By Elections on 20th July..

fancythat
^ Sounds like Toll Roads^
Toll roads are usually built to be toll roads, not sudden changes to a stretch of existing road.

It claims it will stop traffic through the town centre, thus cutting pollution for pedestrians.
It’s true that it would, but it would mean a motorway detour I described or, what I suspect would happen, is traffic using roads through housing estates and past schools as a rat run to avoid the payment.
The proposal is to use something similar to Portugal, with a transponder linked to your credit card for regular users or ANPR to send fines to the car owner.
What was Manchester’s proposal?

If most voters who question who to vote for are like me, which they are not necessarily, they feel that voting for other parties may mean we end up in an even worse situation.
Which may not be true of course.

I am personally an increasing fan of voting for more independent candiates on a general election voting paper. Like some already do in local elections.
But I do seem to be in a minority on that one.

Britain has the highest number of drug users in Europe. We drink more than people in most other European countries. Mental and physical health is deteriorating, age of death going down not increasing.
We send more people to prison, use less effective alternatives to custody.
I’m not claiming a change of government would be a magic wand but it’s needed

Apathetic depression in what way?
You dont have to answer the question if you dont want to.

What would you like the country to be like instead? And how do people go about it if they dont feel that their voting changes much of anything?

fancy that, yes I do and I’m concerned about the endless grumbling. I grumble about this government and its assault on public services because that’s real and undeniable. But it often seems the country is in a state of apathetic depression.

mollygo, I’m in Gtr Manchester. The proposal here currently on hold, would have put several friends out of business

Mollygo

I judged it typical of the better off, especially politicians to have ignored the impact of ULEZ on the less well off and especially the less well off who need to use a vehicle for their job. But I’ll wait and see whether the fate of those mentioned is taken into account.
Where I live, there’s a proposal to make using a certain road which I need to get to work cost £10 each way (£100pw.) The option is an 22 mile detour via the motorway each way.
Another poster’s response was to get an electric vehicle to save me paying the fee. I can’t afford that. How many can?

Sounds like Toll Roads.

Iam64

People who say ‘they’re all the same… it’s not worth voting’ etc must realise if you don’t participate, you aren’t in a position to keep on moaning

Why?

I find it very concerning that a sizeable proportion of the Uk population think that.
Dont you?

gave

My aim at the GE will be to try - hopefully not in vain - to finish up with a government that has integrity - or even just knows the meaning of the word - that would be a start.

Starmer needs to start talking about how he is going to invest in public services, but he seems to be hanging fire on that, presumably to give the Tories less time to shout "financial irresponsibility" - and that from the party that have us Truss!

I judged it typical of the better off, especially politicians to have ignored the impact of ULEZ on the less well off and especially the less well off who need to use a vehicle for their job. But I’ll wait and see whether the fate of those mentioned is taken into account.
Where I live, there’s a proposal to make using a certain road which I need to get to work cost £10 each way (£100pw.) The option is an 22 mile detour via the motorway each way.
Another poster’s response was to get an electric vehicle to save me paying the fee. I can’t afford that. How many can?

Mollygo

Actually, the amazing result was that the Tory’s didn’t lose all three seats. The turn out was more or less what you expect at a bye election.
I’ll be interested to see what KS learns from the Tory win.

I think he’ll learn a lot judging by his reaction to date. He’s like my late father in law - ‘Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted’ was his favourite saying, which sums Starmer’s approach up perfectly.

People who say ‘they’re all the same… it’s not worth voting’ etc must realise if you don’t participate, you aren’t in a position to keep on moaning

Actually, the amazing result was that the Tory’s didn’t lose all three seats. The turn out was more or less what you expect at a bye election.
I’ll be interested to see what KS learns from the Tory win.

I cannot see why somebody's age relates to how they may perform.

