General Election 2017

[Wainy316]

This election is the most clear choice of good versus evil since He-Man first battled Skeletor.

[Awol]

4 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

This election is the most clear choice of good versus evil since He-Man first battled Skeletor.

Look, he might be a deeply misguided, terrorist loving, drippy old communist with the same popular appeal as scabies, but he's not evil - and May isn't He-Man either. 

[darrenm]

11 minutes ago, snowychap said:

They don't need to do any more gaining.

 

True.

Also, FPTP doesn't map particularly well to a PR style poll surely?

[Wainy316]

1 minute ago, Awol said:

Look, he might be a deeply misguided, terrorist loving, drippy old communist with the same popular appeal as scabies, but he's not evil - and May isn't He-Man either. 

I always had Skeletor as the goodie.  What program were you watching?

[snowychap]

1 hour ago, PompeyVillan said:

Ooosh and policies for the elderly to pay for their own care from their estate.

If it's as trailed then the Equity Release bods will be rubbing their hands. Forcing a load of new customers their way sounds a little bit unpleasant.

Edited May 17, 2017 by snowychap

[Awol]

Just now, Wainy316 said:

I always had Skeletor as the goodie.  What program were you watching?

The one with the dog and really big sandwiches? 

[darrenm]

12 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

This election is the most clear choice of good versus evil since He-Man first battled Skeletor.

PIP is means tested and has literally killed lots of disabled people who have had the benefit removed unfairly.

Now the Tories are doing the same with winter fuel allowance to kill off the old.

They're getting so confident they're even getting rid of their core support.

[Risso]

19 minutes ago, darrenm said:

Yes but the idiom is only valid when there are facts to face. Here we have no result yet as it hasn't yet happened. If the Tories win in a landslide and I was then disputing it, the idiom would then be valid.

So you acknowledge it's an idiom, but then stick to the literal meaning of the words anyway.  Rightio.

[Risso]

4 minutes ago, darrenm said:

PIP is means tested and has literally killed lots of disabled people who have had the benefit removed unfairly.

Now the Tories are doing the same with winter fuel allowance to kill off the old.

They're getting so confident they're even getting rid of their core support.

The only people having their winter fuel allowance cut, will be the sort who can afford to bugger off to Majorca for the winter.  The only thing they'll be dying of is excess Rioja consumption.

[darrenm]

3 minutes ago, Risso said:

The only people having their winter fuel allowance cut, will be the sort who can afford to bugger off to Majorca for the winter.  The only thing they'll be dying of is excess Rioja consumption.

I suppose you're right. The only disabled people having their pip cut will be the scroungers who can easily work with chronic depression and anxiety.

[jon_c]

8 hours ago, Wainy316 said:

I always had Skeletor as the goodie.  What program were you watching?

Skeletor was a working class hero, He-Man was a member of the oppressive aristocracy.

[mockingbird_franklin]

10 hours ago, PompeyVillan said:

Ooosh and policies for the elderly to pay for their own care from their estate. 

Another prediction to tick off the list i made in 2010, watch out for the expansion of this idea over the next Tory governed parliament, If you're not part of the 1% they will eventually come after any wealth you've accumulated

[PauloBarnesi]

With so much passion on here, how many people belong to a political party, or even more importantly stood for public office?

I wouldn’t vote for Corbyn in a month of Sundays, but I would happily cast my vote for Darren.

[markavfc40]

10 hours ago, Wainy316 said:

This election is the most clear choice of good versus evil since He-Man first battled Skeletor.

Tongue in cheek I know but you make a valid point here.

There hasn’t been a clearer choice in the last 25 years since the old witch stood down. On the one hand you have the promise of more of the same in the destruction of public services, further financial hardship for those already with the least whilst ensuring those with the most won’t feel a thing never mind the pinch all whilst demonising those most vulnerable in our society. More of expecting children to commit to years of debt even when getting a degree to do jobs such as nursing which pay a modest wage and who we are crying out for. More of working people reliant on food banks due to low wages and/or zero hours contracts, more children living  in poverty, more elderly left isolated and abandoned either at home or in a hospital bed due to a lack of social care provision. Our NHS continuing to be wilfully brought to its knees until we are told the only solution is further privatisation. It will all be done whilst hiding behind reducing the deficit or stormy waters due to Brexit and the snidey rhetoric putting the blame on foreigners and the needy amongst us.

Or we go with a new approach. One which will strive for greater equality. One which will put our young first in ensuring those without a rich mommy and daddy don’t begin adult life straddled with debt. One which will ensure our energy companies, mail, water, rail, will no longer be tools for a small amount of people to make huge sums of money from but will be in national ownership where we all benefit. One where zero hours contract will be a thing of the past, where we will no longer see over a million people reliant on food banks, no longer have millions of children being raised in poverty. One where our NHS is nurtured and those with in it are treated with the respect they deserve and paid accordingly for the fantastic public service they provide. One where our elderly are getting adequate care. One where we see the affordable and social housing built that we so desperately need putting a spanner in the works of rip off landlords. One where by we help the most vulnerable amongst us not kick them when they are already down.

Of course the second option above may initially come with someone steering the ship who people don’t like the look of. Who people haven’t really listened to but have been told by the right wing media isn’t someone who can lead this country. It will of course also come with a bill to pay that those of us with the deeper pockets will have to foot. Still seems a much better option than the first one though whereby we continue to let those with the least carry the greatest burden and sit by whilst our public services are destroyed and the divide between the haves and haves nots grows ever bigger.

