lgabriel73

the reports don't seem to support your opinion. Yes there are things that need to be fixed but it is moving in the right direction.

As for the government being a law unto themselves and not listening to the majority, I think that speaks to pretty much every government in the world.

lgabriel73

Well said couldn't agree more

brits1

Having travelled, worked and lived in other countries I appreciate our Government is not as bad as I thought before my travels, the older I become the more I think that most Governments do not listen to the public unless its near an election and then its promises, promises....

chris955

Spot on with both comments. I cant think of any Government in the world that listens to the people.

Bud the Wiser

I hope I'm wrong too. Time will tell.

My beef about immigration is simply too many, too quickly, without, as you say, any forethought to infrastructure and the social impact. ( Much the same with the EU trying to push their agenda too quickly ).

As the generations progress there hopefully will be more integration and a better understanding and acceptance of the different cultures. I'm far more tolerant than my parents and my kids are far more accepting of the changes than me. And so it goes on.

Pistolpete2

Excellent!

and ALL election finance should be from the public purse* and strictly limited and subject to strict review - end of. Get rid of special interests!

*Labour are happy to separate themselves from being in the Unions' pocket, so no problem there

bigglesworth

Hmmmm

In 1998, Gordon Brown started something called " The Trade Union Learning Fund".
All government departments contribute variable amounts - DBIS for example between 10 and 12 million a year. The total is in excess of 15 million a year, which strangely is roughly the amount the Trades Unions then give to the Labour Party.

Nobody in the Labour Party, least of all Ed Miliband, has ever said they will stop being financed by the Trades Unions. What they did say was that they would "examine" the political levy. If automatic donation to the Labour Party were abolished, that would in point of fact INCREASE the influence that the Unions have on Labour, as the funding would then be entirely at the discretion of Mr McCluskey and his pals.

dunroving

Private/special interests funding of political parties pales in comparison to the US. I agree that they all should be given the same amount and told "There it is, and when it's gone, it's gone". Put everyone on a level playing field.

rebs

I would go with sortition if I was in charge - have MPs chosen by random lottery, like we do with juries.

No need for any money to be spent on elections, no race/age/gender bias, lobbying would become obsolete. What's not to like

dunroving

There's about a 1 in 20 million chance we could end up with Gordon Brown or Tony Blair again. Those odds are too high for me.

rebs

Well... we could instigate rules that allowed a one time gig only... so they would be excluded

bigglesworth

I think both would claim that was an infringement of their human rights.

And remember, just before Tony Blair introduced the Human Rights Act, his wife set up a new business area- Matrix Chambers - human rights lawyers. (Her previous experience was industrial relations and employment law)

Bud the Wiser

I'd also like something done about what politicians can do AFTER the leave office.

Pistolpete2

Less of an issue now because they can and do line their pockets while still in office by selling official secrets to the media. Or anything else they can get their hands on.

Pistolpete2

I would hazard a guess that the current poll swing towards Labour is as a direct result of living standards being hit in an inflationary (UK) world.

Osborne's long-term strategy is to make UK a competitive business environment in terms of labour costs and taxes which can only be accomplished by cutting Government expenditure. The exact opposite, so it seems, of what France is struggling with right now.

When (OLD) (Brownite) Labour get back in, in time the old negative issues will re-surface which the former NEW labour powers-that-be thought/realised made Labour un-electible, namely:

from Peter Mandelson's book - The Third Man (A Brilliant Defeat chapter)

'Over two decades, our share of the vote had fallen by nearly 20 per cent, while Tory support had remained steady. Even more disturbing were the findings about why people voted as they did. In the case of the Conservatives, it was their tougher, more aspirational appeal. But more than a quarter of Labour's shrinking base said they remained with us only out of residual loyalty. Among those who abandoned us, there was a remarkable consistency in the reasons they said had driven them away. 'Extremism' came top, followed by the dominance of the trade unions, our defence policy, and finally 'weak leadership'. It was not just the well-off who didn't like us, but in an increasingly mobile economy, the role of manual work was decreasing. Share ownership and home ownership were rising, and more voters had the kind of aspirations which they said made them reluctant to elect a Labour government. We were becoming less and less popular, less and less relevant....................our image unsettled and alienated voters, our organisation and leadership dented their trust. Our policies clashed with their hopes not only for the country but for themselves.'

Hence the critical influence of the middle classes.

Post this:

Enter a NEW LABOUR (not hopefully a cloned Blairite New Labour), otherwise enter NO LABOUR! Lest we/they forget.

I absolutely agree with the 'least of all Ed Miliband'. What I'm saying is that any campaign finance outside of the public funding will be illegal and subject to close scrutiny. Doesn't this get away from Len?

The problem is that so much damage has been done, that either boxed-in party has to be pre-occupied with undoing that to the extent that it continues to wreak havoc in some large communities and in the public purse and therefore the ability to provide services, so there is precious little room for a stand-out ideology other than a bit of showmanship here or there, a la price controls on the energy sector. Anyway, what is promised now may in no way resemble what happens or is deliverable post-election.