Yes. Nice copy and paste job Phillip. It looks like you're going to need a bigger Ark. Half of Swansea seems to agree that we are doomed and "what's the point?". The other half seem to think that the Labour Party have a money tree. I'm afraid life goes on, decisions still need to be made on behalf of the British people and therefore our country needs to decide who we would like to make those decisions (on our behalf). We owe it to our kids not to throw the towel in. I'm saying vote Lib Dem because their policies have created new jobs, put more money in people's pockets, created more private sector jobs (rebalancing our economy). created thousands of apprenticeships, grew our manufacturing sector, put more money into the NHS, and favour investment in education over military spending (to name only a few things). I'm not expecting that the Lib Dems will win...I won't take it personal if they don't....when the dead heads come on here to crow on election day it will mean very little to me (I'll just be amused by your petty idiocy)...I'm just putting the case forward for the Lib Dems as they don't deserve the **** they are getting from all sides for merely doing the right thing. If you're reading this and you still think you can't live with compromises the Lib Dems made (as did the Tories to be fair)....go out on May the 7th and vote for either the Labour party or the Conservative party. That vastly increases the chances of no coalition as so many times before. Go on, the red and blue teams deserve another crack at it don't they...they are not in any way responsible for the sticky situation this country finds itself in are they? Or you could not vote, and sit on your arse rather than stand as an independent and offer an alternative yourself, like Phillip advocates. Of course don't expect me to take your political rants seriously Phillip if you are not prepared to put your money where your mouth is on election days
Another opinion this time against Cameron % Co`s lot ! An Open Letter to David Cameron and the Conservative Party, from the Business ‘Makers’ of the UK: The People. The business leaders’ letter warned that a “change in course” would “put the recovery at risk”. We ask, ‘whose recovery?’ The majority of the British public are not seeing a recovery. While not all of us are struggling personally, the impact of austerity on the most vulnerable is disgraceful. We are horrified that a system designed to support people is failing them in such huge numbers, and in so many ways. In London alone, homelessness has risen 79% since 2010. Tenants on low incomes have their budgets pressured further due to the unnecessary bedroom tax and the threat of eviction is ever present. Home-owners fear inability to pay the mortgage. ‘Why is it that Conservatives oppose a mansion tax but are so keen on bedroom tax?’ Conservative policy is riddled with similar hypocrisies. Signatory Juliet said, “I’m disgusted at the existence of zero hours contracts, keeping people poor, at the terrible benefits system forcing families to food banks… at the victimisation of immigrants and people on benefits while corporations avoid their taxes.” Her sentiments are echoed by all of us. Most shocking, is the impact of the cuts on the disabled: cuts to the Access to Work fund. leave disabled employees at a disadvantage. Rather than removing barriers to work, the cuts created them. Meanwhile, the Work Programme became mandatory for disabled benefit claimants- despite the fact that job clubs are not accessible- those with health issues are now less able to access jobs market and support. Changes from DLA to PIP mean people are less likely to meet eligibility criteria and will suffer social exclusion as a result. These policies appear to have been designed by people used to pushing statistics around on a spreadsheet. They bear no relation to need. Our politicians seem oblivious to the impact they are having on vulnerable people in the real world. Those who are seeking work increasingly find them selves between a rock and a hard place. Sanctions are imposed arbitrarily, creating unnecessary hardship. A Community Development Worker told us how people are “unable to feed themselves or their families” and the immense need for food bank referrals. In work or out, we are all concerned by the rising cost of living: food price rises, rail fare increases, higher private rents. Claims that Conservatives serve hard working families are nothing more than sound-bites. Catriona, a single parent says she is just about surviving but knows folk who aren’t. “..Was better off 7 yrs ago when I first got my job n the conservatives weren’t in power.” Reduced hours and in-work-benefit cuts are having a big impact on working families. Despite claiming to be on the side of business, Start Up support has been abolished under the coalition. SME’s struggle to get by while multi-nationals avoide their social responsibilities. Austerity cuts are not good for business: public sector clients have had their budgets slashed or have out-sourced to companies that pay derisory amounts, and private sector remains affected by ongoing manufacturing recession. Only the unscrupulous benefit from Conservative policy. Employment Law is classed as ‘red tape’ along with Health and safety, Tribunals become the realm of those who can afford to pay not those who deserve justice, and Human Rights are viewed as an obstacle to progress. Zero hours, Minimum Wage and Apprenticeship exploitation are all seen as positives while those affected are vilified as scroungers for their need of support. Cuts to council funds mean local services, youth and social services, suffer. We lose vital preventative services which reduce the long term cost to public purse. The public sector of course, has