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[TomWaitsForNoMan]

It will never happen, but if SF took their seats to give a left wing coalition majority it would be hilarious and probably kill off a few thousand tory pensioners with well deserved heart attacks.

They should make a Sinn Fein MP Northern Ireland secretary too. Fuck it, Home Secretary, that'll scare a lot of the right sort of people

 

[chromatic9]

The ball and chain woman looking worse than ever.

I thought DMX wore pretty hefty chains but looking through images they're only a quarter of the size.

 

[Spuck-uk]

They should make a Sinn Fein MP Northern Ireland secretary too. Fuck it, Home Secretary, that'll scare a lot of the right sort of people

I mean, we already have John McDonnell huehuehue

 

[Daffy Duck]

It's a shame Labour wont win, as the LVT thing sounds really appealing (considering I rent and from what I've seen/understand as a renter I wouldn't have to pay council tax anymore).

 

[PJV3]

The ball and chain woman looking worse than ever.

I thought DMX wore pretty hefty chains but looking through images they're only a quarter of the size.

Oh is she bullshitting the fishing industry again?

 

[Burai]

bbc continue their week of trash tier reporting. let's see what the highest rated comment is...



fantastic.

I don't understand though. I thought the devaluing of Sterling was a good thing? At least it was last June following the referendum. "It's great for exports! It was overvalued anyway!" Yet now it appears to be a bad thing. How odd!

 

[Spuck-uk]

Honestly, i don't quite get the hate for zero hour contacts. As a student I'd much rather have the flexibility than a set number of hours a week.

Because you're a student, you probably don't have a family that relies on you having an income, or any sort of protection from being made unemployed at the whim of your employer.

 

[Rodelero]

It's a shame Labour wont win, as the LVT thing sounds really appealing (considering I rent and from what I've seen/understand as a renter I wouldn't have to pay council tax anymore).

The property's owner would have to pay it though, which ultimately is going to fall on the tenant. I suspect it would still make renting cheaper though (for all sorts of reasons).

 

[Deleted member 231381]

The property's owner would have to pay it though, which ultimately is going to fall on the tenant. I suspect it would still make renting cheaper though (for all sorts of reasons).

It doesn't fall on the tenant, actually.

A supply and demand diagram showing the effects of land value taxation. If the supply of land is fixed, the burden of the tax falls entirely on the land owner, with zero or even negative deadweight loss.

 

[Mr. Sam]

I'll let a lot of shit be talked about Theresa May but that woman has fashion sense. When she shoots my future into the trash like a basketball, it'll be in a sweet pimp coat.

 

[Audioboxer]

Standard UKIP, although, it's also probably how many Tories feel

 

[Spuck-uk]

This election is weird, I thought the Dems would have picked up a good 10% but somehow they've fucked it.

I thought Labour would be headed to a gruesome party splitting defeat, but they're not.

Thought the Tories would walk it but somehow they're fucking it as well.

I was right on UKIP disintegrating though.

 

[JonathanEx]

If you'd like some light relief, CBBC puppet Hacker T Dogg has done a guide for Newsround about how to become an MP, canvases with Edwina Currie, gets advice from Alan Johnson and interviewed on Newsnight. Sure, why not: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9sxcj6

 

[Camp Freddie]

I wonder if there's some sort of Hofstadter's law for polling.
"Things are always more Tory than you expect, even taking this law into account."

Finally got a LibDem leaflet (Elmet and Rothwell, safe Tory seat in the North). Only spotted one typo. Guy seems alright. Gets my vote on a "don't let UKIP be 3rd again" platform.
Brexit is not mentioned at all (I think we're a leave area due to "middle-aged white" demographics, but we're in the 50:50 region of Leeds. Our Tory MP campaigned to remain, but is now a "will of the people" brexiteer). It's entirely focused on opposing Tory cuts to services and the closures of various amenities. And HS2. Probably the right issues for the constituency, though it won't help him much.
I find it amusing that HS2 nimbyism is the policy of every candidate since the route cuts through (tunnels underneath) a small town in the constituency.
There's a lot of insane nimbysim in my local area too, due to potential noise. This is despite the route in my area being in a cutaway valley literally right next to the M1 (about a kilometer from residential areas). Sorry, but if the non-stop lorry traffic isn't a noise problem then a train won't be either. Plus, it will hopefully make the transport to Leeds a bit better if the London trains get their own line instead of competing for space with local trains.

