The Bliss of the Undecided
What a backdrop! Markets falling, bankrupt Greece in uproar, Spain’s stock market down 5 per cent. Come vote for ugh, what? Yes, a stable, fiscally sound deficit free Britain er, in Europe.
But Europe is in turmoil, that recent confidence in the Euro that saw the dollar slumping is now itself in doubt. We are in debt, they are in debt, and there appears to be considerable doubt as to whether the international financial system has the capacity to see off a default by more than one European country.
No wonder then that the booming Chinese backed off the world stock market stage yesterday and all but cancelled its issue of convertible bonds in Shanghai. No wonder India’s Essa steel company pulled its dollar bond sale yesterday. No wonder the German property company GSW ran for cover yesterday rather than float its stock on the Frankfurt Exchange.
But pause a moment. Here in the UK, there’s an important manufacturing indicator – the Purchasing Manager’s Index. It doesn’t get the attention it should get. A discreet posting in today’s FT is awash with intriguing and rather hopeful news.
It has hit the highest increase in UK manufacturing output and exports since September 1994. The first three months have seen a 2.5 per cent increase. Sure, it warns about the pressure from high oil prices and raw material costs. despite the verbal slings and arrows hurled at the state of the UK’s manufacturing industry, it remains the sixth biggest in the world.
But what is the voter to make of all this? Are we bust? Is Europe bust? Are we on the cusp of another global financial meltdown? Don’t inspect last month’s UK mortgage figures – lending down year on year by 83 per cent. There remains a credit famine.
I hoped never to have to say it, but Britain is benefiting considerably from being outside the Eurozone. The pound is cheap, fuelling the surge in exports reported by the Purchasing Manager’s Index. There is something to build on providing the global meltdown doesn’t render us insolvent.
What a terrific moment to be deciding who should govern us for the next five years. No wonder a third of voters are still undecided. What fun it must be to enter the booth wondering who to vote for, and to emerge having done so!
Related posts:
- The credit card cancer
- Why we should fear the Greek financial crisis
- I must get some cash out from one of our socialist banks
- Public money behind the surge in stock market trading
- Have I just witnessed the death of party politics?
There are 71 comments on this post
Yeah, that’s what’s really on people’s minds when they walk through the Primary School gates and run the gauntlet of the tellers.
The Purchasing Managers Index.
I, for one, can’t remember an election when I didn’t think of the PMI as I grabbed me stubby pencil on a string.
Nice one Stepney. It highlights how out of touch most of the broadcast media is with the average man/woman on the street. As if he knows, or cares what the PMI is !
It’ll soon be over thank heavens.
Surely knowing about this is what the media is there for. Hearing a positive in this sea of negativity, doom, gloom & despondancy is a sorely needed contrast.
IF we knew about the Purchasing Managers Index – then it would matter.
Jon surely you want to rewrite this article .How can you say we are benefitting from being out of the Euro. That must go against all your instincts and ideology, even if it is right.I would go even further and say we aught to be out of Europe altogether.We have a huge trade imbalance and yet we pay one of the highest contributions of all Euro countries.Getting out would reduce our debt burden substantially .
I hope i do not go into the booth intending to vote Tory and come out having voted UKIP
On the eve of the election I am not very optimistic and I expect after all the hype the election is going to lead to a lot of disappointment for a lot of people, as the Tories probably winning a small majority, or at least being the largest party and forming a minority government. Then ‘normal service will be resumed, no fundamental change to our electoral system (just a reduction in the number of MPs that will make the current system even worse.). And the public disengagement with politics will resume. How can it be otherwise when your vote only counts in the 20% of seats that are marginals, and voting for the choice you really want is a often a ‘waisted vote’.
Patrick i bet there is a minimum of 30% who vote , disappointed , it could be as high as 60%
Undecided economically, decided morally :thats me..
In past blogs Faisal blogged about the various shapes the recession was taking and I made an imaginary Moat and Bailey around GB ; still keeping in touch with Europe and doing business with Europe , but pulling together our own personal resources.
