"
My road is a magnet for them!

What would be the best place to go to escape the period leading up to and just following the election? I've had more than enough of politics and politicians.

For those who can't get enough of polls.

may2015.com/

What?

ana!

Possibly sore nose as well!