Our Tory MP helpfully drafted some alternative route plans that would avoid the impact on Elmet and Rothwell by diverting it through a neighbouring constituency... which purely by coincidence is a labour seat. What a nice chap!

 

[Burai]

Because you're a student, you probably don't have a family that relies on you having an income, or any sort of protection from being made unemployed at the whim of your employer.

Yup. To be honest, as a student I liked having a fixed number of hours in my p/t work because it meant I knew exactly how much I'd be earning each week. And I had flexibility in that I could take extra hours when full timers were sick.

What I didn't long for was an erosion of the labour rights of others who didn't have parents or loans to fall back on just so I could more easily fuck off a Saturday morning shift because I got hammered on a Friday night.

 

[jem0208]

Because you're a student, you probably don't have a family that relies on you having an income, or any sort of protection from being made unemployed at the whim of your employer.

It's obvious from what people are saying here that they don't work in the current system.

That said they clearly do work in certain situations, such as with students. I know a few people who wouldn't be able to afford living at university if they didn't have a job and zero hour contacts are the only ones which realistically work for them if they also want to get good grades.

It seems like outright banning them is a bit short sighted. Would proper regulation of them not be better? Allow those who benefit from them to keep being employed whilst limiting the potential abuse.



Also, if we just up and ban them, might that lead to a bunch of people who previously had unstable hours now not having any hours?

 

[Huw_Dawson]

This election is weird, I thought the Dems would have picked up a good 10% but somehow they've fucked it.

Changing media rules since 2010 - before the coalition the LDs received very little media coverage, and then had largely equal coverage to the main parties.

Now the LDs are rated as equal to Plaid, the SNP, UKIP and the Greens. Ergo, far, far less ability to project a campaign message.

Fair? Of course not - it's absurd that a party that stands in 56 seats gets equal coverage to a party standing in well over 600.

The hope is that a set of gains this election and a vote share of well above any other minor party gets us back as the BBC's third party. The issue is that the extremely focussed support for the SNP will make that more complex.

 

[Spuck-uk]

It's obvious from what people are saying here that they don't work in the current system.

That said they clearly do work in certain situations, such as with students. I know a few people who wouldn't be able to afford living at university if they didn't have a job and zero hour contacts are the only ones which realistically work for them if they also want to get good grades.

It seems like outright banning them is a bit short sighted. Would proper regulation of them not be better? Allow those who benefit from them to keep being employed whilst limiting the potential abuse.

I worked a part time job in university and it worked out fine, while not jettisoning my employment rights. You know flexible rotas were/are a 'thing' long before 0 hours 'no work for you' right?

It's like people are forgetting how the hell we needed unions in the first place.

 

[Spuck-uk]

Changing media rules since 2010 - before the coalition the LDs received very little media coverage, and then had largely equal coverage to the main parties.

Now the LDs are rated as equal to Plaid, the SNP, UKIP and the Greens. Ergo, far, far less ability to project a campaign message.

UKIP received tonnes of media attention this election and a re effetively dying though.

LD messaging has been weak and the leader has zero charisma #libdemfightback was so cringe. I don't say this as a dig, really, I think there was a huge chance to gain big vote share, particularly from pro-remain tories, and somehow it all went wrong.

 

[Little Old Man]

Watching the Corbyn/Paxman interview. Paxman has become quite dull to watch- he's gone off the deep end interupting every 5 seconds.

This election is weird, I thought the Dems would have picked up a good 10% but somehow they've fucked it.