Many feel as though this is the right think to do so the knock on effect doesn’t knock on out of control.
It is still bad news for BP though.. I would like to know how the leakage occured.
The pound being cheap means that if we have commodities then they are desirable, but where is manufacturing?
If there is a squeeze which affects jobs even more then the supply of people in a position to apply for credit will be less.
There is one thing for sure though many people are now growing their own produce and thinking about alternative lifestyles. Helping our neighbours may be something we have to do if we desire reciprocation.
There is an excellent article in the Daily Mail today with the facts on the last hung parliament.Well worth a read for anyone concerned with the state of the economy.No i am not a mail reader ,or rather i read all the papers .
People complain of the influence of Murdoch , but his sun articles are as ludicrous as those in the Mirror.There are much more balanced arguments in the FT Times guardian and Telegraph, yet i see little stomach for a hung parliament
I never thought I’d live to see the words ‘excellent article’ and Daily Mail in the same sentence.
There is an excellent article in the Daily Mail today…”
I suppose it is possible as I suppose it is also be theoretical possible that someone can be tolerant and start a sentence with “I am not a racist but…”
Patrick “i am not racist” BUT i believe we should hunt down and remove all illegal immigrants from this Isle, by first giving a months amnesty to anyone who employs them and then after that also remove those who do employ them
What if the employer is British, Adrian?
Meg , send him to Scotland
Patrick, sad but true.I believe the Tories at least intend rewriting the boundaries so the voting is more proportional In someways proportional representation appears to offer a fairer system , but as i have said previously, if you look at the Euro elections , you no longer vote for a person , you vote for a party, and the part decides who their representative is.
The problem with less MPs under the FPTP system is larger constituencies are likely to lead to even more disproportionate results and hurt medium and small parties even more.
Most people do not vote for the person in their seat. (I doubt many even know the name of their MP). If people did vote for the individual rather than by party there would not be any safe seats…. In effect in the majority of cases with FPTP (i.e all the safe seats) the local party already decides who the MP is going to be….
Also there are forms of PR where you still can select between individuals to be MPs e.g. STV or at least partially e.g. AV+
Patrick, isn’t it rather more likely that a Tory reform of FTTP would mean rationalising the the seats with comparatively few voters? Looking at the ONS site, this is going to mean less Westminster seats in Scotland and Wales – and perhaps in a post-devolution UK this is overdue.
I am sure like all the proposed reforms of all the parties it is being suggested as the the change to the system that will help that particular party…..
I don’t have a problem with geographically rebalancing seats. One of the problems with FPTP is that it is always playing catch up with the countries demographics. But just making few but larger FPTP constituencies is only getting to make the bias in the voting system in favour large parties with strong regional concentrations like the Tories and Labour worse.
In the meantime…most of us , the pertual poor, hardly notice a thing except that the plum blossom was exceptional this year.
and the cherry blossom. But what the heck eh? with my background and breeding I can walking into any plum orchard and cross muliply .
That credit famine that threatens to stunt the growth of the exporters currently producing the good PMI figures. Being outside the Eurozone gives us more short/medium term flexibility to ride the markets’ rollercoaster. But that rollercoaster continues to be a problem for anyone doing real wealth creation by investing in real assets (like new production lines), because the time-scale is years, not months. They need stable long-term finance, and some idea of what it will cost them. We need them to invest if we’re expecting the private sector to produce new jobs.
“There is an excellent article in the Daily Mail today…”
LOL – no need to continue, I think that may be the next iteration of Godwin’s law (?)
