General Election 2015

[Badger]

The whole thing was a butter embaresent; from Red Ed's pleas to camera, Nige's gurning, Dave's stuttering smarm and Cleggy's fence sitting. **** knows why the others were there to be honest as the Welsh lady said **** all of any use, the Greens were tosh and despite the SNP giving good copy no one can vote for them!

 

Thought it was a crazed and manic stare...frightening to think that someone who could pass as the 'badly drawn man' from Viz could be a PM.

 

Sturgeon I thought put on a good performance,I don't agree with her on much but she does fight her corner well. In truth though she didn't have to do a lot other than be there and remind the others that she'll be a major irritant to them if as expected its a hung parliament.

 

Whenever I see Nicola Sturgeon on the news though it worries me that I'm really watching Gordon Strachan in drag.

[Patrick Bateman]

Well if I could vote for Leanne Wood, I would, she was brilliant and if I were Welsh, living in Wales, she'd get my vote - she did really well and there no hiding behind the fact she had a Welsh agenda, but articulated very well outside of that.

But Cameron for me, composed and sure footed, great stuff.

[solentstars]

Your clear bias against ukip is obvious. I didn't like that comment but Nigel still did better than a lot of them.

not biast got no respect for the wally but to run the country ,your having a laugh and you need to get real.

[solentstars]

Latest YouGov poll (31 Mar - 01 Apr): CON - 37% (+1) LAB - 35% (+1) UKIP - 12% (-1) LDEM - 7% (-1) GRN - 5% (+1) Taken before debate.

[hypochondriac]

not biast got no respect for the wally but to run the country ,your having a laugh and you need to get real.

 

Where did I mention anything about running the country? Farage won't be running the country so it's an irrelevant point. His inappropriate comment about hiv aside, he did alright. Not the best by any means but I would say better than Milliband and the greens.

Edited 2 April, 2015 by hypochondriac

[solentstars]

Well if I could vote for Leanne Wood, I would, she was brilliant and if I were Welsh, living in Wales, she'd get my vote - she did really well and there no hiding behind the fact she had a Welsh agenda, but articulated very well outside of that.

But Cameron for me, composed and sure footed, great stuff.

yes i think she did well and found the women were better then the men,but still going to vote for tories in my seat has i have a good mp.

[hypochondriac]

yes i think she did well and found the women were better then the men,but still going to vote for tories in my seat has i have a good mp.

 

Bennett was the worst one there so I certainly don't agree there.

[solentstars]

Where did I mention anything about running the country? Farage won't be running the country so it's an irrelevant point. His inappropriate comment about hiv aside, he did alright. Not the best by any means but I would say better than Milliband and the greens by any means.

what did he say apart from scapegoating which i could get from the local alf garnet type in our local pub.

[hypochondriac]

what did he say apart from scapegoating which i could get from the local alf garnet type in our local pub.

 

His point on eastern European immigration is unarguable. Whether you agree with him or not, he comes across as a lot more sincere than both ed and dave.

[bridge too far]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/02/astrazeneca-and-ladbrokes-withdraw-support-for-pro-tory-election-letter?CMP=share_btn_tw

[solentstars]

His point on eastern European immigration is unarguable. Whether you agree with him or not, he comes across as a lot more sincere than both ed and dave.

i disagree ,i think he plays to the gallery and being a euro mp for a long time he knows the dark arts of politics and how the system works but we all have different opinions .

[hypochondriac]

i disagree ,i think he plays to the gallery and being a euro mp for a long time he knows the dark arts of politics and how the system works but we all have different opinions .

 

Indeed we do but I think the polls show that more agreed with my point of view. Not that it matters anyway because I won't be voting for ukip.

[solentstars]

Indeed we do but I think the polls show that more agreed with my point of view. Not that it matters anyway because I won't be voting for ukip.[ agree but the only polls which matter is in may and i,m not that bothered if cameron or millaband win as i think they both got the nation at heart but my choice i would prefer another tory liberal coalition government.

[hypochondriac]

So would I solentstars. We agree!