I thought Labour would be headed to a gruesome party splitting defeat, but they're not.

Thought the Tories would walk it but somehow they're fucking it as well.

I was right on UKIP disintegrating though.

The Lib Dems don't seem to have get a word in edgeways every time I watch the news (even rolling news at work). The media focus is dominated by Tories and Labour battling it out. That lack of exposure really doesn't help.

They're still (unfairly/harshly imo) judged about their time in the coalition. People (like myself) in ultra safe red or blue seats know that a vote towards the LDs counts for very little thanks to good old FPTP. But I also don't think now in hindsight that they've done an especially good job in putting out their manifesto, hitting people on social media, and I'm having increasing doubts about Farron's ability to draw enthusiasm (despite him at least getting out there on the streets). At this point I'll be surprised if they just hold their ground.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

LD messaging has been weak and the leader has zero charisma #libdemfightback was so cringe. I don't say this as a dig, really, I think there was a huge chance to gain big vote share, particularly from pro-remain tories, and somehow it all went wrong.

The whole fightback narrative was a 2015-16 thing - it represented a return to constant good news about by-elections and a gain of vote share.

There is, however, a limit to what you can do when your party is not supported by a single national paper and is regarded by the BBC as as relevant as Plaid.

The thing about vote share is that it's a tricky mistress. We really do not care about a seat if it's not a target this time. So the idea is to deliver the target seats, where voting LD gets an MP.

UKIP are an atrociously bad campaigning unit propped up by the eurosceptic wave. They're deceased as a political entity. LDs are much better at actually winning elections.

Suppose we got 18 seats this time - that would be probably the best result we can expect without Tim Farron scoring some major goals tonight and tomorrow. That puts us as the third party... until election time, where the BBC will still want to bring in the SNP, Greens and Plaid.

 

[nekkid]

I don't understand though. I thought the devaluing of Sterling was a good thing? At least it was last June following the referendum. "It's great for exports! It was overvalued anyway!" Yet now it appears to be a bad thing. How odd!

The Express has been incredible to read re their reporting of exchange rates over the last year. It was all "this is fantastic" on its way down, but any gain since then has been "brilliant for bigots travelling to Benadorm".

 

[Meadows]

Man, I don't think I've ever felt this disenfranchised before an election before.

Conservatives:

Pro-brexit and sweeping up UKIP policies. They clearly haven't really tried in this election, just thinking that saying a load of buzzwords and Corbyn being the opposition would be enough to get them over the line. The only good thing is that because they haven't promised loads in their manifesto, they actually could do some good things towards restructuring spending and taxation to reduce the deficit. Despite this, all the mental people support them so that's putting me off.

Labour:

I really do think there's a substantial degree of cognitive dissonance involved in thinking that Corbyn will do a good job of running this country. He has surrounded himself with really low quality politicians throughout the last couple of years and his logistics are an absolute shambles.

There's also a really weird horrible vibe I get from the anti-semitic, pro-Russian parts of their movement, and the repeated targeting of journalists by his supporters (who always talk about "MSM" bias) that reminds me of the Trump campaign. No I'm not saying Corbyn is Trump - I think he's fundamentally a good person who will want to do well for this country, I just don't believe he can deliver it.

Liberal Democrats

I'll probably end up voting for them, but I really haven't enjoyed their campaign. They've not made their position on the EU clear enough to the electorate and have clearly been blind-sided by the snap election. They should have made serious gains in this election, but everyone thinks Tim Farron is weird.

They're right, he is a bit weird, so hopefully he'll be shuffled off after this election and they can get someone decent in.

UKIP

Racist

Greens

Still for some reason hate nuclear power.

 

[Burai]

UKIP received tonnes of media attention this election and a re effetively dying though.

LD messaging has been weak and the leader has zero charisma #libdemfightback was so cringe. I don't say this as a dig, really, I think there was a huge chance to gain big vote share, particularly from pro-remain tories, and somehow it all went wrong.

