Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Local radio stations are already under enforced neutrality due to the terms of their broadcasting licences, same as TV. As for the Press - how would you legislate for that? Would the political parties be prevented from printing their own in-house magazines? What about independent, but politically partisan pamphleteers?

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Interesting today that it is being branded about that Labour, the losing party are desperately trying to cling on to power is the 'Robert Mugabe' style of politics, scrambling around to trying to remain in power, even though they lost the election. Bloody hypocrites.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

No, but in the case of Gordon Brown's government, the country was ruined by Tony Blair's government.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Printed material from the parties is reasonable. However free and biased publicity from the press is not. I only read the local Cameron Gazette (Witney Gazette) and avoid all national papers. Whilst I can appreciate a local MP is a newsworthy item for the local paper, during the election this should stop.
Our local press put a huge interview with DC in the paper (nicely timed with the postal votes) with nothing similar for any of the other candidates in subsequent weeks. I am fully aware I live in blue balloon on a string territory (both hubby & I work here so no silly suggestions of moving to be able to have my vote count) so no matter what we will get a Tory, however just for that short period a bit of neutrality would be wonderful.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Bias can take the form of censorship(ie not reporting a story in the first place) or just the use of certain words to change the emphasis of a story(BBC are major offenders).

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Oh Jeez. It is not comparable Robert Mugabe. Some of the hyperbole people use in this country is ridiculous, I heard people on Radio 4/5 comparing the trouble people had voting to a 3rd world country where we would send UN Inspectors in :rolleyes: Such comparisons do us a disservice because all it does it further enrage people on an already sensitive topic as well as being a vast exaggeration.

The Tories should from the next government. However there is nothing legally wrong with what Labour are doing, this is the result of our electoral system.

I think it helps if we accept that people didn't win or lose the election but that one party won more seats than another. It feels like a game rather than a democracy the way people seem to behave, that it's winner take all if they got the highest score.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Yes, hysterically so, as I feel I am vastly overpaid and need to be brought down to earth.;)

Or, in the real world, where really dumb questions like that don't get asked, but someone feels the need to do so anyway, I would state that I don't believe anyone would be happy to have outgoings rising (utilities, council tax, food, fuel, etc) due to things without my control, whilst income remains static. However, I understand that money has to be created to be distributed, and if that money isn't there, it can't be distributed.

Therefore, I accept that my pay will be frozen, that my outgoings will have to reduce (apart from those I have no control over) - anyone who thinks otherwise is living in a fool's paradise (imho). One (or the country) can't spend what it doesn't have (well, it can, but then Mr Default comes to visit, which is not a good thing).

hth

Alan Johnson (via the BBC) has just said I don't remember anyone saying that - does anyone else?

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Maybe if we had a fairer system more people would vote? In my constituency my vote was worth 0.03, so hardly worth voting at all!

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Perhaps more people would have voted had there been an option on the ballot paper to say "I have no confidence in any of the above to represent the views of the electorate or to run this country as it should be run' - however, a lack of confidence in any of the electorate available on the ballot paper can only be represented by a refusal to vote for them, an action which currently is only interpreted as abstaining / disinterest.
To determine who is abstaining and who does not have confidence in the parties / representatives available that option must be added to the ballot paper in order to gain a more accurate representation of people's motivations.
Realistically what were the options?

Labour - who have consistently driven the country into the ground and are led by a man so arrogant he refuses his own party's calls to resign?
Conservatives who haven't got the best track record in the past and don't seem to have a strong enough leadership at the moment
Lib Dems - Who would take us full throttle into Europe despite overwhelming public opposition
Fringe parties such as UKIP / BNP who have some very objectionable views

There should be a vote for 'none of the above' whereby if 'none of the above' gains the majority vote there is to be a new election and none of the current candidates are able to stand again, and the parties must re-evaluate their election campaigns. Furthermore, elective promises which are made MUST become publicly accountable with an annual review - what steps are being taken to fulfill those promises, how much progress has been made, etc, It is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people and it's now the 21st century, time to make them act like it.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Oh Jeez nothing - It most certainly is.

Losers clinging to power and trying to cling to it even more by stitching up the electorate is very much Robert Mugabe style politics.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

The idiots are back, this time protesting the Murdoch-owned Tory mouthpiece that is the...err... BBC.

Some old banshee was going on about something during the Prescott interview instead of doing some housework.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/s...re/8674891.stm

20 grand fee? Not a bad earner for some people.

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Could that not be said for most politicians? :p:

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

Now someone's calling Hague and Letwin liars and murderers?

*sigh*

Re: 2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll
 

That Scottish dude who ended up arguing with some English nationalist?

Lovely isn't it? Crazy season is in full swing.