If you vote Tory I'm going to murder you.

[devogue]

...They all do in the end so we might as well make it personal...

They all do - but to varying degrees.


All politicians are shit, but some politicians are more shit than others.

In Northern Ireland they are all shit. No exceptions.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

...They all do in the end so we might as well make it personal...

They all do - but to varying degrees.


All politicians are shit, but some politicians are more shit than others.

In Northern Ireland they are all shit. No exceptions.

How does that contradict what I said? "Varying degrees" does not equal "exceptions".

[Flora]

For the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem for reasons other than tactical voting. I've been a lifelong Labour supporter but they way they (and the Tories) suck up to religious groups is sickening. I'm also strongly opposed to their obsession with exam results at the expense of education.

[Rum]

For the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem for reasons other than tactical voting. I've been a lifelong Labour supporter but they way they (and the Tories) suck up to religious groups is sickening. I'm also strongly opposed to their obsession with exam results at the expense of education.

The thing is there are no 'game changers' any more. It has become all about how they manage the UK.Co Ltd budget. Labour stood for socialism when I supported it. The only game in town now is corporate capitalism and even politics can't change that any more.

[Feck]

I would vote Lib-Dem but where I live I will always end up with a Lab or SNP MP .

If I do not vote it is interpreted as apathy ,If I spoil my ballot paper it is interpreted as stupidity .


Anybody want to buy my vote ?

[Flora]

For the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem for reasons other than tactical voting. I've been a lifelong Labour supporter but they way they (and the Tories) suck up to religious groups is sickening. I'm also strongly opposed to their obsession with exam results at the expense of education.

The thing is there are no 'game changers' any more. It has become all about how they manage the UK.Co Ltd budget. Labour stood for socialism when I supported it. The only game in town now is corporate capitalism and even politics can't change that any more.

You sound as depressed as I am about it!

[Rum]

For the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem for reasons other than tactical voting. I've been a lifelong Labour supporter but they way they (and the Tories) suck up to religious groups is sickening. I'm also strongly opposed to their obsession with exam results at the expense of education.

The thing is there are no 'game changers' any more. It has become all about how they manage the UK.Co Ltd budget. Labour stood for socialism when I supported it. The only game in town now is corporate capitalism and even politics can't change that any more.

You sound as depressed as I am about it!

I am. I have been pretty cynical for a few years now..I think when I realised that 'New Labour' weren't labour at all. I actually give more credit to politicians than many people . I think more than we think are actually motivated by some form of idealism and desire for change for the better. Its just that they are so limited in how and what they think now and the scope for change seems less and less - in this system anyhow.

[The Red Fox]

Labour hasn't been worth a damn since they officially abandoned socialism in 1994 and decided to become "the party of the middle class" - a very over-represented section of society. The Tories are as selfish and right wing as always, but now with a new autocratic twist. The Lib Dems are a step in the right direction, but herd mentality and an antiquated voting system makes it nearly impossible to get into power even with a majority of the votes (which incidentally makes smaller parties irrelevant even if they have good ideas). Further left you've got the assorted socialists, hippies and Communists. Further right you've got the xenophobes, racists and fascists.

Even with electoral reform, people are politically apathetic because there is nothing to fight for any more. Hardly surprising though, we're probably the only country in the world which decided not to have a revolution because we listened to our government.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

...The only game in town now is corporate capitalism...

That's only true for as long as everyone keeps believing it.

[Hermit]

...The only game in town now is corporate capitalism...

That's only true for as long as everyone keeps believing it.

That's the problem Rumertron was alluding to, I think. Going by votes cast in elections everybody is believing it.

We have the same problem here in Australia. The Labor Party used to be a real alternative to the conservatives. Not long after the end of World War II it had the nationalisation of all Banks on its policy platform. It was kicked out of office and stayed there until 23 years later, when Gough Whitlam finally lead it back in with the slogan 'It's time (for a change)', and indeed, there were a lot of social changes made very quickly. But what happened with the nationalisation proposal? It was dead as a dodo. Not only that, but some years later it was another Labor Prime Minister, Paul Keating, who actually started the selling spree of government owned assets to the private sector, beginning with - irony of ironies - the only bank (and the biggest in Australia) owned by the Federal Government. Labor's platform of social change had metamorphosed to claiming that it can run capitalism better and in a more rationally (that is in a more laissez faire style) than the so called Liberal Party. And that is what people vote for at best now. They just don't believe in anything other than capitalism. The Communist Party of Australia dissolved years ago, and splinter parties advocating actual socialism are regarded as lunatics. At best their candidates can expect to have a couple of hundred votes cast their way in electorates that typically contain 20,000 voters.

Our current Labor Prime Minister is a devout Christian. He subsidises religious events such as the Pope's visit, 'The Christian Parliament' (whatever that was supposed to be), the recent Christian Youth corroboree and so on, to the tune of several million dollars each, and the few voices of protest are either ignored or shouted down.

So, unfortunately, the only game in town now is corporate capitalism. :pissed:

[Elessarina]

The trouble with Gordon Brown is that he is a turd coated in diarhoeaa.

My mother hates Tony Blair and Gordon Brown so much you have no idea.. I think she would have Hitler round for afternoon tea before either of those tosspots

[Rum]

...The only game in town now is corporate capitalism...

That's only true for as long as everyone keeps believing it.

I wish this was the case, but our whole society, including the state apparatus, military etc is linked to the political structure, which in turn is driven to a great extent by corporate capitalism now. You only have to look at the way any country which moves 'properly' to the left (Venezuela for example - not that I am defending it ) is demonised by our press, our politicians etc to see how much we are in the grip of the prevailing system.

Marxism used to predict that revolution was inevitable. It was a very different world when Marx said that and I am certainly not advocating violence, but frankly democracy as it now stands in the major economies in my view is like voting for which gaoler should have the keys.

[Hermit]

democracy as it now stands in the major economies in my view is like voting for which gaoler should have the keys.

I was going to paste that into another thread, but although true, it is not at all funny.

[JimC]

I would like to vote for a party of rational pragmatists who have a sardonic appreciation of hominid failings but also a desire to optimise the chances of human and environmental survival.

Pity they don't exist...

[redunderthebed]

The Communist Party of Australia dissolved years ago, and splinter parties advocating actual socialism are regarded as lunatics. At best their candidates can expect to have a couple of hundred votes cast their way in electorates that typically contain 20,000 voters.

Communist Party of Australia still exist and unlike the old one which was going towards social democracy actually advocates socialism.

It along with people who belong to parties in other countries and others who aren't members of CPA have registered to run in the upcoming federal elections its called the communist alliance.

http://www.cpa.org.au.

Disclaimer I'am a member of communist party of Australia and the communist alliance