Gordon Brown v David Cameron

[Jadoo]

Alright guys, I want your opinion as to who you think will win the next general election. I would include Nick Clegg, but we all know Lib Dems have as much chance of winning this election as I have of pulling Megan Fox. I'm also routing out the possibility of a hung parliament, as good as the polls are, they have never decisively predicted an outcome of a general election. My vote this election will be with the Conservative Party, I feel Labour have contributed massively in bringing about the downturn in the fortunes of the UK economy. Labour have always carried the tag of being the party that screws up the economy, and personally I feel they have done a great job in keeping that reputation intact. To think we have nothing to show for 9-10 years of economic boom is totally unacceptable, and merely scapegoating the bankers is not enough. We have been one of the last major economies in Europe to come out of recession, and yet there is still the fear of a double dip. Our budget deficit makes Greece's look enviable, and yet we had a budget delivered by a Chancellor which showed that winning the next election was far more important than sorting out our finances. It's definately a time for change, and I hope that come May we have a hungry Conservative Parliament in power to sort out the mess that Gordon Brown and his croonies have left behind. Alright, I've done my *****ing, lets hear you opinions.

[Guest Gunner]

There will be a hung Parliament. The conservatives have no message whatsoever other than attacking Brown and Labour. I think the Lib Dems might win more seats than you think.

[Gunner_Mania]

I am yet undecided at the moment. I am with Gunner on this one, for starters, we still don't have any clear idea what each of the 3 parties actually intend to do if they come to power. All the Conservatives have been telling us is Labour is doing this wrong , Labour is doing that wrong - we all can see that, what we want to see is the Conservatives spell out how they are going to change it. May be we will see something spelt out in the maifestos once the election dates are un announced. I watched the Chancellors debate the other day on Channel 4 and came out none the wiser.

[Sooda]

^Youre right re: the Chancellors debate Both main parties are really hesitant to actually spell out what theyre going to do to cut the deficit. When they were asked about it that day no one actually gave a clear answer except St Vince cable- who was most specific by far. The Lib Dems can afford to be the most frank because theyve got little to lose Then theres the whole 'efficiencies' lark. Both sides claiming they can save billions by being more efficient- wtf does it even mean?? Just a ploy to con the voters. I do think its harsh to say Labour 'always' csrew the economy up- the last recession in the early 90's was under a Tory govt right? Plus Brown and Darling did pretty well to make sure crap did not completely hit the fan

[Gunner_Mania]

So the Election dates have been announced - May 6. I am looking forward to the leaders' debate on ITV/Sky/BBC - tentatively on the 15th, 22nd and 29th April.

[Jadoo]

There will be a hung Parliament. The conservatives have no message whatsoever other than attacking Brown and Labour. I think the Lib Dems might win more seats than you think.

Yes, but that is what you would expect from the opposition, especially when Labour have precided over the worst economic slump we have ever seen. Though I do agree that the Tories should concentrate more on their policies, especially those concerned with turning around the economy. We will have to see whether there is a hung parliament. I sincerely hope that there is a clear winner in the coming election, a hung parliament will only add to time it will take for sound recovery to begin.

[Gunner_Mania]

Then theres the whole 'efficiencies' lark. Both sides claiming they can save billions by being more efficient- wtf does it even mean?? Just a ploy to con the voters.

The biggest gripe I have about it is, how come nobody figured out this efficiency savings in the Public Sector untill it bit people in the bum and now that they have figred it why wait till after the elections to implement it? Why not do it now? You could 'save' a few bucks between now and post-election.

[Jadoo]

^Youre right re: the Chancellors debate Both main parties are really hesitant to actually spell out what theyre going to do to cut the deficit. When they were asked about it that day no one actually gave a clear answer except St Vince cable- who was most specific by far. The Lib Dems can afford to be the most frank because theyve got little to lose Then theres the whole 'efficiencies' lark. Both sides claiming they can save billions by being more efficient- wtf does it even mean?? Just a ploy to con the voters. I do think its harsh to say Labour 'always' csrew the economy up- the last recession in the early 90's was under a Tory govt right? Plus Brown and Darling did pretty well to make sure crap did not completely hit the fan

Tories have historically been known as good book-keepers, though their Policy on their Exchange Rate Mechinism (Black Wednesday) did tarnish this to some extent. The recession lasted 2 years, and when Labour came into power in 1997, they inherited a bouyant and healthy economy.

