[tregiffian]

I know it is  no comfort to anyone but Laura Koenssberg interviewed my mate Donald and me while waiting for Theresa May to come along the Quay in Mevagissey. She is not as hard at a personal level as her screen persona would suggest.

[Iesu]

I know it is  no comfort to anyone but Laura Koenssberg interviewed my mate Donald and me while waiting for Theresa May to come along the Quay in Mevagissey. She is not as hard at a personal level as her screen persona would suggest.

I find this very comforting. What about St Theresa though?

[Will Hunt]

I know it is  no comfort to anyone but Laura Koenssberg interviewed my mate Donald and me while waiting for Theresa May to come along the Quay in Mevagissey. She is not as hard at a personal level as her screen persona would suggest.

So she gave you an easy ride? Yet more bias in the media, eh Nigel?

[galpinos]

This. It blows my mind when I hear people blaming Labour for things the Tories do.

There not, they're quite rightly pissed off with Labour for doing nothing about it and for f**king up any opportunity they get to make a difference.

None of the above means they'll vote Tory or support the Tory government, you can still be pissed off at Labour and furious with the Tories.

[dave]

Dave - The Guardian and the FT both reported the shambolic DA interview, and neither have any affiliations to your oft-repeated rightwing billionaire Tory donors.

Thanks for pointing that out, although the FT supported the Tories in 2010 and 2015 didn't they?

Anyway I look forward to hearing what Farage or Nuttalls has to say about the DA thing when they are inevitably on Question Time tomorrow.

[Johnny Brown]

Although I've never voted Labour I must admit their coverage from the BBC does not seem very even handed recently. Keunssberg in particular appears to be struggling to hide her glee every time she gets a chance to stick the boot in Corbyn's direction. It all feels a bit Telegraph for a national broadcaster.

[sdm]

If anybody thinks the left wouldn't jump on a similar performance by a Tory politician then  dreaming.

They wouldn't have. Since Corbyn took over, Labour have failed to jump on any of the Tories' huge mistakes.

If the shoe was on the other foot, the papers would be full of stories about Tom Watson sticking the knife in to Corbyn for failing to hold Boris to account for his latest error. Meanwhile, the competent, stable Tories would continue unchallenged to do and say as they please.

A party who can accidentally drag us out of the EU against the government's wishes due to internal party squabbles while having no plans for how to actually achieve this should be dead and buried, they shouldn't get so much as a whiff of power for a decade. That they appear to be on target to stay in government with a landslide victory is an embarrassment for our country's political system.

[dave]

Although I've never voted Labour I must admit their coverage from the BBC does not seem very even handed recently. Keunssberg in particular appears to be struggling to hide her glee every time she gets a chance to stick the boot in Corbyn's direction. It all feels a bit Telegraph for a national broadcaster.

It would seem that the BBC Trust has recently upheld complaints about Kuenssberg's lack of impartiality, I think this might be it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38666914

[jfdm]

I'm waiting to hear them...

Pledges here and have been for a while.
http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/10-pledges
As for media bias it has always been this way, it is no different today than it has been in the past.
Labour aren't helping themselves by constantly shooting themselves in the foot.
This stems from sloppy leadership and this comes from the top.
Be it the MP for Brent the other week or Abbot yesterday, or disunity among Lab MP's.
The flip flopping and bungling shouldn't be happening it doesn't inspire confidence.
Tories may win, but at some point in time the wheel will turn and they will get a right kicking.




 

[seankenny]

Dave - The Guardian and the FT both reported the shambolic DA interview, and neither have any affiliations to your oft-repeated rightwing billionaire Tory donors.

Thanks for pointing that out, although the FT supported the Tories in 2010 and 2015 didn't they?

That the FT did so in 2015 was actually a bit of a surprise given their fairly consistent articles bemoaning austerity. Nevertheless, I still find them a broadly rational media outlet that's has fairly even handed reporting.

As the old communists used to say: "Read the Morning Star for the Party line and the FT to know what's really going on."

[monkoffunk]

By the way the media love a good politician looking incompetent story. Tory ministers have looked ridiculous in the pass and the media does not bury that. And Diane's gaff spoke for itself without any in depth analysis.

[tomtom]

May can simply repeat the 4 soundbits ad nauseum - sit back and let Labour own goal at the moment. Crosby playing a simple game.

[TobyD]

I see Corbyn is suggesting abolishing hospital parking charges. Not that I disagree with them, but this is straight out of the 2015 ukip manifesto.

Fortunately, this morning the Tories are going to cheer us all up with some proper phat hip hop innit blood. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/08/straight-outta-chingford-iain-duncan-smith-rap-battles-diane-abbott

[dave]

Not to feel left out, the Tories' proposed cap on energy prices is straight out of the Labour 2015 manifesto.

