UK General Election 2019 - Voting on 12th Dec

[Kav]

Register to Vote

Register by 11:59pm on 26 November to vote in the General Election on 12 December:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
 

Full Fact’s GE2019 ongoing Fact Check:

https://fullfact.org/election-2019/

 

Labour Manifesto:

https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/

 

Lib Dem Manifesto:

https://www.libdems.org.uk/plan

SNP Manifesto:

https://www.snp.org/policies/

 

The Green Party Manifesto:

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/green-guarantee/a-safer-world.html

Conservative Manifesto:

https://vote.conservatives.com/our-plan

 

Brexit Party Manifesto:

https://www.thebrexitparty.org/contract/

Edited November 24, 2019 by Kav
Adding manifestos.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Wrong manifesto link dude, this is the REAL one

https://www.labourmanifesto.co.uk/

¬_¬

[LazyBoy]

9 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Wrong manifesto link dude, this is the REAL one

https://www.labourmanifesto.co.uk/

¬_¬

Sounds great, they've won my vote

[bob]

Had very few things through my letter box, and no canvassers yet at all. Only had that weird Lib Dem leaflet with Jo Swinson on the front looking like an M&S fashion advert.

I'll definitely be voting Labour. I have no idea what'll happen in my constituency though. It used to be Tory, then narrowly switched to Labour, but also voted Remain, and the Lib Dems seem to be pushing it quite heavily. Worried that the left wing vote might be split and let the Tories back in.

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 22/11/2019 at 10:12 AM, bob said:

Had very few things through my letter box, and no canvassers yet at all. 

Only had one at the moment, was a Labour one and I told them to save their breath ad they had my vote.

[Dog-amoto]

I had a Labour canvasser round too, again told him to save his breath as they had my vote. Why anyone would vote Conservative, god only knows.
 

Boris’ tax cuts for people earning up to 80k would actually benefit me but I honestly don’t want it. Disgusting how billionaire media moguls and are pathetically slurring Corbyn, editing images to make it look like he was dancing up to the Cenotaph, using footage from 3 years ago to cover up how Boris fucked up his laying of the wreath and such, and yet, idiots buy these lies and are obsessed about how Corbyn is a terrorist sympathiser when these claims can be discredited over and over again. 
 

Ask yourself, why are the media so scared of this man that they print out and out lies? Who are the people who own the media? Why are the super rich so obsessed with leaving the EU? Could it be to do with the fact that the EU are about to make it harder to hide money off shore and avoid paying as much tax? 
 

Voting Tory is like turkeys voting for Christmas. It’s madness. 

Edited November 23, 2019 by Dog-amoto

[bob]

I had a Labour canvasser round too, again told him to save his breath as they had my vote. Why anyone would vote Conservative, god only knows.
 
Boris’ tax cuts for people earning up to 80k would actually benefit me but I honestly don’t want it. Disgusting how billionaire media moguls and are pathetically slurring Corbyn, editing images to make it look like he was dancing up to the Cenotaph, using footage from 3 years ago to cover up how Boris fucked up his laying of the wreath and such, and yet, idiots buy these lies and are obsessed about how Corbyn is a terrorist sympathiser when these claims can be discredited over and over again. 
 
Ask yourself, why are the media so scared of this man that they print out and out lies? Who are the people who own the media? Why are the super rich so obsessed with leaving the EU? Could it be to do with the fact that the EU are about to make it harder to hide money off shore and avoid paying as much tax? 
 
Voting Tory is like turkeys voting for Christmas. It’s madness. 

I've seen comments from people who are on >£80k saying that these extra taxes are going to be hard on them and I'm just flabbergasted. Firstly, they don't seem to realise that if they are struggling, what about the 95% of everyone else who earn less than them.

Secondly, how the fuck are they struggling? I earn way way less than that, and i will have shitloads of money left at the end of the month. I would happily pay 1 or 2 % extra tax, and could easily afford it. Maybe they need to eat fewer avocados etc.

[Pestneb]

Tbh I don't want to vote for any candidates I can vote for. And I'm not keen on Corbyn nor Johnson. On balance I like Corbyn best, but I'm concerned he will push the UK too far towards a French style system, it's nice to a degree, but the taxes are too high and stifle everything. Johnson on the other hand makes me think more of the US system which tbh has the opposite problem! I do think taxation needs to be slightly increased to properly support services like the NHS and maintain/improve education, but Corbyn seems too eager to get too much done too quick. It's almost like he hopes for 1 term at the most. also, I read about some guy who claimed he wasn't even top 50% earners and earned £80k+ a year. Really does make you wonder sometimes!

