Just curious if everyone will be voting or not? I know nothing about the British system, but I hope that if you are allowed to vote, that you make it count!

Good luck!

To tell them how to vote????

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Say no more...

I figure it'll turn out okay - if Tony Blair doesn't continue his service, it looks like he'll be replaced by a Conservative.

For us, the comparison might be if something happens to Bush while he's in office, we get Cheney!

yup, im off to vote now first time ive been bothered actually

Yes - I will definitely be voting.

And that's as political as this posting will get

if you don't vote you forfit your right to moan about the management for the next 4 years

i'll be off shortly...

Ned.

Personally, I don't think any of the candidates in my area deserve my Vote.

Where is the "none of the Above" box on the forms?

Cheers!
Andy

i'll be casting my vote later this evening, dispite still being regestered at my old house and knowing very little about the local candidates.

I already voted by post. However, I am very disillusioned by all the major parties and was tempted to 'spoil' my paper or simply not vote.

I think the time has come to add a box labelled 'None of the above'

IMO

Yes I'll be voting.

For the first time ever I'll be voting for labour (a wasted vote in my neck of the woods) but quite honestly it's either that or not voting at all.

I just got back from my voting (and lecture).

If the conservatives get in i will NOT be happy. I dont see how anyone can vote for a party with virtually no policies (other than to slag off everyone else), and the policies that do exist dont add up (like huge tax cuts which leave billions of pounds defecit). They are promising to cut spending on schools and public services! If they get in all the good that labour have done will be undone, we will go back to the state the country was in in '96. High interest rates, unstable economy and shoddy services. If they get in i dont see my self being able to buy a house for the forseeable future as interest rates will rocket once again, damaging small businesses again in the process.

Does no one remeber what a state the country was in when Mr Howard was home secretary...?! Just imagine him priminister!

My vote was cast for labour, and the above demonstrates just a few of the reasons. Please dont vote for the torys!

Sorry to turn a political thread into what will no doubt turn into an argument...!

David

PS all the Torys hard lines on immigrants are funny really considering Howards grandparents (i think) were illegal immigrants...

[Edited on 5/5/05 by flak monkey]

I spoiled my paper in the last election for the Scottish Parliment -- just wrote spoiled right across it very satisfying.

I'll be votin later the votin place is next to the pub which is next to the chinky not a bad night out and doin my duty .......... hopeful Mr BLIAR will get a bloody nose

quote:

---

Originally posted by flak monkey
Please dont vote for the torys!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Benzine

quote:

---

Originally posted by flak monkey
Please dont vote for the torys!

---

This coming from a Nightwish fan (presumably from avatar)

---

So I'm not telling

[Edited on 5/5/05 by Peteff]

have voted by post, and not to assist my nanny-state Bliar back in for another term of nothingness.

I have about had enough of the labour "everybody can work in the service industry, you don't need manufacturing" government.

I'm going to cast my vote now.

I found it usefull to read this...

BBC Election 2005 Guide

... before making my decision.

-Steve-

quote:

---

Originally posted by NS Dev

I have about had enough of the labour "everybody can work in the service industry, you don't need manufacturing"

---

Just got back from the polling station, just out of interest did anyone else have any trouble with the system?

I was issued two parlimentary votes!! My postal vote for 'Richmond' constituency and also a normal ballot card for 'Leeds North' constituency.

I took them both to the polling station and asked which I should be using. Its sorted out now anyway, but this shouldn't happen should it!

I used my 'Leeds North' vote because its a marginal seat so my vote will actually count. 'Richmond' is a safe Tory seat so whatever I put if I voted there wouldn't make a lot of difference I dont think.

I'm considering drawing a cock on mine.

Anyone have any suggestions as to an appropriate motif?

Spoiling the paper is the easy way to vote for 'non of the above'. Just select all two or more parties

Your vote doesn't count towards any party, but your registered as voting.

quote:

---

Originally posted by flak monkey
Your point being? (Nightwish are great)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve&Steve
Just got back from the polling station, just out of interest did anyone else have any trouble with the system?

I was issued two parlimentary votes!! My postal vote for 'Richmond' constituency and also a normal ballot card for 'Leeds North' constituency.

I took them both to the polling station and asked which I should be using. Its sorted out now anyway, but this shouldn't happen should it!

I used my 'Leeds North' vote because its a marginal seat so my vote will actually count. 'Richmond' is a safe Tory seat so whatever I put if I voted there wouldn't make a lot of difference I dont think.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Shootist
To tell them how to vote????

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Say no more...