Edited May 18, 2017 by markavfc40

[mockingbird_franklin]

10 hours ago, darrenm said:

I suppose you're right. The only disabled people having their pip cut will be the scroungers who can easily work with chronic depression and anxiety.

PIP (and ESA) sums up Tory attitude to fairness, 

1) introduce new benefits to replace perfectly functioning current ones, and in doing so change the rules to make it much harder to qualify

2) mislead people about the benefit, paint a picture of people getting it as scrounging and workshy lazy spongers when PIP (and DLA which it replaced) in fact, is a non means tested benefit that people get whether in work or not and their qualification should be based on their need to meet the extra costs and burden of being disabled

3) keep changing the goalposts to prevent people who should get it from qualifying

4) set secret targets and give huge amounts of money to private firms to meet these targets for denial of benefit, give them far more to undertake these biased and unfair assessments than is saved through denial of the benefit to those that should qualify

5) introduce a mandatory second layer of dispute resolution that has an target to uphold 80% of all decisions 

this results in the situation were approximately 60% of all claimants going to expensive appeals have decisions overturned, often seeing a zero point zero benefit award assessment overturned to a high rate care and mobility award. effectively turning going to tribunal the real assessment of need

5) spend large amounts of money to hire lawyers to fight against these appeals. whilst making every effort of denying any help to those appealing

6) hide the truth about the effects of what your doing or just plain lie (this is also repeated at steps 1 to 5)

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by mockingbird_franklin
spelling errors

[snowychap]

57 minutes ago, PauloBarnesi said:

I wouldn’t vote for Corbyn in a month of Sundays, but I would happily cast my vote for Darren.

Was it his cycling policies that got you?
 

[darrenm]

59 minutes ago, PauloBarnesi said:

With so much passion on here, how many people belong to a political party, or even more importantly stood for public office?

I wouldn’t vote for Corbyn in a month of Sundays, but I would happily cast my vote for Darren.

Ha ha, cheers Paul. I just feel if I don't stand up for what I believe in, who will? I bet I'm losing friends by the day on Facebook but what would it say about me if I let injustice slide where I see it?

I'm a Labour member and I'm going to the rally in Birmingham on Saturday (if the wife lets me), but I'm not traditionally Labour.

[Wainy316]

33 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

Tongue in cheek I know but you make a valid point here.

There hasn’t been a clearer choice in the last 25 years since the old witch stood down. On the one hand you have the promise of more of the same in the destruction of public services, further financial hardship for those already with the least whilst ensuring those with the most won’t feel a thing never mind the pinch all whilst demonising those most vulnerable in our society. More of expecting children to commit to years of debt even when getting a degree to do jobs such as nursing which pay a modest wage and who we are crying out for. More of working people reliant on food banks due to low wages and/or zero hours contracts, more children living  in poverty, more elderly left isolated and abandoned either at home or in a hospital bed due to a lack of social care provision. Our NHS continuing to be wilfully brought to its knees until we are told the only solution is further privatisation. It will all be done whilst hiding behind reducing the deficit or stormy waters due to Brexit and the snidey rhetoric putting the blame on foreigners and the needy amongst us.

Or we go with a new approach. One which will strive for greater equality. One which will put our young first in ensuring those without a rich mommy and daddy don’t begin adult life straddled with debt. One which will ensure our energy companies, mail, water, rail, will no longer be tools for a small amount of people to make huge sums of money from but will be in national ownership where we all benefit. One where zero hours contract will be a thing of the past, where we will no longer see over a million people reliant on food banks, no longer have millions of children being raised in poverty. One where our NHS is nurtured and those with in it are treated with the respect they deserve and paid accordingly for the fantastic public service they provide. One where our elderly are getting adequate care. One where we see the affordable and social housing built that we so desperately need putting a spanner in the works of rip off landlords. One where by we help the most vulnerable amongst us not kick them when they are already down.

Of course the second option above may initially come with someone steering the ship who people don’t like the look of. Who people haven’t really listened to but have been told by the right wing media isn’t someone who can lead this country. It will of course also come with a bill to pay that those of us with the deeper pockets will have to foot. Still seems a much better option than the first one though whereby we continue to let those with the least carry the greatest burden and sit by whilst our public services are destroyed and the divide between the haves and haves nots grows ever bigger.

Spot on!  Not only is it a matter of good versus bad, it's a complete no brainer.

I haven't seen a remotely coherent argument from a Tory supporter yet, just the repeated mantra of 'Terrorist sympathiser', 'who's doing the sums, Diane Abbott' yada yada.

[darrenm]

6 minutes ago, snowychap said:

Was it his cycling policies that got you?
 

Quoting from the Health & Fitness Party manifesto http://www.healthandfitnessparty.org.uk/:

Quote

All new roads to be dual use car and cycle routes with full segregation.

Many existing roads, national parks, towpaths etc. to be turned into cycle ‘superhighways’.

Laws clarified and more focus in driving test regarding car and bike etiquette when sharing infrastructure.

Who wouldn't get behind that??

Edited May 18, 2017 by darrenm

[mockingbird_franklin]

4 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Spot on!  Not only is it a matter of good versus bad, it's a complete no brainer.

I haven't seen a remotely coherent argument from a Tory supporter yet, just the repeated mantra of 'Terrorist sympathiser', 'who's doing the sums, Diane Abbott' yada yada.

To be fair to them, they are only repeating the total sum of official Tory party election strategy.

How can you expect their supporters to have a coherent reason to vote for them, when the Tory Party doesnt have one

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by mockingbird_franklin