Sandro Raniere

I know ;) I am talking about the ratings of the Lib Dems NOW, not 2010 In the polls they are consistently polling at 10-15%

Labour have been guilty of it too not just us But there is a big difference this time, Carney, maybe the worlds most respected economist, he will have a financial discipline that others in the past haven't, Carney is no tory puppet

Exactly As long as Crosby keeps on with the message about 'f***ing muslims' (his words not mine) and 'layabouts' (again his words not mine) then people will vote tory as that is what the Sun and Daily Mail have told people are what matters in the UK

There isn't that many of them though, assuming Lib Dems get about 10% at next election there is about 5%? that are going begging Labour bound to pick up a good few students etc but many lib dems are right wing so good % will switch to tories, not as many as switch to labour but enough to minimise a labour gain

I think Labour will have a pretty solid base, they will get a vote probably in the low 30's at the very least which will probably give them a minimum of 250-300 seats, possibly more But I think they are preaching to the converted and just don't see them attracting many new voters

It is difficult to deny that it has been a housing lead recovery People who already have mortgages or are lucky enough to own a house having paid it off FEEL richer, and when they feel richer they are likely to splash out on that new car or new fitted iamspamamispamwhoamspam or start that new business either due to confidence or remortgaging to raise the funds to do it. Those that are buying houses now as first time buyers feel confident that if they buy at 200k in 10 years time or whatever it will be worth 300k so are piling in buying while prices are relatively lowish, when they move into their new home they need a sofa, a tv, a fridge etc etc which in turn helps the retail sector It could all go pear shaped, history proves that, but it wont this side of 2015 if it does at all

There is still 19 months, i firmly believe all areas near enough will feel some element of recovery/rising house prices by then I suspect the majority of people who wont vote at the next election will be Right wing Blairite types who have labour as a natural home but think Ed has taken the party too far left but are not right wing enough to vote tory and wont vote lib dem because they went into bed with the tories Young Lib dem voters, particularly those that feel let down by Clegg and by his betrayal of students but wont vote tory or labour Right wing tories who have nothing in common with cameron's vision but realise UKIP is a wasted vote

On the whole I agree with you particularly on the last bit, Cameron/Osborne are seen, very possibly rightly so, as being elitist and out of touch, both were recipients of healthy trust funds without having to lift a finger work wise, although Cameron did spend some time working in PR, but two people who received millions out of trust funds do struggle to understand what it is like to see costs of living rise and ridiculously high train fares and energy bills and it shows. But I don't think those people who are not already labour voters will shift to labour, more likely they will not bother voting at all, I can see a significant downturn in votes in the next election because of people being sick of the lot of them and just stay at home and not vote.

Labour have a bad record on health though, yes waiting lists came down but Staffordshire happened under their watch and labour ruthless enforcing of league tables caused a lot of tensions with doctors and patient care so labour simply throwing more money at the NHS would not improve anything if they got in, and labours idea of solving a problem is simply throwing more and more money into something. Education record of labour was nothing they can brag about in 2015 either, the supposed 'dumbing down' of GCSE and A level exams and too many people going to university on meaningless degree courses for example, youth unemployment is too high now but it was very high under labour too Labour will likely keep their core vote and pick up the votes of students who were betrayed by lib dems over fees but I fail to see where they will get a lot of new voters from

I am afraid you are wrong about the economy, it is growing the fastest out of all the major economies, and by quite a considerable way too, only yesterday too it was announced that predicted growth for Q3 is a staggering 1.2%, with rises in Q1 and Q2 and probably Q4 too it is not beyond the realms of possibility that growth for the year will be 2.5-3% The economy is powering along, the UK's biggest employment agency said August was the best month for job creation in 6 years, only yesterday quite phenomenal new car sales figures were announced. House prices are making the country feel good about itself again and add in the increased job security and PPI compensation the country is in great shape atm We are not receiving thanks on a big enough scale yet but with the election still 20 months away a likely 20 month increase in house prices will result in thanks in May 15, house prices are even starting to rise in the north now according to the Halifax More and more good news about the economy more and more will decide to vote for the party responsible for it, tories, rather than risk another 5 years of the regime that nearly bankrupted it, labour

Hard to disagree with a word he says there. It goes way beyond politics, most of my right wing friends think Dacre well out of order, if Paul Dacre insulted my dad he would be spitting out what is left of his teeth I find 99% of what Ed says utterly abhorrent, he is fair game for attacks, his family are not

There seems to be some crusade at the Daily Mail to get Ed as PM They have now sent a reporter to Ed's uncles memorial service, a private family and colleagues event, to harass his family and dig up gossip on his dad Instead of a quite superb conservative conference being talked about across the nation, there seems instead to be a wave of support and sympathy for Ed which will no doubt boost labour poll ratings

