Elections 6th May...

[pigletwillie]

anyone my age will remember the thatcher years, and that'll put them off conservative more than anything else.

I remember, I also remember the winter of discontent she inherited, the IMF bailing us out as we were once again bankrupted by a labour government, the unions that tried to run the country defeated and the opportunity for millions to buy their own home and own shares.

She may be political marmite as you either love her or loathe her but she was the right person for the job at the right time and reformed this country from the sick man of Europe to its financial powerhouse.

I remember her alright and am glad that I was allowed to climb from social housing to owning my own home, allowed to aspire to do better and climb the ladder to better jobs and better pay only to be penalised by Labours petty jealousy of anybody who does well for themselves through tax and national insurance.

I remember her alright, and the lady was not for turning.

[binley100]

25 years ago I managed to get a 100% mortgage on my own with virtually no savings behind me , my daughter is desperately saving for her own place and needs at least ten grand behind her to do it . My first house cost £8,000 a 2up 2down in a reasonable area , 25 years later that same house is costing just over £100,000 and the area has gone to pot. The BBC article reckons it's my generations fault ...we're certainly not embarking on a life in comfortable retirement. It seems to be that the haves get more and more and the run of the mill family get less as usual.

[pigletwillie]

this gov't may have built up a load of debt, but they don't have a load of public-owned companies to sell off and make a handy bit of cash with

The old public utilities were so badly neglected as they were used as cash cows with no investment, they were sold so we did not land that investment bill, insread of us paying out to renew pipes and cables, the private companies do, plus they hand over far more in tax than they ever did when publically owned.

[PAULW]

anyone my age will remember the thatcher years, and that'll put them off conservative more than anything else.

And anyone a little bit older will remember the previous labour years, rubbish piled up in the streets, the dead lying unburied, going cap in hand to the IMF begging for money and then being told what the money could be spent on, strike after strike, Callaghan "crisis what crisis".

[pigletwillie]

I bought mine for £61k 8 years ago, our daughter and boyfriend have just saved enough for a 15% deposit and it took them 2 1/2 years of hard saving to do.

[PAULW]

25 years ago I managed to get a 100% mortgage on my own with virtually no savings behind me , my daughter is desperately saving for her own place and needs at least ten grand behind her to do it . My first house cost £8,000 a 2up 2down in a reasonable area , 25 years later that same house is costing just over £100,000 and the area has gone to pot. The BBC article reckons it's my generations fault ...we're certainly not embarking on a life in comfortable retirement. It seems to be that the haves get more and more and the run of the mill family get less as usual.

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Its the same the whole world over
Its the poor that get the blame
Its the rich that get the gravy
Aint it all the bloody same

[binley100]

Remeber when we used to get a yearly pay rise.. wasn't it obvious that some one on say £100K per year was going to get a bigger slice of cake than someone on £10K and so the great divide gets bigger.

[pigletwillie]

Remeber when we used to get a yearly pay rise.. wasn't it obvious that some one on say £100K per year was going to get a bigger slice of cake than someone on £10K and so the great divide gets bigger.

and so does the tax bill.

[binley100]

Right I'm decided...I would like
The brakes putting on bonus's for people who so obviously haven't come up to scratch with the job,
our lads overseas fighting expensive (human life and money ) wars to be brought home
I don't mind in a way taxes being increased to pay for nhs or improving job and houses prospects as long as those who earn ridiculous money get taxed more.
Ok whose manifesto is this ? and I'll consider voting for them.

[PAULW]

Nu labours false god was cutting interest rates, low interest rates caused a boom in house buying which saw the prices reach absolutlly stupid prices, nu labour said to the people look how rich we have made you just look how much your house is worth and the people said praise nu labour they are wealth maker, but this only worked for those people who already had a house or got onto the escalator early on the young people now have very little chance of buying a house now unless they have a fantastic job.

[SarzWix]

Well neither of 'em are getting my vote; I'll be voting for whichever local Independant there is, and failing that, it'll be the LibDems. Not that it'll make a whit of difference.

[Glutton4...]

I've just spent a fair few minutes reading the whole of this thread from top to bottom. I only came in to be nosey, having managed to keep my beak out up to now. I hadn't intended to comment, as politics isn't one of my favourite subjects, however, Organic seems to have hit the nail on the head!

I should like to add, to those saying "Not voting is a wasted Vote," that, actually, when you feel like I do, voting is a wasted Vote!

[PAULW]

I want somebody that spends the public purse like its their own money, not like most of them do Oh there is a big chest of money we dont know where it comes from and it never seeems to get any less, case reported in the paper NHS patient has bed bath, the tablet of soap is then thrown in the bin - idea buy smaller size tablets of soap - outcome cannot do this as a contract has been written and cannot be broken without penalty clause costing more than the contract in the first place

[taff]

And anyone a little bit older will remember the previous labour years, rubbish piled up in the streets, the dead lying unburied, going cap in hand to the IMF begging for money and then being told what the money could be spent on, strike after strike, Callaghan "crisis what crisis".

so, they're both as bad as each other then?
pretty much what I thought

[selfraising]

I don't profess to know or understand much about politics but the way I see it in my, probably, naiive way is that we are attracting the wrong kind of people in to politics in the first place. I think being a politician should be a vocation a bit like nursing and other jobs that serve society. They are meant to be there to speak for and serve society but the higher up the ladder you go the more the motivations seem to be about money and power.
Also as someone who is not sure which way to vote, I would like to see an extra box on the voting slip which says 'disenchanted' or similar. At least that way votes are not lost to other, perhaps, extreme parties and only the true votes are counted. It would be interesting to see the outcome.