a right throwback to old style Conservatism.

'we'll give you back more freedom' is a euphemism for 'we'll cut back public services and make you fend for yourselves'.

I quite liked Cameron when he came on the scene but I was quite shocked when I heard William Hague on Radio 4's Today Programme talking about the manifesto. Fortunately it seemed that John Humprhrys couldn't quite believe his ears either.

The moment Cameron thought it would be a good idea to start his speech with Gene Hunt and Ashes to Ashes was the moment I finally decided - oh no, he simply cannot be elected. Mr trendy PR of the people backed by Andy Phone Tap Coulson running UK LPC? Perleese.

yes it was a bizarre disapointment as a manifesto. It shows how complex Nu Labor's shenanigans have become..dismantling them will be a nightmare if at all possible.

But the Tories really should have done better than this. Most disapointing speech from a man who could do better.

The state of British politics is at an all time low. Where are the fiery personalities ?

Their education policy is bizarre and this was shown up by John Humphrys interviewing Hague today. When Hague said that if a school was failing, then parents could step in to set their own school up, Humphrys asked why not step in and deal with the failing school, why let it fail in the first place. Hague was squirming. And it also prompts the question, what becomes of the failing school and its pupils once the parents have set up their school- would they just let it die?

Also, what guarantee is there that a school set up by parents won't fail? What would happen then? It doesn't make sense.

And all this rubbish about electing police commissioners- what the heck is that all about? You'll go even further down the road of populist, tabloid-sriven policing. Madness.

"Let the people take power" says Cameron. But we are totally useless at knowing what to do. We haven't been trained or educated to control things. We have no clue about the stupid deficit or taxes. We are completely influenced by what's good for us - screw everyone else - and by the media telling us in soundbites. Useless, stupid idea. We elect people to do it for us, dummy.

One worry I have is that Cameron spoke very little about the economy and deficit today.

I myself am on benefits, but one of my best friends is the owner of several companies in the UK and also owns (or has joint ventures in) companies in the US, Canada and China. He came round for coffee this afternoon.

He described the Conservative approach as 'madness'. His order books in the UK are currently full due to public sector spending. As a result, he has not had to lay anyone off. He says that if the Conservatives get in and implement cuts straight away all that business will go and his UK companies will fold. The Labour approach will allow him to carry on with a full order book for a year or so, and as the recovery progresses he will hopefully be able to pick up more private sector work so the cuts will not hurt as much when they come.

I say this as someone who does not intend to vote Labour, but who certainly cannot see himself voting Conservative.

david wrote:

'we'll give you back more freedom' is a euphemism for 'we'll cut back public services and make you fend for yourselves'.

Right On !

It's about time some of these benefit scroungers actually got out of bed and did something !

Now back to my song lyrics ....

The fat-arsed slags on council estates,
With their bastards all in tow,
Lounge around all day watching Jeremy Kyle,
While we watch their arses grow ! .... (to be continued)

JK2006 wrote:
"Let the people take power" says Cameron. But we are totally useless at knowing what to do. We haven't been trained or educated to control things. We have no clue about the stupid deficit or taxes. We are completely influenced by what's good for us - screw everyone else - and by the media telling us in soundbites. Useless, stupid idea. We elect people to do it for us, dummy.

But the people we elect to do it for us also haven't been trained or educated in their fields, as demonstrated by the fact they screw up just about everything they try.

I was listening to William Hague talking about the Conservative education policy, regarding giving parents power to set up their own schools. He didn't really put his argument across very well. He should have spelled out the fact that parents setting up their own schools is an example of the extreme end of the policy. Of course most parents would prefer to rely on specially trained staff to educate their kids, and mostly this will still be the case. The new parent power gives them a say where they want to have a say. If the school is failing they can more easily find out why and ensure that action is taken to remedy any problems.

That said, most voters will never actually read an election manifesto. They might read whatever is in the short blurb pushed through their door but that is only the highlights of the main policies.

I think the Conservatives have some good ideas, but their presentation has been a bit iffy.

In The Know wrote:
[quote]david wrote:



It's about time some of these benefit scroungers actually got out of bed and did something !



I suppose I should count myself amongst those you call benefit scroungers?

I spent many years of my life paying lots of money into the state's coffers, but everything fell apart a few years ago and I now find myself having to live off the state.

How dare you call me a benefit scrounger!

ITK, you are as stereotypical as your description of people on council estates. All too predictable from a Tory.

Angel wrote:
ITK, you are as stereotypical as your description of people on council estates. All too predictable from a Tory.

FYI I have never voted Tory in my life (and will not this time either as in my constituency they don't stand a chance).

Are you actually denying that there has been an explosion of people (esp young people) who have never done a days work in their life ?

Perhaps you will consider such a drain on resources next time a close relative or friend needs a new drug or operation - and discovers that there are no funds as the money has gone "elsewhere" ?

david wrote:
[quote]In The Know wrote:
david wrote:



It's about time some of these benefit scroungers actually got out of bed and did something !



I suppose I should count myself amongst those you call benefit scroungers?

I spent many years of my life paying lots of money into the state's coffers, but everything fell apart a few years ago and I now find myself having to live off the state.

How dare you call me a benefit scrounger!

I didn't call YOU anything ... as I do not know your circumstances.

I DO KNOW that there are now entire council estates full of fat slags who have an army of unkempt kids, and arses the size of Belgium !

Naturally there are never any fathers around ... and in the rare event that there is a male in the freeloader's flat, he won;t be working either !

Generalisations, true ... but based on the visual observations.

In The Know wrote:
[quote]david wrote:
In The Know wrote:
david wrote:



It's about time some of these benefit scroungers actually got out of bed and did something !



I suppose I should count myself amongst those you call benefit scroungers?

I spent many years of my life paying lots of money into the state's coffers, but everything fell apart a few years ago and I now find myself having to live off the state.

How dare you call me a benefit scrounger!

I didn't call YOU anything ... as I do not know your circumstances.

I DO KNOW that there are now entire council estates full of fat slags who have an army of unkempt kids, and arses the size of Belgium !

Naturally there are never any fathers around ... and in the rare event that there is a male in the freeloader's flat, he won;t be working either !

Generalisations, true ... but based on the visual observations.

you are of course right, ITK. You didn't specifically call ME anything. But you did by implication.

I enjoy many of your posts on here, but I find your comments about council estates pretty obnoxious. Sweeping generalisations abound.

I spent years running companies abroad and lived a pretty good life for many years. I now find myself living on a 'council estate' and it's one of the best places I've lived. Real community spirit, people looking out for each other....

And here's the main thing I want to say to you- Just try going on benefits, especially Incapacity Benefit and see the immediate difference in the way you are treated by so called friends and, more importantly the institutions that are supposed to be there to help you. You are immediately made to feel like a potential fraud. I have had to attend a medical examination to justify my entitlement to benefits. The 'medical' lasted just 20 minutes and involved no input whatsoever from my GP or the Clinical Psychologist who had been treating me. Target-driven pen pushers.

The only people who have not treated me as a fraud have been those who know what they are talking about. My GP and psychologist.

You try going through the benefits system and see how it makes you feel. It may give you a wake up call.