Is it game over?

[Shouldof]

I've been full of optimism for most of the campaign but today i feel deflated and feel that the die is cast for another 5 years of con/lib coalition.

Anyone care to reassure me there's hope for labour?

Yoko I think half of Europe would give their right arm for our "minuscule and snail paced growth"

this site is good to see what your vote is worth

www.voterpower.org.uk/

Come on Ed, Leanne and Natalie!

Non-doms, people who avoid tax, people who earn a lot of money. Some might leave the country, but trickle-down economic theory is a load of discredited rubbish anyway, so it's no loss, really.

Doh! I of course meant Nicola...although I don't mind a bit of Green!

home we're not Portugal or Greece, we're the world's sixth biggest economy and we should be exporting and manufacturing like there's no tomorrow.

Yoko, who are the rich? Non doms contribute 8 billion to the economy. If you scared them off who would make up the shortfall?

YukoUhOh The IMF have praised the Tory-led coalition for their economic strategy.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32346214

And both the FT and Economist have both endorsed a Tory-led minority government (as best serving the country).

Can't believe anyone with a modicum of intelligence wouldn't vote with their political leaning because they didn't like the leader much.

Your vote still matters OP. Increasing the party share of vote matters.

Did you see my link upthread by the way.

Well my father in law and sister are both accountants and their votes are going to Labour...

i am soo tired of the rhetoric and scaremongering by the parties - all this election campaign has been so negative and more about who you don't want to rule rather than what the party is going to do.

we are not America - we don't really do charisma and every vote counts and we have little say in who runs for election.

i am not voting Labour simply because they have p'ed me off with the old narrative that somehow only the poor are hard working and the rich live it up large.

I'll put it another way: who's seeing the benefit of this economic policy? The hundreds of thousands of people using food banks? The families with disabled children who have been devastated by the bedroom tax? The schools which are about to get a 10% cut in funding?

I'd be voting Labour if I was in a constituency where it'd matter. Tight Lib Dem/Con marginal here so going for the head vote over heart. I think lots do here.

Therealmary, I opened the page but is it the poll projector you were linking to? because for some reason that graph wasn't showing on my ipad..

I've always been pro labour before, but not with Ed in charge. He's gone too far left. I would have voted for his brother. I've voted libdem.

I think conservative will get the most seats, but not a majority and Ed will stab anyone in the back to be PM and so will do a deal with the SNPs.

Its not about "trickle down" though and I don't believe anyone has been trying to claim that it is. Everyone knows that its not as simple as saying "I earn ten times as much therefore I'll buy ten times as much bread" or "I earn a lot and that money will all be spent on British goods and services". That has been shown not to be the case. It is about the fact that the high earners contribute massive amounts in tax revenue which we can't do without and you need to ensure the balance is right.

Yoko tax avoidance is actually legal. I think you mean tax evaders.

More people are using food banks because there are more food banks.

And those cuts would not be necessary if those that could work did work. Why are thousands of EU workers coming here to do jobs that the currently unemployed could do but won't because they feel those jobs are beneath them? The welfare state was set up as a temporary safety net and not intended to support generations in workless households. I have to work nearly half the week before I see any return given the current tax rates. That's quite enough.

And by the way I do think that higher rate tax payers should pay for some healthcare.

we should be exporting and manufacturing like there's no tomorrow

Yes that would be great, but our businesses need to be able to compete in the world market which they can't if hampered by protectionist policies and taxation.

Please vote , with your head or your heart but you MUST vote . Even if you feel your vote is " wasted " , because your favoured candidate won't get in .

Women gave their lives for us to have this right .

We owe it to our daughters .

If fewer women vote, less attention will be given to things that are seen as " women's issues " ( usually those that affect children , such as childcare, education , health care , carers ) . So then more women will see politics as irrelevant to their lives . And our views will become even more marginalised.

Home makes some good points. People on benefits who find working doesn't pay for all sorts of reasons often due to choices they have made wouldn't dream of voting for anyone other that Labour.

Under Labour they will be seen as vunerable, needing support, given more more money to support their choices. I am not talking about the genuinely disabled. I am talking about people who use the bloated welfare state for their own ends.

I agree with Farage. Take out private medical insurance and opt out of the NHS. I already pay for prescriptions - I am in a minority though.

I'm a floating voter and so are my family. I would rather vote for what's actually on the table rather than some outdated view of what the parties actually stand for.

My issue with labour is that their policies seem very wishy-washy and most of the election campaign has been 'boo! Look at those nasty Tories!'. I also don't think their figures stack up.

I think the conservatives have made a lot of mistakes (bedroom tax and cuts to disabled and mental health services to say the least) but I do think they have done a reasonable job with the economy. It's all very well saying tax the shit out of the rich and bankers - but then you have the likes of hsbc threatening to leave the UK, which would be very bad for the UK economy. Like it or not, we operate on a worldwide stage and large companies can vote with their feet. I'm not saying that they shouldn't pay more tax, just that care needs to be taken to ensure the UK remains attractive.

I think I'll vote lib dem in the hope of another con-lib coalition. I wouldn't want conservatives in sole power and think the lib dems have softened some of the conservatives harsher policies.

We certainly aren't seeing any benefit personally bar a healthy jobs market where we are and more confidence due to economic growth.

Child benefit was scrapped for our earnings bracket and we don't qualify for anything else. I don't believe Labour would offer our household anything extra and I don't trust them with the economy.

I think the welfare bill does have to come down. There were too many people choosing to not work. I'm not talking about the genuinely ill and disabled, I'm talking about the likes of my ex NDN - large housing association house. Mother a former heroin addict, Father who came and went, sometimes lived in the shed, also had drug problems. One son who never worked, was 20 when I left. Spent all his time playing drum and bass in his shed at ear splitting levels with a huge group of young men who dealt drugs from the property meaning cars came and went all day and night. Young daughter who was classed as 'educationally subnormal', would be left on her own as her Mother often disappeared for weeks at a time. She was about eleven and was left with the Son and often the Grandmother. Nobody worked, every benefit possible was claimed, anti social behaviour proliferated, it was total bedlam. Found out recently the Grandmother died, followed pretty quickly by the Son from an accidental drug overdose. The welfare system funded the lifestyle that ended with the death of a 20 year old. I honestly believe that if that kid had had to live a normal average lifestyle where he got up at 7am and went to bed at 10 he wouldn't have been able to get to the stage where his life had totally gone off the rails.

Stacey was that aimed at me? Because I have stated twice that I am voting, even though it won't count for much. I have never not voted in any election I have been eligible to vote in.

The idea of Cameron 'renegotiating' eu membership and then managing a referendum of it fills me with horror. He has demonstrated several times he is a totally incompetent negotiator and will royally fuck it up.

Those saying he 'looks right' on the world stage haven't seen him in action. He'll make us a laughing stock before he's done.

Well my father in law and sister are both accountants and their votes are going to Labour..

Makes sense for them LittleLion: it's in their interest as the tax hits on the better off under Labour will bring more customers knocking at accountants' doors seeking help in minimising their tax. It's an ill wind etc etc.

grimble

Although to call them accountants does them a slight disservice - they're actually financial controllers at blue chip companies