Ed Miliband's Labour enjoy poll boost and are ahead of the Tories

[dell12]

The first sentence is true, but the fact you've posted the second shows that your memory is not one of the long ones. You don't remember why such harsh medicine was necessary; you only remember that you didn't like the taste of it.

 

Unsurprisingly, we are already seeing the same thing happen again, as people blame the new Government for the cuts it is having to make because of the hideous mess the old Government made of the country's finances.

 

I think alot of people are blaming the coalition for the lack of any sort of coherent plan. It's all very well saying that they're going to cut 25-40% which although was probably abit more than Labour would have, in reality it isn't that much more, but they have made no signs of how we're going to get out of this recession. When happens if the cuts fails, and we end up like Ireland? There's no plan B that I can see anyway!

 

Secondly I think people are angry that the costs have not been shared proportionately. It's the public sector, and hence the poorest in society who will take the brunt (who in reality did little or nothing to cause the crash) rather than the banks, who continue business as usual.

[wednesday1]

I think that you have misunderstood my post. I was attempting to point out that the Thatcher Government became drunk on power.. even the most ardent Tory can't be proud of the third government that she presided over.

 

The less said about Major and Brown, the better. For very similar reasons.

 

 

 

Thatcher was a disaster for this country, followed by the hopeless Major.

She destroyed our means of paying our way in the world and placed too much store on the financial services, and look where that got us.

[Longcol]

It seems the ordinary Labour member didn't get their man, but he got there because of the Union vote. Well what can you say when you're in bed with the Unions, you've made it now lay in it

 

Unlike the old days when the Gen Sec of the Union could decide who to vote for, at least these days the Union vote is a poll of the membership - pity more don't take part though - even the turnout for council elections is better.

[alchresearch]

It is relevant because the public do not see anything in ed Milibands persona that automatically put's them off.

 

Does he actually have a persona? Someone who admits to Desperate Housewives and Dallas as being his favourite TV programmes really shouldn't be a person in power.

[Boblet]

It seems the ordinary Labour member didn't get their man, but he got there because of the Union vote. Well what can you say when you're in bed with the Unions, you've made it now lay in it

 

What makes you think that union memebers aren't "ordinary Labour members"?

 

They used to say that oppositions don't win elections, Governments lose them, and I think that is more often true than not.

 

Opinion polls now are largely irrelevant - the next local government elections will be much more interesting

 

To my mind the best thing about Ed Milliband's success is that we shall hopefully have a much clearer distinction between the main parties than we have had for some time since they both lurched to the centre

[truman]

 

Secondly I think people are angry that the costs have not been shared proportionately. It's the public sector, and hence the poorest in society who will take the brunt (who in reality did little or nothing to cause the crash) rather than the banks, who continue business as usual.

 

Have you seen the number of bank job losses?

[truman]

 

To my mind the best thing about Ed Milliband's success is that we shall hopefully have a much clearer distinction between the main parties than we have had for some time since they both lurched to the centre

 

Yet, from the Beeb

 

"....Ed Miliband has said the party will not "lurch to the left" under his leadership and rejected claims he will be in thrall to the unions.

 

"I'm my own man," the new Labour leader told BBC One's Andrew Marr show.

 

He said he was on the centre ground of politics and rejected the nickname "Red Ed" as "rubbish"...."

[Greybeard]

 

To my mind the best thing about Ed Milliband's success is that we shall hopefully have a much clearer distinction between the main parties than we have had for some time since they both lurched to the centre

 

Perhaps because occupying the centre ground is the only way to get elected ?

 

The vast majority of the electorate don't subscribe to the loony left or the rabid right and Ed M has already expressed his sympathy for the 'squeezed' middle classes.

[dell12]

Have you seen the number of bank job losses?

 

I've not seen actual figures but it seems to be around 130,000 to a predicted 750,000 losses in the public sector.

 

What worries me infinitely more though is that banks have continued to do exactly what they were doing before the crisis, and are being paid ever increasing amounts to do so.

[dell12]

Perhaps because occupying the centre ground is the only way to get elected ?

 

The vast majority of the electorate don't subscribe to the loony left or the rabid right and Ed M has already expressed his sympathy for the 'squeezed' middle classes.

 

I think that's a fair point. We've definitely seen the middle classes increasing in number in our move towards a more service orientated economy, and both the Tories and Labour have picked up on it.

 

Personally though I don't think it's healthy to have our 2 main parties so ideologically close to each other as New Labour and the Tories were. In many instances last parliament I think you could say that the Tories were to the left of Labour on many issues.