[Fierce_LiNk]

On 21/11/2019 at 9:10 PM, EEVILMURRAY said:

Wrong manifesto link dude, this is the REAL one

https://www.labourmanifesto.co.uk/

¬_¬

[Kav]

Tories: overcharged austerity thanks to Brexit fucking the economy.

Lib Dems: endless austerity, but in the EU.

Labour: 2nd Referendum, end to austerity and transformative policies with a Green Industrial Revolution.

Others: Green are worthy of votes, SNP too to be fair, I’ll not even humour the Brexit Party.

I’ll be voting Labour.

Edited November 24, 2019 by Kav

[bob]

Fat lot of good it'll do though. Some polls are putting the Tories on 47%

What the actual fuck?

[Kav]

24 minutes ago, bob said:

Fat lot of good it'll do though. Some polls are putting the Tories on 47%

What the actual fuck?

The polls are weighted on a low youth turnout and a vastly higher elderly turnout than previous weighting’s.

So I’m hoping for another youth-quake, but bigger than the last one.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/register-vote-general-election-boris-johnson-corbyn-young-people-a9214761.html

 

...but with the Tories being unchallenged in many seats by the Brexit Party, it’ll be very hard to boot them out in Leave voting constituencies.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Kav

[bob]

Before the campaigning started, i was predicting another hung parliament, but now i think it'll be a Tory majority. Its depressing, but nothing they do seems to change people's minds. The more they lie and cheat, the more their vote share seems to climb!

I don't think there will be a huge youth turnout either. Due to Brexit, there is too much apathy for politics, and the fact that this election is in the dead of winter means that people will just not bother.

[Kav]

4 minutes ago, bob said:

Before the campaigning started, i was predicting another hung parliament, but now i think it'll be a Tory majority. Its depressing, but nothing they do seems to change people's minds. The more they lie and cheat, the more their vote share seems to climb!

I don't think there will be a huge youth turnout either. Due to Brexit, there is too much apathy for politics, and the fact that this election is in the dead of winter means that people will just not bother.

I do worry this too but with the numbers registering to vote I’m hopeful.

[Jimbob]

So far, no-one has been round to canvas.  Nor have i had any leaflets in the post, however i've seen the Labour MP wandering around in town talking to people.

[Dcubed]

6 hours ago, bob said:

Before the campaigning started, i was predicting another hung parliament, but now i think it'll be a Tory majority. Its depressing, but nothing they do seems to change people's minds. The more they lie and cheat, the more their vote share seems to climb!

I don't think there will be a huge youth turnout either. Due to Brexit, there is too much apathy for politics, and the fact that this election is in the dead of winter means that people will just not bother.

This, plus the sheer unstoppable strength of the right-wing media that constantly poisons the minds of the public with their Tory propaganda.  When even the BBC are in on the act with supporting the Tories, what hope is there for Labour?

 

I pray that I'm wrong, but I sadly can't see it.  The media are the ones that really rule the country, and they have turned the public into blind racists and bigots sadly.

[bob]

This, plus the sheer unstoppable strength of the right-wing media that constantly poisons the minds of the public with their Tory propaganda.  When even the BBC are in on the act with supporting the Tories, what hope is there for Labour?
 
I pray that I'm wrong, but I sadly can't see it.  The media are the ones that really rule the country, and they have turned the public into blind racists and bigots sadly.

Its been like this for decades. Whoever the media decide to back, wins. The Murdoch empire used to back Tory - Tories won. In 1997, they swapped to back Labour - Labour won. Shortly after Blair left, they swapped back - Tory have won ever since.

Its going to be a problem unless you break up the media, or somehow prevent biased reporting, but i think that's going to be even harder since the advent of the internet/social media.

[Pestneb]

I don't know it's that bad tbh, admittedly I've not been in the UK much but not a lot seemed to have changed, though apparently Brexit isn't safe territory for a civil conversation (this is from hearsay not experience!)

From everything I heard hear (on the forum, BBC, news in France) I was almost expecting a civil war!

Personally, as I think I said, I like Corbyn's policies best, but I'm not a big believer in rapid change, I have the impression he'll change too much in one go and it makes it too hard to see what works and what doesn't. what I have heard of the labour manifesto seems a little too drastic, it gives me the impression they want to do everything in one go because they don't believe they will be able to do a second stint.

