Politician with some principles?
- Thread starter Edward
- Start date
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Exactly - only it's not even "a little bit better than...", it's "not quite as bad as..."!
hucks
Your Message Here
So what's this all about then? Keeping the whole 42 day thing on the agenda? Perfectly laudable, but pretty daft. The Lib dems aren't putting up a candidate. The smart thing for Labour to do would be to follow suit, making the whole thing a waste of time.
I'm all for grandiose gestures, but this may well end up counter-productive.
I'm all for grandiose gestures, but this may well end up counter-productive.
noel emits
a wonderful wooden reason
It's not all they say is it really, it's what someone might say about them? But then opposition parties can say whatever they like, doesn't mean they'll do any of it.
I don't think it's enough to go with a lesser of two evils but how many times do we have to go through this bloody cycle?
crackerjack
Well-known member
That wouldn't work. The Lib Dems can withdraw because they support him on the issue. Labour can't do that, it would be ceding a seat they should be contesting.
bassnation
the abyss
It's not all they say is it really, it's what someone might say about them? But then opposition parties can say whatever they like, doesn't mean they'll do any of it.
I don't think it's enough to go with a lesser of two evils but how many times do we have to go through this bloody cycle?
it is pretty much all they say when it comes to an election and people are rightly hammering them for all the shit they've done - its wheeled out as a mealy mouthed plea "do people really want the tories back". what exactly do they have to boast about right now? theres more people in poverty directly due to them, thats their whole raison d'etre blown out of the fucking water right there.
hucks
Your Message Here
Well, they could just say, "It's a stunt and a terrible waste of taxpayers' money" or whatever.
bassnation
the abyss
or they could just shut their mouths, climb graciously into their own graves, accepting that there are some politicians left who still have a shred of integrity remaining.
hucks
Your Message Here
And which would you think is more likely?
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
Well there's been a much publicised rise in poverty over the last two years (due mainly to the 10p tax abolition, I guess), but I'm fairly sure levels are still quite a bit lower than they were in 1997. And in any case, I'm never quite sure how much these 'poverty' levels really mean, since they're defined relative to median income, so if people in the middle income bracket start earning more, then you can go from being 'not poor' to being officially 'poor' with no change in your own financial circumstances. It's a measure of inequality, really.
Of course, you can start feeling poorer without your income changing if your outgoings rise, and I think voters are pretty sick of duty on booze, fags and petrol going up all the time - fuel taxes being especially unpopular at the moment, coming as they do at the same time as sharp hikes in the price of crude. Then there's all the knock-on effects like the price of food, although I was thinking about this the other day and it struck me that maybe an increase in food prices might help reduce the appalling levels of food waste in this country. I mean, we could spend the same on food and eat the same amount if we bought less of it but actually ate what we bought...
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hucks
Your Message Here
Most recent figures cover 2006/07, so the 10p doesn't come into it yet. Apparently it was more to do with benefits going up too slowly (the IFS do a report on it every year). Median income rose by like £3 or something (0.4%) in the year in question, which is not huge. You're right that it's really a measure of inequality, though
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bassnation
the abyss
"We all get issues where we get angry, but we don't resign over them"
yeah, and thats why people hate the rank and file of the labour party just as much, if not more than the leaders - gutless bastards who've endorsed every shit policy.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Yeah, Iraq war being a case in point - how many voted against (in any party)? Not many. I hate the people who come out and say "I voted holding my nose" - what's that supposed to mean? Trying to dissociate yourself from what you've done and have it both ways but that's not how it works.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Anyway, back to the by-election, it looks as though it won't be a walk-over
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2008/06/kelvin_will_fight_and_kelvin_w.html
It doesn't make it clear there exactly what McKenzie will be standing for though.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2008/06/kelvin_will_fight_and_kelvin_w.html
It doesn't make it clear there exactly what McKenzie will be standing for though.
crackerjack
Well-known member
And your alternative is what, sit around congratulating yourself on your own refusal to compromise until some party stands on a platform you back 100%? Last time round I voted for oona King because I wanted to see Galloway beaten and i'd do the same thing tomorrow.
john eden
male pale and stale
He said on the today programme this morning that he supported 42 days and it would be 420 days if he had his way. Then the battery on my radio ran out, thankfully.
john eden
male pale and stale
http://ianbone.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/howden-by-election-campaign-morning-briefing/
This may or may not lead to anything but at least has the potential to be:
a) a laugh
b) annoying for all the right people
This may or may not lead to anything but at least has the potential to be:
a) a laugh
b) annoying for all the right people
IdleRich
IdleRich
I'm talking about mps who vote directly against their beliefs for party-political reasons (or just spinelessness), I'm not talking about ordinary voters picking the least bad option.
My friend told me he'd said 420 days but I assumed that he (my friend not Kelvin) was joking. This has the potential to be interesting maybe, David Davies has stepped down to register a protest but presumably expecting to get back in. Thing is, the 42 day thing is actually popular with the electorate so if McKenzie stands against him on that platform I guess there is a small possibility that he could win.