Their main promise is a second referendum that nobody wants (just imagine May does get a half decent deal on the table and then the Brexiteering fuckwits vote against it) and a refusal to go into coalition so they'd never get to implement anything anyway.

Unless you're voting tactically, a Lib Dem vote is a vote for nothing. And I say that as someone who's voted Lib Dem in every election I've ever voted in.

 

[Little Old Man]

Posted I know, but the Monster Raving Loony Party manifesto is comedic brilliance:

Nationalisation.
The Loony Party will Nationalise all Political parties.. and if they don’t keep their manifesto promises.. we will sell em off.

We will nationalise crime to make sure it doesn’t pay

Austerity
Due to the fact that the Government have made cuts in almost everything around. the loony party proposes to cut the letters of the alphabet..
Starting with the letters N. H. and S

Howling.

 

[PJV3]

Man, I don't think I've ever felt this disenfranchised before an election before.

I think if Corbyn magically scraped into number 10 he would be forced to the centre and more of the PLP would return to work for his government.

He was kind of forced into the bunker by the PLP running away, I don't think momentum matter much when it comes to the government, he would need a whopping majority to get the more radical ideas through.

 

[Spuck-uk]

Man, I don't think I've ever felt this disenfranchised before an election before.

Conservatives:

Pro-brexit and sweeping up UKIP policies. They clearly haven't really tried in this election, just thinking that saying a load of buzzwords and Corbyn being the opposition would be enough to get them over the line. The only good thing is that because they haven't promised loads in their manifesto, they actually could do some good things towards restructuring spending and taxation to reduce the deficit. Despite this, all the mental people support them so that's putting me off.

Labour:

I really do think there's a substantial degree of cognitive dissonance involved in thinking that Corbyn will do a good job of running this country. He has surrounded himself with really low quality politicians throughout the last couple of years and his logistics are an absolute shambles.

There's also a really weird horrible vibe I get from the anti-semitic, pro-Russian parts of their movement, and the repeated targeting of journalists by his supporters (who always talk about "MSM" bias) that reminds me of the Trump campaign. No I'm not saying Corbyn is Trump - I think he's fundamentally a good person who will want to do well for this country, I just don't believe he can deliver it.

Liberal Democrats

I'll probably end up voting for them, but I really haven't enjoyed their campaign. They've not made their position on the EU clear enough to the electorate and have clearly been blind-sided by the snap election. They should have made serious gains in this election, but everyone thinks Tim Farron is weird.

They're right, he is a bit weird, so hopefully he'll be shuffled off after this election and they can get someone decent in.

UKIP

Racist

Greens

Still for some reason hate nuclear power.

TBH sounds like based on your personal convictions you should vote for the Lib Dems, even though I disagree with you on Corbs entirely.

Tim Farron does come across as fucking weird though, but he'll probably do his best to enact what he's promised.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Suppose we got 18 seats this time - that would be probably the best result we can expect without Tim Farron scoring some major goals tonight and tomorrow. That puts us as the third party... until election time, where the BBC will still want to bring in the SNP, Greens and Plaid.

18 seats doesn't make you the third party. That'd still be the SNP.

 

[Audioboxer]

Man, I don't think I've ever felt this disenfranchised before an election before.

Conservatives:

Pro-brexit and sweeping up UKIP policies. They clearly haven't really tried in this election, just thinking that saying a load of buzzwords and Corbyn being the opposition would be enough to get them over the line. The only good thing is that because they haven't promised loads in their manifesto, they actually could do some good things towards restructuring spending and taxation to reduce the deficit. Despite this, all the mental people support them so that's putting me off.

Labour:

I really do think there's a substantial degree of cognitive dissonance involved in thinking that Corbyn will do a good job of running this country. He has surrounded himself with really low quality politicians throughout the last couple of years and his logistics are an absolute shambles.

