Lord Duckhunter

That's right, the forms for winter fuel allowence and other elderly benefits are so complicated (delebrately so in my opinion), that a large % of people dont take what their entittled to. Added to some elderly people's dislike of being on benefits, means the take up of benefits targeted at the elderly is quite poor. It is quite disgraceful, but nobody on either side of the political divide seems willing to do anything about it.

What about the mess Ed Balls, Peter Hain, Tony Blair and Harriet Harmen have made, or do their public schools not count in your version of class warfare?

My personal opinion is that the Tory's will poll better than the opinion polls . A lot of people dont want to be seen as Tory but when alone in the booth, they'll put an X next to them.This is not based on any sort of sceintific data, just my gut feeling.

I agree, she looks a right dirty.

I consider myself to be English British, they consider themselves Jamaican British. The vast amount of immigrants now, just want their home Country and their customs transported to this country. The first wave of immigrants adapted to British life and culture whilst maintaing certain aspects of their own culture. Some of this then merged and became British culture, Two tone music, (which personally I dont like) being a prime example. Curries being another one. The point is they now consider themselves British and it is in line with the American way. American immigrants as a whole, take on vast parts of the American culture and values , whilst describing themselves as German American or Irish American. I can't see the next Trevor Macdonald, John Barnes or Meera Syal coming out of the present generation of immigrants.

I despair when I see The Red Lion and The Kings Head in Spainish holiday resorts. Me and my Mrs are seroiulsy considering retiring to the South of France, not because it's hotter (although that's a plus) but because we like the French way of life and their culture. When I lived in the States we English had a football team and a bar we drunk in (an Irish one). However the guys who'd been there years had American wives and kids and had fully acceptted their way of life, they just played football and socialised with us once a week. In some instances they become citizens. The ones (like me) just passing through for the craic,tended to be Englsihmen working abroad, so didn't embrace it as much as we should of (something I regret now)

There are many people worried about immigration in this country and it is a legitimate concern. It is not racist to talk about it or be worried about it. The problem with the BNP is that they are a bunch of racists hiding behind these fears and playing on them. If anyone thinks it's about immigration, then they are sadly mistaken. Immigration is the thin end of the wedge when it comes to the BNP. My view is that Wayne Thomas is as British as me, but I bet that's not Nick Griffin's view. They consider anyone not white an inferior person. They wont say so of course, but that's the underlying message. We seem to have a real problem in this country of people coming here from their home country, but being unwilling to adapt and accept our culture. They seem to want to live here but retain the culture and standards, including the language of the country they came from. 20 years ago I worked for 4 years in the States and although, they've a long way to go in terms of racial tolerence, found that most of the immigrants I met (I worked on Building sites and met a lot of immigrant labourers) wanted to be American. They were proud of their roots and their country, but still wanted to aspire to American ideals and freedoms. I just dont get that feeling nowadays in The UK. You only have to look and see how the West Indian immigrants settled into the UK, and through music and Sport and a work ethic, became as British as you and me.I would welcome anyone who wants to be British, wants to live and breath British ideals and contribute to British society, but too many want to transfer their homeland to Britain.

If I was a neutral watching yesterday, I would have been impressed with their support and the way they played. Grant clearly out coached Redknapp and although Spurs had 70% of the ball, The Skates had some great chances before they even scored. I certainly changed my opinion on Wilson, Mokenea and Rocha, none of who I rated, as all 3 were superb yesterday, with Bale head and shoulders above any other Spurs player.I think it would be a bit churlish to say they were lucky yesterday, as luck has always played a part in football. They were lucky at O/T the last time they won the cup, but yesterday I thought they just about edged it. It was nice to see Rednapp shown up as a poor coach, something he showed us week in week out, but something the rest of football seems to ignore. In the long run, It's not going to make too much difference to the club and it's finances, although extra exposure is always going to be a plus rather than a minus.

Caroline Flint is pretty fit.

It's not really about the money for her. We struggled for 3 years on a bursary, with only my wage coming in, to enable her to qualify. I know how much dedication she's put in, and do think she's under paid. However, I still think there are savings to be made in the public sector, and I think that the pensions are very generous when compared to the Private sector. Anyway, off to the game now.

I never once said that she didn't contribute to it. I said her pension is pretty much the same as mine. If she joined the NHS now, she would have a far better pension than if I joined my private companies one now. Luckily, we have both been in them for years, however as I said my Company is considering freezing it and transfering all members to a Money Purchase scheme. I understand that a lot of private Companies have or are considering doing this. I doubt for one minute that this will ever happen to Public sector workers. I note you didn't comment on the generous pay rises she's had, as opposed to my pay freezes. My wife is like a lot of Public sector workers in that she geniunely loves her job, and would proberly do it for free, however she is well rewarded, well provided for in regard of a pension, gets a pay increase every year and has a lot of job security.