[Unbelievable Jeff]

So would I solentstars. We agree!

 

Myself too. Shame you can't vote for that as that would win ahead of a Labour/SNP coalition.

[hypochondriac]

Myself too. Shame you can't vote for that as that would win ahead of a Labour/SNP coalition.

 

It would win over labour/anyone else as well.

[SuperMikey]

It would win over labour/anyone else as well.

 

Not sure about that, especially given that the Conservatives are dismally failing to establish any kind of meaningful lead in the polls ahead of Miliband (who is a weak PM candidate at best) and the Lib Dems support has dropped off massively since they were put into power after the last election.

 

I think if you were to give people a choice between likely coalitions at this point a Labour/SNP pact would win out, but only just.

[hypochondriac]

Not sure about that, especially given that the Conservatives are dismally failing to establish any kind of meaningful lead in the polls ahead of Miliband (who is a weak PM candidate at best) and the Lib Dems support has dropped off massively since they were put into power after the last election.

 

I think if you were to give people a choice between likely coalitions at this point a Labour/SNP pact would win out, but only just.

 

Well i massively disagree with that. I don't think any English people will vote the snp into any sort of power. Why would they?

[Patrick Bateman]

Not sure about that, especially given that the Conservatives are dismally failing to establish any kind of meaningful lead in the polls ahead of Miliband (who is a weak PM candidate at best) and the Lib Dems support has dropped off massively since they were put into power after the last election.

 

I think if you were to give people a choice between likely coalitions at this point a Labour/SNP pact would win out, but only just.

 

Jesus christ. Get with the real world.

[SuperMikey]

Well i massively disagree with that. I don't think any English people will vote the snp into any sort of power. Why would they?

 

I don't think many English people can vote the SNP into power... the fact of the matter is that the SNP are predicted to win huge amounts of seats in Scotland and Labour would be stupid to dismiss them as an ally and would try to form some sort of coalition - whether it's straight Labour/SNP if they both have the required number of seats to form a government or whether they go for a Rainbow coalition including a couple of other parties like Plaid, Greens etc.

 

Either way, Labour want back in and SNP want to be stronger in Westminster in order to provide for the Scots - best place to do that is from the driving seat..

 

Jesus christ. Get with the real world.

 

Talk to people north of Watford and see who they intend to vote for - Tories won't win a majority and Lib Dems won't pull in enough votes to be kingmakers this time. Unless there's a big swing or the Conservatives decide to get UKIP involved in a coalition I doubt the polls will be looking too rosy for them any time soon. The only thing they really have in their favour is the amount of swing voters who will probably end up voting for more of the same because of the lack of other options available.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2015/feb/27/guardian-poll-projection

 

The polls on that link indicate likely coalitions - Labour/SNP is looking most likely as it stands. Obviously there's plenty of time for that to change, but I think those polls results may suggest what i'm saying may actually be based in reality. Sorry about that.

[hypochondriac]

I don't think many English people can vote the SNP into power... the fact of the matter is that the SNP are predicted to win huge amounts of seats in Scotland and Labour would be stupid to dismiss them as an ally and would try to form some sort of coalition - whether it's straight Labour/SNP if they both have the required number of seats to form a government or whether they go for a Rainbow coalition including a couple of other parties like Plaid, Greens etc.

 

Either way, Labour want back in and SNP want to be stronger in Westminster in order to provide for the Scots - best place to do that is from the driving seat..

 

 

 

Talk to people north of Watford and see who they intend to vote for - Tories won't win a majority and Lib Dems won't pull in enough votes to be kingmakers this time. Unless there's a big swing or the Conservatives decide to get UKIP involved in a coalition I doubt the polls will be looking too rosy for them any time soon. The only thing they really have in their favour is the amount of swing voters who will probably end up voting for more of the same because of the lack of other options available.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2015/feb/27/guardian-poll-projection

 

The polls on that link indicate likely coalitions - Labour/SNP is looking most likely as it stands. Obviously there's plenty of time for that to change, but I think those polls results may suggest what i'm saying may actually be based in reality. Sorry about that.

