Voting today

[jonesor]

The results of this poll are scaring me .
I find it hard to understand how so many people would feel comfortable with a buffoon like Boris running a city like London (i.e. an internationally important financial centre etc.). He'd be representing the UK too you know!

I wouldn't trust that particular village idiot to operate a telephone let alone manage one of the worlds most influential cities.

Apart from that I get the impression that he's a borderline racist homophobic snob.

Ken is fairly odious but he's proved he can do the job.

[Scubee]

I'm not sure that the posters of YD are a good sample. We aren't even representative of the diving community, so how can we be representative of the country as a whole.

I hope the local elections give the labour government the shake up it needs to fix itself before the national elections, because i for sure would hate to see this country back in the hands of the tories.

We think mortgages are high now - how many remember the 15% mortgage rate? Or the 27% inflation?

[dry suit diver]

I've just been to vote.

I thought that we had secret ballots in this country or am I being naive.

I noticed that my electoral number was entered next to the ballot paper number, now surely this means that somebody could check how I had voted.


I am not bothered but when they say don't let anybody see the paper as its secret then thats hypocrisy.

[Sparky750]

if i lived in London i too would be waiting for hoop love from a chimp before Borris got my vote (racist prick and his comments against Liverpool are well documented he couldn't even visit the city to apologise without running out of it) Labour will get my vote tonight form my local area they've done quite well as for what happens in parliament does anyone truly believe we have a say in the matter anymore your leading a very sheltered life if you do. It should be declared legal to shoot politicians on sight they're all just lining their own pockets and couldn't give a fcuk about the country 99% of the time

[hogen-deifar]

Originally Posted by Scubee

We think mortgages are high now - how many remember the 15% mortgage rate?

Oooo! Me, me! I do!! It's cos of that that I progressed in my job from just doing credit control at a mortgage company to actually repossessing the houses!!!! We did lots and lots and lots!

We also wrote off lots and lots and lots too! Bloomin' negative equity! I lost £15k on my first house but made £80k on my second even though we'd carried the loss over from the first!!!

Oh and before I get slated for having fun repossessing houses, I wasn't mean with it. I used to go out of my way to try and not do it, but in the end, if they didn't and couldn't pay the mortgage what more could you do? I was even sent a bunch of flowers from one family after I repo'd their house. As a way of saying thanks for doing everything I could to try and sort out their finances.

It led me to the job I'm in now, so can't moan about it, I'm afraid!

[Clare Gledhill]

Originally Posted by Sparky750

It should be declared legal to shoot politicians on sight they're all just lining their own pockets and couldn't give a fcuk about the country 99% of the time

So put your money where your mouth is and stand yourself then. Ah - but then, You'd be one of them wouldn't you.

"Why should I?" Is the standard retort by those who are so disparaging about those who stand.

OK - this is going to turn into a speakers corner rant but who cares....

I stood for election to Parliament in 1997. I wouldn't do it now - even though I'm told that I'm just what the Party needs and would like. Why not?

Because I have a life, I have things I want to do, I don't want to have my personal finances made public just because I stand for public office, I don't want my children to be fair game, I don't want to have to stay in London all week away from my family and then get knocks on the door all weekend from people who believe that I work for them personally.

I want to be able to shop in Tescos without being abused, I want to be able to plan weekends and weeks away with my family without being called back to London, I want to be able to choose where my children go to school, where I live, who I employ.

MPs are regularly set out in the media as a bunch of freeloaders. Lets put a few facts straight shall we. A headteacher of a medium sized school and all GPs earn more than MPs. The huge salary packages which are mentioned by the press include the money set out for their staff, for telephones, office computers etc. My laptop sitting here is added up by the Daily mail and added on to the salary of the member I work for, as is my wage, when they trumpet how much these freeloaders earn. Tell me how many of you consider the wage of your office junior or the cost of your office computer when you go to your boss for a rise.

Now, if you are arrogant enough to be thinking at the moment that I'm looking for sympathy think again.

These are the reasons I won't stand again for office.

I'm not saying "Poor me" I'm saying "Not me mate - look for some other shmuck who will stand for all that rubbish."

And think quite carefully, as if just one of you decided that you would put your money where your mouth is and stand for election, to ensure that someone doing it for the right reasons can get elected, you will just end up written off on forums such as this as 'one of those free loading twats who deserves to be shot on sight'.

More?

