where are all these eastern european immigrants coming from?

[CaptainWacky]

Brown really needs to pull out the "double Stone Cold Stunner off the stage" on Cameron and Clegg (MY MAIN MAN) tonight if he wants any chance of winning.

 

[SAUSAGEMAN]

He has to - I've had this whole theory about how UK politics are Canadian politics on a five year delay for a few years now, and that wouldn't survive a Cameron victory.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Do Canadian politicians use wrestling moves on each other?

 

[Mentalist]

That is a common misconception. Brown introduced the Private Finance Initiative, basically a financial tool used to bill a project (take the 2012 Olympics for example).

The only cost that enters the balance sheet, is the initial projected costs. PFI deals have been used to build hospitals, MoD deals and much more. What then happens, is as the project takes shape, the initial cost soars through the roof, with most of the expenses going to financial costs and services built into the deal - none of this goes into the balance.

It has left an enormous gaping hole in the UK balance running into billions of pounds. The Bank of England has slowly made Brown put some of this back into the balance sheet, mostly after the collapse of the banks. What will almost certainly happen, is Labour to lose power, then whatever shape the next Government will take will be forced to reintroduce all this cost into the balance sheet - only then to have the finger pointed at them by Labour!

PFI in Action: An MoD deal for refuelling aircraft, £9bn over the initial projected cost, leading to a loss of £330m a year to the public purse. A hospital in Birmingham - this won't be paid off in full until 2045, by which time it will have cost £2.6b in payments to PFI companies over the odds of the initial projection.

The whole thing is a fucking sham, and Brown embraced it in full when Chancellor.

I will not pretend to have advanced knowledge on some of the intricacies of the economic doctrines that have been proposed and enabled and will happily defer to you on this, who I know has a better grasp on this type of thing, but I do know a little and wasn't it the Tories who originally devised this type of privatisation? I'm not happy AT ALL with what Labour has done and is doing in a pretty broad sense of the term but I fear a Liberal Democrat or Conservative government far more. And to think that the Conservatives are any less prone to this type of thing is more down to Cameron's storming campaign so far than in relation to any sort of real prospects. I haven't heard much from Cameron when it comes to sweeping changes that will better Britain in ways more than what we have now. And while he no doubt talks the talk when you really listen to some of his ideas I simply think they're the wrong approach.

The Conservatives isolationist policy towards Europe and the Lib Dems schoolboy approach just irk me greatly. No country has been immune to the world wide recession but Gordon Brown did do a lot of smart things as Chancellor IMO and the records do show that.

Considering how fast we went back in to a growth cycle after the world wide collapse is impressive as well. Maybe all that happened is that we are stacking up our problems for future generations and that, especially after reading your post, is a real possibility. That's why I think most people believe that we are stuck with a lesser of three evils approach this Election. Not a happy place to be for sure.

I think Gordon was far better as a Chancellor than as PM and what you pointed out in your post is definitely more than a little off putting but Gordon Brown was partly responsible for dragging Britain out of being a laughing stock in Europe to one of OECD's best performers. Since he took over as Chancellor we also avoided all those Boom/Bust cycles under the Conservatives. He did do a lot of positive things as Chancellor and after following 20+ years of Conservative ruin that's no small feat.

The problem is that there is no real innovation being offered by anyone. Labour are a bunch of wasters but I still think Cameron is more dangerous and Clegg is just a complete ninny and the Liberal Democrats are in no state to run the country. So much so that I would prefer a Conservative government to a Liberal Democrat one. When faced with such harrowing prospects the order of elimination leaves me voting for Gordon (I'm registered and will be voting) but I am FAR from happy either way.

Maybe I should be happy to be living in Greece where Economic problems don't bothe.....wait a minute... ray:

I need a stiff drink. hpconfused:

 

[Gagh]

It was the Tories that initially introduced this. Whilst it is true my parents are staunch Tories, I have never had a political alignment, and still do not to this day.

There is no doubt that the 'New' Labour Governemnt swept much of the legacy the last failed Tory Government left behind, almost unbelievably their social ideals evaporated with a deference to utilize spin & PR very rapidly in the initial Blairite years.

I have no qualms with entering into a shared market with Europe, but Greece has proven that a singular currency will forever be a high-risk concept. The fact that Germany supporting a bail out, and then as soon as it was decided by banks that Greece Bonds were junk they sat on their hands, tells me everything.

Germany and France were the advocates of a shared currency, and have rapidly distanced themselves from Greece - I guess more in caution that something similar could happen in Portugal and Ireland, which appear to be in the embryonic stages of severe finacial schtuck.

What is worrying at the moment, is none of these parties have the necessary tools to tackle the multi-layered financial problems that face modern society. Vince Cable is a very clever man, that is true, but he can't do it by himself, so who will help him if Lib Dems get a share of power? A Hung Parliament at the moment may not necessarily be the worst thing to happen to the country. Shared talents from two sides may help, though of course, the ideals of two parties will never blend.

Brown was a better Chancellor than PM, but then given his quite frankly appalling record as PM, he wouldn't have had to try too hard. Don't forget he also sold a vast amount of our Gold Reserves off at a pittance several years ago. That Gold is now worth a fortune. He had no need to do so at the time - he was more interested in plugging gaps in balance sheets than hanging onto marketable assets that would always hold a true value.

Let's face it, they're all as bad as one another. Working where I do, on the work I do has been a real eye opener to the machinations of Whitehall over the last two years, that much I can say.

 

[Gagh]

Those folks over at Saatchi & Saatchi sure are talented!

Unlike Saatchi & Saatchi themselves, but that's a whole other story.


I'm sorry I'm quoting stuff & replying out of sequence here, but this lousy connection only allows brief views.

 

[SAUSAGEMAN]

holy fkcu! the mirror has exclusively revealed that the BNP are.... racists???

 

[Fuddlemiff]

Thankyou for opening my eyes, Sunday Mirror!

 

[CaptainWacky]

I don't believe it.

 

[Dirk Funk]

Who else is there to vote for other than Labour? The Conservatives may have reinvented themselves to an extent this campaign but their policy on Europe is fucking shit and ultimately they're all cunts and always will be. The Lib Dems and this Nick Clegg entity are so fucking retarded it makes me sick. Their policies suck monkey balls and Clegg needs a slap. I'm sure I could attempt a more articulated approach to explain the myriad reasons I have for dismissing the Lib Dems out of hand but I'm watching the football right now.

As much as it pains me to say it Gordon Brown is the best candidate out of the three of them and his economic strategies DID work well and put Britain in to a quick recovery compared to everywhere else in Europe and the States. Labour may be a bunch of wasters these days but they're still a better prospect than the other two parties which just goes to show how fucked up everything is. And as for voting for one of the minor parties...well, it's pointless innit.

I kinda like these guys: http://lpuk.org/

 

[SAUSAGEMAN]

That's not very helpful - they're running in 2 seats, so approximately 99.7% of people don't get to vote for them.

 

[Dirk Funk]

Well, that sucks.

 

[SAUSAGEMAN]

welp

vote Labour, get Clegg

A senior cabinet minister today sent the clearest signal yet that Labour voters should vote Liberal Democrat in seats where Nick Clegg's party has a better chance of stopping the Tories.

The comments by the children's secretary, Ed Balls, are an indication that Labour is now resigned to a collapse in its vote on Thursday, and the best it can hope for is a strong performance by the Lib Dems to prevent David Cameron getting enough seats to form a government.

also: Brown strangles a bigoted child