Jon, the UK government and many of its people seem to want to cherry pick the best bits of being part of the EU. Well, this is collective selfishness and is typical of human nature & greed. The ‘Them And Us’ attitude is a disgrace. The EU is suppose to be a family of countries as one. A marriage through the good time and bad. Well, it’s so predictable that the Brits have to try rock the boat, because of their own self interest. This is immoral and not conducive to a better world. People need to see beyond their own selfishness and get some morals. The wider picture and foresight for a better world will only come about by self restraint and willingness to work together. The UK may be an island in a physical sense but, globally, it’s part of a ‘family’ and, it’s attempts to cut and run will back fire. The EU is only having problems because of the consequence of unrestrianed/unregulated capitalism and domination by the rich cartels etc.
I think Europe is an excellent idea Anthony but leave it to the Europeans
Adrian, we ARE Europeans. It’s not that I have any particular bias view for or against Europe but, what I do have a clear view on the consequences of unregulated capitalism. This has manifested in the streets of Greece and, the impending revolution across the west. The greedy corrupt rich have taken the Lions share of resources, land, supply lines & manipulate government policies and, arrogantly control the media.
This revolution is well over due. We may have all been brainwashed about Communisms faults but, Capitalism is just as bad, if not worse.
I care about society and the wider world we live in. I don’t want to watch people live in poverty and misery with no hope. I don’t want to live among corrupt indifferent greedy arrogant politicians, bankers & corporate scum. I don’t want lies conveyed about society by the upper classes manipulating the media. I don’t want to live in a dictatorship that causes illegal wars and has fraudulent MPs/Lords. I don’t want to see ordinary people pay the debt of the UK while the rich fu** off abroad to their luxury hide-outs. There are too many people in EU like that cause poverty, inequality & misery. They are the true Terrorists.
Anthony your argument makes neither commercial or ethical sense. The sole purpose of EU membership is to serve the national interest – i.e, is our commerce more succesful and our citizens safer, our public services improved? If membership costs us money and improves neither defence nor the economy then we are effectively paying tax to subsidise living conditions and security in other countries. If that is the case, then ethically our money and resources should be spent supporting and the poor outside the rich countries of the EU.
Anthony you may be /feel European , but a little bit of water called the North Sea and English(not European) channel .seperates me from Europe and being a European
Those of you with these anti Europe sentiments are a disgrace. To be of the old school order of ‘them n us’ is to show the ignorance that led to the 1st and 2nd world wars. Attitudes against a union of nations are forged by individual agendas & old outdated predjudisms. The stiff upper lip of the British still lingers on from the forefathers of these. Europe is still young. It’s not the Union that will bring it to its knees. It’s the consequences of greedy people simple that is.
Our place at the table of EU members should not be conditional on a minority of British toffs financially benefiting. If you think Greece riots are an isolated case and, all to do with the Euro and the ordinary Greek persons way of life then, you are wrong. The protests there are a result of the same that will translate here: Greed of capitalism and, the scum that dominate the Lions share of resources backed by their fraudulent bast**ds in government.
The Greek riots mark the end of this reign of economical terror played out on ordinary peoples lives. Standards of living pursued by Capitalist benefactors would see the majority living on land fill dumps.
Corrupt governments days are up.
Anthony i am having difficulty in suggesting a place you could live and get what you want .I thought of cuba and then Russia , but there are more poor and just as much corruption , and in Russia even Capitalism .Then i came up with the perfect answer The Galapagas Islands
Adrian , You are obviosly an Isolationist – which is fine – but if there are many of that opinion – Yes – I think UK should get out of the EU . De Gaulle was in all likelhood right 50 years ago when he said ” Non ‘ Non ”- becuase he thought the UK would wreck the EU/EEC . There can be little doubt that it was / is unrestrained Capitalism – pure Greed – that has brought about the current crisis – if u want to believe the Earth is flat – ok , that is your privilege .
On one point from yestrday – I think it is only the Rich should vote – as it is their decision that prevails anyway – so why waste all this money on a second rate circus . If voting changed anything – we would not have the vote .
Adrian, which continent do you think we are on then? Or do you really think the UK is so important, it is a continent to itself?