There's also a really weird horrible vibe I get from the anti-semitic, pro-Russian parts of their movement, and the repeated targeting of journalists by his supporters (who always talk about "MSM" bias) that reminds me of the Trump campaign. No I'm not saying Corbyn is Trump - I think he's fundamentally a good person who will want to do well for this country, I just don't believe he can deliver it.

Liberal Democrats

I'll probably end up voting for them, but I really haven't enjoyed their campaign. They've not made their position on the EU clear enough to the electorate and have clearly been blind-sided by the snap election. They should have made serious gains in this election, but everyone thinks Tim Farron is weird.

They're right, he is a bit weird, so hopefully he'll be shuffled off after this election and they can get someone decent in.

UKIP

Racist

Greens

Still for some reason hate nuclear power.

I'm not laughing at you articulating your thoughts, or at you in any way, but that sentence as a plus is crazy. The manifesto is as you've put it, "not promising loads" because by in large they represent the status quo.

"Reducing the deficit" is a buzzword/sentence as this stands as well. Continued austerity and a lack of real effort to stimulate, enthuse and get behind the lower/working class will forever erode a country's well-being and impact on the deficit. The Tories just throw that line out now because the general population have a primary school understanding of "REDUCE THE DEFICIT!", and it's yet again another way for the cold-hearted in the country to bash those perceived to be below them on the food chain. You need to spend to improve a country and get the majority of the citizens on-board, but you need to spend wisely and invest in the people/infrastructure to lead to growth. Privatisation on steroids often doesn't lead to widespread growth as the firms and companies hoard the wealth and focus strictly on themselves. They essentially leech the lifeblood out of a country and the people. That's fucking great when you're in the upper class/rich/elite, sure, but for everyone else, it's often a way to control/manipulate and keep many in horrific states of inequality and hardship.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

They're right, he is a bit weird, so hopefully he'll be shuffled off after this election and they can get someone decent in.

The thing is, folks would have said this about Corbyn before this campaign. It really is just exposure at the end of the day. Folks know who Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Nick Clegg are. Farron enjoys far less of the spotlight, so all folks hear from him are the party lines and the controversy of being religious.

It's extremely frustrating - you can watch him give a speech, or even go watch his performance on the crappy ITV debate, and he comes across well. But the complete unwillingness of the two big parties to engage on any real debate on Brexit starved the LD machine of its big message.

 

[Dirtyshubb]

Something I have been thinking about regarding ‘who is qualified to lead’ is that ultimately their opinions matter more than their quality.

What I mean by that is the vast majority of work that is done for the government is from civil servants and as such the actual leg work isnt done by the politician.
Im a civil servant and I know that the main thing that limits people is the direction you are ordered to take and the amount of money you have to spend.

Plenty of times I have seen teams have to go in either less than ideal or just down right shitty paths to get the objective done and the reason is always ‘That’s from the top’. I have also seen teams put tonnes of work into making an argument for something to be a specific way because it’s the best option and has the facts to back it up, only for it to be shot down because it isnt what some DG wants etc.

So knowing all of that from my perspective, what would really help teams to do their job is simply having leaders that trust their experience and ability and give them the freedom to tackle objectives as they please. Also more money, that’s always an issue in the civil service.

That’s not to say you can have any person in charge, of course not but this idea that just because a politician couldn’t remember a number off the top of his head it means he isnt fit to lead is fucking ridiculous and doesn’t take everything into consideration.

 

[Meadows]

"Reducing the deficit" is a buzzword/sentence as this stands as well, continued austerity and a lack of real effort to stimulate, enthuse and get behind the lower/working class will forever erode a country's well-being and impact on the deficit. The Tories just throw that line out now because the general population have a primary school understanding of "REDUCE THE DEFICIT!", and it's yet again another way for the cold-hearted in the country to bash those perceived to be below them on the food chain. You need to spend to improve a country and get the majority of the citizens on-board, but you need to spend wisely and invest in the people/infrastructure to lead to growth. Privatisation on steroids often doesn't lead to widespread growth as the firms and companies hoard the wealth and focus strictly on themselves. They essentially leech the lifeblood out of a country and the people. That's fucking great when you're in the upper class/rich/elite, sure.