 

You said that if you gave people the choice between likely coalitions then they would go for the one that involved the snp. I totally disagree because the English public will not support the snp in any form. That isn't to say that that won't be what we end up with, just that given the choice that isn't what would be first choice. Sorry about that.

[Hockey_saint]

I don't think many English people can vote the SNP into power... the fact of the matter is that the SNP are predicted to win huge amounts of seats in Scotland and Labour would be stupid to dismiss them as an ally and would try to form some sort of coalition - whether it's straight Labour/SNP if they both have the required number of seats to form a government or whether they go for a Rainbow coalition including a couple of other parties like Plaid, Greens etc.

 

Either way, Labour want back in and SNP want to be stronger in Westminster in order to provide for the Scots - best place to do that is from the driving seat..

 

 

 

Talk to people north of Watford and see who they intend to vote for - Tories won't win a majority and Lib Dems won't pull in enough votes to be kingmakers this time. Unless there's a big swing or the Conservatives decide to get UKIP involved in a coalition I doubt the polls will be looking too rosy for them any time soon. The only thing they really have in their favour is the amount of swing voters who will probably end up voting for more of the same because of the lack of other options available.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2015/feb/27/guardian-poll-projection

 

The polls on that link indicate likely coalitions - Labour/SNP is looking most likely as it stands. Obviously there's plenty of time for that to change, but I think those polls results may suggest what i'm saying may actually be based in reality. Sorry about that.

 

Pretty much. The Tories couldn't attain an outright majority straight after the biggest global crash since the '20s so I think it's safe to say they wont manage it now. The Lib Dems are now pretty much a joke; The SNP have made it clear they'll never prop up a Tory government so UKIP appears to be their only option.

[SuperMikey]

You said that if you gave people the choice between likely coalitions the they would go for the obe that involved the snp. I totally disagree because the English public will not support the snp in any form. Sorry about that.

 

Ah, in which case I misunderstood your point. I don't think that the English public are 100% against the SNP - I was born and raised in England and supported them in the referendum (which was before I moved to Scotland, I might add). Aside from the obvious policy about independence for Scotland, most of their policies are very populist and attractive to people in general. They haven't become so popular here just off the back of the campaign for independence. I personally think they'd make good coalition partners, and i'm sure if you put their wider-ranging policies blind to the general population they'd mostly agree with me.

[hypochondriac]

Ah, in which case I misunderstood your point. I don't think that the English public are 100% against the SNP - I was born and raised in England and supported them in the referendum (which was before I moved to Scotland, I might add). Aside from the obvious policy about independence for Scotland, most of their policies are very populist and attractive to people in general. They haven't become so popular here just off the back of the campaign for independence. I personally think they'd make good coalition partners, and i'm sure if you put their wider-ranging policies blind to the general population they'd mostly agree with me.

 

Why would any sane Englishman want a party in government whose interest is for the UK to descend into chaos and thus hasten it's break up? How could anyone support that? I don't have the figures to hand but my guess is that the vast majority (including labour voters) would not support the snp presiding over the governance of the United Kingdom.

[SuperMikey]

Why would any sane Englishman want a party in government whose interest is for the UK to descend into chaos and thus hasten it's break up? How could anyone support that? I don't have the figures to hand but my guess is that the vast majority (including labour voters) would not support the snp presiding over the governance of the United Kingdom.

 

Descend into chaos? What exactly are you basing that assumption on? Or are you just regurgitating the diatribe that you heard during the referendum? Honestly, people think that Scotland getting independence would be the end of the world. Surely even a federal UK would be an easier way of keeping everybody happy that their country is being run in their best interest while retaining the political relationship of a union? You heard the Plaid Cymru leader talking about the financial disparity between Wales and England tonight on the debate, I think you'll probably find that there'd be more support for that kind of arrangement than you'd think.

 

But anyway, that's not the point. There won't be another referendum for a while now, that ship has sailed for the time being. Rather than worrying about a policy that has very little chance of actually happening, why not look past that and actually look at the other policies that the SNP offers without being caught up in panic mode about the evil SNP, who actually represent(ed) the wishes of 45% of people in Scotland?