What no anti EU advocate has ever explained to my satisfaction is why France and Germany – two countries as proud of their individuality as the Scots and Welsh i.e. more than the English – manage to embrace Europe without losing their identity, and come out of it doing rather well. Why should we be different?
And when it comes to voting systems – Germany usually has a balanced parliament and has done well economically while Greece has first past the post and is in a mess, so it depends on what the politicians do not the fact that one party dominates.
Adrian, give me The Galapagas any day. This beautiful place that’s barely been spoilt by humans and where our understanding of Evolution emanates via Charles Darwin.
This planets only scourge is human. If Gaia could show itself, I would hope that it would see to it that the exponential growth in population was curtailed permanently. I’m sure it will eventually.
I wonder how i can reply to all the negative blogs i have got re the European Union,just because i do not believe it is best for this country.
Anthony, you seem to believe all of us who are against the federation of the European Union are a dis grace , but you do not explain why.You are clearly against the Capitalist system and the so called rich bast**ds who rob the poor, yet you support an organisation that is more corrupt than the English parliament and has not had its accounts accepted by audit for the last eight years because of fraud.
The European Union was first suggested bt Churchill , but he never obtained the agreement needed.As for what continent we are on Saltaire , why do we have to be on a Continent?? We are clearly not connected to Europe.What Continent is Australia on .If you say Australasia , are they isolationist.I am not sure what isolationist implies!!!! We trade with most countries in the world , including Europe , yet despite being in the cosy European club we have a negative trade with Europe and pay the most to be in the club .Were we part of the Euro , we would be forced to keep stringent financial borrowing targets ,.
cont .We would no longer be the masters of our own destiny , as we are not in certain fields now .We have our laws over ruled by the human rights act in European courts , we can not take unilateral action on protection of our borders .Our fishing fleet has been decimated we have to cow tow to European laws .Eventually if Europe is to survive as a Union it will have to become a Federation where everything is run from the centre.It will no longer matter about our parliament , the Union will control us .There will be no democracy .France and Germany love it because they are effectively in control of Europe , and gradually will take more and more powers .I believe put to the test you Europhiles will be in a minority in this country, yet no party dare test the waters.
Adrian, please stop your attempt at Pigeon-holing me into a particular camp. I’m never a closed minded person and I pride myself on my ability to remain open to change in light of other peoples views/information. I don’t allow myself to be fixed in my views. Fluidity is key to accuracy and it stops arrogance.
As for the EU, as I said earlier, I am not biased towards or against the EU. Why? because I need to acquire further information before I draw a open ended conclusion.
Reading your views helps me gain a different perspective and I take on board what you convey. I shape my opinions on a wider betterment of society and the wider world though. Unfortunately, fraudulent people infiltrate all areas of life and politics and, it’s with this acceptance that I remain open to change. A Federation isn’t to be scuppered but, then it’s not to be accepted without safeguards too. The hate towards Germans & French from English, shows bitter feelings remain post the WW1&2. Although time is a healer, it goes to prove hate & prejudice last eons of generations. Distrust is a human safeguard and a trait that pays dividends but, collective……cont.
cont… bargaining can also work if all sides stand to benefit equally. My opinion on the EU is one of hope from the mess the UK is in after 30 years of Tory & Labour.
What I won’t do is make any apology for offence caused by my brash comments about unregulated capitalisms consequences. What I see in society is a direct & indirect consequence of the greed that’s spawned from this vile system. When millions of lives are driven into misery & poverty to the point that they may as well be dead, I will attack the causes. These causes are by people. Rich people & Politicians. I see these people as worse than terrorists because they screw millions of people into misery in poverty. It’s the scourge of human nature to be indifferent to others plights. I personally know people like this in my own family. As you can imagine, I have nothing to do with the scum. I don’t give a f**k what people may think of my strong unrelenting opinions in this area. I will remain a voice & literary Guardian of the poor that are not able to defend. They just blank their existence out with drugs, drink, food, etc.
