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How will you vote on May 5th?

462 replies

victoriapeckham · 12/04/2005 18:36

Just wondered. A little bit political...
a) how did you vote last time (if at all?)
b) how will you vote this time (if at all)?
c) what to you is the deciding issue of this election?
d) if you had to make love (not war) with one politician (past, present, senior or backbench?) who would it be?

OP posts:
FairyMum · 17/04/2005 20:18

Illegal immigrants presumably don't get handed benefits Munz? Ironically, illegal immigrants might be the ones who are actually the most needy/wanting, often having risked their lives to travel to a new country. It's really difficult to get to the UK or any other European country to claim asylum in the first place. It's a tabloid-myth that people come flooding in.

Munz, if we are talking about financial crime lilke altering tax returns etc, there are considerable bigger fish in the sea and they are probably very British.

jemimah · 17/04/2005 20:19

It does make you wonder how they can be so slack. I know people who when in hospital the staff weren't washing their hands etc and they said the state of the place was awful. Peachyclair-I am so sorry to hear about your cousins child,it is awful. It shouldn't be tolerated at all. You go to hospital to be made well. I don't know how long ago MRSA was first spotted.

munz · 17/04/2005 20:20

lol@ PC ah a woman after my own heart, thta's why i've switched from the mr muscle types.

anyhow off for a bath now. must apologise for all my typos as well I really should preview my posts!

morningpaper · 17/04/2005 20:24

Hmm bit depressing reading the thoughts of those who think "immigrants" and "non-whites" - you might like to remember that Michael Howard's grandparents were in fact illegal immigrants themselves...

morningpaper · 17/04/2005 20:25

... those who think that "immigrants" are "non-whites" ...

FairyMum · 17/04/2005 20:26

Also, in every generation there are people who think the country is going down the pan. It isn't. the UK is one of the best countries to live in in this world and really you should count yourself lucky to have been born here. There will always be people who aren't doing very well and blaim everyone from other weak/weaker groups to the government for their perceived misery.....

morningpaper · 17/04/2005 20:30

Too right Fairymum. I was recently reading some magazines from the 1950s and the letters pages were ALL about "How the NHS isn't working" and "How Britian is running out of room for immigrants".

It was like reading the Telegraph from last week! Quite an eye-opener!

snafu · 17/04/2005 20:31

Is this a good moment to lighten the mod and tell my Daily Mail joke?

snafu · 17/04/2005 20:32

lighten the mood [rolls eyes]

morningpaper · 17/04/2005 20:34

please do

Cam · 17/04/2005 21:08

Apparently the largest group of illegal immigrants here is white Australian.

beatie · 17/04/2005 22:47

"answer me this then if joe bloggs can't get bernifits how come I couldn't get hem after working and going to college, after saving up and paying my taxes why was I declied the benifits which I 'should b' entitled to when the person next to me who couldn't utter a word of english was handed a wadge of stuff she could claim where's the justice in that? it's just no on.
"

I'm not sure it is unfair to make such a judgement about this woman on face value. Why did you not leave the Job Centre with the memory of all the other people (British-born citizens) who were easily claiming benefits?

Just because this other woman was handed a 'wadge of stuff' doesn't mean she actually got anything. How can you make that assumption? I'm sure you were handed a wadge of forms to fill in to establish whether you were entitled to any unemployment benefit.

In your case, you probably weren't entitled to any benefits because you were living with a partner and in those cicumstances, if he earns enough, he is expected to 'keep you' until you find a job. It's harsh and I too have been in that position - but there are blanket rules which exist in the employment service to ascertain entitlement.

I'm not suprised that many people hold the same oopinions of immigrants and Asylum seekers as you do. There is a lot of media out there who love to pick on this vulnerable group and play to the fears of the British public. Once you scratch the surface though, and seek out more grand scale factual information, some of the fear about immigration poilicy usually subsides.

I wonder how much notice you take of other news stories. Many fraudulent and violent crimes are committed by British-born citizens. I too am often left with that feeling that Britain is going down the pan, but it is usually in response to the growth of anti-social behaviour.

JoolsToo · 18/04/2005 00:22

"... those who think that "immigrants" are "non-whites" ... "

who said that mp?

snafu · 18/04/2005 06:59

How do you confuse a Daily Mail reader?

Tell them asylum seekers eat gypsies.

(sorry Jools )

morningpaper · 18/04/2005 08:12

Joostoo: Munz wrote: "(immigrants) want to work fine fair enought but surely u should pay them the same wage as 'whites'"

JoolsToo · 18/04/2005 08:45

mp - oh right, but I'm a bit confused cos thats not the same as saying 'immigrants are non-whites' is it - in fact I can't see the correlation at all. What has this got to do MH's grandparents being illegal immigrants?

Snafu - I don't believe you

munz · 18/04/2005 08:47

i'm sorry that was a bad choice of words what I ment is that immigrants should be paid a wage equal to british nationals (if u like) I didn't mean whites and all others are immigrants. I didn't ment to offend anyone with that stantement. but I do beleive thou that if immigrants want to work why don't we pay them a better wage which is fairer, and more inline with other employees in the country.

JoolsToo · 18/04/2005 08:51

no offence munz - (I think) its more a 'misinterpretation' of your post

snafu · 18/04/2005 08:59

It's true, jools. Honest. And binge-drinking asylum seekers can eat two at a time. Fancy!

Marina · 18/04/2005 09:03

thank you for that snafu!

beatie · 18/04/2005 09:16

Munz - if immigrants are working legally then they would have to be paid the minimum wage - the same as British-born citizens. That's why we have emplyment laws in place. As a whole they may well be paid 'less' since they are more willing to do the jobs which no-one wants to do and which sometimes carry the lowest wages.

beatie · 18/04/2005 09:29

Hmm - doesn't sound right to say they are more willing to do the jobs others don't want to do. Perhaps they are coerced into this willingness because it is the only type of work they can secure.

ionesmum · 18/04/2005 10:07

Absolutely, Beatie. Here in East Anglia the migrant workers are treated shamefully. Most of them come from either Eastern Europe or Portugal. They are so desperate that they even leave their children behind and will do any work at all, sending the pittance they make home. Many of them believe that they are here illegally even thuogh they come from EU member states, and so allow the gangmasters to do whatever they like, even paying them rent or letting them have their passports. And the local people look down on them and the work they do.

cori · 18/04/2005 10:43

Back to how we are all voting.

a) Lib Dems
B) Lib Dems ( for promising to correct some of the shameful conservative type policies Labour have come up with, such as scraping of tutition fees and free care for the elderly and disabled)
C) Despite all that, TOny Blair was quite sexy a decade a go.

Peachyclair · 18/04/2005 13:30

Lib Dem, I hated the way Labour dealt with Iraq and won't vote for them again as long as Tony Blair is leader. I would vote for Gordon brown though.

RE: the minimum wage thing, I am only quoting what i was told so don't jump on me, but dh says they hire migrant workers because there is a loophole where they can pay a lot less. He works for a massive multinational, and I know they get a lot of their workers like that.