Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 10:01:30 GMT
An election thread seemed inevitable.
Just general discussion, commentary and satire here please. No proper politics. If anyone would like a proper discussion of the issues, please start a thread in Have Your Say.
Anyway, we just had our first canvasser at the door. It was someone supporting re-election for the current Labour MP, Madeleine Moon.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 7, 2010 10:23:53 GMT
Nobody through our way yet, although the letters have started.
Andy
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 10:30:11 GMT
We had no one at all at the last elections here (local or Assembly, I don't remember) so I was impressed to see someone so soon.
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 11:07:57 GMT
Only the first day after the announcement of the election and I've already got a new favourite comment about it.
Yesterday on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show (lunchtime news and discussion programme) following an early "who will win" discussion, someone emailed in to Jeremy, "Hello. You're excited about the election. Why? No one else is."
This has been overtaken by a reporter on the radio just now who said (I'm paraphrasing), "today is the last Prime Minister's questions before the election, a chance for all the leaders to lay down their campaign promises and, of course, to attack each other."
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Post by grahamthomson on Apr 7, 2010 11:21:33 GMT
It's essential that the media try to drum up as much interest as possible in the election. The risk of a hung parliament is too great if there's another spate of voter apathy.
Of course it means proper news like Peter Andre's opinion on Cheryl Cole's weight will have to take a back seat for a while.
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 7, 2010 12:05:13 GMT
I'd love a hung parliament! Just for the drama!
We're expecting a flood of politicy types now that we're all middle class 'n' all.
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Post by grahamthomson on Apr 7, 2010 12:10:17 GMT
Middle Class?! Get you!
I am proudly Working Class. That is, I work for a living.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2010 12:16:13 GMT
I shall be hiding under my bed covers when I'm not working for the next couple weeks
We always get a few solicitations from people, seriously the only thing worse is when the jehova's witnesses come into my street en masse, meaning that I have to go over the back fence just to get to the station
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Post by grahamthomson on Apr 7, 2010 12:21:49 GMT
Often I open the door with my shirt undone while circling an ice cube around my left nipple. Apart from that one time last Summer it usually scares away unwelcome visitors.
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Stomski
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YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
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Post by Stomski on Apr 7, 2010 14:51:21 GMT
What's fun to do is try to make the door-knockers slate the other candidates. When the Tory candidate visited at the last local elections, I told him I thought the Labour candidate who had visited days earlier looked a bit like a... well, I best not say. The Tory candidate's reaction was priceless as he tried to agree, but not commit to anything slanderous whilst remaining cautious, hoping that I wasn't being serious, but unsure.
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 15:18:13 GMT
When I was a student, the Lib Dems filmed a publicity stunt in the student village, just up from my house. They drove a car symbolically through a tuition fees banner. I met Lembit Opik that day and congratulated him on getting his bill passed, the one about protection from asteroid impacts. The stunt was briefly shown on the news that day, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it montage.
That week, the student Lib Dem rep who'd been at the filming and saw me and my housemates cheer at it came knocking at the door, canvassing. It rather threw him when I interrupted his discourse against tuition fees by asking, what made him think I was against tuition fees? Nobody had responded that way before. (With my economics background, I was in favour of them in principle, though I thought the government had screwed up their introduction. Had I not been fortunate to be in the last intake that received grants and had fees paid, my opinion might have been different, of course.) I didn't tell him that we'd only cheered because it was cool to see a car break through a banner and it was nothing to do with the policy.
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 7, 2010 16:07:13 GMT
Middle Class?! Get you! I am proudly Working Class. That is, I work for a living. Oh yes, dead posh us now *wipes sleeve across nose*. |
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 7, 2010 16:10:13 GMT
Often I open the door with my shirt undone while circling an ice cube around my left nipple. Apart from that one time last Summer it usually scares away unwelcome visitors. So close! I'd just put my drink to my mouth, but hadn't taken any of the fluid in! You swine! (Good advice, by the way, I'm gunna try it.) |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 7, 2010 16:19:19 GMT
I shall vote for Sean Burger.
-Ralph
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 7, 2010 16:32:26 GMT
Anyone called 'Burger' should get the vote.
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 17:27:20 GMT
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Post by Bogatan on Apr 7, 2010 17:42:02 GMT
We never really get people coming around. Just lots and lots of leaflets.
Poor trees.
Andy
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 7, 2010 18:41:10 GMT
Hmm, good point. I'm sure I've seen literature from the Green Party in past elections.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2010 18:49:45 GMT
My father comes out with a fair amount of Labour propaganda to show his support for that party (not that I've got anything against him - an ex miner - supporting them). Yesterday he said that if you don't vote that is a vote for the Tories because all Conservative voters will vote no matter what the weather or what the party has done to make their lives worse off. Labour voters however, he claims, won't go out to vote if its raining outside or if the party has done something to alienate the voters.
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 7, 2010 19:05:30 GMT
Oh BRILLIANT Nige! If I could exhault you more than once for this I would! |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 7, 2010 23:55:05 GMT
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Post by dinogrrl on Apr 8, 2010 0:06:26 GMT
You lot are very lucky! You only have a month till the elections. In America, it lasts all damn year each Presidential cycle. Hell, it's already going now with the mid-terms for this November. Unbearable.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 8, 2010 0:08:25 GMT
True but this has been lumbering on in the background for over a year now. At least you always know when elections happen due to the fixed terms of the presidency.
Andy
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Post by skillex on Apr 8, 2010 20:13:13 GMT
Ha ha! Not wanting to offend anyone here but I love that! |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 9, 2010 0:00:06 GMT
It was inspired by a brief chat about the impending election with Ralph and perhaps Karl a few weeks back. Glad you found it amusing.
Andy
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Apr 16, 2010 11:50:48 GMT
So what did people think about the debate? Not the policies, just the performances. As the media is discussing today, who won?
I thought Brown seemed rather uncomfortable; not through nerves or anything like that, simply that he's not a particularly great orator. Unlike the others, he made a few attempts at humour. Later in the debate, I was finding it frustrating that he kept simply repeating the same things. I found it disappointing that he was often talking about what Labour has done rather than what they will do.
I found Cameron to be over-rehearsed at times, particularly during his opening comments. (If you watch it again, look at his hands.) He did, though, show confidence. There were occasional attempts at point scoring over Labour.
Clegg seemed very relaxed and confident, perhaps a bit too relaxed at times, seeming occasionally more like a business consultant than a leader. He engaged well with the studio audience and worked well with the camera. He was controlled and didn't talk over the others, whilst Cameron and Brown did talk over each other.
Overall, on performance, I think Clegg came out the best. But, at the end of the day, it's the policies that (should) matter.
I think the debates are a good idea, as we get to know more about the leaders and see them outside the usual soundbites, individual interviews and Parliamentary debates/posturing. I hope we get to see a bit more meat about policies in the other debates, though.
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Post by blueshift on Apr 16, 2010 11:57:09 GMT
I was really impressed with Nick Clegg, it made me think twice about wanting to tactically vote Labour to stop the Tories. He also seemed able to be more honest and challenging, though I think that is more because he had nothing to lose and so COULD act like that, whilst the other two were forced to be very middle-ground in order to try to attract as many voters as possible due to the tightness between the two parties
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2010 15:54:12 GMT
I never saw this debate but I watched the news story today that covered it and they said that Clegg's popularity has risen by about 4% since that debate.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 16, 2010 16:37:50 GMT
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Apr 16, 2010 17:35:26 GMT
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