Well, EVERYONE matters EQUALLY in my eyes, irrespective of age, gender, educ & status.
Anthony , i didnt realise what a long blog this is re Europe .My objection is nothing to do with my feelings of French or Germans.Given a choice i think i would prefer the Germans.My objections are more fundamental than that.
I believe in my own destiny , good or bad , right or wrong.I do not like being told what to do .I like to do my own think within rules that protect society.That is why i am so against Left Wing ideas that they know best and the big brother state.It is why i find the likes of Ed Balls despicable. I find it bad enough when our own parliament thinks it can run our lives instead of being our representatives , and that goes for any party.
When it comes to the European ideal, which is totally undemocratic, more interfering and oppressive and over rules our sovereign parliament , that is far too much for me.
As to your views on the rich ba** ards and the likes of bankers ruining society i couldn,t agree more.Unfortunately , many of the poor seem to think the state and others in society owe them a living.
As we enter the finishing strait of a strenuous campaign on the Snowblog (Thanks, Jon, for the chance) and prepare for a night without sleep in front of the telly when we really should know better at our age, I have an observation.
I want to spare a thought for the candidates of all hues out there. What a rotten job that must be.
In the comfort of my home, no dogs, dodgy letterboxes or empty houses to confront, I have tried every wheeze to win people over to my view. I’ve tried humour, left field suggestions, sarcasm, cycnicsm, I’ve even tried to argue my left wing case logically at times.
And what has happened? Adrian has gone from a true blue tory to Ukip, Richard of Nottingham is in some parallel universe where children are still forbidden to write with their left hand on idealogical grounds, Margaret has gone back to lying on the lawn listening to 60s music and Claire, who was always on my side, is so taken with Adrian I’m worried she’ll slip over to the other side when she gets in the polling booth.
What must it be like on the doorstep?
Saltaire we must be mad.I am already preparing my hip flask , kettle and sandwich ingredients ,ready for the movement of the swingometer.
I am nearly blogged out trying to explain why the Liberals are Looney , Labour are Profligate.Why we should reject hanging,in favour of a true bright blue summer .Even Margaret should want that, for that is what i remember of the 60′s long sunny days and bright blue skies.As for Richard he is only slightly to the right of me, like beyond the BNP. I think with claire it is a mutual attraction and a sensible coalition .
I wish all my fellow bloggers success .(i can lie like a politician too) but i have to fight to the very end.
“Richard of Nottingham is in some parallel universe where children are still forbidden to write with their left hand on idealogical grounds”
Sam, I find that rather offensive. At no point in any of my posts have I ever given you any thoughts on my ideology, OR voting intentions. They are my business and I challenge you to prove me wrong.
However, that is not nearly as offensive as Adrian who seems to think that I’m to the “…right of the BNP” !! Based on what evidence Adrian ? Being an ex-policeman that forensic brain should be able to provide a post of mine on the subject of race, imigration, asylum, and any extreme views. Show me and the blog just *one*
Richard , i am truly sorry if you found my remarks offensive .If you care to read my blog it was obviously a light hearted repost to Saltaire .I have no idea of your politics except to normally see you agree with my right wing position , and can yourself actually attack strangers i.e your remarks of Brown of being psychologically flawed and not fit to be PM.
It matters not i unconditionally withdraw my remarks in the blog and offer the hand of friendship
That surely is good news – for UK at least , as long as it is not based on more indebtness . BTW the cherry blossom , in fact near all blossom is fantastic this year – result of the hard winter ??. Read the bit about Greece – oh Boy – looks like its going to get worse . The real bad thing was as well as pay cuts etc – the people first out the door are 2 b the contract people – more than likely doing useful jobs – while the overpaid beurocrats remain immoveable . That is excatly what happened here in the org. that I worked in . [- ROI ]-. The people on contract at ground level whow were doing a useful job – and had 2 bring in 1.5 times their salary in client fees – they were got rid of – while the useless overpaid beurcrtas still remain – and earn 2-4 times what the contract people earned- but thats the IMF – protect the useless .