---

yup, i will vote........

you can use more than 3 words in this thread.

oh, i did'nt

realise that, sorry

You can stop

that now ok

Done the deed. Think voting should be mandatory.

quote:

---

I have about had enough of the labour "everybody can work in the service industry, you don't need manufacturing" government

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ian Pearson

quote:

---

I have about had enough of the labour "everybody can work in the service industry, you don't need manufacturing" government

---

ISTR that dear old Maggie managed to get rid of the vast majority of our heavy industry & manufacturing capability. Once it's gone, it's hard to get it back.

---

i voted conservative once, when i was more stupid than i am now (debatable) in 1979.

anyone that can remember the maggie dictatorship surely cannot think of voting that lot back in. my mortgage has twice hit 15% in the times of the conservatives. Just think on that - your mortgage could DOUBLE - literally - if they scre up again.

ettering is the 5th most vulnerable labour seat. Phil sawford has actually done a lot trying to get the vote - from the look of my letter box. the cons havent done much.

Is it just me, or did howard look a complete twat runningon the campaign trail a couple days back?

since when did the cons talk about boosting manufacturing?

all 3 votes went labour in this house

atb

steve

i liked two conservative policies, namely the 20,000 extra prison places, and the end of early release.

but my consience couldnt weigh this up against the possibility of them stuffing other stuff up worse.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ian Pearson
Done the deed. Think voting should be mandatory.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
My mortgage has twice hit 15% in the times of the conservatives. Just think on that - your mortgage could DOUBLE - literally - if they scre up again.

since when did the cons talk about boosting manufacturing?

---

quote:

---

anyone that can remember the maggie dictatorship surely cannot think of voting that lot back in. my mortgage has twice hit 15% in the times of the conservatives. Just think on that - your mortgage could DOUBLE - literally - if they scre up again.

---

I think things ought to be put into perspective.

Governments don't wield large amounts of fiscal power - they pretty much go with the flow of the pervasive economic currents.

By and large, our economy will follow Europe's, with a bit better/bit worse here and there.

Don't get your knickers in a twist that one party or another are great/crap when they inherit certain economic conditions and keep their fingers crossed for a prevailing wind.

Remember, both main parties backed the New Crusades (sorry, the "War On Terror" )


Anyone who vehemently pushes the case for a political party over another (when they're basically the same anyway) wants to relax a bit. Chill. Life's too short.

Cheers,

Neil.

What kind of Rotary ?

Mazda or NSU ?

I was speaking to a Sylva striker driver at Forrestburn hilclimb at the weekend. I remembered the car as having previously house a Mazda rotary on a weber 48IDA and was curious as to why it was now ford CVH powered.
He said that he had got fed up of rotor tip seals. Reckoned that it was still an issue with them.

Any thoughts ?

John F - Rotary amateur and no authority on the subject

er.... did i miss something there?!

After the torys came to power last, it was said a socialist goverment would never get elected into power again. Hence new labour that debatably is not a socialist goverment.
The same could be said for the torys.

1980's 15% interest rate is enough reason to not let the tory toads back on the perch......especially that dodger prat howard......

Originally posted by Ian Pearson
Done the deed. Think voting should be mandatory.


You must be joking!
Belgium is one of the few country's in the world where voting is mandatory.
Because of this the politicians dont have to worry about "how do we get people to vote".
There is absolutely nothing that can defend mandatory voting!


As a long tome expat living and voting In Australia don't be so dismisive of manditory voting we have it here and it at least makes everyone part of the democratic process and we have preferential voting to now that makes things inresting .........
Best wishes
Iain

quote:

---

Originally posted by zilspeed
What kind of Rotary ?

Mazda or NSU ?

I was speaking to a Sylva striker driver at Forrestburn hilclimb at the weekend. I remembered the car as having previously house a Mazda rotary on a weber 48IDA and was curious as to why it was now ford CVH powered.
He said that he had got fed up of rotor tip seals. Reckoned that it was still an issue with them.

Any thoughts ?

