I don't think Labour have done a bad job on the economy- if they didn't exactly stop us falling into recession I do believe we are getting out of it and they have done a good job there. I also applaud the advent of Civil Partnerships for those who choose to go down that route, and the minimum wage was also a landmark.

But to see Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson speaking loud and proud today about the DNA database just lost me completely. That they think that all this big brother stuff is a vote winner I just find gobsmacking.

And of course who can forget the illegal Iraq war?

But I just can't bring myself to vote Conservative. Cameron and Osborne just seem opportunistic beyond belief.

I shall probably be voting Lib Dem, not so much because of Nick Clegg but I am impressed by Vince Cable and Ming Campbell was very good on Question Time.

I would also consider voting Green if I lived in Brighton or Norwich, where they stand a chance.

Anyway, ramble over. Any views?

You sound like me David!

It's worth noting that we are one of the last countries to begin to make a recovery from the recession. Far from being a wonderful Chancellor, Gordon Brown plunged this country into heavy debt so that when the world recession reached us we had nothing in the cupboard to help us through it.

Vince Cable does impress me as a possible future Chancellor, but the rest of his party seem to be lame ducks.

The Conservatives seem to be being judged mainly on their appearance. They are too posh or too smooth or they went to toff schools. I've heard no objections based on their policies. All politicians of all parties are opportunistic. They see a bandwagon and they climb aboard. It's in the nature of the beast.

For me this election is about getting rid of the worst and most oppressive government since the days of Cromwell. I voted Lib Dem last time but will vote Conservative this time as they are the party most likely to beat Labour. I do not want to see a hung Parliament as this would most likely force yet another election and further destabilise the nation.

Ah JC, I DO want a hung Parliament because both "leaders" are awful and if someone is there to keep an eye on whichever wins, and Cable is there controlling the economy and recovery, we have a good chance of both main parties dumping their lame leaders and a future election may feature better potential PMs.

A hung Parliament will not make the Conservatives change their leader as it will make Cameran more successful than the previous three. Labour might change their leader, more than likely for David Milliband who seems to endorse all Brown's current policies, but since Labour has been basically written off a hung Parliament will be a kind of victory for them.

It would just mean the same people and same policies being put before the electorate twice in one year. I don't think reality will quite match your dream, JK.

Vince Cable attacks 'nauseating' businessmen over National Insurance- crikey, that's a bit bold...

www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/09/...s-national-insurance

Been Labour all my life but the party of Blair/Brown is a travesty and a disgrace to the labour movement.

I'm a bit surprised at the sort of labels being put on Cameron..a 'toff' and so on. I don't give a stuff where he went to school but he will be the next PM and goodbye to the current ghastly crowd of timeservers.

But will he be much diferent ? Probably not but the cycle will be broken. The best of worlds will be a hung parliament so a vote for the Lib Dems is in order.

I stil believe you will see Labour seats knocked down like ninepins.

I'm pretty much in agreement with Veritas.

This government HAS to be punished. Bliar being re-elected after the Iraq war was shameful enough.

I have no illusions that the Tories will be much different. Most of our laws are made by Brussels on behalf of lobby groups anyway. And can anyone tell me in what way the Liberal Democrats are liberal?

I think modern democracy is fundamentally flawed. Don't particularly see any realistic alternative, mind.

I can't vote anyway as I'll be on holiday in Florence, where our dying civilisation was born.

Ever heard of postal votes, Blackit?

Nice to see the Sainted Vince Cable begin to get slightly and very politely demystified from his increasingly absurd Nostradmus status on BBC1 at lunchtime today. If only they'd actually ask him to specify what, precisely, he DID predict accurately about particular processes, micro and/or macro, to earn him this Olympian reputation. Don't get me wrong, I do like him, but he went so quickly from being a decent enough (but delayed and slightly cynical) populariser of well-known specialist economic research data to some kind of infallible Aristotle of the day, it's a relief to see a teensy bit of perspective return. There are masses of people roaming around the country saying 'Vince Cable knows what he's talking about' without knowing what he's talking about. That's quite dangerous. If the Liberals are really going to play a pivotal decision-making role after coming a poor third in the popular vote, I think all of their key figures deserve a suitably tough ride.

yes that's how I vote

david wrote:
I don't think Labour have done a bad job on the economy- Question Time.


He's been keeping an eye on the economy for the last 13 years (in fact he was in charge of the regulator - the FSA).

The problem is ... he must have been using his bad eye !

veritas wrote:
I'm a bit surprised at the sort of labels being put on Cameron..a 'toff' and so on. I don't give a stuff where he went to school but he will be the next PM and goodbye to the current ghastly crowd of timeservers.


In Chesterfield there is a Labour candidate called TOBY ! Doesn't sound very Council estate to me, does it you?

In Stoke on Trent the Labour candidate is Tristran Hunt - a Winchester-educated person !

Remind me ... which public school did B-Liar go to ?

You're exactly right intheknow.

It makes my blood boil seeing nuLabor trying to pretend that the conservatives are significantly more elitist and privilaged than they are.

Bliar totally transformed the labour party from a party that both represented and was to a large extent represented by the working class, into an upper middle-class clique that no longer believes in material equality (the rich have got far richer under labour) and instead think that social justice consists in little more than demonizing anything that smacks of 'traditional values' and in policing what we think and say.

So they had one working class buffoon charicature to keep the masses happy (John Prescott). To show that NuLabor was still true to its working class roots. LOL!

I fully support Rikki Tomlinson's campaign to stop a posh 28 year old Islington socialite from being forced on to the people of Liverpool as their MP.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8500319.stm

I'm not a communist or an anarchist, LOL, but I come from a very working class background and managed to get to a 'posh' university full of upper-middle class marxist posers who would giggle at the oik who couldn't pronounce 'material dialecticism' properly in tutorials. This was at exactly the same time the Islington crew were taking over Labour.

Over the years I've lost my working-class roots and become pretty comfortably middle-class, so it doesn't anger me so much. But I'll never lose sight of the fact that the working class need a party to properly represent them. If the BNP end up determining the outcome of this election through voting in Labour marginals, then NuLabor frankly deserves it.

Tessa Jowell currently being put through the mincer by Andrew Neil on the BBC. Pathetic. As far as politicians go only Lech Kaczynski has had a more uncomfortable experience this week. Embarrassingly poor performance by the Olympics Minister.

Blackit wrote:
You're exactly right intheknow.

I'm not a communist or an anarchist, LOL, but I come from a very working class background and managed to get to a 'posh' university full of upper-middle class marxist posers who would giggle at the oik who couldn't pronounce 'material dialecticism' properly in tutorials. This was at exactly the same time the Islington crew were taking over Labour.

Over the years I've lost my working-class roots and become pretty comfortably middle-class, so it doesn't anger me so much. But I'll never lose sight of the fact that the working class need a party to properly represent them.

Don't forget that the Lib Dems (or rather the "Dems" bit) came from the "Gang of Four" who famously defected from Lie-Bour when they were sinking into Marxist-Communism, and Arthur Scargill was the hero.

Maybe the Lib Dems ARE what Labour were ? Labour are cirtainly far more "right" than the Lib Dems these days (and are too right for some Conservatives too !)