UK General Election 2017 - 8 June

[GS]

This whole thread is just detached twenty something males not caring about anything because they don't need any public services at this stage of their life.

This perfectly encapsulates the problem on the left, I think. People don't vote Tory because they "don't care about public services". I care about them, but Labour's record is a bit grim and the solution of throwing money at the problem whilst simultaneously working out how you're going to fund it isn't exactly a winner. The shadow education secretary was on Daily Politics yesterday and he couldn't explain how any of their proposals, however reasonable they may sound, were going to be funded.

Labour did this from 2002, running a significant budget deficit for current expenditure and borrowing to plug the gap. It's a bit cruel to offer people public services that aren't sustainable from a funding perspective, because at some point they're going to have to be taken away again.

Tax increases never yield commensurate returns. You could try, but the likelihood is that you're almost certainly going to have divert money from other departments to meet Labour's proposed spending increases. Which is perfectly reasonable as an approach, but when you get into the detail of it you're in a bit of bother trying to work out where it's coming from. The three biggest areas of government spending are health (Jeremy wants to increase funding), pensions (Jeremy wants to keep the triple lock), and welfare (Jeremy wants to significantly increase its scope).

So after he's implemented significant increases in funding for the three largest departments, where do you find the money to increase the education budget to the extent you need to for his policies? He wants to remove tuition fees as well, which would be another heavy increase in cost (excluding any social impacts like reducing access for poorer students).

It just doesn't add up, in any way whatsoever. The Tories are hardily world class economists, but there's not exactly a choice to make between the two approaches.

[phonics]

Marvellous effort. It escalates to a point I didn't think it could every other sentence.

[Boydy]

The way funding is allocated to schools has always seemed like lunacy to me. I see already wealthy schools getting government-funded sports venues while I know of teachers who have to purchase books out of their own pockets. At the current rate in Australia, private schools will get more government money per student than public schools by 2020. I assume there must be a logic to it, but it just seems like madness to have so many schools that are so poorly funded, and so much money going to schools with independent revenue streams.

Is it crazy that I think any school that charges admission fees should be locked out of government funding? They already have a way of making money, after all. I feel like I'm missing something, to be honest, because it just seems so obvious that it could only be missed for very good reasons.

I don't think that's crazy.

[Disco]

It's like the ravings of a lunatic (golf courses?) or something off Brass Eye.

[Shindig]

I also understand the cold, hard logic behind the North / South divide, sadly. Spend more on the south because their cost of living is higher. Get more southern plebs in work because they'll provide more for the treasury in tax and generally spend more money. Spend in the North if you want some figures to look good. Spend in the South if you actually want cash back.

[Lewis]

Its pretty much just Jimmy, Lewis and GS that are the Tories, isn't it? Admittedly they make up most of the posting in here.

I vote for them as the least rubbish party, and had the referendum gone the wrong way I would probably have sat this one out in a sulk.

[Shindig]

You were sitting and sulking anyway. You still out of work?

[Lewis]

I am, but I'm well past sulking about it.

[phonics]

The party of the job creators.

[GS]

You jest, but it's a necessary evil.

Imagine the carnage if Corbyn implemented his policies. Slashing the tax base whilst massively increasing spending.

[Boydy]

http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad....ugh-money.html

[Lewis]

Theresa May's Conservative Party is on fifty per cent with ComRes. I expect the eventual result to be nearer to forty than fifty (beating 1997 would be nice), but fucking hell the protests on the Saturday after.

[GS]

Fifty percent.

As well as this. Fucking hell, it really could be a massacre.

[Lewis]

I saw a Jock poll earlier (albeit using a small sample) that had them on thirty-two up there. Progressive Majority.

[GS]

There's an exclusively Jock poll out tomorrow that has the Tories SURGING, apparently. There's no details as yet beyond the below, but presumably it'll be out shortly:

[Lewis]

Team Krankie getting anything less than fifty per cent will be the biggest kick in the bollocks possible.

[GS]

If they lose five or six seats, it might be quite hard for them to claim MANDATE. An erosion of the vote share and a handful of losses is the best you can hope for up there.

[GS]

Meanwhile, here we have the European Parliament's chief negotiator throwing a wobbly and attempting to influence a national election in a member state.

We should have a national holiday when we leave.

[Alan Shearer The 2nd]

Fifty percent.

As well as this. Fucking hell, it really could be a massacre.

The impending facebook meltdowns against old people will be worth the wait.

[phonics]

Do we have to have the polls? It's so dull. It's like if football arguments were based around xG.