[Lord Duckhunter]

I didn't watch the debates , but caught up with them on here and other social media .

 

One thing is obvious to me , but nobody seems to touch on it , so maybe I'm missing something . All media is awash with who won , or who was best at this or that , but that's not the important thing . Surely all they need to do is move a small % of the electorate . Nigel's HIV comments may have cost him a " win" or made people mad, but those people were never going to vote ukip anyway it's not like anyone sat there and thought " right , that's cost Nigel my vote ". It's more likely some floating Tories , working class labourites or non voters will agree with him , so outraged people who hated him in the first place don't really matter. The greens may have only got a small % of people thinking they won, but if some of them are labour leaning lefties , then Bennetts done her job . Everybody looks at it through the prejudice of their own politics . I felt before the debate that the hardest job tonight was Red Eds . He had to appeal to " soft " Tory voters , whilst holding up the Scottish part of his vote . Not an easy thing to do with SNP there who basically had a free hit at him . SNP had a perfect set of circumstances , Cameron wants the sweatys to vote SNP , so didn't need to go hard on them . And she genuinely is an outsider and not a Westminster politician ( despite being a politician her whole life ) .

 

My questions to those who watched it is ;

 

1. Would Ed's performance move a few votes in Tory / Lab marginals and also head off the ukip challenge in a few urban poor areas .

 

2.Did Nigel's performance make tactical voting more likely in Thanet to keep him out .

 

3.Will Sturgon's performance play well in Scotland and maintain the stranglehold they appear to have ,

 

4. will Bennetts performance switch a few labour lefties and sandal wearers from the lib/dumbs ?

 

These things will matter more than " who won"

[SuperMikey]

1. Would Ed's performance move a few votes in Tory / Lab marginals and also head off the ukip challenge in a few urban poor areas .

Polls indicating that he came out pretty well from it. Personally I think he was trying a bit too hard to seem like the "nice guy" in the Miliband/Cameron clash. Basically ignored the other leaders and focused most of his attacks on Cameron, and scored a couple of good points on him. Doubt it will cause a massive swing but not a bad performance.

 

2.Did Nigel's performance make tactical voting more likely in Thanet to keep him out .

Made a couple of gaffes but did his usual thing of preaching that "they're all the same". Again, polls indicating that he came out well from the debate but with UKIP's legion of internet warriors out there I have a feeling they may have been skewed slightly. Appalling comments on foreign HIV patients that will be used to batter him in the press.

 

3.Will Sturgon's performance play well in Scotland and maintain the stranglehold they appear to have ,

Absolutely. For me she was the resounding winner tonight, put in a very good performance on the big stage. Can see the SNP sweeping Scotland and winning a lot of seats.

 

4. will Bennetts performance switch a few labour lefties and sandal wearers from the lib/dumbs ?

Probably not, she wasn't really involved in the debates themselves and neither was Leanne Wood. I think Greens will get stronger in the polls but probably not off the back of tonight.

 

IMHO of course.

[hypochondriac]

Descend into chaos? What exactly are you basing that assumption on? Or are you just regurgitating the diatribe that you heard during the referendum? Honestly, people think that Scotland getting independence would be the end of the world. Surely even a federal UK would be an easier way of keeping everybody happy that their country is being run in their best interest while retaining the political relationship of a union? You heard the Plaid Cymru leader talking about the financial disparity between Wales and England tonight on the debate, I think you'll probably find that there'd be more support for that kind of arrangement than you'd think.

 

But anyway, that's not the point. There won't be another referendum for a while now, that ship has sailed for the time being. Rather than worrying about a policy that has very little chance of actually happening, why not look past that and actually look at the other policies that the SNP offers without being caught up in panic mode about the evil SNP, who actually represent(ed) the wishes of 45% of people in Scotland?