First of all, I'd absolutely love it if you broke your posts up into line broken paragraphs a bit more because although what you say is very articulate it's kind of an eye fuck to read.

Apart from that, I think this is a very one sided view of the deficit, and I think that fiscal responsibility is an extremely important thing for our generation to do so that we don't inherit the same kind of insanity that we were given. I want our kids to be able to have policies we couldn't afford and being responsible is an important part of that.

Labour and the SNP will need to borrow a lot to fund their manifestos and I'm really not convinced that will be in our long term interest.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

The ball and chain woman looking worse than ever.

I thought DMX wore pretty hefty chains but looking through images they're only a quarter of the size.

Holy shit. That's indeed a DMX chain....but bigger.

 

[Spuck-uk]

The thing is, folks would have said this about Corbyn before this campaign. It really is just exposure at the end of the day. Folks know who Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Nick Clegg are. Farron enjoys far less of the spotlight, so all folks hear from him are the party lines and the controversy of being religious.

It's extremely frustrating - you can watch him give a speech, or even go watch his performance on the crappy ITV debate, and he comes across well. But the complete unwillingness of the two big parties to engage on any real debate on Brexit starved the LD machine of its big message.

Nah, he comes off as weird in debates as well, sorry. In the same way Corbyn was coming across as bumbling on TV for the longest time, but he seems to have gotten his shit together at least.

 

[Spuck-uk]

First of all, I'd absolutely love it if you broke your posts up into line broken paragraphs a bit more because although what you say is very articulate it's kind of an eye fuck to read.

Apart from that, I think this is a very one sided view of the deficit, and I think that fiscal responsibility is an extremely important thing for our generation to do so that we don't inherit the same kind of insanity that we were given. I want our kids to be able to have policies we couldn't afford and being responsible is an important part of that.

Labour and the SNP will need to borrow a lot to fund their manifestos and I'm really not convinced that will be in our long term interest.

UK debt now £1,920 billion. It was £700 billion in 2010. Tories have nearly tripled it while running services like the NHS and mental health into the ground, and cutting the top rate of tax.

So if that's your criteria for fiscal responsibility, they're fucking terrible at it.

(I should add that I completely agree with Audioboxer that the national debt is a meaningless thing in isolation. Austerity is a cruel lie spoon fed to people too unwilling/dumb to do their research).

 

[Maledict]

The thing is, folks would have said this about Corbyn before this campaign. It really is just exposure at the end of the day. Folks know who Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Nick Clegg are. Farron enjoys far less of the spotlight, so all folks hear from him are the party lines and the controversy of being religious.

It's extremely frustrating - you can watch him give a speech, or even go watch his performance on the crappy ITV debate, and he comes across well. But the complete unwillingness of the two big parties to engage on any real debate on Brexit starved the LD machine of its big message.

I've watched his stuff - he's just not good, sorry Huw. He's uncharismatic, comes across as passionless, and in a completely unfair way he looks weird. He also plays exactly to a lib dem stereotype - weak willed do-gooder who looks like they should be doing sixth form politics.

I'm willing to bet Farron is out after the election, and my money would be on Clegg returning. He's easily the best media personality they still have left.

 

[Meadows]

UK debt now £1,920 billion. It was £700 billion in 2010. Tories have nearly tripled it while running services like the NHS and mental health into the ground, and cutting the top rate of tax.

So if that's your criteria for fiscal responsibility, they're fucking terrible at it.

Debt to GDP is the best way of measuring this and most of the extra debt came in the first two years when reducing it aggressively would have tanked the economy and led to skyrocketing unemployment.

As it is unemployment is at its lowest level in 40 years and the deficit has levelled off and has a good shot at decreasing to a more manageable level.

 

[Audioboxer]

First of all, I'd absolutely love it if you broke your posts up into line broken paragraphs a bit more because although what you say is very articulate it's kind of an eye fuck to read.

