[britchard]

UK General Election 2015
With it being just 58 days to the general election, the debate and topic is really starting to heat up over here. The purpose of this thread is for discussion on the different parties and their policies, and other users and I can post articles and stories relevant to UK politics.

Anyway, I think I'll start with a little bit of obvious information on this elections. The parties expected to be in contention for any sizeable amount of seats are:

• Conservatives- Quite right-of-centre, seen as being full of posh boys and out of touch by many. There is a fear that some of their voters and MPs will defect to UKIP. Have stimulated the economy reasonably well since the recession. Pro austerity. Led by David Cameron, who is good enough leader and fairly confident and respectable.
• Labour- Slightly left-of-centre, is a party that is quite split. Some are Old Labour (economically left-wing) and some are New Labour (progressive left-wing). Some Old Labour voters are being driven towards UKIP, as they are fed up with issues such as immigration. Anti austerity. Want to lower tuition fees to £6,000 a year. Leader is Ed Miliband, who is not a very convincing leader and is not very confident.
• UKIP Solidly right-of-centre. Unfairly seen as racist by many people. Trying to attract voters from right-wing backgrounds on issues such as immigration and public policies, and voters from left-wing backgrounds who are fed up with the EU and New Labour. Want to make all STEM degrees free to study, whereas others will still have a fee. Led by Nigel Farage, who is charismatic, jolly and popular amongst his voters.
• Greens Very left-of-centre. Completely anti-austerity, they want to pay everyone £70 a week regardless of whether they work or not. Will vastly increase corporation tax. Seen by many as economically incompetent, whilst their own voters see no problem. Full of feminists and LGBTs. Their party leader is Natalie Bennett, a 49 year old feminist. I can't find any information on any husband, so she may be a fallen carousel rider.
• Lib Dems Centre. They have turned into a party with no identity recently. Support staying in the EU. Party leader is Nick Clegg, the current deputy Prime Minister who is seen by many to have given in to David Cameron and to not have stuck to his principles.
• SNP Staunchly left-of-centre. Very anti-austerity and wants Scotland to leave the United Kingdom, in spite of the fact that the English pay for a whole load of their benefits and free further education. They will only really get seats in Scotland. Their party leader Alex Salmond, who is very stubborn.
  

These are the thought to be the key issues for the 2015 election:

1. London- There are huge problems surrounding London. Some feel too much is invested there, whilst northern cities are crashing. House prices are also still rocketing there.
2. Immigration- There is a lot of discontent at the scale of immigration in the UK, but most complaints are laughed off as being racist by PC idiots. Areas high in immigrants are often high in crime, unemployment and tensions between communities. Remember that unlike in the US where immigration mainly affects thee job market and levels of taxes, in the UK it also affects the housing market, as we have physically got no more room.
3. Jobs- Although the situation is improving, youth unemployment is still quite high, especially with a lot of jobs being in non-productive financial services. All parties argue that their policies will create more jobs.
4. Education- This includes further education. Lots of students feel betrayed by the Tories and Lib Dems over the increase in tuition fees. Other arguments are around private education, grammar schools and faith schools.
5. Energy- In the UK, we have the (long term future) options of nuclear power, wind farms and tidal power. We have still not decided in which direction to invest our money in terms of energy. There is also the issue of Shale Gas.
6. Foreign Policy/Foreign Aid- This includes the Trident nuclear program. Some people want a clear statement from the Government on when they will intervene in foreign conflicts. Foreign aid also needs to be reviewed, considering we are giving aid to countries like India, which has a space program.
   

So some questions that could be debated in this thread:

Who are you going to vote for and why?

(For those who aren't British) Who do you want to win and why?

How do you think any coalition would be formed?

[Esus]

Did Cameron reduce immigration like he said he will ?

Is Salmond still in politics ? I thought he resigned after the win of no for the independance.

I would like to see the UKIP just to see them say fuck off to the EU and all the bureaucrat in Brussels.

[Foolsgo1d]

Tories with UKIP backup. Anything else will destroy the Isles. For those outside trying to understand the others I will put it this way.

It would be like letting Mexico control the US senate.

[Haig]

Hey Esus,

Alex Salmond is no longer the SNP leader its Nicola Sturgeon. Who is just as Marxist as Salmond,

[Constitution45]

UKIP all the way.

