• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

2024 UK general election predictions and general discussion.

What is your predicted polling outcome for the 2024 UK general election

  • Conservative Majority

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • Conversative Biggest Party in Hung Parliament

    Votes: 2 1.9%

  • Labour Majority

    Votes: 76 70.4%

  • Labour Biggest Party in Hung Parliament

    Votes: 27 25.0%

  • Other Result (Please specify in your post)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    108
What with Farage popping up like a rouge hemorrhoid, and Sunak shooting himself in the foot with dodgy sums "from the treasury", and D day balls ups, it hasn't been a bad week.
 
rob666 said:
I hear what you are saying, but I am stating that private "whatever" is not the solution to the problem, it is a short term answer for those that have the ability to afford it.
Those lucky enough to have vehicles and nearby cities, can often get good quality treatment at their local dental hospital, my sister swore by them in Leeds and Manchester for decades.
There are about twenty around the country, all accessible for free or at nhs rates with a doctors letter...(I think, that is how it used to work).

And there is no need for pliers, in extremes, there is access to emergency treatment for extreme pain and swelling in most hospitals in the UK.
Click to expand...
Oh I agree, but I'm just saying at the moment in certain circumstances, it's a necessary, and until that changes I don't see things improving. I guess its like saying lets put another 50p on a litre of fuel to use busses instead - oh but there aren't any busses to use as yet. As for dental hospitals, I agree, when I lived in Cardiff there was a good one there, but here in Exeter, there isn't one around here. I have asked. As for pliers - not sure about that. A few months ago our little one was pulling a baby tooth which had come loose. It twisted and lodged in the socket causing him extreme pain. We tried 26 dental practices in the area and none would see him that day - and that's private practices, not NHS!

@jon81uk understand your points but just to address them:

- Private dentist, underfunding, yes agree, my argument though is that the funding could be raised by other means than putting VAT on schools.
- Alcohol duty, sorry, I was referring to VAT. Maybe we should have a higher VAT on alcoholic drinks, like they do in the USA. After all, an alcoholic drink is a luxury. We could argue that other items such chocolates / crisps should have higher VAT.
- Cars with list prices over £40k - yes I am aware of this but taking into account most electric cars, including the new Toyota is over £40k so would attract the same costs as someone buying a £140k Ferrari. Road tax after this period is also the same as someone driving a tiny little low emission car. The very rich in very expensive cars ultimately pay the same road tax after year 5 and pay the same VAT on their purchase.
- VAT on luxury products, yes I know a watch costing £60k will attract more VAT but I am arguing that if you can afford a £60k watch, you could afford a 25% VAT rate (or maybe 30%). Same would apply to those buying a £2k pair of shoes - if you can afford to spend that sort of money on non-essentials then you can obviously afford a bit more in VAT.

Perhaps a variable VAT scale might work depending on the product being purchased.

@IanB I think there was talk last week that people in polls had suggested they would be willing to pay a bit more tax if they got decent services, however, its difficult to do this without hitting those who are now struggling to get by as it is. Food, utilities etc aren't coming down in price, and increasing income tax will hit these people more. By applying the tax to "real" luxury products being purchased would only affect the very wealthy.

Anyway, this discussion could go on and on, let's move on.

In other news - whoever is advising Sunak is obviously out to sabotage any chances they have of winning the next election - who thought it would be a good idea to leave the D Day Memorial Day early yesterday is obviously out to get him. I think this has turned people who may have voted him now against him. Wouldn't surprise me if in the next few days we see Reform overtaking the Tories.
 
Just watched the election debate (instead of the footy , which I've heard was even worse than the debate)

Usual stuff. Labour and Tories squabbling. SNP taking credit for good things and blaming central government for bad things.

I thought the best two on the night were the Green lady and Mr Farage.

I realise you can't really get more far apart in political terms than those two but just thought they had the most impact for me.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
 
The Greens have finally got a candidate in my area, so looks like I'll be voting for them after all.

Yet another debate where a Labour representative can lie about Great British Energy being an energy company with zero pushback from the host. I reckon Labour will be able to get away with it at every one of them before this campaign is over.
 
Some of the other parties were saying that Labour aren't ambitious enough. The problem is they can't actually be too ambitious due to the way the mainstream media is in this county. Corbyn fell foul of this with his promises at the last election.

And no disrespect to the Greens or Lib Dems or even Reform but they can promise what they want. They won't have to deliver it.
 
I took tonights debate as an early leadership bid by Mordaunt. She didn't apologise for the PM, she shit on him from a great height over the fact he left Normandy early. She even insinuated that she thought Truss was crazy at one point. She's intelligent, and a good performer. If Tory party members weren't so rabidly crazy, they would have realised that they probably should have gone with her in the first place. Truss is insane, Sunak is a lightweight.