Too right Jim. Employment cuts have a perverse logic. If you make people redundant, then you have to pay them. The more highly they are paid, the more it costs you. Whereas contracts can simply be cancelled.
Fingers crossed who ever ends up flying the jumbo does with great care. To quote Churchill: “If your going through hell keep going”. I know that’s a fitting mantra for many in this country. As long as we have reliable and independent media (that’s you) then there is a glimmer of hope for some. I think we are all clear the disadvantages a hung parliament could bring but ultimately it is the cuts of working class, public sector jobs that will have the greatest impact. It doesn’t take Einstein’s theory of relativity to help. What we do need is a political Robin Hood to tax the filthy rich who are guilty of collective ignorance. Maybe then the poorer sections of our society can at least maintain the bare minimum quality of life they are offered under the current government. One thing for certain Gordon Brown is most likely to be exported. Can anyone do more damage? Me thinks so. Are voters torn between tactical labour voting/liberal votes? That’s my impression. Maybe the votes will be spun like our unemployment figures. 10 million out of work but 2.5 million on job seekers. Where’s Porco Rosso when you need him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-hltbU-pRI . Try the job section…
There seems to be plenty of money to fuel war in every sense though!
A resource based economy for those who don’t or who like me thought it was based on barter, well it’s not.
RBE is allowing everyone to have what they need with all resources shared out equally. No exchange..No currency..
adzmundo The Venus Project & CND
ADZ i agree blame Labour and their coalition partner for that .You see that is the danger of coalition , no restraint on spending and stupid profligate policies.
It is noticeable that no matter how dire the financial situation, how many old people and kids are likely to see their standard of living lowered, we can always find money for war and for a nuclear deterrent that deters no one and which we will never use.
Just imagine how much better the world would be if every penny, cent, rouble etc spent on nuclear weapons since the horror of Hiroshima had gone into medical care and education in Africa
The macho element of our politics has a lot to answer for.
Saltaire yet another dreamy bit of Liberal nonsense.Well it was at the start of the debate ,but yet another policy Clegg hastily backtracked on and changed .You are now out of sync with everyone except the apologists who think that giving up our nuclear deterrent unilaterally , makes us safer.Don’t you realise that the French might at last think they can beat us and force us to join the Euro
You have to keep the War Machine going – after all think of the money it makes for the Arms manufacturers- that is the main point of it – and selling FEAR to the Public- ” We are in danger – there are terrorists ready to kill us etc .. Forget the people we kill – they are terrorits or just bad luck – anyway they do not count -.They are not ” US ”. We must presrve our way – even if it means muredering those who disagree with us .
The PITAs who rant on about ” Moral Values ” – rarely / never have a word to say about the obscnity of the gigantic War Machines – and their cost . Yes – they give employment – but having a job making bullets to kill other humans is hardly even remotely ethical .
Adz, I’ve got to confess I don’t understand RBE. My last stab at it was a bonkers barter based economy (which is clearly wrong). This latest explanation makes me feel uneasier still as it now sounds like parceling out all property regardless of ownership on the basis of need. Isn’t this what Mugabe did to farmland on Zimbabwe? I admire your ethics but please spare a thought for the practicalities. Greed is sadly universal. History teaches that radical change of this nature invariably results in bloodshed and suffering on a massive scale.
My worry is that there will be repeat of 28 years ago where people doubled up walking into businesses splitting marriages and firms up to remove large amounts of money then being backed up by the powers that be , to squirm out of what they knew were illegal moves .
Lives were shattered , women abused by other than their own husbands , because of all this things were ‘ going over’
The echoes of this have been going on since that period and I would not relish the idea of these business criminals reinacting it or reinforcing it.This was a tory administration.
Isn’t this all so good that we’re able to discuss the issues like civilised mensch.
Which reminds me of an old joke the applies in countries with dictatorships.