Although I predict the Tories will get in again. If it was to be labour then we truly will be screwed. They will push feminism/multiculturalism the whole lot full throttle, as they know it may be the last chance to do so.

There is the possibility of labour and tories doing a joint coalition to block UKIP from getting in. It is a hard one to measure as the question time audiences on the BBC are barely representative of the overall population. If you listen to the mainstream outlets you will be lead to believe that everyone is a feminist progressive lol.

[Lizard King]

I don't like any of the political parties we have to chose from. That's my personal view.

Outside of my personal view, I see a lot of political apathy(encouraged by idiots such as pseudo-revolutionary Russell Brand), and a lot of annoyance from the social impact of immigration.

It will be a very interesting election, and this year I make the effort to vote, not sure who for yet.

[Lizard King]

(03-09-2015 04:53 PM)Constitution45 Wrote:  

UKIP all the way.

Although I predict the Tories will get in again. If it was to be labour then we truly will be screwed. They will push feminism/multiculturalism the whole lot full throttle, as they know it may be the last chance to do so.

There is the possibility of labour and tories doing a joint coalition to block UKIP from getting in. It is a hard one to measure as the question time audiences on the BBC are barely representative of the overall population. If you listen to the mainstream outlets you will be lead to believe that everyone is a feminist progressive lol.

I like UKIP's anti-EU policies. I have always been against EU's meddling in Britain, as time goes on it gets more severe. I think they(UKIP) are hooking a lot of the UK people by going for the 'immigration pisses you off' trope. I've got nothing against immigration, but the way it is being implemented in the EU at the moment. It is a bit of a joke, and for anyone to think it will have no social impact, would be stupid.

The establishment is terrified of UKIP. The establishment(Labour and Conservative) wants to stay in the EU, must be some sweet passive income going on. The media are trying very hard to paint UKIP as bigots and racists(because they oppose unrestricted immigration and lack of sovereignty). More on UKIP here and here.

[Libertas]

(03-09-2015 04:59 PM)Lizard King Wrote:  

Outside of my personal view, I see a lot of political apathy(encouraged by idiots such as pseudo-revolutionary Russell Brand), and a lot of annoyance from the social impact of immigration.

I'm actually curious about this part.

How influential is that faggot over there?

I once saw him holding a debate with Farage. Who the hell is he to do such a thing?

Anyway, I agree with Foolsgo1d on a UKIP/Tory coalition. Everyone else doesn't give a shit about the social fabric of those isles and will surrender to multiculturalism, feminism, and other toxic SJW bullshit.

I may not be British (thankfully), but I have spiritual and blood ties to the island as my paternal family originated entirely from England and Scotland. I still have relatives there. So I care about what happens.

[Lizard King]

(03-09-2015 05:20 PM)Libertas Wrote:  

(03-09-2015 04:59 PM)Lizard King Wrote:  

Outside of my personal view, I see a lot of political apathy(encouraged by idiots such as pseudo-revolutionary Russell Brand), and a lot of annoyance from the social impact of immigration.

I'm actually curious about this part.

How influential is that faggot over there?

I once saw him holding a debate with Farage. Who the hell is he to do such a thing?

Anyway, I agree with Foolsgo1d on a UKIP/Tory coalition. Everyone else doesn't give a shit about the social fabric of those isles and will surrender to multiculturalism, feminism, and other toxic SJW bullshit.

I may not be British (thankfully), but I have spiritual and blood ties to the island as my paternal family originated entirely from England and Scotland. I still have relatives there. So I care about what happens.

Brand is popular among the politically naive, which is sadly quite a large proportion of the population.

He should stick to gaming hot women, as he is excellent at it. Pretending to be a Marxist while being incredibly wealthy through capitalism is more hypocritical than faux-socialism.

[britchard]

Ah yes sorry about the Alex Salmond/Nicola Sturgeon mistake. They're both cunts so I tend to stay away from news involving the SNP.