Apart from that, I think this is a very one sided view of the deficit, and I think that fiscal responsibility is an extremely important thing for our generation to do so that we don't inherit the same kind of insanity that we were given. I want our kids to be able to have policies we couldn't afford and being responsible is an important part of that.

Labour and the SNP will need to borrow a lot to fund their manifestos and I'm really not convinced that will be in our long term interest.

It may well be, but I'd like to see all the proof of how fucking great the UK has been run for the last 20+ years resulting in where we are today? The answer to improving things surely isn't to... do the exact same as we have been which got us here?

Countries have to borrow, spend and seek investment. It's what you do with it and where you focus. The UK has in years gone by been able to make money and invest, but the Conservatives AND Labour have made absolute fucking messes of things. Look at how Oil rich some of the European countries have managed to stay. Norway is a good example of how to manage oil and gas reserves across a span of time so even when oil is stuck in a rut, you reap the advantages of years gone by when it was booming.

Point being, most countries operate on debt, it's the way of the world, but the UK should never have been at £1.56 trillion (figures might be higher now). Both Labour and the Tories decision making has fucking wrecked the UK, and austerity led policies certainly haven't helped. Neither has selling everything off. Labour haven't been in power for a while though, so in recent years it's all been on the Tories. The party many now say are the party to... continue as they have been?

As it is unemployment is at its lowest level in 40 years and the deficit has levelled off and has a good shot at decreasing to a more manageable level.

*insert joke about how everyone is getting put onto 0 hour contracts to make the unemployment figure look good*

I think the bigger rabbit hole to go down is if unemployment is supposedly at record lows that should mean more taxes being stimulated, right? So, why are we on an all out assault on anything publicly funded/supported? A wise spending of taxes should largely be giving back to the public to further stimulate equality, happiness and growth in the economy/workforce. It requires great intelligence, planning and consistency to do this well, no doubts, but that is what a voted in Government should have in spades.

We've had some utter fucking idiots/cretins running the country in recent times. Often self-centered and focusing heavily on themselves/their networks.

 

[Spuck-uk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fbUqcc2bGs

This is what Austerity has given us. My missus works with this lady, it's hard to describe just how angry this shit makes me.

 

[Rodelero]

It doesn't fall on the tenant, actually.

I can't help but feel this is a little simplistic... for one, supply clearly isn't fixed. I can easily believe that tenants will save money under LVT, but to suggest that none would be passed on at all? It increases the cost to landlords, and tenants will have more money to spend having been relieved of council tax. I think LVT would reduce house prices and rent in the long term, and I think renters would be better off even in the short term, but some of it would inevitably be passed on.

 

[slider]

I'd really wanted to vote LD in the GE. I'm staunchly anti Brexit and they've aligned most closely. But, making this as quick as possible, they've been pretty much transparent. And with Corbz stepping up his game (and the eye popping Lab manifesto), I've swung back. Unfortunately, it's overwhelmingly Conservative where I am.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

I'm willing to bet Farron is out after the election, and my money would be on Clegg returning. He's easily the best media personality they still have left.

We'll probably disagree on Farron as a personality - I've seen far more as a LD than your average voter, so I've seen the actual Tim Farron, I think. Again, I've met the guy. And he's on TV twice over the next two nights, in the two big TV moments of the campaign for him, so we'll see how he goes down.

He won't step down - he's been given a thoroughly raw deal this election and is someone who has clearly improved and will continue to do so. Out of the current crop of MPs that could replace him, given Lamb will likely not have a seat after this election, Clegg will be the one folks will chinwag about. But Clegg does not want the job, he regards his time as leader to be done. Given the seats we're likely to win, the most likely successor to Farron should he - for no real reason, as changing a leader before Brexit is through with at the least is a stupid idea - is Jo Swinson.