Tomorrow is polling day! In the polling booth there will be two black boxes. If you vote for the president you must put your vote in the black box marked President. If you don’t vote for the president, you will be put in the other black box.
Yep, the old ones are the best.
John what an insult to call me civilised
Good joke!
If you run an economy in credit, private and public and you fail to balance your imports and exports whether you are in the Euro Area or outside a correction has to be made. Wait for the post election cuts and tax increases and see if the awful situation which is coming would have been any the worse inside the Euro zone. Wage cuts can come in many forms: directly as in Greece or indirectly as they will here. Business needs stability and membership of the Euro would provide that.
Ah, so glad we can also have a good argument with barbarians Adrian. Bring out the cudgels and clubs.
Adrian, I will put that down to campaign fatigue. You really think the French will threaten to drop an atom bomb on us if we don’t join the Euro?
The nuclear deterrent was a cold war weapon and probably made us more vulnerable because I always reasoned that the Russians were more likely to drop an encouraging bomb on us rather than America.
It is of no value against terrorists and is patently not deterring Iran.
And, again, no one has answered the question – how do we justify having nuclear weapons while telling the rest of the world they shouldn’t have them?
Either we feel we are so superior to the rest, or we believe we are in more danger. If the latter, ask yourself why. Could it be our foreign policy and our arrogance at telling the world do as I say not as I do?
There are much better things to do weith many billions of pounds than replacing trident and I amd disappointed that the three major parties don’t accept that
Saltaire,answer me this.I know it would be very nice to unilaterally give up our nuclear deterrent .Yes it would save a serious amount of money , but it would also jepardise defence workers jobs and facilities.Whilst we are doing that why not give up our Navy and Airforce and become a pacifist country like Switzerland.I say keep the Army to protect our borders and our streets if there is a Greek type action against the cuts , that if we do not get control of the money supply , will happen.Of course i imagine you want to bring our troops back from Afghanistan .We might as well withdraw too from Nato.I’m not sure who would protect us if say Russia turned nasty again.They do continually test our airspace.If Iran does develop a nuclear weapon do we rely on France and America for protection .You accused me earlier of isolationist , isn’t that exactly what those who want to unilaterally disarm are?
Those who preach unilateral disarmament were the same voices that gave rise to Nazi Germany letting Hitler believe he would be unapposed
There you go again, more tory – sorry ukip – distortion. Just because I want to get rid of nuclear weapons doesn’t mean I want to leave the country with no form of defence. My argument is that nuclear doesn’t defend us against our main enemy, which is terrorism.
Imagine for a moment if we took a slice of the money we are about to spend on replacing trident, and poured it into building hospitals and other infrastructrue in Afghanistan. Which do you think the Taliban would fear most – a nuclear bomb we won’t use against them, or a better society which the people wouldn’t allow them to overturn.
I was against the Iraq war – it was dishonest and illegal. I could see the point of going into Afghanistan, but the reason it has dragged on is that we haven’t lived up to what we promised the people of that country.
I hope all those who preach closer ties with Europe and even joining the Euro tonight watched the C4 news,
The Euro control of finances has told Greece it can have a bail out if it agrees terrible austerity measures .The disgraceful murders of innocent bank staff show the dangers the Labour government has put this country in .It is also putting a strain on the Euro that can not be contained , as Spain, Portugal and Italy could join the Greeks .In the words of the commentator There might be the need for a centralised control and a new treaty authorising it .In other words what i blogged two hours ago , a Federated Europe. I hope you Europhiles wake up and see sense.
Yes we have to make things and not just swop houses at a ‘profit’ and it could be that the recession ha sbrought some politicians ti their senses. But hoi there which lot smashed manufacturing because they didnt like people sticking up for themselves?
Brown did one thing completely off limits – he supported Blair in his disgraceful wars. He should have pulled the rug from Blair at that stage on principle. Blair could not wait to drop some bombs – the first ones were on 18 December 1998 – check the papers if you do not believe me – and the Labour Party allowed him, of course supported all the way by the tories – to plough on with his blood up (irony of irony while great chunks of parliamentary time were being devoted to foxhunting).