[Marvin]

Latest Opinion Polling

Labour and the Conservatives are level on 34%, Labour dropping a point while the Conservatives remain level.
UKIP are unchanged on 14% while the Lib Dems have gained two points to 8% and the Greens have gained one point to 7%




Approval ratings
Most leaders have seen a slight drop in their ratings from last week.
David Cameron is down 2 points to -4%, while Ed Miliband has dropped 6 points from last week to his net rating of -31%.
Nigel Farage has also seen a noticeable drop of 5 points to -23%, although Nick Clegg has held steady on -43%.
% Approve % Disapprove
David Cameron 40% 44%
Ed Miliband 20% 51%
Nick Clegg 14% 51%
Nigel Farage 25% 48%

[Teedub]

Russell Brand pisses me off big time, though not entirely through fault of his own. He's a moron politically, and his naivety on Islam and ISIS is almost comical, but he's a product of his shitty SJW environment and single mother household.

That said... His work on behalf of firemen is appreciated (for me) due to personal friends in the service. Also, the rents in London (for most guys on here) are insane, and whilst I don't think he's got the answer, I'd certainly like London housing to become more affordable for Englishmen/women. Or, for that matter, British men/women.

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Unfortunately, I won't be able to vote this year since I haven't lived here long enough to naturalise as a British citizen . However, I'd vote for the Lib Dems or the Tories. I prefer the Liberal Democrats but participating in a coalition in which they were considered extremely weak by the electorate stripped them of their identity and drained much of their support. Nevertheless, Nick Clegg for #10!

[Phoenix]

The tories are a 'conservative' party in the same way that North Korea is a 'democratic republic'.

There isn't a single political device left in Britain capable of even slowing its decline except voting in UKIP. Conservatives would be truly mad to vote tory.

[Praetor Lupus]

Conservatives all the way.

Labour, and left-wingers in general, must never again be allowed near positions of power and particularly not with Miliband in charge. They bleat on about the Tories having nothing else to say apart from the economy without realising that the economy at large has been the single hottest topic since the 2008 crash. Although I like the thought of them being hammered in Scotland, I'd rather it not be at the hands of the SNP.

I get the feeling that most people who vote UKIP will do so without reading the party's manifesto, and purely on the basis of what they think the party's other policies are. I can see UKIP making some serious gains this time.

Lib Dems could be finished after this spell in power. And the Greens can go back to their political irrelevancy as before.

[britchard]

^Agreed. No left wing party can really stimulate productive economic growth, especially as they are so against Shale Gas.

Do Labour voters really think Putin, Erdogan, etc are intimidated by Miliband?

[Lizard King]

(03-10-2015 01:21 AM)Praetor Lupus Wrote:  

I get the feeling that most people who vote UKIP will do so without reading the party's manifesto, and purely on the basis of what they think the party's other policies are. I can see UKIP making some serious gains this time.

I agree. Your post prompted me to look at their policies.

http://www.ukip.org/policies_for_people

I like a lot of them, as I am anti-EU. Abolishing inheritance tax is a great idea, as it is a total con, that taxes previously taxed wealth. If someone is smart enough to provide for their progeny, the recipient should not be taxed.

[Saweeep]

I'm early 30s and until a couple of years ago was very into politics.

Very into it.

One day I just woke up and realised that they're all essentially slightly different flavours of the same cunt.

I'd rather Labour didn't fuck the economy again but frankly I just don't care any more.

My energy is better spent making £££ and insulating myself from most of the damage these fuckwits can cause.

[Tex Pro]

Ukip is probably the only party that can save the UK.

Shame they will probably only win a few seats in parliament.

[Akula]

[quote] (03-10-2015 01:21 AM)Praetor Lupus Wrote:  

Conservatives all the way.

Labour, and left-wingers in general, must never again be allowed near positions of power and particularly not with Miliband in charge. They bleat on about the Tories having nothing else to say apart from the economy without realising that the economy at large has been the single hottest topic since the 2008 crash. Although I like the thought of them being hammered in Scotland, I'd rather it not be at the hands of the SNP.

I get the feeling that most people who vote UKIP will do so without reading the party's manifesto, and purely on the basis of what they think the party's other policies are. I can see UKIP making some serious gains this time.

Lib Dems could be finished after this spell in power. And the Greens can go back to their political irrelevancy as before.[/quote]

I dunno. The more I'm here the more and more I see how the BBC and pretty much every other news outlet literally shills for Labour and the progressives here, sort of like they do back home in the US. It's subtle sometimes, but often is right in your face on how things are covered, or most of the time, not covered. That creates a difficult situation for new parties like the UKIP and the old Tories.

