Not an election please

But how will families have more time to "spend" AB, if their employers are a small company that can't afford to subsidise 4 additional days holiday a year and they end up closing down? Then unemployment goes up and spending goes down.

Who funds it now?
The tories are privatising it. Anybody you employ will not be able to afford private health insurance. If you and your husband get less than the minimum wage, you will not be able to afford health insurance, either.

Has anyone looked at the cost of health insurance for people of our age? It is unaffordable and of course there will be all the exclusions.

I'll definitely be excluded. I'm not even allowed to join a walking group because they wouldn't be insured if I had another aortic dissection!

Chewbacca, for some strange reason he didn't explain that , he has not the foggiest about the number of small businesses in this country

Anything to stop comrade Corbyn raising the unemployment numbers

dj yes us for cancer and heart.

In order to fund the NHS (and other vital services) We need as many people paying into the system via taxes and NI as possible durhamjen . Forcing small and medium enterprises out of business is a step backwards. How many large manufacturers will be forced to move abroad ?

You are right we will not be able to afford to pay for private healthcare, but neither could we afford to pay unrealistic wages, NI and increased holiday pay, which will force us, and many more like us, out of business. Where will that leave the country? Do we really want to take a step back in time and see huge dole queues? There really has to be a compromise here.

I have often said there has to be compromise Gilly, not a word acceptable to the far left,

It is sad to hear that businesses may close, it seems the seven years of Tory rule have affected them as no one can blame the Labour Party for this - although I have no doubt some will try.

Just in case JC happens to be reading;

The usual definition of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is any business with fewer than 250 employees. There were 5.4 million SMEs in the UK in 2016, which was over 99% of all businesses

The man is a clown.

And the correlation of 14.29% more annual bank holidays per year = higher overhead costs for businesses and employers = more businesses closing or shedding staff = lower contributions of taxes and NI contributions to the economy = less money to be spent on essential service like the NHS. but this is being conveniently overlooked by some. Sigh

Perhaps the Corbynites here will explain how loss of small businesses will not affect high unemployment, less NIC and tax contributions Perhaps !

gillybob you are right, people like you and your husband are the backbone of this country. Corbyn simply does not understand how hard you have to work to provide the employment, goods and services which we would need even more if a hard Brexit happened.

The Liberal Democrats have always supported SMEs. Do not worry that a LibDem vote may let Corbyn in.It won't. Today Tim Farron issued this statement:-

"The Liberal Democrats will not enter into any coalition deal with either Theresa May’s Conservatives or Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.On Thursday 8th of June, every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to change the direction of our country and stop a hard Brexit.

The reasons for this decision are simple.Under no conditions can we sign up to Theresa May's Hard Brexit agenda; a hard Brexit will be a disaster for Britain. It risks crashing our economy and leaving us isolated on the global stage.

And Jeremy Corbyn would be a disaster for the country - he has no plan for the country, our economy and offers no leadership – and as Labour leader, every time it has mattered he has given Theresa May a blank cheque on Brexit.Over the next 46 days, we're going to offer the British people a real alternative and a vision of a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."

There'll probably be a deflection away from the question AB!

In France there is a chance of neither of the main party's candidate will be in the run-off for President. Perhaps those who are anti-Tory and what they might do should be going all out for the Lib Dems

Chewbacca one poster blames the future closing of small businesses caused by Corbyns increase in bank holidays etc on seven years of Tory government , if you work thst one out please explain it to me.

I predict a lot of even more sleepless nights for business owners leading up to the election. Why oh why can't we have a sensible compromise?

We have regular meetings with our customers (larger manufacturers) who are going to be very touchy at the thought of JC and his communist ideals, getting into power. All it really takes for larger manufacturers to cut back on staff and future investment, is the fear of what may happen. So far the idea of JC in power seems so much worse than Brexit.

As I have said before I have no particular political axe to grind but I do wonder at those who state they will blindly vote for the one party they have always voted for (whether left or right). For myself I will wait and see what is in the manifesto of each party (not the sound bites and guesses from so called experts we are getting at the moment). I will question each of the candidates or their representatives who show up at my door and then make a decision as to who I will vote for.

Neither Theresa May nor Jeremy Corbyn seems capable of sensible compromise.

I listen to the leaders , they have the power not the canvassers at the door

sunseeker sounds sensible.

The various manifestos can be outlined on here for us all to see and compare.

Not long to compare, Corbyn said his will be released end of May

DJ ive not come across any serious suggestion that the Tories will be privatising the NHS in the sense of asking people to pay for treatment.
Gillybob - are there any particular policies would you hope for to help small businesses?

Just watched the Marr interview with Jeremy Corbyn - very good I thought and so much better than the shouting matches the journalists love to provoke. He also made a positive of having leavers and remainers who are also LP members. I warmed to what he was saying.