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

[truman]

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.

 

I've seen various estimates for public sector job losses from 150,000 to 600,000 we need to wait and see on those I suppose. Are you saying that banks are still trading "bad debts" ? Are they still lending to "NINJa's" ?

[mj.scuba]

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

 

They might be, in which case I assume they get a vote as a party member, and a vote as a union member, or even more votes if they're members of more affiliated Unions. So the more Labour Party affiliated Union memberships you can afford, the more votes you can buy. Very democratic.

[mossdog]

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.

You have got your wires crossed chum!..............instead of beginning your second sentence with the word "SHE" substitute it with the word "LABOUR" then your post will make sense!

Rubberband has also admitted new labour is finished, the old ways are to be changed by a new dawn of politics,many mistakes were made but lessons have been learn't............think we all know if they were still in power, they would have carried on borrowing and spending and not one public sector worker would have lost their job(which would have been great for lots on this forum!).

[mossdog]

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.

Errr, excuse me!...........since when were public sector workers the poorest in society ???

[Boblet]

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.

 

But there is a broad spectrum between the centre ground and the looney left (or rabid right) - it isn't one or the other

[crookesey]

Labour quite rightly lost the election, the bigot gaff by the wired up Brown more or less finished them off.

 

I was pleased that the Conservatives didn't get an overall majority, but was surprised when the Lib-Dems lost seats, I fully expected a coalition government with the Lib-Dems getting circa 65 seats. The Conservatives will not be able to push through anything too radical, whilst the now in power Lib-Dems will have to shelve their normal pie in the sky ideas, that they used to know they would never have to implement.

 

As the Lib-Dems were clearly left of Blair and Brown's New Labour party, I can't see what Labour supporters have got to worry about. We now have two of the major parties working together and a vastly depleted Labour electorate pretending that they still have some clout. All that I now need to see come to fruition is AV, if this comes off we may never again see a single party government.

 

Why anyone would be surprised that a newly elected party leader would initially do well in the popularity polls beats the hell out of me. This is more a celebration of Brown burying than Miliband mania,

 

I have an overwhelming temptation to break into a rendition of, "He's not David, he's his brother".

[dell12]

Errr, excuse me!...........since when were public sector workers the poorest in society ???

 

I never said they were, although people such as cleaners and caretakers probably are. It is usually those who are the poorest that rely the most on public services who are however.

[dell12]

I've seen various estimates for public sector job losses from 150,000 to 600,000 we need to wait and see on those I suppose. Are you saying that banks are still trading "bad debts" ? Are they still lending to "NINJa's" ?

 

I'm saying that banks are still lending too much of their capital in search of larger and larger profits. There has been not sort of regulation to curtail this.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/09/why_banks_are_riskier_than_hed.html

 

If banks were simply a run of the mill business I wouldn't have too much problem with it, if they went bust that would be that (although I don't really approve of what they do). However when their actions start to impact on the rest of society, then for me the problem starts. People who have done nothing wrong, and have continued to work hard in both the public and private sectors are paying for it.

[mossdog]

I never said they were, although people such as cleaners and caretakers probably are. It is usually those who are the poorest that rely the most on public services who are however.

Shame some Doctors and Union leaders on over £200,000 pa. can't spare a groat for their fellow public sector chums!

[dell12]

Shame some Doctors and Union leaders on over £200,000 pa. can't spare a groat for their fellow public sector chums!

 

The point I am making is that the people who most rely on social workers, the police and the NHS etc are the poorest in society. When those services are cut, it is the poor who will lose out more than then rich.