John F - Rotary amateur and no authority on the subject

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Peteff
So I'm not telling

[Edited on 5/5/05 by Peteff]

---

As a long tome expat living and voting In Australia don't be so dismisive of manditory voting we have it here and it at least makes everyone part of the democratic process and we have preferential voting to now that makes things inresting .........
Best wishes
Iain

Hi Cita
well here on OZ only a very small number of people advocate an end to compulsoury voting . And we always have voting on a saturday so it is the most convenient for the most people to vote . I understand your reservations about the compulsion but really is it that bad ? At our local polling booth it is always a socal event {there is usually some one raffling a wheelbarrow of booze } and in the end
we have a dynamic democracy that EVERYONE has areal stake in not just the commited suporters of one persausaion or another . As i mentioned in my previous post we also have preverential Voting which has a lot to recomend it . If you are say a Green supporter but you know that your chosen candidate will not get in then you heffevctively have a second choice so your vote will count in the final result . this is particularly significant in electorates with more than two candidates . Democracy is a precious instution and making it work in one place is not necessarilly going to provide a universal template but the bigest threat to any democracy is APATHY so I am willing to concede that compulsion is not ideal but it can be justified
Best wishes
Iain
"Vote early and vote often "

Am I the only person that looks back fondly on the Thatcher years.?
I did my growing up during her 'reign' and have prospered. I had my own house at 20 and made a mint when I sold it, I started working the day I finished my last o level and have never been out of work since. (incedently I was in the coal mines when Scargil and Maggie went head to head). I have never claimed a single penny from the nanny state. Sure the 15% morgage rate was tough but you weather the storm.
Personally I'm sat ready for the economic collapse that is inevitable thanks to Tony's 'nice and stable' economy that has allowed the consumer debt in this country to exceed the GDP. And when it comes I'll grab myself a another house at the expense of some poor sap who believed what the grinning sycophant Blair told them.
I quote Mr B liar earlier today,
"the people have spoken, they have said they want a labour government, but with a reduced majority"
I suppose thats one way to interperate the result!!!

BTW ballot papers can be traced back to the voter, thats what the serial number is for, but it is illegal to do so. Go figure....

At least we retained Mercer in this area, He's the one that pushed the bill to allow you to hurt buglars

Rant over
John (a proud member of thatchers generation)

quote:

---

Originally posted by spunky
Am I the only person that looks back fondly on the Thatcher years.?

---

That certainly sounds like the 'im all right jack' philosophy on which the conservatives are founded.

During those 15% periods my houses also went up in value. My first house and second house doubled in price within 5 years for each.

But so did the prices of the houses I wanted to move up into. Along with the price of everything else.

Margaret Thatcher was an evil bitch in my view that got soooo up her own a$$ that she couldnt even see that the 'poll tax' was something nobody wanted. At least some people backed the iraq war..... i think a poll tax backer was a rare thing.

The tory period brought us multiple inner city riots, stock market crashes, uncaring govt, 3 million unemployed. They sold off 'rover' (which may still have been going if it was state owned) and in fact sold off just about anything that made money for the state. Our 300 years supply of coal is now in flooded pits, and the 100k plus miners and families that lived from it no doubt now work at tescos on 5.20 an hr.


atb

steve

You need to work on your timing Steve.
The property market soared in early to mid 80's......Time to sell.
By 1988 it was collapsing.....Time to buy.

Im curious, when you select which candidate you vote for is it because the chaps down the road will benefit or those living in in the inner cities? or is the criterior really whether you will do better from that particular government.....
Thought so....... 'I'm alright jack'

john

BTW with the old rates system I was paying nearly £600/year The poll tax brought that down to less than £300 IIRC. So yep big thumbs up for the poll tax here.

[Edited on 6/5/05 by spunky]

quote:

---

Originally posted by spunky
You need to work on your timing Steve.
The property market soared in early to mid 80's......Time to sell.
By 1988 it was collapsing.....Time to buy.

Im curious, when you select which candidate you vote for is it because the chaps down the road will benefit or those living in in the inner cities? or is the criterior really whether you will do better from that particular government.....
Thought so....... 'I'm alright jack'

john

BTW with the old rates system I was paying nearly £600/year The poll tax brought that down to less than £300 IIRC. So yep big thumbs up for the poll tax here.

[Edited on 6/5/05 by spunky]

---

Sounds like lady Thatcher did you proud then

True, anyone wanting to buy a first home now needs a bloody syndicate or a great salary.

Don't get me started on the NHS

Atb
John

Incidently, Thatcher wasn't the first to introduce a poll tax... over the last ~600 years? a number of governments in the UK have tried it, ALL have been met with rioting.

For those who think the poll tax went away, again wrong, (well kinda)
except that it is capped at 2 qualifying people who live in the house.
If there is just one person, then you get a wapping 25% discount!

Ever thought how much you would be paying per person if the Poll tax was kept? Would it be more than the £1000 pa that most people pay in coucil tax?

btw I am looking to buy my first place, havn't seen anything at all for under 80k !!!! except a static caravan.

(I'm tired and ranting)

I can't afford a house on my own, so I'm buying one with a good friend (NO I'M NOT GAY). Found a house in leeds with a GARAGE (LOL why's that)?