I think it's worse here than back home as you don't have alternative opposition media sources like Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, NY Post and other conservative mainstream sources to counterbalance the Beeb, Times etc. So you're getting a completely skewed to the left narrative on pretty much everything many times.

The BBC is biased and completely entrenched and that won't go away anytime soon. Hell you even have to pay an annual fee to get TV service here that goes to the BBC (!). (easy example is every other story on the UKIP has a "are they racist" slant to it. The BBC and most of the press here seem to hate the UKIP and Tories to a lesser extent IMO).

It's too easy for the progressive media to just take the SJW line and attack or impugn those who are trying to change the system - thereby shutting down the debate on any "controversial" issue they don't like.

That's why I agree with statements like this:

[quote] (03-09-2015 05:20 PM)Libertas Wrote:  

[quote='Lizard King' pid='975625' dateline='1425938382']
Anyway, I agree with Foolsgo1d on a UKIP/Tory coalition. Everyone else doesn't give a shit about the social fabric of those isles and will surrender to multiculturalism, feminism, and other toxic SJW bullshit.[/quote]

Amen. It's too easy for an average person who doesn't understand it all to be swayed by cognitive dissonance by the media and SJWs to lean towards the middle ground or left.

Moreover, if I recall correctly, New Labour were instrumental in hiring over 1 million+ civil servants during their tenure I think. They also pioneered the mass immigration policies that created so many new families living on the dole in the UK. These people are getting paid to work their government jobs or just sit at home and collect welfare and will never vote for some quasi-conservative party that wants less centralized power, a break from the EU & more personal responsibility. I have to image they alone, when combined with the media, are a strong enough block to prevent any real change whatsoever - maybe I'm wrong and being too negative?

In any case, the UK has massive structural issues that are still coming home to roost. It's been covered up by all the dirty money pouring into the tax coffers from Arab, Russian and African RE and investments, but I don't think that can go on forever. Somehow the UK needs to get it's finances in order (like the US does) but it seems pretty far-fetched to see that happening anytime soon. I don't see property prices every going down much in London that's for sure....seems like you will have an increasing gap between rich and poor, and more and more service industry job growth.

[Constitution45]

Akula you hit the nail on the head regarding structural issues that are still coming home to roost.
London had a big turn around, even in my lifetime in terms of gentrification etc. You can also the say the same about other cities around the U.K. A big part of this comes from foreign subsidies, investment and money laundering from overseas. Britain as a country can sell off its image of being a classical institution of respectability to foreign students who come over here to study and work even if its just the short term. The only reason why we have good universities to attract foreign professionals is because of the foreigners in the first place.

British people on the whole no longer have a strong sense of identity, the education system is appalling, family, religion, civic responsibility is just no longer there. We have been given a break with foreign investment but instead of taking the time to get things back in order, we are instead going to keep on making unrealistic decisions which just go against capitalist law.


__

The left wing in the U.K still think we live in the 1970s. They don't have a grasp on how the class system is nowadays and what people are really bothered about. This is shown in the BBC question time audiences that they prop up. In Rochester, UKIP one by a majority, but in the debate studio later that night the "representative audience of that area" where all labour and anti UKIP apart from a few odd hecklers. Immigration goes beyond the poor/rich marxist dichotomy that Russell Brand likes to talk about. The richest people in London are wealthy foreigners, Arabs, Russians, soon to be Indians and Africans. Intellectual discussions on immigration, welfare state or what have you are prohibited. They instead leave it to middle age girl gossip magazines such as the daily mail.

Russell Brand, haha oh well; he will get a fair number of students listening to him. Also you have to take in mind that most of what is deemed as politically "savvy" originates from London and the newly gentrified areas around there. So hipsters, "alternatives" middle class students will be associated with him. London is where most of the media in the U.K is based, the whole film and t.v show to even the lowest paid second assistant directors are part of this circle. I don't necessarily think he has bad intentions, but a lot of individuals throughout the ages, they go on a soap box and talk about something they don't really know about. When shit gets hairy they then duck out and are nowhere to be seen.