Bear with me for a story. I left London a while back and moved to Hampshire where our local village shop/post office was threatened with closure. The local Parish Council did nothing so I (a tory) a couple of freinds (also tory) a couple more (Labour) and a couple from the church got together, opposed the sitting Parish Council and got elected on a non political platform.

We got villagers together and raised enough money (£170,000) to buy the shop until a new owner who promised to keep it open could be found.

We then raised another £200,000 and got the new village hall built - plans and fundraising had been underway for twenty years but it just needed some will. It's finished now and with a bit of work we got the next door village GP to agree to hold a surgery once a week for those villagers who cannot travel.

All of this was done with no political point scoring, no games, no rubbish. Just people working together to get things done. When they were done, I resigned from the Parish Council, I don't need that at home as well as at work.

The Parish Council is up for election today. There will be be people in our village today who say 'there is no point in voting - they are all as bad as each other'.

Put up or shut up. Someone has to do it.

OK - rant over

[Sparky750]

Nope sorry Clare in my opinion anyone who actually wants to be a politician should be automatically banned from being one i agree they may start out wanting to make a difference but soon head down that slippery slope especially with today's sound bite culture never actually say what they mean. If you believe democracy is alive and well then good luck to you i for one feel these elected officials line their own pockets. why are they now mounting an attack to hide their expenses? People in private industry have to declare expenses to bosses etc ie the people who pay for them so why shouldn't mp's justify what they spend to us the tax payer who pays for it and yes i feel we should know what they earn. If i quote a job for you, you know what i earn because i'd expect you to ask for a breakdown in costs. They chose to go into the post just like i chose my profession. If your trying to tell me politicians are on the bread line because of the outgoings they have then i ask why do they stick at it?

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by Sparky750

then i ask why do they stick at it?

because it makes them feel important.

[Sparky750]

Originally Posted by Scubee

because it makes them feel important.

My doctor says i'm important i just can't get a hard on

[hogen-deifar]

Originally Posted by Clare Gledhill

MPs are regularly set out in the media as a bunch of freeloaders. Lets put a few facts straight shall we. A headteacher of a medium sized school and all GPs earn more than MPs. The huge salary packages which are mentioned by the press include the money set out for their staff, for telephones, office computers etc. My laptop sitting here is added up by the Daily mail and added on to the salary of the member I work for, as is my wage, when they trumpet how much these freeloaders earn. Tell me how many of you consider the wage of your office junior or the cost of your office computer when you go to your boss for a rise.

I'm not in to politics Clare, and I do respect anyone who is because it is a crappy job and they can't do right for doing wrong, as a whole. Running the country is not the same as running a business and they all make mistakes, no one denies that, including them. Like know one knows what goes on behind closed doors in the marriage, most outside of politics don't really know the work involved. I was lucky enough to be treated at the HofP for a slap up meal and stuff because of connections at the law firm we used when I worked at the mortgage company. We got to see parts that aren't open to the public, and yes, they work hard etc, but they get to play hard. The bits that I saw, out of the public eye, were like an exclusive club, and the silver service meals were part of the perks. It's not for me to say they do or don't deserve it. However, don't label the job to be all hard work, which your "rant" makes it sound like. They party hard too, because I've seen it first hand on a few occasions.

Also, you say about freeloaders. Well, one of my mortgage borrowers was a VERY well known politician. This was in the early to mid 90s. I'm not going to mention sex or names because although I haven't worked for the lender for 8 years I respect confidentiality 100%. This particular MP was a very blue tory and very vocal, being on the TV all the time and making their opinion be heard everywhere. They moaned about people on benefits on the TV saying they should work etc etc etc. Get the picture?

What that MP didn't say was that we were just about to repo their house. We'd already the repossession order and had a date for the bailiff to attend. On the day of the repossession, that MP came up with the funds to pay the arrears off - the arrears being to the tune of about 11 monthly instalments. During that whole time they were an MP. The repo wasn't the first time either. We'd spent about 2 years trying to come to arrangements to clear the debt monthly. The first time we had a court hearing date the MP came to court and made an arrangement the judge granted a repo order suspended upon receipt of the monthly payments. That person failed to maintain the arrangement and it went to court 3 times in total, the final time granting the possession order.

Like I said, repossession was stopped and about 6 months later the mortgage was redeemed. But how can you justify that behaviour? From a very famous vocal Tory, too??? A monthly wage was being paid, the monthly mortgage wasn't!

Kinda tainted my opinion of MPs I'm afraid! Sorry. Just stating facts. But won't divulge so don't ask!