[GS]

Lads. We're into surreal territory here:

View Tweet

[GS]

Apologies for the storm of posts lads, it's not deliberate. This, however, could be fucking spectacular if it holds until election day:

View Tweet

[Lewis]

Meanwhile, here we have the European Parliament's chief negotiator throwing a wobbly and attempting to influence a national election in a member state.

We should have a national holiday when we leave.

As with the referendum, which many European leaders saw as a Tory cat fight that got out of control, I have little doubt many on the continent see this election as again motivated by the internal machinations of the Tory party.

Theresa May: 'Some cat; some fight.'
*entire English-speaking world marks out*

[randomlegend]

Imagine how boring your life must be to get as excited as GS does over this shit.

[Lewis]

Go bum a roulade mate.

[randomlegend]

Hopefully it'll be FUCKING SPECTACULAR.

[GS]

Politics is interesting. General elections with the sort of implications this one has especially so.

[randomlegend]

Apologies for the storm of posts lads, it's not deliberate. This, however, could be fucking spectacular if it holds until election day:

Interesting perhaps, but you're practically climaxing in this one.

[GS]

If you want to know why I care about the Scottish poll, it's because the last thing that Northern Ireland needs is more constitutional agitation from the Scots. It just gives succour to the Shinners, and the inevitable civil war that would unleash itself if there was a serious danger to the border. It's already been dreadful because they increased their vote by 3.9% in the last assembly election.

[Spikey M]

Imagine how boring your life must be to get as excited as GS does over this shit.

You make Cholcolate and post pictures of it on the internet.

[Offshore Toon]

Nobody on this board has any right to judge how somebody spares their free time. There were a few times where I looked forward to playing FM and browsing this place. How sad is that? GS' polls are much more interesting than RL's chocolate, too.

[Offshore Toon]

Chocolate > politics.

Maybe if we could eat the chocolate, you'd have a point.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Spikey M]

And you think that's not sad?

[Shindig]

We've all failed. Every single one of us. At least we're not ISIS.

[Offshore Toon]

I definitely spend more time chatting on Facebook than here, but that's only because the board is DYING.

[Smiffy]

.....

[Spikey M]

I definitely spend more time chatting on Facebook than here, but that's only because the board is DYING.

What'sApp killed the forum star.

[Offshore Toon]

Nope but then I've probably relied on this place more than most over the years for personal shit so maybe it's a different thought process to yours. I might not be well received at times but I love the lot of you for that.

The sad part is you've all done more for me than most people in my life. That part is sad but nothing I'm ashamed of. Thankful for it.

We've all benefited in some way from the relative (though lessening) anonymity and this place not actually being 100% wankers.

[Lewis]

Not since they all defected to WhatsApp.

[randomlegend]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/1...s_on_gorillas/

Now THAT is spectacular.

[Lewis]

The Communist Party of Britain (Not the Communist Party of Great Britain, or the Communist Party of Great Britain [Marxist-Leninist]) endorsing Labour for the first time in history is pretty funny. What was it about Clement Attlee and Michael Foot that put them off?

[Smiffy]

.....

[Shindig]

Don't think there's any danger of that here. The pit lot will be backed by the students to stay Labour.

[phonics]

Swansea will remain a pointless seat where everyone gets 20% and they split the seat. I never understood how it worked and never cared to tbh.

[Smiffy]

.....

[GS]

New Scottish poll out this evening on independence. You can decide for yourself how reliable it is, but the headline figures are:

• The Brexit issue does not appear to have given wings to the independence movement, according to Kantar's survey of 1,060 adults carried out after Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for a referendum to be held in autumn 2018 or spring 2019.
  
• Of those interviewed, only 26 percent thought an independence vote should be held on either of those dates, while 18 percent thought it should take place later. But 46 percent thought there should be no referendum at all.
  
• Kantar found that of those who said they would be certain to vote in any independence referendum, 55 percent would vote against it, while 37 percent would vote in favor and another 8 percent were undecided.

Full story: here

Effectively a 60/40 split when undecideds are removed. It'll be interesting to see if that holds in any way in the coming months.

[Bartholomert]

Nope but then I've probably relied on this place more than most over the years for personal shit so maybe it's a different thought process to yours. I might not be well received at times but I love the lot of you for that.

The sad part is you've all done more for me than most people in my life. That part is sad but nothing I'm ashamed of. Thankful for it.

This is a good post.

[phonics]

Arron Banks has cucked it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's such a tit. This election has come far too soon for him to have his ego vehicle mobilised and so he's crying off.