But again, I think Farron's in for the long haul. I'm not going to say until 2022 - that's five years away and who knows. But certainly for the two to three years after this election until the LD ship has had five full years to recover from the coalition and Brexit has been concluded.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

I can't help but feel this is a little simplistic... for one, supply clearly isn't fixed. I can easily believe that tenants will save money under LVT, but to suggest that none would be passed on at all? It increases the cost to landlords, and tenants will have more money to spend having been relieved of council tax. I think LVT would reduce house prices and rent in the long term, and I think renters would be better off even in the short term, but some of it would inevitably be passed on.

Supply is fixed, though. LVT doesn't fall on the value of the property, it falls on the value of the land - which very definitely is fixed, we can't just dredge another Scotland out of the sea. I mean in practice it's not quite true, because land isn't a homogeneous good and improving e.g. roads turns land-30-minutes-from-London into land-40-minutes-from-London, but even then, landlords have very little control over things like infrastructure and so don't really impact the supply of the good.

 

[Maledict]

We'll probably disagree on Farron as a personality - I've seen far more as a LD than your average voter, so I've seen the actual Tim Farron, I think. Again, I've met the guy.

He won't step down - he's been given a thoroughly raw deal this election and is someone who has clearly improved and will continue to do so. Out of the current crop of MPs that could replace him, given Lamb will likely not have a seat after this election, Clegg will be the one folks will chinwag about. But Clegg does not want the job, he regards his time as leader to be done. Given the seats we're likely to win, the most likely successor to Farron should he - for no real reason, as changing a leader before Brexit is through with at the least is a stupid idea - is Jo Swinson.

I've met Farron as well. He's from my neck of the woods remember originally. He's a nice guy, but utterly unsuited to be leader, and not good at the media stuff which a leader needs to be (especially a smaller party leader who can't rely on instituional votes). I think you're a bit blinkered by party loyalty - the fact is he hasn't done a good job this election.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

I'll definitely agree he's had a bad time of it this election, mostly at the start.

 

[Hazzuh]

I've watched his stuff - he's just not good, sorry Huw. He's uncharismatic, comes across as passionless, and in a completely unfair way he looks weird. He also plays exactly to a lib dem stereotype - weak willed do-gooder who looks like they should be doing sixth form politics.

I'm willing to bet Farron is out after the election, and my money would be on Clegg returning. He's easily the best media personality they still have left.

Is Clegg winning his seat again a sure thing?

 

[hohoXD123]

Debt to GDP is the best way of measuring this and most of the extra debt came in the first two years when reducing it aggressively would have tanked the economy and led to skyrocketing unemployment.

As it is unemployment is at its lowest level in 40 years and the deficit has levelled off and has a good shot at decreasing to a more manageable level.

How far back are you looking when you say that

fiscal responsibility is an extremely important thing for our generation to do so that we don't inherit the same kind of insanity that we were given.

Because your own figure shows that Debt to GDP wasn't any worse under the previous Labour government until the global financial crisis. It was lower than what they inherited if anything and they weren't exactly pursuing a major austerity campaign.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

Is Clegg winning his seat again a sure thing?

Nothing is sure in politics, but after a brief "BUT WHAT IF THOUGH" frenzy a few days back on the betting markets, there was some actual analysis done. If nothing else - same as Greg Mulholland in Leeds NW, he'd be saved by the Labour-voting student bloc going home denying his main opponent some critically needed votes.

The local strategy this election has been very good - well organised, with MPs primarily expected to defend their patch and solid literature and policy to talk about.

And FWIW I don't deny the majority opinion of Farron. I think it's not a fair opinion but the national campaign has done an awful job of actually promoting him.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

Is Clegg winning his seat again a sure thing?

All 3 of the seat models released at the moment (YouGov, ElectionForecast, and Ashcroft) have Clegg losing Hallam.

 

[Lego Boss]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fbUqcc2bGs

This is what Austerity has given us. My missus works with this lady, it's hard to describe just how angry this shit makes me.

FFS. That is harrowing.

One of the richest nations on the planet