 

It's nothing to do with the referendum. The snp still want the Scots to be independent and that's their ultimate goal. Why would they want the UK to work well if they want to go it alone? It's in their interest for it not to work so that they can make the case for independence again. Salmond has shown before that he doesn't care a jot for the English and I don't want their party having an influence on my life thanks.

Edited 2 April, 2015 by hypochondriac

[SuperMikey]

It's nothing to do with the referendum. The snp still want the Scots to be independent and that's their ultimate goal. Why would they want the UK to work well if they want to go it alone? It's in their interest for it not to work so that they can make the case for independence again.

 

Yeah, because destroying the UK as a whole is the perfect way to get elected to run your own country. Surely being part of a successful coalition will endear Scottish voters more towards the SNP and independence as a feasible alternative to the union?

[hypochondriac]

Yeah, because destroying the UK as a whole is the perfect way to get elected to run your own country. Surely being part of a successful coalition will endear Scottish voters more towards the SNP and independence as a feasible alternative to the union?

 

Of course they wouldn't admit any sort of responsibility which is why labour refusing to enter into coalition with them is the perfect "out." They can hold labour over a barrel every week, whilst blaming everything on them and claiming no responsibility because they won't be the ones in power. Then when it goes tits up they can return to holyrood saying "I told you so" and their independence campaign gets that bit closer. They won't be tainted like the lib dems have been and they will no doubt be much more willing to refuse things rather than seeking a compromise for the good of the UK as a whole.

 

The main difference and why they are more of a danger is because they won't see themselves as a minority partner (as the lib dems have) they will consider themselves the majority party for the area they are in any way bothered about.

Edited 2 April, 2015 by hypochondriac

[trousers]

Descend into chaos? What exactly are you basing that assumption on? Or are you just regurgitating the diatribe that you heard during the referendum? Honestly, people think that Scotland getting independence would be the end of the world. Surely even a federal UK would be an easier way of keeping everybody happy that their country is being run in their best interest while retaining the political relationship of a union? You heard the Plaid Cymru leader talking about the financial disparity between Wales and England tonight on the debate, I think you'll probably find that there'd be more support for that kind of arrangement than you'd think.

 

But anyway, that's not the point. There won't be another referendum for a while now, that ship has sailed for the time being. Rather than worrying about a policy that has very little chance of actually happening, why not look past that and actually look at the other policies that the SNP offers without being caught up in panic mode about the evil SNP, who actually represent(ed) the wishes of 45% of people in Scotland?

37%

[Crazy Diamond]

I'm so thoroughly bored of this election purely because of the ridiculous levels of coverage it's getting on the BBC. You really would think nothing else is happening in the world. Just want it to be over!

[Hamilton Saint]

I'm so thoroughly bored of this election purely because of the ridiculous levels of coverage it's getting on the BBC. You really would think nothing else is happening in the world. Just want it to be over!

 

How could you be bored? The future course of your country is at stake. The campaign should be front-and-centre of media coverage until election day.

[Saintandy666]

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]This is an interesting poll.

 

PERFORMED WORST

15% Cam

14% Mili

6% Clegg

20% Farage

25% Bennett

4% Sturgeon

16% Wood

 

Well done Sturgeon, clear winner, but given her personal ratings she always was going to do best. Clearly Bennett did very badly, and if I was Green member I'd be very angry right now as she has wasted their big chance. Clegg getting 9-10% saying he won is good given his party's percentage wise, and not many thought he lost either suggesting the vitriol against him has declined.

 

Edit to add the link as requested -

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Edited 3 April, 2015 by Saintandy666

[Hamilton Saint]

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]This is an interesting poll.

 

PERFORMED WORST

15% Cam

14% Mili

6% Clegg

20% Farage

25% Bennett

4% Sturgeon

16% Wood

 

Well done Sturgeon, clear winner, but given her personal ratings she always was going to do best. Clearly Bennett did very badly, and if I was Green member I'd be very angry right now as she has wasted their big chance. Clegg getting 9-10% saying he won is good given his party's percentage wise, and not many thought he lost either suggesting the vitriol against him has declined. [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

It would be useful to identify the source of any poll.