There are hardly any left that are open for new members. My Company closed it years ago and there's now talk of freezing your final salary benefits and putting us on a money purchase one now. Basically, giving you 1/60th of this years salary X the numbers of years worked, freeze this, and from this year onwards, put us into a defined benefits one.I understand that many Companies have done this, or are looking at this as an option.We have also had our contributation increased from 6% to 8% to receive the same benefits. There is no doubt that our fantastic private pension provisions that were the best in the world, have been ruined under this Govt's watch. My wife is a midwife and her pension is pretty much the same as mine, the difference however is that hers is still open for new members, as it is funded by the Taxpayer. With 85% of private Companies now no longer offering a final salary scheme I dont think it's right that 100% of employers in the public sector have the chance to join one. Historically, the pension provision has balanced out the low wages, but this is no longer the case. The public sector average pay is higher than the private. My wife has had decent pay rises, whilst I've had a pay freeze for 2 years.

I suspect that the Tory's are planning massive cuts and savings, at least I hope they are, but dont want to frighten the natives at this moment. Mrs Thatcher's '79 manifesto was short on detail and certainly didn't tell of the radical ideas to come. Personally, the sooner the debt is paid off the better. Why should my children and their children pay for our/Brown's binge. I'd start with public sector and their pensions in particular (this despite my Wife being a NHS midwife). Lets close the Final Salary scheme to new members, make them work until they're 65 like the rest of us. No child benefit or WFTC for higher rate tax payers. Let's cut the overseas aid budget in half, and let's get rid of all the "non jobs" that are advertised in the Guardian. Let's stop bribing the unions with millions for their "modernising", and let's cut parliament by 20%. Cut the Scottish and Welsh budgets, if they can afford to give free health care/priscriptions and university fees the Barnett formula is not working.

If high tax rates are the answer, why when Thatcher reduced them did tax take go up?

Before Mrs Thatcher the top rate of tax was 83% and the basic rate 33%. When she reduced the rates, the tax take went up. This is because higher taxes stiffle growth. It is better for people to have more money in their pockets than Govt. If you could convince me that higher taxes would lead to French standard public services, then I may change my mind, but whilst we have a wasteful Labour Govt, that gives the Unions millions to "modernise", that pay countless toerags benefits, and employ all the Diveristy experts and Lesbian stop smoking officers, I'll stay with my beliefs. Someone earning £66,000 a year can claim Child benefit, if that child is under one, he can also claim Working Family Tax Credit. A millionaire can use the NHS for free. If you want to take money from the rich to distribute to the poor, there are better ways of doing it than taxing people more. The problem is Labour WANT to tax people more, it plays well with their grassroots.

Interest rates are set by an independent BoE, not the Labour Govt. In fact this was the only decent thing Brown did as CoE. It was a move considered by Maggie Thatcher, but rejected as too right wing. It's funny how according to Labour, every Labour recession is a global one, whereas the 80's and 90's were Tory one's, and that after giving the BoE independence to set interest rates, they have kept them down .When interest rates go up, as they will need to in the next Parliament, they'll blame the Tory's if they're in power or if by some miracle Labour are still in, they'll say that the BoE sets them and not Govt. Which ever way you look at it, this Labour Govt has put tax up and run out of money. Same as every Labour Govt always does.

"he's done a lot to our advantage in Europe" Is that the same Europe that the Labour party wanted to withdraw from, although when that "belief" was rejected by the British people, they swiftly did an about turn. As for the "Eton Mess", this is what gets me about the Party of Ed Balls, Harriot Harmen, Peter Hain, Alistar Darling and Tony Blair, all of who went to fee paying schools. The party of Dianne Abbot that great leftie who sent her son to a fee paying school. They have sly little digs, and play the class warriors, but it's just another example of Labour's hypocrisy .

The Europe we joined and then voted to stay in was a Trade bloc. It was not a "Country" with it's own flag, anthem, currency and laws that over ride the sovereign state's.

My point was that people are having a pop at Dune for pigeonholing lefties, whilst doing the same themselves.

I can also remember before her reign. Income tax at a basic rate of 33%, Healy getting the IMF to bail us out and sandwiches and beer for the unions at number 10. The Labour party pre Mrs Thatcher was a completely different party than the one Gordon Brown runs.Widely held principles have been abandoned in a grab for power. If your beliefs have stayed the same since pre Thatcher , then I presume you'll be voting against Labour, the party of Id Cards, The Iraq War, cash for Honours and Lord Mandleson?

Where as the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Police Federation are all masons

You seem to want to hark back to the 70's, where we owned airlines and car companies, where the working man paid 33% income tax. The argument over state ownership is over, the Tory's won that one. Labour abandoned clause 4 and no serious party would ever go into an election with a policy of renationalisation.

Well Labour have had 13 years to renationalise, but haven't.

Labour have continued to sell off Playing fields and you seriously can't believe we should own BT and British Gas? Can you remember how long it used to take to get a phone installed?

I have people who work for me that turn down Overtime on the basis that it will affect their WFTC's. I have also had the situation where a guy turned down a promotion and a pay rise, because he would lose the same amount from his WFTC's. How can that be right? As an employer we were prepared to give him more money, but he was happier to collect the same amount from our taxes, rather than from a private company. As for the minimum wage, it was set at such a low level (delebrately so) that it didn't make much difference at all. It was an Elephant trap for the Tory's and a symbolic gesture rather than a meaningful attempt to increase peoples wealth. Had it been set at the rate the unions were calling for, it would have indeed cost jobs.