Regarding Brexit as a whole, I've come to the opinion that a lot of this mess originates comes from Tony Blair. Two big mistakes he made (not short term for himself, but long term for the country) have led to slightly justified issues about immigration and questions about the legitimacy and democratic positioning of the EU. If there had been a referendum of the Lisbon treaty I think it would have headed off a fair few issues regarding UKIP, and back when he let those eastern europeans immigrate to the UK right away, instead of waiting 2 years.. I understand why he did it, but it was short sighted. When you emigrate, you have a choice of a country where friends/family have already settled, or another country with which you have no link... the choice is fairly straight forward. It led to an huge influx of immigrants (not their fault, Blair effectively made it the best life choice open to them) and then that to a degree was sustained for some years after other countries in the EU opened up to them as well. Obviously the UK gained a good economic advantage, but it meant there was a noticeable change in cultural make up in certain communities around the UK, and parties such as the BNP (thank goodness they have seemingly vanished!) and UKIP used that to stir things up and create unrest. The conservatives (with the help of the lib dems) then came along and failed to invest enough in services which needed the investment to take the strain of the immigrant issue initiated by Blair. again UKIP (and other groupings) where able to point the finger not at the conservatives lack of investment, but at the immigrants, whose fault it "clearly" was. I don't think the conservatives "hostile environment" helped matters either, rather than fix services by investing in them, they went after the people, with immigration quotas, that hostile environment, and anti eu anti immigration rhetoric, it was just throwing fuel onto the fire.

Cameron "negotiating" to water down UK citizen's EU rights was his "master stroke" on the Brexit referendum... so the referendum wasn't a status quo vs change, it was terrible change vs unknown change. And then they are shocked at the result.

Even Farage doesn't seem to genuinely want to leave the EU! (Can't blame him, he makes a packet working for them!)

[Kav]

I’m hopeful for a Labour Youth-quake Mk.II

 

[sumo73]

Previously a Liberal Democrat voter then moved to voting Labour back in 2015 and again in 2017. I can not vote in good faith to either party anymore. Politics and the media now have become echo chambers with most people clueless/hostile towards others who have different ideas or views. People talk, are quick to judge but fail to listen. I will probably vote for an independent (aligned to no party) this time. 

[Helmsly]

2 hours ago, sumo73 said:

Previously a Liberal Democrat voter then moved to voting Labour back in 2015 and again in 2017. I can not vote in good faith to either party anymore. Politics and the media now have become echo chambers with most people clueless/hostile towards others who have different ideas or views. People talk, are quick to judge but fail to listen. I will probably vote for an independent (aligned to no party) this time. 

Exactly how I feel.

[Will]

The constituency I'm registered in has been Conservative since 2010 while previously was pretty solidly Labour. The sitting MP is standing down so it does at least seem like there's a chance of something changing there...

Having looked through some of the basic manifesto comparisons I definitely agree more with Labours. My only problem with it is whether or not they can really do all they say with the budgets they're expecting. It's all well and good saying everything is going to be invested in and all the bad stuff will be gone, but is it really possible? My gut feeling is probably not but it has to be better than what we've got at the moment so why not give it a try.

Their Brexit stance is a bit of a cop out but given the disaster that's been so far maybe it's the best thing to do. The lib dems would cause a massive uproar if they just cancelled it and the current Conservative 'deal' is terrible so I hope they don't get a chance to implement it. I actually think they need to offer more options if they do a final referendum on it. Something like i. stay, ii. very close ties but out, iii. very weak ties and definitely out, and iv. no deal. Do that on some sort of transferable vote and just have the whole thing over and done with. Obviously you have a problem on the middle two as Europe would never agree to two deals but I don't think you can just say that no deal is not an option when that's what most of the people seem to think they voted for it.

[LazyBoy]

As above, this is the least motivated I have ever been to vote in an election. I've just lost too many times - and I don't mean the elections themselves (though that is the case), I just mean government politics in general. This will be my twelfth year of having a vote, and I cannot for the life of me think of one thing that has improved in that time (not hyperbole, I would love to hear just one improvement in the country since then). My Dad has long been a cynic, telling me since then that's there's no point in voting, and I've always shrugged it off. Kinda started to agree with him now. 

[Pestneb]

I used to think labour and conservatives were crowding the middle ground too much. Changed my mind since then! My main issue this election is that I really don't want to vote for any of the local mps I can choose from

[bob]

Boris is the Alpha Poser