[Saintandy666]

It would be useful to identify the source of any poll.

 

You should just trust me blindly!

 

Here's the link. It's part of a comres snap poll

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD]This is an interesting poll.

 

PERFORMED WORST

15% Cam

14% Mili

6% Clegg

20% Farage

25% Bennett

4% Sturgeon

16% Wood

 

Well done Sturgeon, clear winner, but given her personal ratings she always was going to do best. Clearly Bennett did very badly, and if I was Green member I'd be very angry right now as she has wasted their big chance. Clegg getting 9-10% saying he won is good given his party's percentage wise, and not many thought he lost either suggesting the vitriol against him has declined. [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Complete and utter nonsense.

 

Firstly, where does this poll come from , other polls have milliband winning, some have Farage winning , some Cameron , and the majority Sturgeon . It doesn't really matter what a uk wide poll says as the snp are only standing in Scotland . It doesn't really matter that 20% of the people thought Nigel performed worst , unless any of those 20% were kippers or thinking of becoming so . The leaders will have targeted spcefic types of voter to appeal to, rather than a balanced sample of uk voters .A national poll is a complete red herring . How did Nigel poll with ex Tories , Milliband with floating voters and how did Cleggy poll in the south west and in the constituencies where their cabinet members are standing .

 

These debates are totally over hyped , Cleggy was the " winner" of the last election and ended up with less mp's than the pervious parliament .

[Wade Garrett]

Latest YouGov poll (31 Mar - 01 Apr): CON - 37% (+1) LAB - 35% (+1) UKIP - 12% (-1) LDEM - 7% (-1) GRN - 5% (+1) Taken before debate.

 

YouGov/The Sun poll. Wouldn't take too much notice of that one.

[CB Saint]

You know what, if sturgeon was English and represented Labour, they would win with a landslide

[hutch]

Honestly, people think that Scotland getting independence would be the end of the world.

Whether it would or wouldn't is irrelevant. The majority of Scots have voted against it because they don't want it, and the underhand attempts by Salmond and Sturgeon to bypass the wishes of their own electorate are shabby and dishonest.

 

Honest people might consider themselves bound by the outcome of the referendum. Getting 45% in a straightforward yes/no referendum is like coming second in the cup final.

Edited 3 April, 2015 by hutch

[Batman]

I think that the Tories will slowly pull out into the lead as the time gets nearer. Get just enough seats to outnumber labour and SNP combined and stay with libdems and continue the current government

 

Would be a good thing IMO, in all seriousness

[John Boy Saint]

I think that the Tories will slowly pull out into the lead as the time gets nearer. Get just enough seats to outnumber labour and SNP combined and stay with libdems and continue the current government

 

Would be a good thing IMO, in all seriousness

I think staying with what we have makes sense, especially when you consider that before the the current government took power anyone with half a brain knew that things were going to have to be tough to get things back on track. But when they took over to find it was actually worse than what everyone thought and the departing party finding it mildly amusing??!!. Anyone who is basing their vote on giving the "toffee nosed Tories" a punch on the nose really needs to wake up to life. Do you really want the same Chancellor of the Exchequer who oversaw us getting into a pickle that the government of the past 5 years has been trying to get us out of, having another go at it just for a wheeze

[Hockey_saint]

I think staying with what we have makes sense, especially when you consider that before the the current government took power anyone with half a brain knew that things were going to have to be tough to get things back on track. But when they took over to find it was actually worse than what everyone thought and the departing party finding it mildly amusing??!!. Anyone who is basing their vote on giving the "toffee nosed Tories" a punch on the nose really needs to wake up to life. Do you really want the same Chancellor of the Exchequer who oversaw us getting into a pickle that the government of the past 5 years has been trying to get us out of, having another go at it just for a wheeze

 

Not for the downtrodden it wouldn't. Whoever writes the above needs to wake up and smell the coffee and do some research into the global recession and if they think the Liberals will poll anywhere near what they did last time to assist their "toffee nosed" mates is living in cloud fairyland. I would have said UKIP may be able to assist the conservatives but since they were the onlly ones to dare point out the follies of the last 5 years, I don't think this is a given.

