Off Topic The QPR Not 606 Rolling Election Poll

It was U Guv (spelling?) for the Sunday Times, yes. If you think "Polls are notoriously misleading", why do you also say "It's virtually certain that no party will get an overall majority" ? Have you gone round and asked everyone yourself?! Truth is, as you say they do give a general trend, and this one is the first one taken fully after the other nights TV debates, and may show a new trend. I hope and would expect it does as I always find Conservatives extremely pompous and false, as Cameron seemed the other night. But then I couldn't abide Thatcher either, yet people voted for her, so who knows?

 

I've not gone to the link, but I'm generally for small government, assistance for people where needed, and hard work and endeavour allowing people to succeed on their own efforts without the benefits of said effort being taken off of them by the state to shore up those who can't be arsed to put in the work themselves. I believe that if the country is doing well, then the only real reason we don't do well ourselves is a lack of effort. That doesn't mean I have no compassion for those that need help, but it does mean that I feel no desire to perpetuate the 'stay-at-home-on-benefits' society.

 

No, Oslo, I haven't gone round and asked everyone myself, although my time would be better spent doing this than watching our team right now.

Sky's Poll of Polls (taking an average of all polls) is currently showing Tory and Labour neck and neck on equal points.

Some of the Conservatives can, I agree, be painfully pompous (the biggest is currently sitting in the Speaker's chair) but they tend to have business experience and be reasonably worldly and astute on economic matters. My worry about Milliband is that he is like an academic, a university professor - a "Michael Foot". He may be schooled to say "Hell, yes" when asked in pre-election interviews if he's a strong leader, but that's not his reputation - behind the scenes, he's known to be hesitant and indecisive at times. There's my reservation.

 

Absolutely. Miliband has never had a job outside politics. Ed Balls helped to cock up the economy last time and the thought of these two in league with the SNP makes me shudder.
I simply can't believe the electorate are going to sleep walk into this Armageddon of outcomes!!

Vote for anything other than Tory and you get Miliband being played by the SNP. It doesn't bare thinking about.

 

So Miliband would have his finger on the button if Putin goes nuclear, very reassuring Gromit...

 

It is a bit scary that the SNP who were all in favour of breaking up the UK now are apparently going full out to prop up a potentially minority Labour government, perhaps this is their way of gaining revenge for the No vote in Scotland. The last Labour administration was propped up by the Scottish Labour party who would vote with them on matters that only related to England and Wales, this time it could be propped up by a party that doesn't want to be part of the UK.

As for Ed Balls I wouldn't trust him to run a sweepstake let alone the Economy.

 

Osborne has never had a job outside politics either. Cameron has a whole 7 years in PR, hardly running a multi national.

If people want to use this thread to argue for voting for a particular party fine, but let's have some positive reasons. We moan about the low quality of our politicians and negative/ fear based campaigning, then do exactly the same when discussing politics.

If your strongest reason for voting Tory is fear of the SNP/ left, then the Tories aren't doing a very good job.

 

The SNP hold far left views on defence and Europe. They also want to break up the UK. They only want to further the prospects of people in Scotland. I live in England and I don't want my life influenced by politicians I view as far left and English hating.
Miliband also has far left leanings and I don't want him as primw minister. The French have a far left government and our economy has moved well ahead of them.
I'm not a big fan of Cameron, but I don't want Miliband. Therefore, if it's ok with you, I urge people to vote tory to keep labour and the SNP out.

 

That doesn't mean it's not a perfectly good enough reason though. Our democratic history is littered with people voting to keep parties out of power rather than voting to put a particular party in. Five years ago many Labour supporters in seats where their party had no chance, voted lib dem to try and oust the incumbent Conservative MP. It's always happened and always will, particularly at General Elections, where people tend to vote more on national rather than local issues.

Partisan politics is a strange thing. I've never really got this whole 'floating voter' vibe. It's as if people vote, then ignore politics for five years and only think about it when it's time to vote again. I certainly know how I'm voting, and looking at policies and polls only reinforces that view.

FWIW, I agree that in our government on May 8th, two Eds would NOT be better than none. I honestly fear for the future if Labour are back in power. Both because of what damage they would do to the economy as a whole, and what that would mean to me personally. If Labour get in, I'm expecting an interest rate hike pretty soon afterwards, which will hit me hard. I'm on the border of what Ed Balls terms 'rich' so am also expecting my tax to shoot up, and during the next government my kids will be leaving school and either trying to find work or going on to university, both of which I anticipate will be a tougher challenge for them under a Labour banner.

 

COL you've a very strange idea of what "far left" is. Milliband and the SNP are to the left alright but neither are "far left". Far left would be a totally socialist party which neither Labour nor the SNP is.

The only reason there could be for you thinking they're "far" left is because you yourself must be a good deal to the right.

 

What Miliband currently offers is Tory-lite - it's a long way from being "far left" or even left wing at all.

I would have liked to have seen a Labour manifesto that included re-nationalisation of the utilities and railways and an immediate increase of the minimum wage to £8.

Then you could say it was left wing.

I also happen to think it would be very popular, but not perhaps with most on this board!

 

Not even Balls is numerically illiterate enough to think those policies add up...

 

It is worrying. Has QPR the most Conservative fanbase in the Country?

 

Of course not. However, it's not easy for Labour supporters to get behind Labour policies when they change every time they have to react to something David Cameron announces...

 

If you ignore the can't/won't votes, the 'right' has 64% of votes cast on here. Not very representative of the public at large.

 

It may come as a surprise to you, but I pretty much agree with all of the manifesto items you've listed. I don't think you have to sit solely on the left side of politics to believe the privatisation of a number of the country's major services has been a disaster.

Of course, it would be damn near impossible and hugely expensive to reclaim many of the utilities, not to mention that such a thing could only be supported if they were managed better than the last time.

 

The reversal of those privatisations isn't something the country can afford, however. Certainly not at the moment with the lingering debt, and certainly not if they want to avoid a mahoosive hit to the economy as other companies rethink investing in the UK through a newly introduced fear of the future market.

 

That's a better way of saying my second paragraph, Chazster. I'll have some of that.

It has been somewhat amusing today to hear Labour criticise the recovery as the slowest in 100 years, seeing that it was their last administration that put us there in the first place. It's rather like shooting somebody in the crotch with a 12-bore and then criticising them for not getting back up on their feet fast enough.

 

Agreed, if they did or could re-nationalize then it would soon be very unpopular when the tax payers relies how much all taxes would need to go up to afford this. Also looking back, was any of the previous governments any good at actually running these businesses?

 

Did anyone see the hatchet job done on Cameron on bbc breakfast this morning?
It will be interesting to see whether milliband is treated the same way.