General Election Predictions

I think that the problem with PMQs is that it is really just a relatively informal Q&A session. The PM can't be forced to answer the questions put to him - it is just assumed that he will do so.

This is why you see Cameron dodging questions by either answering a completely different imagined question (often from a script), or putting together some whataboutery and slinging back an insult the other way. No proper debate possible.

I seem to recall that Brown never answered questions at PMQs a lot of the time but I also recall that Cameron once claimed he was going to stop the Punch and Judy aspect of politics when in fact he has made it much, much worse! Never wastes an opportunity (even when there isn't one) to insult his opponents personally which is pretty pathetic.

I took an interest in PMQ'S since he was first put on the TV,

All of the PM'S up to date just waffle and turn the questions back onto the leader of the opposition,

A complete waste of time,

I hardly watch it now.

Tories and ukip for me, labour no longer represents the working class indigenous people of Britain, and anyone who questions left wing ideology is racist apparently ! Ed miliband is a communist nincompoop traitor as is ed balls up and the female dog Harman. :🎻

Lib/Lab/SNP coallition

Not sure who to vote for? You should use this site.

http://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/

Well, personally, I think you certainly shouldn't vote for a party trying to buy votes by forcing housing associations to sell off what little social housing remains at the cost of billions to the taxpayer!

The latest shambolic policy from a party willing to say anything and do anything to bribe voters into returning them to power.

The endless Tory accusations of Labour profligacy really take the biscuit when all their own major policy claims are completely unfunded or aim to further inflate the property market at the expense of the tax payer.

I just wish that one of the political parties would put some proper investment into building a good number of affordable houses, whether for social housing or the entry level market. Instead, the Tories are aiming to sell off as much as they can and we'll just end up spending more and more filling the pockets of private landlords through housing benefit. Utterly maddening.

I'm voting conservative just because I don't want labour, I think there'll be a lot to complain about either way but when the cost of living is down and there's been a few little bits of common sense that have made it to reality just silly little things like Middle lane hoggers getting fines, think does it really get much better from constantly disappointing governments that everyone gets angry about and switches alliegences every 10 years anyway

Cost of living down - due entirely to the drop in oil prices, so absolutely nothing to do with Osborne's policies. He's been incredibly lucky in this respect because otherwise he would rightfully be toast.

All the previous years of this government saw pay rises well below the rate of inflation so many haven't even got back to the place where we were back in 2008.

The Conservative government took over in the midst of a decent recovery from the crash in 2008 and quickly cut it off due to their ideologically-based plans for austerity. It was only when they (quietly) reduced the level of austerity considerably in 2012 that the recovery resumed but they've still managed to ensure that it is the worst-ever recovery from a recession. Funny that they continue to claim their 'Plan A' has worked when they have been operating a 'Plan B' since 2012!

Austerity was apparently required initially to remove the risk of the UK losing our AAA credit rating. We quickly lost this rating so that didn't work. Then it was necessary to make sure the deficit was eliminated by 2015. The deficit has been cut by a third. They have borrowed a lot more money in 5 years than all Labour governments combined have borrowed, yet they somehow have managed to keep a reputation for balancing the books and have even managed to blame the recession on Labour spending (not even close to being true)! To really take the biscuit, they are now promising all sorts of expenditure and tax cuts without saying how they could be funded and refuse to state where they are going to cut £12 billion from the welfare bill, with pensions (by far the largest part of welfare) to be left untouched.

Before the last election, the Conservative government promised no top-down reorganisation of the NHS. Then immediately enacted an expensive top-down reorganisation of the NHS. A million public sector jobs culled and replaced with millions of zero hour part-time jobs which give no job security. A lot of work previously done by the public sector has been outsourced to massive companies who provide a rubbish service and low pay to their workers.

They raised VAT, a regressive tax which has hit the poorest hardest. They cut tax for the wealthiest. Bedroom tax? Further hits to the poorest. Benefit cuts and sanctions? Increasing poverty. We're one of the wealthiest countries in the world but a million people have had to use food banks due to hunger.

With all this (and much more) in mind, I'm absolutely staggered that somebody would vote for the Tories on such a banal basis that they (claim to) plan to implement fines for drivers who hog the middle lane!

Oh well, it's your vote, but I think you must be bonkers.

Spot on assessment Maringer...at least someone is speaking some sense

The only thing I would take exception to is where you've stated

To really take the biscuit, they are now promising all sorts of expenditure and tax cuts without saying how they could be funded

Surely you've seen this new source of wealth to allow the Tory boys to "bring back the good life"

[IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/5wkzs.jpg[/IMG]

The latest daft "ploy" to come from the Tories is a promise to protect people on the minimum wage from tax. They say you won't pay tax if you earn the minimum wage and do 30 hours a week.

Now given that Min Wage is £6.50 an hour if you work 30 hours a week you'll get £195 a week, so less than the tax allowance of £10,500 a year anyway. So what exactly are they offering?