She offered the most convincing argument I've heard from any standing Tory all campaign so far for voting for them. She distanced herself, or kept quiet, when Tory failures were mentioned, and by doing so she managed to deflect attention. Where there was something she wanted to defend she did so quite aggressively. Contrast that to Sunak who just pretended everything was OK and then through mud back when attacked.

Extremely disappointed to hear her repeat the £2k barefaced lie again though. But if you think about what she's trying to do, it probably won't matter. She wasn't trying to save Sunak or the Tories tonight. She was trying to show to Conservative members that she can land punches without flinching, how she can take it to Labour, and how she can spin a yarn without sounding like an utter bafoon like Sunak did ("NHS waiting lists are lower than when they were higher").

I know a leadership bid when I see one, and that was it. She has her eyes on the prize once Sunak falls on his sword next election. 2 problems for her though. The first is that she's not the kind of person that Farage will call the attack dogs off of. The second is that she's actually battling to keep her current seat!
 
Yes it seems this £2k figure is the new £350 million on the side of a red bus. The fact this keeps coming up makes me think it's part of their official strategy. Repeat the lie over and over and hope some people buy into it, maybe subconsciously.

Cynical politics at its finest.
 
Mordaunt is in a self-serving campaign of her own. She will take over the Tories after the election.
 
pluk said:
I've noticed that in the last few days I've been rather bombarded with online ads from the Tories, none from labour. Whether this is representative overall of what is being pumped out, or whether I have hit some Tory target algorithm sweet spot I don't know.

The message I am supposed to be recieveing, presented in a number of ways, is that Labour will cost me out of my pay packet. If the idea is to get that into the subconscious by seeing it so many times while scrolling, when the brain isn't fully engaged, I could see that working to some extent, less so on people that have had their income hit by far greater numbers by the current administration.
Click to expand...

I've just had my first Facebook ad for Labour. Was it an overview of all the things they are going to do? A run down of all the bad things they say the Tories will do? Maybe pushing some personality I might want to vote for?

Nope. It was a begging letter wanting cash to fund their campaigning. When the offensive from the other side is Labour will take all of your money this seems like a really very stupid approach. I still think they'll win but it does feel like they enjoy shooting themselves in the face.
 
pluk said:
I've just had my first Facebook ad for Labour. Was it an overview of all the things they are going to do? A run down of all the bad things they say the Tories will do? Maybe pushing some personality I might want to vote for?

Nope. It was a begging letter wanting cash to fund their campaigning. When the offensive from the other side is Labour will take all of your money this seems like a really very stupid approach. I still think they'll win but it does feel like they enjoy shooting themselves in the face.
Click to expand...

It would suggest the algorithm thinks you might donate, most people wouldn’t see that one. Something about you must scream you want to donate some cash 😂
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom
Just switching from the UK for a moment but looks like elections in the EU have been quite eye opening and Macron looks in a bit of a pickle. Interestingly many young voters wanting less interference from Brussels and less immigration leading to the rise of these right wing parties:


Quite scary times given how disjointed the EU is, and how bad the political situation is in the UK and US. Music to the ears of Putin and Xi.
 
One of my reasons for wanting to get out of federalised europe...the rise of the right, coming from the east.
Exactly what is happening, letting the fascists back in under the "one issue" elections on immigration.
 
Some of you get Labour ads, some of you get Tories door-knocking...and I get a disheveled Jim Shannon of the DUP rolling up to my house looking for votes. Poor sod didn't stand a chance with me, nor did he get a few minutes to sell his case. He didn't take kindly to being told this is a homosexual household and we don't vote for political parties full of sexual predators and closet cases. Too much? That's what you get when your party is in tatters and you decide to visit degenerates like me for the first time in 6/7 years. Jog on. :cool:
 
cloudburster said:
Some of you get Labour ads, some of you get Tories door-knocking...and I get a disheveled Jim Shannon of the DUP rolling up to my house looking for votes. Poor sod didn't stand a chance with me, nor did he get a few minutes to sell his case. He didn't take kindly to being told this is a homosexual household and we don't vote for political parties full of sexual predators and closet cases. Too much? That's what you get when your party is in tatters and you decide to visit degenerates like me for the first time in 6/7 years. Jog on. :cool:
Click to expand...
My MP, Fiona Bruce (not the newsreader!), is apparently known for being on record as having said "I'm a Christian first and a politician second". Her voting record makes me think otherwise. I also have it on good authority that she's in cahoots with one particular church in Congleton (especially the lead pastor at that church), and that church doesn't seem to allow people who don't support the Tories to preach - I might've got that slightly wrong, but I'm of the understanding they didn't let a Labour councillor preach there on one occasion purely because he was part of the Labour party. It just seems really sad and petty.
 
I enjoy catering for the gardening needs of the Ribble Valley Catholic Mafia (retired).
Love them all.
They all refer to the Church of England as the "Conservative Party at Prayer".
There's your answer chum...
Right church then perhaps?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top