So if I send a 4 year old into Parliament, it won't make any difference how they perform? It wasn't age per se, it was experience too as well. As for being ageist, I must be because I look at Biden and wonder whether he's the best man for the job because he is old enough to be showing a slow down of the mind which is a bit concerning in such a position. However, would I put an age limit on his job if I ruled the world? No and neither would I when it came to this young MP. It's a rum old do if you can't consider these things before coming to the conclusion that you wouldn't necessarily change things.
However, I have no desire to ruin a Saturday evening so I'll bid you goodnight.

So nothing regarding climate change on your watch undines or do you just know better how to do it?

Green schemes that penalise the poor and fill someone's coffers (the Council's?) are grossly unfair and deserve to be punished at the ballot box, IMO. If people now have to scrap vehicles they were told to buy not that long ago (diesel for instance) then there should be adequate compensation. Pollution kills, but I think there's an argument pollution can also be bad out in the country, too, because of convection currents, or some such. (Sorry, can't remember the science). Poverty also kills and the cost of ULEZ to struggling families may mean fruit and veg largely off the menu and a slow death through the effects of junk food. Green projects need to be properly thought through, not slapped onto people in this draconian and rather punishing fashion.

I don't remember seeing anyone on Gransnet suggesting we "undemocratically" overturn the vote to leave the EU or change some of the strange decisions made since we left. I assume that is what you are referring to. The country may vote to throw out one government for another government. In the same way, we could vote on our relationship with the EU and decide to go in a different direction. That would be perfectly democratic.

I cannot see why somebody's age relates to how they may perform. As this man has not yet had a chance to show us what he can do, as a local MP, it seems an incredibly prejudiced view, whatever else you say positively.

If someone suggested that a person, aged 60, was too old to do the job, that would be seen as ageist. If you said this in the workplace, you would make the person a victim of age discrimination. However you look at it, it's outright prejudice.

DaisyAnneReturns

icanhandthemback

I have the concerns about a very young MP because I think you are very idealistic at that age and don't have the experience that an older man may have. However, new eyes may have new ideas which we could certainly use. He is also one cog in a very large engine. He may not be my choice but I really do wish him well.

This is a democracy and he has been voting for seven years. Are you suggesting swathes of the voting population shouldn't be represented? Isn't it rather arrogant to think that only the old know best.

Actually, DaisyAnneReturns, you have only picked up on the negative bit of my post. I also gave some positives and wished him well so I am hardly advocating that swathes of the population shouldn't be represented. I am allowed to have some reservations and unlike some on here, I accept we are a democracy so I am not campaigning for the result to be overturned unlike some of the so called Democrats on here like the Brexit result!

The above in reply to Freya

So are you saying you are prejudiced against the young representing us too?

"Time will tell" is true of everyone who stands for parliament. After watching grown men and women MPs and higher, behave, over recent years, as if they're hardly out of nappies, I really can't why youth should be seen as prejudicial.

Johnnie Mercer was not joking.

He may well have done well for military veterans but I find his attitude in interviews arrogant, rude and overbearing.He talks over people and interupts constantly.

ronib

The turnout was very poor. Difficult to predict the general election therefore.

I think people are just fed up with the lot of them and not bothering to vote.
No party leader is worth voting for in my opinion.

DaisyAnneReturns

icanhandthemback

I have the concerns about a very young MP because I think you are very idealistic at that age and don't have the experience that an older man may have. However, new eyes may have new ideas which we could certainly use. He is also one cog in a very large engine. He may not be my choice but I really do wish him well.

This is a democracy and he has been voting for seven years. Are you suggesting swathes of the voting population shouldn't be represented? Isn't it rather arrogant to think that only the old know best.

Time will tell.

icanhandthemback

I have the concerns about a very young MP because I think you are very idealistic at that age and don't have the experience that an older man may have. However, new eyes may have new ideas which we could certainly use. He is also one cog in a very large engine. He may not be my choice but I really do wish him well.

This is a democracy and he has been voting for seven years. Are you suggesting swathes of the voting population shouldn't be represented? Isn't it rather arrogant to think that only the old know best.

Johnny Mercer wasn’t much older when he became a Politician and is still only 41. I am sure he was joking. JM has done his best to stick up the the military veterans and was in the Army himself.