borne the brunt of the austerity cuts. Conservatives cannot see the value in providing services for the vulnerable. The “long term economic plan” is to move as much public money into private hands as possible. Thus we see privatisation of East Coast Rail, the Post Office, Channel Tunnel and underfunding of the NHS- pushing it to the point of collapse. Not only have we witnessed an acceleration of the privatisation of NHS services and increased fragmentation during Conservatives’ time in office but also the cuts in funding which the party has cleverly dressed up as efficiencies are bringing our NHS to its knees. Private firms donated £1.5 million to your party have won £1.5 billion in NHS contracts. Coincidence? This privatisation is occurring throughout public services without evidence that services have improved. Accountability is not even up for consideration. Probation, libraries, prisons, schools- all forced to self-fund or close. These services are not meant to make profit but to fulfil needs. They benefit us all. Our education system is in crisis -financially and in principle- we see a change in focus, from the aim of bringing out the best in every child, whatever their academic ability, to getting them to jump through hoops of constant tests and assessments. None of which aids education, it’s like digging up a plant every few days to see if it’s growing. And the pupils are increasingly impoverished and hungry, further limiting their chances of success. Opportunities to move out of poverty have been smashed along with hopes and aspirations as child trust funds and EMA have been abolished and parents struggle on lower incomes. Prospects are impacted by the threat of high tuition fees. One elderly signatory spoke of her measly £2 a week pension increase. Meanwhile MPs voted to increase theirs by 25%, received an 11% pay rise while public sector workers received 1% max, and increased their expenses costs. The Lords celebrated on gallons of champagne, Pickles ate his weight in biscuits and Osborne threw money away supporting bankers in a European legal challenge. Austerity? While claiming to be tough on tax avoidance, you have, in fact, created greater loop holes. The resultant increased number of billionaires in the UK does not benefit our economy as the billions lie secreted in tax havens. Yet the people- hard working families- pay out a higher proportion of their income via PAYE, VAT and Council Taxes. Is this the future Britain we aspire to? Are these the ‘British values‘ that the Conservatives so frequently espouse- cronyism, exploitation & separate rules for the rich?Our signatories want “No benefits for corporations. No trade agreement that steals democracy from us. No Tory party stealing democracy from us. And a genuinely green government” This ‘greenest government ever’, has introduced ‘biodiversity offsetting’- a ridiculous concept allowing the destruction of SSSIs and important habitats in favour of industry. ‘Localism’ agenda, local decision making and environmental concern has been undermined in Cumbria. Nuclear and Fracking companies set the agenda and profit takes precedence over sustainability, protection and public concerns. Time and again ministers have bent over backwards to make life easier for the big polluters while constantly undermining efforts to deliver clean technologies and ignoring any objections from the people they claim to represent. And then we have the outrageous badger cull- despite no scientific evidence to support it- and a suggestion that the hunting act will be repealed. Is there nothing that conservatives won’t destroy in the pursuit of profit? It’s quite an amazing feat! In just 5 years- anything and everything that made this nation great, dismantled and destroyed while you fill your pockets at our expense. Is this the ‘British value‘ that you wish to teach our youth? We haven’t even touched on your continuing arms sales to oppressive nations committing war crimes, the rise in hate crime across the board as a result of jingoistic rhetoric and the shaming of the poor. No mention of the introduction of illegal retroactive legislation, the corrupt dealings between health companies and MPs involved in NHS contracting, lying in parliament and redacted reports…. “I am absolutely terrified of another 5 years of the Conservatives. More scared of that than I am of dying.” said Katherine. She is not alone in her fear. What a damning indictment of your government, Mr Cameron. Enough is enough. It is time for change, and for government which serves its people. Yours Sincerely, 525+ members of the general public (signatures to follow)
Swan as sad as it seems the world and the country needs a world war to get things moving again, I read this somewhere not long ago by some high powered person and it's sad but i agree with his words.....
Excellent post there, we need to ram into Terror's empty head! Can you believe he thinks that the Politicians are there for the British people? How deluded can you get, what fantasy world does he live in?, until the British people get off their fat arses and take to the streets, then we will continue to get shafted by the corrupt ruling elite, Capitalism is in meltdown, and there is more Financial shocks to come, I'm looking forward to it, and I know which side I'll be on when crunch time comes, and it won't be the Scum Torries, LIBDEM or Labour.............
Terror Baby I'll be back come Poling day, enjoying your demise, and dancing, and partying on down as you little Libdems get castrated........
"Yes. Nice copy and paste job Phillip." - Terror Baby Yes indeed, and written by people clearly more informed than you are, your on a big learning curve, and I'm prepared along with some good friends to educate your ignorance..........
