Voting quandry

The work is still needed. Parcels still need to be delivered.
We really shouldn't be happy to have company bosses fiddling the system, not paying tax and NI, not paying the minimum wage. It's a question of ethics, not just economics.
There are laws to cover whether someone is self-employed or employed by someone else.

labourlist.org/2017/05/labour-would-put-10000-extra-police-on-the-streets-corbyn-promises/

It's been costed.

I agree withdj the jobs couldn't possibly disappear -- the huge increase in online shopping is surely not going to change. What should happen of course is that consumers should have to pay more realistic prices for their goods and deliveries and business owners shouldn't be making the huge profits they do in some cases. Well that's cloud cuckoo land isn't it - paying and employing workers properly and curbing profits so as you were. May certainly won't be putting anything about any of this in her manifesto.

Well that's cloud cuckoo land isn't it - paying and employing workers properly and curbing profits so as you were.

Sad comment, Rigby?

Don't you think that fair pay and fair taxation are worthwhile aspirations?

Here's more stuff that will not go in the manifesto.
Parliamentary reports showing the problems that mainly the public accounts committee has come up with.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2017/05/01/key-reports-housing-ambulances-gps_n_16365036.html?utm_hp_ref=uk-politics&ir=UK+Politics

Maizie I would have thought my posts in general made it very clear what sort of world I'd like but the relentless rightward direction of our society does make me very sad. This election campaign is just so dreadful and I see absolutely no hope of any material shift in any of these sorts of issues ( fair taxation, fair pay, a decent benefit system) in what is left of the rest of my lifetime. It just seems to me that there has been a huge attitudinal shift that seems so entrenched, it's beyond any reasonable debate.

The majority of parcels in the UK are under 2 kilos. Royal Mail and Hermes prices are comparable. All the other companies charge more for small/medium parcels, although they're cheaper for heavier items.

Royal Mail employees have better pay and conditions, so somebody's making money.

DHL and Hermes are German-owned. Yodel is owned by the Barclay Brothers.

People won't stop wanting parcels delivered. They'll hopefully switch back to Royal Mail.

This article sets out for me why voting Labour under the current leadership is likely to be a step too far, whatever their manifesto might say. The author is a Tory and the spin in the article clearly reflects that, but it does highlight what we would get with a government in which McDonnell is such an influential figure. My usual caveat: some people have found it difficult to penetrate these Times links. Best of luck. Makes interesting reading whatever your political persuasion.
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/marxist-mcdonnell-is-no-laughing-matter-pf5vfhg92?shareToken=bf11ffd2caee5fa673c98995fe3ed99e

Dictatorship is already there under May.

Project Fear, Fitzy.
Conservatives support some pretty dodgy regimes/ideas too.
It all really depends on whether you would chose a leftwing dictatorship or a rightwing dictatorship and how long either might take to be realised. Personally I think we're in far greater danger from the right than from the left at present.

Thank you for the link Fitzy, my reasons too for fearing a vote for Corbyn

Supporters of the Conservatives might ponder whether they be so comfortable about this government's position regarding their alliances:

April 2017 Guardian:

"Liam Fox’s declaration of “shared values” with Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines leader whose war on drugs has killed 7,000 people, has prompted dismay about the government’s approach to human rights as it seeks post-Brexit trade deals.........

I have an acquaintance who is from the Philippines and she has just returned from visiting her family. She says the situation is appalling, with people who are deemed
- without trial - to be small time drug dealers and drug users being "executed" on the streets, thanks to the encouragement of Duterte.

"As Fox visited the Philippines, Theresa May was in Saudi Arabia as part of a wider government effort to shore up the UK’s trading position after Brexit. Speaking to the BBC, she refused to criticise the government’s bombardment of Yemen, which is estimated to have killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced more than 3 million people."

Good Lord - that is certainly very extreme Fitzy. As May is likely to get in and we are really only talking about keeping her majority as low as possible (to mitigate her wish to dictate) I think this is way over the top.

Do you want someone on the far left or the far right? I actually don't want either and there must be others feeling that way - hence the chat on this thread. Personally, at this point, the Capitalist right is more frightening for me.

Interesting to see that point of view Eloethan. I think the direction of travel of both the leadership of the LP and of the Cons is very worrying but what is a truth is that May has called this election specifically - as she told us - to give her more power to follow her parties more extreme direction.

news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/22/newsid_2506000/2506715.stm

Goodness, fighting for a 5% pay increase. It sounds unbelievable now!

Mind you, the inflation rate happened to be 13% at the time. Which makes 5% look quite modest..

Why did you post that link, Annie?

Because some seem to have forgotten how thatcher came to power and stayed in power

Just heard a great answer as I catch up with the Daily Politics. "I am not going to answer a question to which I do not know the answer". Oh for more politicians like that! (Margo(?)James).

Exactly......if only Dianne Abbott had admitted that the other day!
However Abbott is shadow home sec. and Margo James isn't in the Ministerial position to know the answer Neil asked her.

You are right roses. DA should have known and not made a pigs ear of it. Such a pity she is human rather the new S & S model robot.

www.facebook.com/OpenBritain/videos/1596568893716762/

The government guide to diplomacy.

thought this appropriate for this thread...

True, ellenoo.
Whoever wrote it missed out about the homeless increase under the Tory government.

www.24housing.co.uk/news/well-over-1000-first-time-rough-sleepers-in-london-since-january/

Who would you trust to solve this problem, an increase of over a thousand first time homeless in London.

Do you think these should be key manifesto promises?

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/general-election-2017-five-key-manifesto-promises

Because some seem to have forgotten how thatcher came to power and stayed in power

No chance of the public service unions bringing the country to its knees today. So what is the problem?

As a lifelong Labour person did you not support the strikes in 1979, Annie?