Never thought I would see the day when I side with Ed Miliband over something but this is something where I agree with him 100% With the extremely dubious history of the Daily Mail with their nazi support they are the last people to have any sort of moral high ground over this I despise Miliband Snr's political views as do I Ed's but Miliband Snr served this country with distinction in the war so the article is absolute bollocks

The rancid bitch can come back when she has sold as many singles as Gaga, had as many hits as her, sold as many albums, filled up as many arenas and stadiums and won as many awards, until then it is like a gnat trying to pick a fight with a siberian tigress Azealia is nothing, just jealous of Gaga

In reality the lead should be much bigger if labour are to form the next government Cameron had a 14 point lead over Brown a year before the last election and scraped into #10 Kinnock had a far bigger lead over Major and lost Maggie was over 20 points behind at one point and still won 3 elections The likelyhood is the economy is going to continue its upward path between now and May 2015, house prices likewise, jobs will continue to be created, all things that will benefit a tory win. I am still very optimistic ;)

Energy prices are too high but this idea of Ed's is not a good one I would 1) Make it illegal for an energy company to cut off a person over 65 or with a child under 2 in the winter months, that won't keep prices down but it will stop them bullying the most vulnerable to cold weather 2) Force energy companies to reinvest profits in the energy networks and infrastructure not into shareholders and directors pockets, any company that doesn't will be fined the equivalent of 90% of their profit 3) Bring in Cameron's idea of forcing energy companies to publish all tariffs including the lowest one and the price of their competitors on their websites

Hopefully post office and the rail network Privatisation of the post office is bloody ridiculous, stamps are insanely high now and will shoot up even more after privatisation, in 2015 I suspect a first class stamp will cost 90p or even £1 Rail network should be renationalised too, my season ticket is already outrageous and start of the year went up waaaay beyond the rate of inflation

I love you Russ :lol: :lol: :lol:

Daily Mail is UK's 2nd best selling paper and the 2nd most viewed news website in the world, it has enormous influence Yes many view the site for half naked celebs but many do for the news/politics

We won't get any seats in Scotland, much of Wales, London bar the usual suspects like Westminster, Chelsea etc, the North East, Merseyside and much of Yorkshire imho, might as well forget campaigning in those areas, should focus on Essex, Midlands, Cheshire and Lib Dem territory like South West

Not just Crosby and Obama's campaign manager but Daily Mail and Murdoch too, that is one hell of a tag team Expect daily assaults on labour policy in the media and over promotion of good news like house price rises If i was a betting man i would say at this stage that the Miliband effect combined with soaring house prices and an improving economy will provide a Cameron majority of 40-60 but that could go up or down between now and May 15 depending on house prices and economy

I think yesterday will be seen as the day that the tories won the 2015 election I was reading the editorials in Waitrose when I did a shop before work and in all the time I have been reading papers I don't think I have seen a savaging such as that from the papers (Mirror and Guardian excepted), it wasn't an attack dog it was a pack of rottweilers ripping Ed and Labour limb from limb, a clear insight into what is going to happen at election time When you then throw into the mix the fact we have Crosby and Obama's campaign manager directing the election campaign it really is going to be the most ruthless and formidable party machine the western world has ever seen, those 2 plus the media is going to make a tory majority very likely imho. All the talk this morning is of 'Red Ed' 'socialism' 'strikes' 'power cuts' 'lurches to the left' and people will believe it as many people believe everything the media tells them, the media have told people that the unemployed are scum of the earth and that disabled people are trying it on and are out to defraud the taxpayer and given the hate shown in social attitudes surveys the press attacks have definitely influenced a good number of people so the Daily Mail and Murdoch will do everything to ensure a tory victory

I am in 2 minds about bonuses When a company has made a profit it is totally right that bonuses should be paid In many cases the company has made a loss and bonuses are still paid, not just banks Bonuses should only be paid as a reward for doing a good job and making a good profit

That could work as long as it was imposed in law that teachers have to be impartial and not force their own agendas, certainly in my day teachers tended to be pretty left wing

I have about 30-40 that sorta age follow me on Twitter, I follow most back, but in all the time i have followed any of them i don't recall a single tweet or opinion about politics from any of them unless it involved animals (fox hunting etc), ok that is not representative of 16-17 year olds as a whole but they have been prolific in tweeting about TOWIE, Geordie Shore, Big Brother etc so my opinion is that the number of 16-17 year olds in this country interested in politics does not justify lowering the age of voting, people under 18 with no interest in politics just voting for sake of it could make a lot of difference to the end result I would rather voting was kept to people who are likely to be paying tax or have interest in politics, 18+