joe v3sti

iTrader: (8)

Just had it on and quite honestly I found it thoroughly depressing, this country is on it's ****.

FlatoutDave

This country is fvcked! The country and values that my Grand parents fought for has long since disappeared, Tony Blair I hope your proud of yourself and of your parties open door policy. The open door policy that was not about improving this country but getting people here to vote Labour, the so called brown vote. You Sir are a disgrace.

FlatoutDave

[QUOTE=FlatoutDave;11658329]This country is fvcked! The country and values that my Grand parents fought for has long since disappeared, Tony Blair I hope your proud of yourself and of your parties open door policy. The open door policy that was not about improving this country but getting people here to vote Labour, the so called brown vote. You Sir are a disgrace.[/http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/400239/Labour-s-open-door-policy-let-in-more-immigrants-in-a-decade-than-the-previous-40-years

FlatoutDave

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/400...vious-40-years

Osimabu

iTrader: (2)

I don't know why it's necessary for Mr Farage to use the Australian example regarding immigration. Just try moving to the Isle of Man without being either financially independent or having a job already lined up.

Mind you, their real ale mostly isn't a patch on ours.

Dingdongler

Martin, I'm afraid to say I think that it is a fact. I see it everyday and involves some very expensive complex cases being treated.

Kwik

iTrader: (10)

I didn't hear many policies, the majority of the programme was spent with each party slagging off the other parties looking to discredit rather than gain their own credit.

boomer

Some hilarious comments at Nuttily Bennett...

etc.



mb

c_maguire

Pointless.

There are only two people who can be Prime Minister and for them this 'debate' was only ever about not making a gaffe that would be thrown back in their face for the next six weeks.

For the rest it was an opportunity for a unique kind of publicity they would otherwise never get. None of them bar the SNP will have any consequential impact on the coming election, and the Labour/SNP relationship is the only pertinent question highlighted.

Bar a couple of attempts at controversy by Nigel Farage the 'debate' was predictably anodyne, I expected nothing more.

And anyone who decides where their vote goes based on events like this is either a moron or mentally retarded.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

This thread makes me laugh. Aside from a couple of you what did the rest of you expect? These are scumbag self serving cheating lying politicians.... it was only ever going to be a joke the minute seven of them were invited so Cameron and Miliband could hide behind the others' eccentricities.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

As is anyone who has decided before the election even kicks off!

thenewgalaxy

Yes granted, so who would you vote for?

I couldn't vote for UKIP or the three other minority parties (even though collectively they may amount to a significant proportion of votes and influence) so it would be a choice Lib Dems, Labour or the Conservatives.

Someone's got to get in, whether we like it or not!

dpb

Yes granted, so who would you vote for?


He's not voting, he's off to somewhere in three times as better in every way

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Farage pointed out that the NHS have SAID that approx 17,000 people come here, every year, are diagnosed with AIDS or HIV, get drugs to the value of £25,000 each.

Do the maths: £425,000,000.......almost half a bil;lion....and that's just one thing.

The other leaders brushed it off......Sturgeon saying she'd rather look at them as human beings, instead of health tourists.

Perhaps she'd like to fund them out of Scotland's budget, then?

Because one thing is certain, we can't afford to keep doing it.

Turbohot

Yes, the debate was sh7te. Very disappointed with Mili boy. He could have milked it instead of begging for votes with not much to show for.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

I found it hilarious how when he was talking, Milibland would turn and talk into the camera at every opportunity with those sunken demon headmaster eyes

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

The Mili-boy obviously has had some body language coaching in delivering his diatribe...but he's doing it all wrong. Like an aspie at a singles bar; Not a clue.

Dingdongler

Milked it in what way?

stilover

I didn't hear one policy from any of the parties, apart from UKIP, who actually said how they would reduce spending. All the rest just said they'd do this and that, while not actually saying how they'd do it. Then just slagged off the opposition.

Think it was quite silly trying to make Farage out to be a racist.

The reason why we have no houses left, why our NHS is bursting at the seams, schools have classes of 40+, and or welfare budget is through the roof is down to our ever growing population. Immigration has caused all this, and it'll only get worse.

The rest are all scared to say it how it is, while playing the racist card to Farage, while he does say it like it is.

stilover

The way he kept turning and looking deep into the camera with his puppy dog eyes.


Labour are responsible for the state of our country today, yet he constantly blames the Tories, and say they broke their promises to get the country back on track. On track from their mess.


Yet Europe's trouble have been far worse than anyone ever expected. This is why we are where we are today in term of recovery.


But you don't tell them that do you Ed? No Ed, you don't.

warrenm2

Are you absolutely sure Ed Milliband isn't an Illuminati....?

Turbohot

With more credible style, if not the facts to back up, I mean.

Look at that UKIP bloke. He was much better in his delivery, although he has no track record yet, and I'm not keen on him at all. As someone has said above, all Mili boy did was stare at the camera with his puppy dog eyes, and begged for a vote without any strong evidence of what good his party has ever done, and what amazingly good they will ever do. He compared Labour's patching up over a number of years (ref: NHS) to what little Cameron has ruined over 5 years of his leadership. How ridiculous! It's like me saying that I took so many years for repairing a house, but since you moved in and damaged a little bit of plaster, you are the sole and soul destroyer of the place! Whaaaat??? Come on, that would be just silly thing to do on my part, don't you think?