[BrutusTheBear]

Going by this thread it looks like we will need to rely on the young people of our country to affect some sort of change.

Setting aside the stuff about leadership, bungles, personality, that's their policy, strong and stable etc...

A few Positive reasons to vote Labour or at least not vote Conservative;

Living wage £10 minimum wage.
Increase in tax for the uber rich.
Nurses who can't afford to feed their families will finally get a pay rise.
End of employment tribunal fees.
End of unpaid internships.
No more zero hours contracts.
A stop to privatization of NHS.
Charter of private tenants rights.
Increased rights in the work place.
Universal Childcare.
'Insourcing' of public services.
Publicly owned railways.
Close the gender pay gap.
Stop employers undercutting with overseas staff.
More holidays!
You care about old people in need.
You care about young people in need.
You care about disabled people in need.
Full rights for EU citizens living and working in UK.
Human rights.

[mrjonathanr]

All excellent policies, although we've been waiting since 2010 for some half decent proposals, so it's good to see something start to be put forward.

The problem is that more than the policies' appeal, it's the visceral 'how do I feel about this lot in charge' which guides most voters' final decision.

[tregiffian]

Visceral is right; in the referendum people overwhelmingly followed their gut reaction because there were no `facts` to speak of.

[jfdm]

Just watched this, really, really sad. Austerity is an abstract catch all term but the reality is hard for so many. I can't for the life of me understand why you would support a party that has put in place all those cuts. It really makes my blood boil, that those that need help, like the man with Parkinson's in the film, are left on the scrap heap.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2017/may/09/cuts-anger-frustration-and-labour-still-cant-break-through-video

I don't think these elections are about "how do I feel about this lot in charge" more "what's in it for me." As I have said before lab policies for me are good ones, trying to create a fairer society, yes all pledges might not be met but they are targets to work towards. I don't think I can bring myself to back the Fibdems(Tory enablers).

At the end of the day will be voting for my local mp, the next primeminister I won't have a say in. If Lab win, can see Brexit at worst being soft, or at best kicked into long grass. Jezzer was ambivalent about this today.

[i.munro]

Going by this thread it looks like we will need to rely on the young people of our country to affect some sort of change.

We certainly seem to be depending on the young  but it's If the Tories win that  we're going to see change, -all of it bad but definitely change - leaving the EU, end of the welfare state and likely of the U.K. itself.
Aren't "conservatives" supposed to conserve things?

[dave]

Aren't "conservatives" supposed to conserve things?

Yes but only their own cash.

[Will Hunt]

I think I liked everything that Corbyn said today.

[BrutusTheBear]

Just watched this, really, really sad. Austerity is an abstract catch all term but the reality is hard for so many. I can't for the life of me understand why you would support a party that has put in place all those cuts.

Exactly what I was trying to say rather clumsily a way back in this thread.  eg. If you have a disability or know someone with a disability you will fully understand the reality of austerity. 

Here's some reality from personal experience, my wife has Charcott Marie-Tooth disease - a degenerative neuro muscular condition.  A profit making company assessed her fit for work, amongst other things they lied in their report claiming she had climbed a flight of stairs to get to the interview, the so-called 'health care professional' had no idea what CMT is.  Her carers allowance, Disability Living Allowance and mobility allowance were all ceased on the advice of this 'professional'.  Of course we appealed and in the meantime we were able to survive on my income (imagine if there is no other income) whilst awaiting our day in court and gathering evidence to support the appeal.  We won the appeal.  (Imagine if you had learning difficulties or a mental health condition that would make the process of appealing too difficult). 

I then lost my job due to austerity cuts and my former profession (youth work) was decimated.  Valuable support for young people removed from our communities and thousands of youth workers unemployed.

So whilst we are discussing the vagaries of party politics, blaming others for the destruction of political parties and discussing whether an individual is electable or not.  I would with all my heart, as a caring person, ask anyone reading this to consider the affect a government policy has upon individuals.  For if we continue down the line we are currently going there will be more homeless people, more people needlessly dying, weakened communities and less support for those at most need in our society.  That is reality, if you are voting to perpetuate this situation or considering not voting against this situation, I despair for you and the society I am a part of.

[mrjonathanr]

That's horrendous. I had a disabled parent; my heart goes out to you.

[BrutusTheBear]

Thanks JR.  We are doing just fine and it turned out OK for us at present.  However, we have a very personal understanding of what austerity means in reality and the implications of an abusive state system for those with no fall backs.  Use your vote to stop this continuing or most likely worsening.

[mrjonathanr]

Oh don't worry about that. Where I live is it's Tory (incumbent) or LibDem (previous MP) so pretty straightforward choice tbh.