General Election 2015

[kevin3]

I think it's a spell that Menthol, Wordbird and Angela use at their Coven gatherings. It's encrypted.

Back at the election, isn't it ironic that people who voted Green wasted paper. !!

[stoop]

We are talking about volunteer charity workers here, Stoop, not the Gestapo.

So no checks then? - by those putting them forward I mean - not the charity workers who dish out the food.

[Colwyn]

"When people in a democracy are not educated in the art of living --- to strengthen their conscience, compassion, and ability to question and think critically --- they can be easily manipulated by fear and propaganda. A democracy is only as wise as its citizens, and a democracy of ignorant citizens can be as dangerous as a dictatorship."
-- Paul K. Chappell

I don't have any difficulty in understanding what Chappell is saying. I don't agree with him though and think his approach is worse than what he is criticizing. Essentially he is saying you have to earn your right to engage in democracy by reaching prescribed levels of conscience, compassion and ability to think critically. This is not the basis of democracy. That basis is that the only right you need is to be an adult citizen (or in the UK "subject"} who is not invalidated by being a serving convict or already having a vote by virtue of being a peer of the realm. Our democracy was not constructed by people "educated in the art of living" it was the outcome of a struggle by "ignorant citizens" to have their say even it meant taking on their "betters". Well done, them.

[Rimms]

[/quote]he is saying you have to earn your right to engage in democracy by reaching prescribed levels of conscience, compassion and ability to think critically.
[/quote]

Take the vote off all who appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show.

[GordonA]

Take the vote off all who appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show.

Why should Jeremy Kyle lose his right to vote ??

[Rimms]

Restrict his right to vote? Gordon, if I had my way I'd restrict his right to oxygen.

[Pussinboots]

Stoop..why don't you find out where your nearest one is and offer a hand. Usually it's a half day a week or so organising the produce and toiletries (yes the poor go without soap too).   The vast majority of Customers are genuine needy people referred by social services, schools,doctors and religious members k f society.

[Jacqui Harvey]

I happen to know that at one time the Eastern Europeans where going around all their local food banks and pickng up a bag of food  at each one so they did not have to buy any groceries.
The local Government Offices now give people a voucher for food, so the really needy do get their allocation and there is no cheating.
This is from someone who works at a the local Goverment Offices, apparently the very needy are really not trying it on, a lot of them are working single parents who just don't have enought money left after they pay their bills for food. 
If you find out where your local drop off point is, you can hand in a bag of groceries, they ask for tinned and packet  items and things that will not go off.   This is a very worthy cause.

[Rimms]

I'm really intrigued by the result in Scotland where the sudden rise in nationalism saw the SNP sweep the board. From what I gather, the SNP campaign was based on the call for something called full fiscal autonomy (FFA) the headline for this being the Scots keep North Sea oil revenues and tax revenues. Now it comes to light that what they failed to mention that FFA could mean the end of something called the Barnet Formula which sees every person in Scotland receives £1,600 more state funding from Westminster than people living in England, this allows Scots to offer things like free prescriptions and free university places for example. Removing this support would cause a £7billion hole that the SNP would have to fill with either cuts or tax rises.

Now what I find intriguing is that as a nation, nobody seemed to ask the detailed question about what FFA means in reality yet supported the rallying call to keep oil revenues and taxes.

[Jacqui Harvey]

A couple of factors in Scotland which has caused the rise of people voting for the SNP.   One which is mentioned all the time in the Scottish media is, the Labour Party stood with the Conservatives to ask the Scots not to vote Yes in the vote for Scottish Independence. Even though the vote was No.  The Labour supporters up here, even the ones that voted No, hated the idea that Labour could join together with the Conservatives and be on the same stage as them agreeing.   The Labour voters felt let down by this.
Second factor, Nichola Sturgeon who has never been off the T.V. in Scotland and has been very charismatic in telling the Scots how wonderful it would be to have a fairer Scotland with a big say in what goes on up hear if they voted SNP.   She has also explained how the Scots have been let down by the Labour Party who through their lot in with the Conservatives.   It has all worked.  Nicola is a very good Politician.