Edited 3 April, 2015 by Hockey_saint

[LGTL]

There is no way in hell the Tories or Labour will win an ourtight majority, I actually think they'll end up neck and neck. Will just be a case of who can make a coalition. Impossible to predict at the moment and expect it will remain so.

[CB Saint]

There is no way in hell the Tories or Labour will win an ourtight majority, I actually think they'll end up neck and neck. Will just be a case of who can make a coalition. Impossible to predict at the moment and expect it will remain so.

 

Lif it is neck a neck and the libs were the king makers, I wonder which way they would jump this time

[Hockey_saint]

There is no way in hell the Tories or Labour will win an ourtight majority, I actually think they'll end up neck and neck. Will just be a case of who can make a coalition. Impossible to predict at the moment and expect it will remain so.

 

I can't disagree with that but I think it's pretty obvious the Lib Dems will have no part of a future coalition and aside from UKIP, the rest appear to be very left-leaning and therefore backing the Tories into a very shaky corner.

[trousers]

You know what, if sturgeon was English and represented Labour, they would win with a landslide

Labour would certainly do better in that scenario but 'her' policies would come under far more scrutiny than they did last night. For example, she banged on about the NHS being 100% public sector in Scotland which is an outright lie as several services have been outsourced to private companies under the SNP's watch (indeed, IIRC, it may even be at a greater pace than under the coalition on a per capita comparison). The SNP have also not passed on the full amount of NHS spending increases in England to the NHS in Scotland (as per the 'Barnet Consequentials') so where has that money gone? To subsidise one of their populist giveaway policies one would venture.

 

Also, she plays the crowd-pleasing/vote-winning "free universities" card at every opportunity yet, as I understand it, this has been at the expense of significantly reduced college places (the figure of 144,000 rings a bell).

 

Sturgeon had the advantage last night of knowing that her opponents and the TV audience know less about the specifics of devolved Scottish policy than she knows about the policies of the UK wide parties, and she used it to great advantage. Delve beneath the "everything is wonderful in Scotland under the SNP" mantra and you get a politician who is as economical with the truth as any of the others.

 

Also, the complete lack of irony when she said to Cameron: "Don't act like a petulant schoolchild, threatening to leave if you don't get your way." about his stance with the EU was amusing.

Edited 3 April, 2015 by trousers

[Hockey_saint]

Labour would certainly do better in that scenario but 'her' policies would come under far more scrutiny than they did last night. For example, she banged on about the NHS being 100% public sector in Scotland which is an outright lie as several services have been outsourced to private companies under the SNP's watch (IIRC, it may even be at a greater pace than under the coalition). Also, she plays the "free universities" card St every opportunity yet, as I understand it, this has been at the expense of significantly reduced college places (the figure of 144,000 rings a bell).

 

Sturgeon had the advantage last night of knowing that her opponents and the audience knew less about the specifics of devolved Scottish policy than she knew about the policies of the UK wide parties, and she used it to great advantage. Delve beneath the "everything is wonderful in Scotland under the SNP" veneer and you get a politician who is as economical with the truth as the others.

 

Also, the complete lack of irony when she said to Cameron: "Don't act like a petulant schoolchild, threatening to leave if you don't get your way." about his stance with the EU was amusing.

 

True, but then the situation with free universities in England only worked when a much smaller percentage actually went so that makes sense.

[pap]

[Wes Tender]

This thread is amusing. Folk just cannot understand how much the tories are disliked. Ed is a muppet but the fact the Cameron is going to fail to win an election, again, sums up the public's mistrust of him and his party.

 

And it seems to have gone totally over your head that there is probably an equal number of voters who loathe Labour and the damage they have done to the country historically.

 

Ed isn't just a muppet, a description that infers a sort of goofy likeability. He is a political lightweight, leaning far enough over to the left that if he got to be PM with the support of the SNP, the repercussions for this country would be seismic.