[Jadoo]

The biggest gripe I have about it is' date=' how come nobody figured out this efficiency savings in the Public Sector untill it bit people in the bum and now that they have figred it why wait till after the elections to implement it? Why not do it now? You could 'save' a few bucks between now and post-election.[/quote'] This was published by Labour as part of their policy in cutting wastages in public spending. Yet nothing was done about it, as any cuts in public spending would have severely damaged Labour's chances of winning the coming election. Instead, we will have to wait until April 2011.

[Jadoo]

I would hate to see this bully win another term

[Jadoo]

PM's showdown tonight at 8.30pm(GMT) on ITV, don't miss!!!

[Gunner_Mania]

PM's showdown tonight at 8.30pm(GMT) on ITV' date=' don't miss!!![/quote'] :fail: It is 8.30 BST/UKT not GMT. and the next Thursday on Sky and the following Thursday on the Beebs time

[Jadoo]

:fail: It is 8.30 BST/UKT not GMT. and the next Thursday on Sky and the following Thursday on the Beebs time

Thanks brah for correcting, got confused in all the excitement:two_thumbs_up:

[Sooda]

I hope GB does a good job today, he dosent normally come across as well as the other two Still trust him more than DC. Will be good to see DC's big society thingymajig come under a bit of scrutiny today

[Gunner_Mania]

Nick Clegg is winning the first debate according to the bookmakers, GB is a long way off. One thing is for sure though Nick Clegg is getting some very good visibility and lots of air time.

[Sooda]

I thought GB was very good, some good cheap laughs with the 'poster' gag and also pot shots at D-Cams airbrushing. He spoke well, quite convincingly Some real questions on Conservative policy that Cameron didnt actually answer. Even Clegg ripped into Camerons tax policy and he didnt recover very well. Backs up what they have been saying all along- beneath the facade there dosent seem to be much substance to the Tories. I still am not sure why the big deal on NI and raising it or not- not sure if it even matters as much as they are making it out to Clegg was excellent- the best of the lot IMO. The thing about the Libs is they have far more credibility having not backed the war in Iraq for instance, and been calling for Parliamnetary reform for a long while which lab have only now picked up on. Some good ideas on Immigration and the economics on the deficit is most specific by far..

[Jadoo]

I thought GB was very good, some good cheap laughs with the 'poster' gag and also pot shots at D-Cams airbrushing. He spoke well, quite convincingly Some real questions on Conservative policy that Cameron didnt actually answer. Even Clegg ripped into Camerons tax policy and he didnt recover very well. Backs up what they have been saying all along- beneath the facade there dosent seem to be much substance to the Tories. I still am not sure why the big deal on NI and raising it or not- not sure if it even matters as much as they are making it out to Clegg was excellent- the best of the lot IMO. The thing about the Libs is they have far more credibility having not backed the war in Iraq for instance, and been calling for Parliamnetary reform for a long while which lab have only now picked up on. Some good ideas on Immigration and the economics on the deficit is most specific by far..

On nearly all the other opinion polls GB cames out as the least favourable candidate. Secondly, GB was far from convincing in his answers, he spent most of the evening talking over the other 2 and kept repeating the same crap, which even the presenter had to point out to him. Also, on some of the questions he even bent the truth. For example, last night he said Labour will be increasing or at least maintaining current levels, whereas there is no mention of this in his manifesto. Also, on immigration he says Labours policy has brought about a drop in immigration levels, though there is no drop as he includes EU numbers into that equation which not even labour can control. I think DC came out pretty well in the debates, he answered questions more directly than GB, and displayed that he had more ideas, passion, and drive compared GB. Nick Clegg came out surprisingly well, though I feel people think he was good becuase they probably had never seen him before. With regards to the issue of NI, the reason why Tories have an issue with it is because as they say "it is a tax on jobs". Most people don't realise the amount of NI they are paying, as the salary is paid net and the NI is already taken off, and therefore may not realise that the increase will have an affect on them. The increase in NI will also hit the employers as well, hence it's a double whammy. Considering we are in a recession where companies are already reluctant to hire new staff, increasing the NI will only discourage employers to recruit.

[Sooda]

Not exactly a foreign policy debate this...

[Gunner_Mania]

It was awful. Sky screwed up the debate and shameless plug. In my opinion, Nick Clegg was the winner again, not a run away victor as last week but still better than the other two, DavidCcameron was better than last week, so was Gordon Brown, but still neither good enough to beat Clegg.

[Gunner_Mania]

The irony of it is though that a vote to Clegg is still a vote to Brown as the Lib Dems seem to be more likely to forma coalition with Labour then with the Tories in the event of a hung parliament.