I can't tell you how much I hope the Conservatives win the election.

[AntoinetteOuradi]

Just had to get that off my chest.

Please come and join me if you feel the same, and then I can stop annoying myself (and others) by hijacking the anti-Tory threads.

they are poorer in comparison with the rich. not poorer as in have less money in real terms - as the other thread on here about benefits shows- they are demonstrably richer!

Being female I don't think the term you want is wanker, and really, if you can't debate without descending to abuse why bother?

Your comment on London though sums up Labour - a totally urban tribe, who have no idea that life in the countryside isn't all Barbours and wellies, and that it isn't a theme park.

The point I am making is that Labour are perfectly aware of the issues of rural poverty, but over the last 13 years have chosen not to address them. They have seen the price farmers are paid for their produce go down and have not intervened to help. This government did too little too late with foot and mouth when loads of farmers killed themselves, or went to the wall in 2000. The schools in Cornwall have been underfunded for a decade; what have Labour done? Nothing.

Yes, there'll be cuts under the Tories, or at least they won't be wasting money - £61k on promoting the useless Contactpoint database for instance. I'd rather that than another hike in NI, which would hit some self employed on 17k and all those earning over £20k. Who knows - they might even reinstate the 10p tax rate, the removal of which hit those at the bottom end of the scale the hardest.

rocknstroll, am I imagining it, or did you call Scaryteacher a 'wanker'? I can only hope I was imagining it.

Some people (those who live in areas with top state grammar schools, nice clean hospitals, etc, etc) really don't have the first clue about what it's like living in the urban north or the rural south west under a Labour government (I have done both). In fact, Labour people pontificating about how brilliant life is for them (especially when they can twist the system so their children get into the best state schools despite not living in the catchment area, Tony Blair) makes my blood boil.

But, hey, Cornish farmers on income support get free fruit and milk for their children. Yes, the same fruit and milk that they produce themselves. Well, that makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?

'if we want to the capital markets to keep buying UK government debt that is' .....sorry sweetheart, my already tenuous grasp is really slipping away from me now - i just have no idea what that means.

anyway, i've agreed with scary teacher - i'd love to see more funding for the kids in the SW who are struggling. I just don't think the Tories, the party of cuts and volunteer armies, who want to cut IHT for the richest people, are the ones to deliver increased funding for poor kids - even if they are in the countryside! it is just complete madness to turn to the tories to fund better education for the poor! mad.ness.

o no sorry, i do know what is meant by that, just didn't quite understand your sentence structure - read it back - it is nonsense.
Also, don't diss the sun readers catty, that paper is on your team. I'm more of a Mirror woman myself.

Scaryteacher: "When I was teaching in Cornwall, some of the farmers kids qualified for free school meals; and the families were on the bones of their arse trying to keep things going. Labour do NOT understand rural Britain and have done nothing for it. Less money is given to schools in Devon and Cornwall than in other Labour held parts of the country; please explain how that is fair?"

I agree with you that rural poverty is a genuine problem, but the scale of the problem is quite different in urban areas, hence the difference in funding. A quick look through the statistics on free school meals shows eligibility in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset at around 10% each. In Camden, Lambeth and Newham it's round 39% each.

Regarding the issue of farming and food prices, I agree that farming has been badly neglected, but this has everything to do with free market ideology, and you won't find the Tories going against the tide on this.

It's all about priorities.

None of the parties have revealed enough spending cuts/tax increases to fill the hole in the budget, so we have to assume they're going to do more in the vein of what they've already proposed.

So the Tories are going to save £6bn by cutting public sector jobs (I'm assuming they haven't factored in the cost of then putting all those people on benefits, not to mention the social costs)
...and they want to spend £3 to £6bn on an inheritance tax cut for the richest 0.8% of estates in the country.

That tells me all I need to know about the Conservatives' priorities - protect the rich, screw the plebs - and that is why I will not be voting for them.

Everyone will cut.

The Tories will enjoy doing it and would have done it anyway.

That'll be why I'm not voting for them. (That and the non-freezing over of hell, of course.)

Minthumbug, please point us in the direction of the evidence that the Tories would have, for example, put the brakes on those activities of the banking sector which caused global financial meltdown. It might make me change my mind and vote Conservative.

Lots of the stats show free school meal entitlement of 25% plus in the poorer areas of Cornwall. As there are more people in urban areas then the scale is going to be greater, but that does not mitigate the underfunding of the Cornish schools for the past decade; considering also the strain on SW incomes from the highest water bills in the UK, and some of the lowest incomes.

scaryteacher of course there are more people in urban areas but the stats show percentages of pupils eligible not numbers.

So, what have the Tories pledged to do about rural poverty?

Oh good god. Were all you Tories having a nice long sleep while the global financial system was imploding?

So the Tories were against the war? Funny, that's not quite how I remember it.

rocknstroll - you are being incredibly rude on this thread. By and large the political debate on MN has been polite - robust yes, but polite. But you are just rude so please take yourself and your ill-informed opinions elsewhere.

kaylasmum - if your family income is as low as £17K then your tax credits will not be cut at all.

Zephrine - no-one is saying that the recession was anything other than global, simply that thanks to years of mismanagement from Labour that Britain was in a far worse position to cope than many countries that we consider ourselves on a par with, France and Germany for example.

"what about the people like us who earn 17K per year? How are we supposed to cope with tax credits being scrapped if the tories get in?"

They won't be for you :S

Scrapping for 50K +. FFS, falling for propaganda?