: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:33 pm  

The All New Chester Wire wrote:

and now I'm going to bed.

Cheers for the debate.

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:52 pm  

Personally, I prefer to vote for the individual representing my constituency rather than a single political party, now matter what party that individual came from. As a result, I voted Lib Dem in last years local elections but probably wouldn't in a general election. Unless someone else influential came along, I would vote Helen Jones.

In which case, how do we feel our own MPs are doing representing our views in parliament?

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:53 pm  

FuturoChampioni wrote:

Recession
As mentioned countless times, this is a Global Recession with it very difficult to blame any particular country, although America appear to be mainly to blame due to poor financial sector regulation. As i said on National TV, Gordon Brown is leading the world out of recession, his policies are being adopted all around the world. Also, many figures this month indicate recovery and i am very optimistic that by Election Day 2010 - Labour will have steadied the economy.

FC

We will not be out of this for about 2 to 3 years min. The country in effectivley bankrupt and the only solution is to borrow more money to generate a false economy. Now in the short term this will work , we will borrow more and spend more but eventually this will run out again.
The only way is to invest in manufacturing and infrastructure re-setting all our expectations on salary and conditions.
Not many of the smart countries are supporting the UK plan and investing and supporting their manufacturing base and effectivley riding the storm.
Fundamentally Labour has created a society of get up and do nothing and get paid for it.
If the Tories get in the only way forward for them is to cut the rediculous public sector waste and spending which unfortunately will create higher unemloyment and unrest . The Lib dem's will tax us more

There is a real dilema for any party in the future , Labours plan is to apply for the last credit card and max it up .

I am not an expert and was happy to spend and borrow over the last few years. Now I have battenend down the hatches and paying it off as soon as possible , in 12 months time I will only have the mortage to my name and will start to make inroads into that while I still have a job and make do with the car i usually change when the loan is paid off for example.

I am not helping the economy in any way as any extra cash I have at the end of the month is going into reducing my personal debt from now on. Problem is everybody else is trying to do the same , and I know many who are in a far worse position than me at the moment and feel for them through no fault of their own.

To sum it up the only way out is to borrow less, spend less , take the hit and eventually it will improve but this will take years and many people will get effected over this time.

As for my political views I have a real problem here as I do not think that Labour will pull us out of this situation , the Tories make sense but I remember the dark years of the 80's and early 90's , the lib dems I like but not into their taxation policies especially and local level , however I say to everybody if you don't vote you cannot have a say after the event.

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:58 pm  

wires 71 you seem to have forgotten that margaret thatcher,the milk snatcher,thought she was breaking the unions back when in fact she was destroying whole communities.i have been brought up with socialist ideals but am not blinkered to think that this is the only way to live your life.
anybody who has run a business in the last 20 years could argue that neither govts have done enough to help.
the tory biased media try to drop todays economic plight onto brown but the americans,who without doubt caused this situation look to brown for a solution.david cameron has publicly stated that he would have done nothing and let the recession run it's course,some leader.
i do not feel like i would want to vote labour if an election was called soon,i would not vote conservative because cameron and osbourne have no credence with todays families,our situation now will take ten years to resolve regardless of whose in power.
i'm voting for simon moran ,now let's get back to rugby,it's an escape from everyday strife.
wires by 10 on sunday

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:02 pm  

Wires71 wrote:

Strong education system - failed policy of educational academies but worse of all introducing tuition fees putting students from a less well of background at a disproportionate disadvantage to those from richer families.

Not sure what this is about. I got my full fees paid because on the means test I wasn't rich enough to have to pay.

What are the Tories going to do if they get in office? Are they going to make it so students don't pay fees?

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:06 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Not sure what this is about. I got my full fees paid because on the means test I wasn't rich enough to have to pay.

What are the Tories going to do if they get in office? Are they going to make it so students don't pay fees?

Problem I have as a Tax payer and never went to Uni, is that if the education you are doing is useful for example engineering / medical teaching etc and will improve the skills available to the economy then I am happy for students to get 100% funding .

It is the useless degrees that should have funding stripped completely

rest assured the Tories will cut it !

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:20 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Not sure what this is about. I got my full fees paid because on the means test I wasn't rich enough to have to pay.

What are the Tories going to do if they get in office? Are they going to make it so students don't pay fees?

The point was about New Labour introducing a policy which made it more expensive, in general, than previously for people to undertake a university education. As a one nation conservative, egalitarian, liberal I find this abhorrent, as do most ardent Labour supporters.

Sadly, I don't think the Conservatives would remove the requirement for fee paying either now it has been introduced and the associated revenue accounted for, as well you know.

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:32 pm  

the tache is back wrote:

wires 71 you seem to have forgotten that margaret thatcher,the milk snatcher,thought she was breaking the unions back when in fact she was destroying whole communities.i have been brought up with socialist ideals but am not blinkered to think that this is the only way to live your life.
anybody who has run a business in the last 20 years could argue that neither govts have done enough to help.
the tory biased media try to drop todays economic plight onto brown but the americans,who without doubt caused this situation look to brown for a solution.david cameron has publicly stated that he would have done nothing and let the recession run it's course,some leader.
i do not feel like i would want to vote labour if an election was called soon,i would not vote conservative because cameron and osbourne have no credence with todays families,our situation now will take ten years to resolve regardless of whose in power.
i'm voting for simon moran ,now let's get back to rugby,it's an escape from everyday strife.
wires by 10 on sunday

a) She did break the unions thankfully. The dead didn't remain unburied, the lights stayed on 24/7 and the bow backed working class man could aim to develop his own means of production through enterprise. Unfortunately communities based on trade union dogged (in that I mean some rediculous turn of the century socialist diatribe) industries did suffer as a consequence.

b) The comment on running a business is not lost on me having conceived, built and trade sale exited my own business (see Dragons Den Series III episode 8 ). I do know that the Labour government have cut the guts out of rewarding entreprenurialism with their recent removal of taper relief on CGT for business start-ups for a kick off, not forgetting their masterstroke on IR35.

c) The Tory based media want to do nothing more than to apportion the blame of the current economic condition on Brown no more that the left wing media wanted to laud him with prudence, fiscal control and the irradication of boom and bust when global economic conditions were more favourable. Brown is simply borrowing from tomorrow to ease the pain of today in some vain hope of saving his political skin. Some leader.

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:33 pm  

wireboot wrote:

Problem I have as a Tax payer and never went to Uni, is that if the education you are doing is useful for example engineering / medical teaching etc and will improve the skills available to the economy then I am happy for students to get 100% funding .

Good man! Don't let BFC hear you speak of students like this. He hates them. Next time he is in hospital he told me he wants a time served fitter from KwikFit to take his appendix out.

: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:34 pm  

Well at the moment people are funded to go to university, they don't pay at the point of delivery, they repay what they have borrowed to fund their studies through the taxation system. Everything they earn over £15000 a year they pay back at 9% until its paid off.

The alternative would be to have it all paid for free at the point of delivery, but instead of asking the graduates themselves to pay it back when they are earning, you would have to increase the rate of general taxation.

Would you prefer to hand over a bit more to the taxman to make sure that students can afford that last spliff, or do you think they should have the responsbilities to contribute to the cost of their own education when they are able to do so?