So to voting.
Conservatives – Cameron wrote the last manifesto and it was the most torrid unpleasant bit of work – leopards and spots?
Labour – Brown is at least an intellect and has not indulged in personal attacks depite the vile heaped on him
Lib Dems – who live by the polls with Clegg more arrogant by the minute offering lobby fodder to Cameron – he will not tie himself to Brown.
Hard decision but it has to be Labour.
Labour – Brown is at least an intellect and has not indulged in personal attacks depite the vile heaped on him
We are agreed here. Brown has shown incredible strength and a sound knowledge of UK culture. He shows integrity and I have some admiration for him.
Vote labour – perhaps! Although I dream of change he or any others has not proposed sadly.
Oh how very moved I have been reading this blog on the eve of polling day. It has most certainly provoked an array of emotion and further thought, but this one in particular has made me smile!! Enemies have become friends or at least become fond of the others rhetoric. Myself, well I’m with you saltaire sam 100% your views sum it up for me!!
Thank you Jon Snow for making it possible
Koomkwat, i do not think of enemies when i have a difference of opinion.I love to read some of the comments i provoke or answer to .As you are aware i have my political views , broadly in line with the Tories.I often say to my partner “that will get them going” when i have written a particularly contentious piece. I too am with Saltaire , but not all his opinions and i love to read Margarets blogs even if i can not always understand them.I love to see and point out the C4 bias, but finding Snowblog has given me a whole new interest in life, so long may it go on
Jon, are you having a laugh? It would never have occurred to me to check the PMI even if I’d known about it! Are you grubbing about for votes from any “undecideds” here? And for whom? No need to answer that question – it’s rhetorical ….
Election day was approaching with eager anticipation in my schedule…until l received a SECOND voting card this week – announcing my voting date actually on May 27th – on account of the death of a candidate in my constituency, and protocols needing to be obeyed!
How crazy is THAT!
I now feel totally let down and furious …unless we will actually hold the balance of power. ..but will anyone feed ion our results? The constitutency, by the way, is Thirsk & Malton, in North Yorkshire.
Great coverage! And personally I’ve really enjoyed leaving my left of centre and at times slightly insane comments. One thing is for certain there are some brilliantly illuminating views on here. It’s good to be able to dig a little deeper on these issues…
The Old Left will never return – stop kidding yourselves!
Tomorrow I have the choice of: BNP, UKIP, Independent, Tory, New Labour, National Front, Christian Party and Lib Dem.
Decisions, decisions! I shall vote in hope, not in expectation – very much like a lot of other people, I suspect.
Didn’t Cameron work for Lamont at the time of the infamous “A small price to pay” (one million unemployed, that was) ?
Can we now believe in his Damascus Road conversion to the “Big Society”?
It’s going pear-shaped. 3 weeks of Grandma Clegg’s soppy, Metro-Jesus platitudes.
Back to the barracks, people. Back to the consoling certainties of first-past-the-post. It’s a nice post, if you think about it.
Well folks i wish for a Tory victory but i wish you genuinely , all the best.It will be the peoples vote , but i hope whatever the result is that it does not prolong the political career of Brown .
Saltaire i love our disagreements even if i could never support unilateral disarmament .Having spent 9 years many moons ago in the Royal Navy i know our fighting forces are second to none , but i believe successive governments put them in appalling conditions where as a last resort they need that bomb (hopefully never to be used) supporting them.
I hope that we do not get a hung parliament because i believe it will make the important decision making impotent.
However whatever the result i know we the British people will continue to respect our opponents views and continue the friendly rivalry and support whatever is the new government
All this media comment about what “the markets” want in this election. To hell with what they want! It’s what the PEOPLE want that you in the media need to focus on, not what a bunch of preppy, ex public schoolboy bond speculators want.