I'll leave the readers who have got a clue to decide on who's head is empty If you believe that the politicians we've got don't represent us, either stand or join a party and campaign on the inside for reform. You need 16,000 votes or so to win in Gower. Crack on. ...but I reckon that deep down you know that although this crap gets you some attention on internet forums, in the real world most serious people would see straight through your "arguments" (as far as I can see you are not arguing FOR anything. You got any solutions to societies problems Phillip?) and you'd receive near zero support. "Fantasy World" - hmmmm From the bloke who denies evolution and is preparing for the end of the World, "looking forward" to it in fact!.... I just have to You taken to the streets lately have you Phillip?
If you think that all of the parties are as bad as each other why would you take so much pleasure in the Liberal Democrats getting less seats? Aaaah, that's right, because you are a petty minded, bitter, nasty little twerp
You'll have to learn to spell first...and learn basic grammar (for instance, the correct point in a sentence to use capital letters....and either get yourself accepted at a University (a long shot I know) or get yourself down a library and study some history and international politics etc. before you'd have the remotest chance of "educating" me on anything You're getting to be as much fun as that other cockle from Penclawdd, Dai Twp
Terror i admire you sticking to your political beliefs as a committed Lib Dem supporter, and i can see some of the attraction in your posts. If only the MP`s in charge at the top of all parties would do as the foot soldiers and general public want in all our peoples interest instead of constant lies, soundbites and corruption things would get better real quick ! Therefore how would standing as a minion of these parties help get things changed for the better when you have to tow the party line which is dictated by the elite ?
There's too much in there for me to do justice too in the time I've got right now but I'll make a few brief points as it is an excellent question (if I may say so). 1) I don't know how the Tories formulate policy but as I understand it the Labour Party does have a complicated structure whereby policy is suggested and refined by various committees at the top of the party; The Joint Policy committee "steers" the National Policy Forum which oversees policy development. The National Policy Forum does this through discussions in 6 separate Policy Commissions. Who appoints Labour Party members to the 6 policy commissions? The National Policy Forum itself, the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party and The serving Labour Government. (I quite probably have got this wrong, please correct me if you have a better understanding) So yes, your point that it would be difficult to get your ideas heard and even more difficult to actually formulate policy yourself is an accurate statement and yes, it sounds very much like the policy gets sent down from the top (The Elite) to be ratified only. ....but here's how the Lib Dems work (from their website); "Help Make Policy The Liberal Democrats are not like other parties. Our members decide our policy. Their experience and understanding helps ensure we have the very best policies that matter to ordinary people. That's why, unlike the other parties, Liberal Democrat members, elected as local representatives, vote on all policy at our Party Conferences. No proposal can become Lib Dem policy until Conference has voted for it - and our members can even put forward their own proposals, which carry the same weight as any other ideas from our Ministers and MPs. Now in Government, we are putting these policies - your policies - into practice. We've given 24 million people a £700 income tax cut, given 20 hours of free childcare to all 3 and 4 year-olds and introduced Equal Marriage. None of which would have happened if Liberal Democrats hadn't voted for them to become policy. If you want to help write Lib Dem policy, become a member today! If you already are a member, click below to find out more about how you can get involved in making policy." ........only on point 1 but am required somewhere else. To be contined.
Labour and the Tories do not create/dictate policy. They are told what to do by the big corporations and wealthy individuals who control their parties. The political parties today are nothing more than the mouthpiece of the corrupt wealthy and powerful people/companies who run British politics. That's why they are now terrified of the likes of SNP, Plaid and the Greens gaining seats as they have no control of over these parties.
I'm sorry mate, did you not see my post above outlining how Lib Dem poicy gets made....grassroots suggest policies, then it gets voted on by your peers.
That sounds all well and good but the only 2 real contenders that run the show here and almost always have `red & blue` are so entwined in the real world bigger picture that policy is either dictated to them to dump on us by the elite or forced on them by big business `money` in forms of lies, blackmail, corruption via backhanders, posts on the board after their term is over etc, conflicts of interest have been rife ! There is nothing those 2 would`nt do to stop a 3rd player taking charge including their masters forming a coalition of red & blue to defeat any euserpa (?) that threatens their strangle hold on our lives ! So there is very little the real people can do about it short of full on rebellion but they even have that covered always being 10 steps ahead in their decades of pushing the limits of our tolerance until the majority are now brain dead sheep who will follow the media darlings of the time ala Thatcher & Blair etc......
Old Terror is living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks grass roots shape policy, he's in for one hell of a shock when anarchy does take hold and people finally rebel, which history shows time and time again will be the end result of this corporate dictatorship............
