British Politics: Coalitions, Cuts and AV

[Provost Harrison]

yeah wales is the poorest part of the UK, with high unemployment and poor prospects. and who has been running wales since the assembly was set up, yup, you guessed it and yet they're being rewarded for this failure.

Hull, demographically, is probably not dissimilar...it's always been one of the poorer and most backward areas of the UK. I just don't believe they voted them back in already, because I certainly won't vote for them after the Blair/Brown years...we had a boom when they first came in but that went sour...and I suspect they were just reaping the benefits of Major's policies anyway and actually just managed to f**k them up hideously. In Hull they were corrupt and incompetent (all of these I can back up with fact - the former with a former Lord Mayor inprisoned and the latter straight from the mouth of the Audit Commission who previously slammed the council for it's abysmal performanceand their performance rated as "poor"...and then there's the squandering of the £250m raised through the privatisation of Kingston Communication). I lived in Hull when they were voted out and their stupidity made my blood boil then and I am sure it won't be any different now). Why oh why oh why?

Funny though, even though I moved back to the North of England, I couldn't face moving back to Hull Neighbouring York is nice but probably a little too quiet and small for my tastes, although I do love the place. I've always been rather meh regarding Yorkshire's other major cities (Leeds, Sheffield...and Bradford - god no!) so there was only one logical choice

[Krill]

Just wondering, if there is a Scottish referendum on leaving the UK...do the rest of us get to vote to kick them out? Or can I just move to Scotland for a few weeks?

[Provost Harrison]

I wonder what the Lib Dems are going to do now...I mean, this coalition is proving to be working out very badly for them and probably not worth it for them from a party perspective...I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the coalition government?

[Provost Harrison]

Well, I'll be following Cockneys' lead in 4 years and leaving the country, I think...

I lived in London for a while but I don't think the UK is a bad country to live, but then again I am not at the mercy of the NHS or at the sh*tty end of the economic stick any more, so I have that luxury. But I did decide to get out of London which I am quite enjoying.

[Krill]

I wonder what the Lib Dems are going to do now...I mean, this coalition is proving to be working out very badly for them and probably not worth it for them from a party perspective...I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the coalition government?

Theoretically one would assume they will go with a more business like coalition, akin to confidence and supply. Question is how close to the edge do they dare take it, and do they risk destroying the party, and if a General Election were held, would the Tories have a decent chance of a majority or would Labour be able to screw them over? And what about the SNP in Westminster after this huge election success? To quote my ****ing nasty MP Bill Cash:

1648: Combative stuff from Conservative MP Bill Cash. He tells Sky News people have voted with a "capital C for the Conservatives and not the coalition". He says the Lib Dems are now "so unpopular" they don't "have the right" to object to Conservative policies behind the scenes. He says they have "lost all authority and all legitimacy in insisting they have their way".

I lived in London for a while but I don't think the UK is a bad country to live, but then again I am not at the mercy of the NHS or at the sh*tty end of the economic stick any more, so I have that luxury. But I did decide to get out of London which I am quite enjoying.

If I was earning 24k a year, it's worth staying for a bit of experience. But that isn't likely, and most nurses don;t earn more than that.

[Provost Harrison]

Yeah, if you have a ceiling of 24k and not much more than that, I can't blame you, especially given how expensive everything is here such as property and general living. I can't blame you for pissing off abroad.

[C0ckney]

I wonder what the Lib Dems are going to do now...I mean, this coalition is proving to be working out very badly for them and probably not worth it for them from a party perspective...I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the coalition government?

i don't think withdrawing now would do them any favours. a lot of people have deserted them over tuition fees and other coalition policies that they're not happy about, those people would still be angry about those issues if the coalition ends tomorrow. if they jumped ship now, they would alienate those people who've stuck with them, and be the subject of devastating attacks from both labour and the tories at the election.

the best thing for them is probably to stick it out, and then after 5 years say to people "this is what we've done, judge us on that". although it may not look like it now, i think that after 5 years is up people will look at the lib dems as a serious party of government rather than a protest vote (although they may lose the 'protest' part of the their constituency for good) and be willing to judge them on the things they've achieved.

[C0ckney]

Hull, demographically, is probably not dissimilar...it's always been one of the poorer and most backward areas of the UK. I just don't believe they voted them back in already, because I certainly won't vote for them after the Blair/Brown years...we had a boom when they first came in but that went sour...and I suspect they were just reaping the benefits of Major's policies anyway and actually just managed to f**k them up hideously. In Hull they were corrupt and incompetent (all of these I can back up with fact - the former with a former Lord Mayor inprisoned and the latter straight from the mouth of the Audit Commission who previously slammed the council for it's abysmal performanceand their performance rated as "poor"...and then there's the squandering of the £250m raised through the privatisation of Kingston Communication). I lived in Hull when they were voted out and their stupidity made my blood boil then and I am sure it won't be any different now). Why oh why oh why?

i can well believe it unfortunately. if you want to see what 50 years of labour control does to an area visit the welsh valleys, it's depressing as hell. yet the local politicians can still get away with 'well, since thatcher closed the mines...'. well yes, thatcher did close the mines, 25 years ago! however, it's labour, at a local and national level who have done nothing to bring new industries, create the conditions for private sector companies to come in. the only things in the valleys are a few factories, public sector jobs, the dole and the sick.

Funny though, even though I moved back to the North of England, I couldn't face moving back to Hull Neighbouring York is nice but probably a little too quiet and small for my tastes, although I do love the place. I've always been rather meh regarding Yorkshire's other major cities (Leeds, Sheffield...and Bradford - god no!) so there was only one logical choice

i've never been to leeds, i like sheffield and i've had a couple of good nights out in bradford. manchester is nice though