Russell Brand, Owen Jones these types who constantly censor themselves every two minutes of talking and give disclaimers about their "sexist, offensive" language are just pussies and should fuck off.

[H1N1]

I think, most likely, I won't vote. The system is broken and intellectually I can't bring myself to support it. I like some of UKIP's policies, but the reality is they have no hope at all - they won't redress the balance. A major success for them would be to be a minor voice of dissent in the House of Commons, whilst the rest of the political spectrum shifts further to the left.

I take the point about 'Brand's pseudo-anarchism', but in some respects he is correct (even a stopped clock is right twice a day). A system that only gives you the least bad option is not a system that deserves support. A system that does not distinguish between someone on welfare and someone who has created a business that brings wealth and employment to the country (I DO NOT include corporate fat cats in this, who are essentially defrauding shareholders in my view) is a system that will never work, because there are too many of the former, and too few of the latter, so the former will always prevail, and they will vote to take more from the productive. It's just the nature of things. Why then, if you attempt to be productive, would you participate in such a system. You are quite literally acting directly contrary to your best interests.

There are things I'd like to see, such as the UK leave Europe, but the reality is it's all too late now. The Conservatives have consistently proven themselves to be the most cowardly party in existence, dating back decades. There is nothing remotely conservative about them, they are entirely a progressive party, and I suspect that many of them would like to see a Tory/Labour alliance. At that point, noone should be under any illusions, we are living under a form of soft tyranny. The point where our 'leaders' would sacrifice principle in favour of furthering their own personal power is the point where democracy has ended and a dictatorship has begun.

This election is most likely to end with a Labour/LibDem/Green/SNP coalition, and result in a dramatic swing to the left - some might call it a death throw. The majority will vote for these fantasists, because they don't have even a basic grasp of how an economy works - they just see that they'll benefit more than they would under a less 'progressive' system, and, to quote from someone highly educated on my FB feed (talking about the Greens) 'they may not know how they'd pay for them, but their ideas are right, and for that I'll be voting for them'. This person is highly educated, far more so than the vast majority of the population, and they are 58 days out from an election and are prepared to put into power a party that has no ideal how it would manage the financials.

The whole thing disgusts me and I don't want any part of it. Fuck the lot of them.

[WanderingSoul]

Off topic, but Russell Brand strikes me as a huge pussy and faggot. I'm always surprised how much love he gets on this forum.

It seems the UK has the same problem as we do with celebrities getting involved with politics, even though they are completely unqualified, and then the general public taking what they say as fact, because they are too stupid and brainwashed to know any better.

Honestly, I think their handlers push them to say the shit that they do to gain more fans. Pick a hit button topic, take the side of the PC faggots, and gain even more fans and let the liberal press suck your dick all week long.

[Constitution45]

A question here for the U.K members. Will any of you consider moving country depending on the outcome of this election ?

Personally I will probably leave quite sharpish if New Labour get in. I can imagine that freak who is the head of the party, being like Francois Hollande but on crack if he got any resemblance of power.

[H1N1]

Rant.

No. This is my country. I won't give up that easily. My family have been here for a thousand years, and faced greater hardships in that time than some nancy boys in government. I will do my best to put myself in a position to redress the damage over time. I am too young (25) to be taken seriously, politically, at this point. So I will take a long term view and work hard to be in a position to influence and try to bring about the change I'd like to see.

One of my big gripes about the 'manosphere/redpill' is that everyone talks about how smart they are, and how they have reached a degree of enlightenment that is beyond the majority, yet their solution to all the problems they'll happily bitch about is to move abroad. We'll freely talk about how the millenials, and even the boomers, are over grown children, yet when it comes to stepping up and trying to take on responsibility for change, the response of the 'redpill' community is 'nah, I'm alright mate, I'm just going to look after myself and move to South East Asia'. It's the same selfish, egocentric and hypocritical behaviour that this part of the internet community decries in those who aren't part of it - the whole selfish/self-serving/self-indulgent behaviour that has led to this state of affairs in the first place.

I do recognise that it doesn't suit everybody, and many people whose opinions are valid and valuable, may none-the-less be poorly suited themselves for this sort of thing. But at some point, people need to start stepping up and becoming organised.

Rant over.