Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Gord was a curious old/new Labour hybrid. Statist instincts, but reformed enough to realise that bribing the middle classes, rather than the working class, was the means to remaining in power. He has put countless thousands of them on the public payroll, and he has hooked the lot of us on a nasty form of crystal meth called Tax Credits.

It's insane that the state should be subsidising households with an income of £50,000. Of course, they have been doing so for so many years that those households have made long-term budgetary decisions based around that cash.

Not so sure about that - it could be regressive. How would you implement it?

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

The employed - it's a single payer insurance system not a personal one.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Agreed

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

A compulsory and progressive premium for health care purposes. Kinda how National Insurance is supposed to be.

The point is to ring fence both the income and outgoings of the health service to avoid it being used as a political football and to keep its' income consistent rather than it having gobs of money thrown at it under one government then withdrawn by another to balance the books.

This keeps it at a medium level and avoids any sharp adjustments in funding as such adjustments would be rather easily apparent to tax payers while at the moment it can be hidden to an extent through borrowing :)

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Harperson is on the BBC right now, spinning for her life. Get with the programme Hattie, you LOST!

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

That appears to have disappeared from the page and been replaced by this:

EDIT: Ah there it is, it's back, out of order slightly though.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Dimbleby: Brown has been crushed, surely he must stand down?
Harperson: That's putting the cart before the horse, blah blah blah, deny, twist, spin :zzz:

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

It is extremely bad form to manipulate someone post on a quote.

---------- Post added at 12:31 ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 ----------

I think the point is that he members of such a house is not representative of the electorate. They are appointed by the government of the day and we have no say on who sits there.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Right...so, you mean as in the one we have now?

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

An elected House of Lords would simply rubber stamp anything that came their way. After all, they would match the House of Commons in electoral make-up.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

No, do read the rest of my comments.

Rather different from what we have now in that a government can't just throw money at the NHS in a 'spend now, publish blurb to get votes now, pay later' arrangement. Strictly ring fenced and PAYG with exceptions for exceptional periods such as the present economic crisis, deficits incurred during these times to be repaid as soon as feasible, as decided by a non-partisan body.

---------- Post added at 12:45 ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 ----------

Not if they were elected based on PR.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

The only way it will ever work is to make sure that all parties are represented in a balanced manner.Never going to happen with an elected house.So in all I prefer an ad hoc manner in which new peers are arranged by whom ever is in power at the time which does change every few elections.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Err no. We live in a democracy. It's nothing to do with all parties being represented it's to do with the electorate being represented in a balanced manner, which PR accomplishes.

The House of Lords is a vestige of past times which needs to go imho.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

I have read all your comments and it still seem pretty much what we have now..just another form of terminology.

---------- Post added at 12:55 ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 ----------

Well until we have PR it's the only system we have.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

How is ring fencing NHS funding from general taxation and running the NHS on a PAYG basis pretty much what we have now?

I think I'll stop pursuing this one given it doesn't seem to be working. I thought I was being clear, evidently not.

---------- Post added at 12:58 ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 ----------

Doesn't change that it isn't democratic, isn't representative of the will of the people and is a vestige of things gratefully left behind.