The Tories are gonna get in, it's inevitable do you care? Is there an upside?

[TheDullWitch]

Oh why not have the election NOW. Let the buggers get in, show their true colours, become universally loathed, then get kicked out after one term. Come on, let's get on with it!

Arggggh Rhubs!!! S9orry you'd have to be on other tory thread to get my frustration)

Nope, have had to lay glasses to rest for today as they are strong and upsetting me,

though actually at this very momemnt I am typing one handed LOL, just its been crap all day

The Daily Mail like DC.

Ah Peachy, what a pain!

Mackerel, I don't get it either. That picture of him happily quaffing champagne at the conference was very telling. But then, there are a lot of people taken in by appearances.

DC reminds me of a male ballroom dancer. glazed expression, too many teeth.

I would never vote for a party that believes my children are somehow inferior because their dad was a feckless bugger and left us all. I do not believe in the sanctity of marriage and do not believe that people should be financially rewarded for havinga public commitment to each other. I also find it loathsome that DC consorts with eastern european homophobes.

peachys I think it's a bit of a red herring to discuss which areas you'd like to protect, as they will all have to be reduced radically. I don't think anyone really appreciates the world of pain that is coming our way in the next 10 years.

On the other hand, the largest chunk of government spending is on welfare - so getting people into work has a greater effect on our national outgoings than any other measure. And that includes cuts to the NHS (which, btw, is the world's third biggest employer, after the Indian Railways and the Chinese Army).

rhubarb "...they aren't getting a pay cut are they? They are getting a pay freeze."

Not strictly true- a pay freeze is a real-terms pay cut if inflation rises (it's predicted to be around 2% next year). If we get deflation, it will become a real-terms pay rise.

Right, but in the light of so many of us having lost our jobs or having to take pay cuts of up to 10%, I think that's getting away with it lightly, don't you?

But as usual, the poor struggle more than ever whilst the rich all hop up and down and threaten to leave the country if they are taxed anymore.

Yes doctors and other high paid staff earn their money and work hard, but so do a lot of other people. Without the working classes this country would fall to its knees. I think DC would do well to remember that.

Tory vote here! F*cking hate everything about Labour and this government and I don't think Maggie T was all that bad TBH. Anything, ANYTHING has got to be better than what we have at the moment.

This country 'government' is fast losing it's grip on reality.

How big an employer they are compared to others is irrlevant

If you say 'a tird over staffed ' thats different of course, I may not argue there.

Cuts to the NHS etc willshift expenditure betwen budgets as much as save it- as people become unemployed they will claim benefits instead of wages.It'sjopbs we need so we can pay taxes rather than cuts- there'sa trade off, income is better than expenditure after all

And of course you can prioritise! It's perfectly OK to say 'Look our priorities for spendinga re those who need their services, so whilst we will minimise cuts in (say carers allowance that we get), we will make cuts in Y

There's also theissue of intelligent cuts; you can make x% redundant with no job prospects, or you for example reduce the admin burden on business and combine new growth with reduced expenditure os tax admin in the public sector.

As a society weneed to work out what we prioritise. People go on about cuts to the arts as if they are the worst thing eer, but how more important are htye thsn the disabled, ors chools or whatever?

That's where the deabte should be happening.that cuts have to be made is certain, where is still up for garbs.

'I would never vote for a party that believes my children are somehow inferior because their dad was a feckless bugger and left us all. I do not believe in the sanctity of marriage and do not believe that people should be financially rewarded for havinga public commitment to each other. I also find it loathsome that DC consorts with eastern european homophobes. '

As a married straight Mum

I wholeheartedly agree

(eeeek with your post obv, not with the bias against single parents)

How is it telling him quaffing champagne? It was a media party, it's practically law to drink champagne isn't it? I really think people should be focussing on things other than what he is drinking. It is completely irrelevant.

It is always the case that champagne is about at these things

nonetheless, if hewanted to savea fewquid he'd be btter off at elast pretending he was willing to be a bit more austere himself!

I ermember when DH lost his job;we accepted that cuts had to be made. What grated was the company website about how they were doing better than ever in the face of the recessions.

Being a good PM and leader is abuut empathy and the champagne didn't demonstrate any

If the Tories were serious about reducing the deficit, they wouldn't be bringing in inheritance tax breaks for the richest people in the country, and refusing to talk about income tax rises.

Because Ewe, his own party banned champagne as it was deemed to be insensitive when they were talking about public sector cuts. So he flouted his own rules, that's how much he cares.

Peachy, I couldn't agree more.

He was swilling said champagne in the evening after they'd announced at the conference they were cutting cut the number of people receiving IB by 500,000 (at a time when there are very few jobs going around). They had previously banned champagne at the conferences, but obviously due to the fabulous economic recovery we're going through at the moment, they are foregoing it.

Politics is largely about image, rightly or wrongly, and how is standing around drinking champagne after announcing reducing 1/2mn people's income a good idea?

"I also find it loathsome that DC consorts with eastern european homophobes." That's just one part of the pretty picture of these people.

I care a lot that the Tories will get in. I don't believe they represent the British people in any real way. I believe they are for the wealthy only and would leave the rest to rot with minimal education and health if they could get away with it. Because if you're poor, it's always your fault, isn't it?

Don't forget we had two recessions under the Tories too, you know.

But I am so jaded with Labour. I had high hopes for Gordon Brown but things have not been handled very well at all. Sigh.

Lifelong Labour supporter but I don't know which way to turn now. I'm not really sure that how many children Red Ken has by different women is a reason not to vote Labour though.

Sorry I fail to see the point. It was at either the Spectator or News Int party, I can't remember which one, he wasn't paying for it. I quite agree that the party shouldn't be seen to be spending on champers but that isn't the case here. Surely the focus should be on more important stuff?

Actually that makes it even worse in my eyes as DH's last job was for a NI contract but anyway, thats personal LOL

Its about being aware of presenting the wholeimage, the conveyance of the it-hurts-me-as-much-as-you image

Of course we know its crap and DC dosn't eat savers beans on cheap bread each night but it still is important. The we'reallin it together, or bitz spirit as people call it, matters for morale

Blair is a multimillionaire with a house in Mayfair who went to the Eton of Scotland. The last humble PM was John Major.

( i got that peachys, thank you - incidentally straight myself, but son is as camp as a tent peg and the fact that people might hate him because of who he can't help loving curdles my blood.)

I fail to see the point in voting conservative because you have lost faith in Labour. Surely it would be better to vote for someone you felt was worthy of your vote WinkyWinkola or to not vote at all. You shouldn't vote for someone on the basis that you don't agree with someone else, that's strange. Giving someone your vote means you agree with their ideals and values.

Ah persephone DS1 seems to be also, doesn't worry me a jot- with 4 boys one was likelu to be gay at last but like you, I hope that society still views him as himnself