Not that Cameron was absolutely amazing either. His fellow Tory Osborne was praising his defensive delivery afterwards, because he has to.

jonc

It was a pretty poor showing of our political leaders, though the only one that was giving anything resembling credible answers was Farage. In between the attempts to discredit each other, I thought Cameron did provides some means as to how to fund some of Tory spending, the rest just said, we will do this and give back that without saying how it will be funded. However, despite the tit-for-tat spats between the leaders, the Green Party leader did provide some comic relief.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

That's all I keep hearing and reading. Opposition politician promising to "End Austerity". Not one gives details on how they will do this and make it work without damaging some part of society or economy.

What they mean is they will spend more. So to do that they either have to tax more, or to borrow more and drive this country in to bankruptcy.

Tax more? Who? employees or employers? Too much on the latter will result in less of the former. Tax the uber-rich? fine, but that alone won't balance the books.

Spend more? On what? Houses? Houses with no futher input to aging and collapsing infrastructure: Roads, rail, power, gas, water. Nor the management of social needs; schooling, policing, health and social care, public amenities. Not one of them that condones extra house building has even hinted at all the mentioned needs that new house developments require. Nor if anyone can afford to buy them without being over-mortgaged or commuting 100+miles a day from there for a decent paying job.

The only transport infrastructure project is HS2....a means to allow more people to work in London where salaries are higher and live outside of it where housing is cheaper. We're not stupid. We know thats what its for. HS3 is a hashed plan to appease Northerners who see what purpose HS2 is actually for.

Heathrow expansion; more of the same....they can put up as many billboards in the West Midlands as they like saying how good it will be to us (yes, there are billboards in and around Birmingham promoting Heathrow's expansion)...but everyone here knows there's a international airport 30mins drive away with a direct train on the west-coast main line to the city centre; You'd be mad to think or believe that battling M40>M25 rush hour traffic or changing trains four times and paying a fortune in rail ticket is better for the Midlands to have Heathrow expanded. Whoever conjured up this BS needs to just f*** off and die.

And our only new Nuclear plant something that will be needed- stalling fast because Europe and Greenpeace thinks its government involvement maybe illegal. Yet the French do it all the time. We need a power station, not a bunch of windmills. It'll still be behind schedule and over-budget; guaranteed.

No new roads. Seriously, we need more dual carriageways...not less! Something Labour ruined the last time they were in. And Conservatives have ended any hope of a bypass where I live, because they've just sold all the land to developers...for more housing nobody can properly afford. On roads that can't cope as it is. And STILL no more amenities - no parks, no leisure complexes, no more schools or hospitals, nothing bar chain pubs and a travelodge. And people wonder why we're a nation of overweight alcoholics in denial? At least the escort industry is catered for Pity its not taxed

And finally constant skirting around the issue of the country's decoupled economy...London Vs England, Wales, NI and Scotland. Westminster is self-servient to the capital and until that link is broken, we will never have the rest of this country's needs properly addressed. Not even Farage addresses this.

Our financial sector is one of disgust for the majority, a sector that time and time again sees the public with the sh**ty end of the stick. Pensions that give you nothing, tricky ISAs, savings accounts paying pathetic interests, PPI, unmanageable mortgages, where does it ends? It goes on; insurers that to all intents rip you off, short change you with small print and bully-boy tactics...who will addresses it and more importantly, reform and end it?

The answer; Not any of the parties listed on the ballot paper.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Why don't you put a cork in it for once you sniping little ****! Just saying!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Not voting as usual. There is no one that represents my views and no one worth voting for as a protest vote. Farage seems a genuine bloke but his party is populated by oddballs!

Dingdongler

I see what you mean and agree. I thought you meant he had the facts to milk it because he doesn't ie

1) NHS. Yes the Tories have made some major **** ups and the NHS is struggling but Labour

a) rolled out poorly negotiated PFI contracts that are bankrupting us

b) poorly negotiated the GP contract which meant most opted out of out of hours care and the knock on effect on AE is obvious.

c) caused things like the Mid Staffs scandal by them empowering managers over clinicians and a targets driven culture


2) Economy. The Tories have hardly set the place on fire but though we can argue about how much was their fault Labour were in charge when we 'crashed'. And they have no solutions now other then a poorly thought out mansion tax and an ideologically driven 50p tax rate that has been shown to raise very little money.

3) Immigration. Cameron has failed to meet his pledge but we all know that it was under Labour that migration went from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands a year.

4) Foreign policy. Though I previously thought highly of Hague he has been very lack lustre in his role. However both Millibands were in govt when Blair took us into a war that left us all with blood on our hands.

Yes the Tories voted for the war as well but Blair manipulated the intelligence.


All these things are so recent that Milliband can't argue from a position of strength.

For me the best out of a bad bunch are the Tories and I'd love to see an alliance with UKIP, it would make for interesting times

daviee

From one thing if it was a certain miss Sturgeon rather than a Mr Salmond I would have a Scottish passport as we speak. She seems more accomplished than her predecessor.

c_maguire

The only alliance the Conservatives are likely to enter is the one they already belong to.

A continuation of the existing coalition or a minority Conservative government are the most likely outcomes in May. If the voters of this country vote Labour back in then we might as well scrap voting and toss a coin every five years.

c_maguire

Apart from Cameron and Milliband, the rest of them have the luxury of playing to the Grandstands. They have no record to defend and no chance of having to either. Their formula involves making popular promises that require funding they have no evidence of, whilst assuring that they will balance the books at the same time. The sums don't add up but who cares, it got a round of applause.

I just hope those that vote aren't as naive as I think they are.