Anyway I voted labour, I dunno if this was right but I felt if tory or lib dem got in my mortgage repayments (variable rate mortage) could change dramatically. I liked Lib dem policies, but couldnt trust them fully.

Did I wrongly place my vote (I voted Labour) ? I'm not quite sure!, What I do know is I'm bloody scared buying a property at the moment!

Steve

Hi niceperson,
the voting allways takes place on a sunday overhere and for one or another reason,i've never seen a "social party" going on overhere at the voting stations.
Most people are angry because "another weekend" is f"#ked up by the government.
We are "blessed" with 5!!!!!! governments and we have to ellect the European government to.
Sometimes it seems that the only thing we are doing is vote for those idiots!
We have the multiple party system meaning that you need a majority to form a government.This is usually done with 3 or more party's overhere so it really does'nt matter who you vote for,the main party's (socialist-christian democrats-liberals) are allways in government.
Making voting mandatory is only created to give the politicians the feeling that everybody anticipated and that they are doing the "right thing".
Apathy is indeed a big danger for democracy but who creates this apathy in first place?Not the voters but politicians.

Cheers Cita.

quote:

---

Making voting mandatory is only created to give the politicians the feeling that everybody anticipated and that they are doing the "right thing".

---

When I decide who to vote for I look at the party leaders and the deputies....anyone can run a country when times are good..... they question is who is going to make the right decisions and stick to them when the brown stuff hits the fan?

Because then it would have been Income Tax, duh! A house with more people does not receive more service from the Council so why should it pay more, if you have 4 people living there they don't come and empty the bins 4 times or give you 4 separate bins so why should you pay 4 times for the service.

[Edited on 9/5/05 by Peteff]

check this for a lash - ive got two empty houses, and the respective local councils all want money from me! no chance. Do they really think im gonna give nearly a grand a year to bolton, hull AND leeds city councils?

apparently you only get 6 months exemption for it being empty, then its back to full bat - you dont even get the 25% discount that you would if only one person lived there! bastards...

quote:

---

Originally posted by stephen_gustersonThey sold off 'rover' (which may still have been going if it was state owned) and in fact sold off just about anything that made money for the state. Our 300 years supply of coal is now in flooded pits, and the 100k plus miners and families that lived from it no doubt now work at tescos on 5.20 an hr.


atb

steve

---

Blair didnt kill rover...! Rover was sold off during thatchers reign, up until that point it was state owned. As it is not state owned anymore, the government has no reason to back it anymore, or save it from financial difficulty. It wasnt even obliged to offer the bridging loan in the first place. Read my post earlier in the thread for more of the same...

Nuff said really.

David

Boris Johnson for PM!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Benzine
Boris Johnson for PM!

---

Simon.

Im all for industry and you need not be confused!

How old are you?

Im 46, and since I was an early teen, BMC, leyland, austin morris, rover, whatever you wanna call em, have been in shyte street.

I need not repeat the list of brit cars ive had - you can find them in my previous posts. I have been a supporter of the brit car industry since I bought my first car - a triumph herald, followed by a mini.

There does get to be a point tho where you have to yell STOPPPP!

There is i think one of two decisions to be made - and I think europe prevents one.

1. you let rover fall to market forces. (frigin EXACTLY what darling maggie would have done...)

2. you pump in a billion or whatever it takes on the basis that its best to keep 6k jobs, and imports out, by making british cars in britain.


the market is so competitive, and the brits I think dont give a crap where things are made. Its a price performance decision. I had to buy a kettle last week. most seem to be made in the far east, and if it was made in the uk it would no doubt have cost twice as much.

we need to sort ourselves out.


so, if coal is a smelly fuel, and gas and oil run out, and we dont make nuke power stations, exactly what do we do when it isnt a windy day? dont even mention solar power - have you been outside recently


atb

steve

[Edited on 10/5/05 by stephen_gusterson]

"so, if coal is a smelly fuel, and gas and oil run out, and we dont make nuke power stations, exactly what do we do when it isnt a windy day? dont even mention solar power - have you been outside recently"

Steve, Tony Blair refuses to build nuke power cos of environmental issues and the anti brigade. He's in favour of wind/solar etc (aren't we all) but when we have no sun or wind, we'll be importing electricity from French NUCLEAR power stations.

As for coal, you said MG couldn't be supported because people don't give a crap where things come from. You're right. Coal costs about a pound a ton in China.

On the subject of coal, did Scargill not buy his (Barbican) flat for huge discount, and make a tidy profit.

Suggest this country wakes up to the fact that everything will be imported soon.

ATB

Simon