More Labour hypocrisy

[Ignitionnet]

Wouldn't catch the Conservative Party's campaign chief having interesting tax practices.

Originally Posted by David Cameron

"I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong.

"People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes.

"That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine.

"But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong.

"The Government is acting by looking at a general anti-avoidance law but we do need to make progress on this.

"It is not fair on hard working people who do the right thing and pay their taxes to see these sorts of scams taking place."

Ya.

[Anonymouse]

For years I've followed Heinlein's advice: 'There may be no parties or policies you want to vote for...but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, always vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.'

Heinlein, however, never had to vote in a British election, and so never had to face the issue of what to do if there are no parties you want to vote for because you don't trust any of them. I last voted in 1997...but as I've said before, I did not vote for Labour; I voted against the Tories because I was sick of 'em (I didn't count the Lib Dems as a serious political party, and I still don't - if they were serious they wouldn't have needed a coalition, would they?). I never trusted Bliar; there's something about that smile of his that just totally gets my back up.

But this is not apathy. This is not because we don't care - we do, very much. This is not because we "can't be arsed". This is, quite simply, a totally justified lack of faith in the entire political system and the politicians who run it.

I for one want to see 'None Of The Above' on the ballot papers - in that incredibly unlikely event I definitely would vote. The political parties would then know beyond question what we really think of them.

[Osem]

I'd agree with the 'none of the above' option - that way at least our glorious leaders wouldn't be able to claim we're either too lazy to bother or didn't vote because we accept the status quo. The number of votes cast in such a way would also serve to embarrass those of them who are not so utterly conceited that they have no shame.

What could politicians actually do though?

The 'problem' as I see it with the main two is that they encompass a wide range of the electorate and both of them struggle with reconciling the demand of their core base with the moderates who'll win them the election. These fringes are splitting off into separate parties such as UKIP, Greens and for different reasons the SNP. The big two struggle to win them back without alienating the voters that they need to win a General Election. They're left with only the threat of the other guys getting in as a incentive.

Maybe in the past the central question on voters minds was free markets vs socialism (to simplify it massively) and so it wasn't hard to rally two large electoral bases against each other and eventually the Tories won.

Now these bases no longer exist and the electorate is a lot more fragmented and vocal on specific issues. It's a lot easier to find dividing lines between people within the same party and this angers people who feel they're no longer represented. I don't think this is any more true than it was 30 years ago but now there are many more things to find objectionable in a party's platform than it was when these divisions were being overridden by the wider question of the role of the state.

So when people say they're no longer represented I can only assume they are unable to cope with the fact that they have to share a country with 65 million other people who don't all think the same as them. To get into Government you need a party to appeal to around 40% of this electorate and so, yes, you'll have to compromise on some things in order to have a broad appeal. A party that had every policy tailored to me would get a total of 1 vote and achieve naff all. There are parties with more specific groups of people in mind but they won't win because their appeal is too narrow.

[tweetiepooh]

I want to vote FOR not AGAINST so I look at my local candidates and vote FOR the one who I think will best represent me. There are parties I'll never vote for and some I'm more or less inclined towards but it's the person who secures my vote not their party.

[Sirius]

Labour "Do as we say not as we do"

[Osem]

I'll be voting (directly or strategically) for the party I think will best benefit UK PLC as a whole. A big issue for me is the EU and that is of course linked to the economy without which we have nothing. I may have to choose the least worst option but if necessary that's what I'll do.

---------- Post added at 17:56 ---------- Previous post was at 16:42 ----------

Originally Posted by Ramrod

But lets get back to the hypocrisy: Ed Miliband's US adviser pays no tax in Britain

How entirely typical of Labour.

[Ramrod]

The Greens aren't very 'green' either:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/steerpi...h-in-brighton/

That's the thing about lefties, it's always 'do as I say, not as I do'
and of course 'all animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others'

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

The Greens aren't very 'green' either:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/steerpi...h-in-brighton/

That's the thing about lefties, it's always 'do as I say, not as I do'
and of course 'all animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others'

It's not really a surprise is it.

If these people were as good at running things and getting value for our tax pounds as they are at being inept, hypocrites we'd all be laughing. Dumbing down education and making more people reliant on the state translates into votes and that's all they're interested in. The faux socialists fine dine, quaff champagne and build their property empires at our expense whilst claiming to support the working man/woman...