Labour Party after the General Election

I cannot begin to express how upset I am about the current state of the Labour Party. I am not impressed with any of them standing for leadership of the Labour Party. 

Quite frankly I can the imagine the Tories are loving every minute of this debacle. None of them in my opinion has any realistic chance of becoming Prime Minister. 

What's more concerning is that Labour becoming more left wing than ever which seriously reduces any realistic chance they have of becoming elected to into power. 

So right now I am boycotting all UK political news because when I read about the Labour leadership battle does not really seemed to be going well. 

Once the Labour leader is selected we can look that person realistic chances of becoming Prime Minister. 

What happened to Sandra Bland?

According to the Texas Police Sandra Bland committed suicide three days after being arrested. This death through suicide came as a shock to her family and friends. 

I think what brought it to the public consciousness was that the video of Sandra's arrest which was then released into the the public domain. 

In this video Sandra is clearly upset with the Sheriff and uses a few choice words and the Sheriff then gets upset and promptly arrest her. 

I think Sandra's could have had a little more respect for the Sheriff but that does not in any way justify the total abuse of power and a lack due diligence that I think led to her committing suicide. 

Before she was checked into her cell she was given paper work to complete and in one these paper work she admitted a previous suicide attempt but other paperwork makes no mention of the suicide attempt. 

This makes this particular Texas county look incompetent and if they had showed due diligence then I believe this would have gone some way in preserving Sandra Bland's life. 

The investigation is ongoing and of course it will not bring back Sandra but at least they can review their practices to ensure that something like this does not become the new norm. 

General Election - A Conservative majority

Well I am still getting over the shock of the Conservatives winning the General Election and getting majority. The shock started on the 7th May when the BBC exit poll predicted that the Conservatives would win 316 seats. 

At first I thought this had to be a mistake but as the night unfolded true the Conservatives ended up getting 332 seats. 

How did they do this? 

Now this was the big question because all the polling companies predicted a hung parliament. Labour won most of the seats in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. 

However the conservatives managed to win six seats from Labour and over twenty five seats from the Liberal Democrats. 

The Tories targeted their coalition partners knowing that their seats would be vulnerable and they were right and Liberal Democrats now only have eight MPs and I was not too surprised by this as I expected them to be punished for going to partnership with the Tories. 

So this was a thoroughly unexpected result and now the Tories now have the mandate to carry on making cuts to public services. 

It's not the result I expected or wanted but Labour now have this result behind them and work on winning those middle class votes in 2020. 

UK General Election - 6th May

So it's been a while since I have blogged but I have been following the political campaigns pretty closely. It goes without saying that all the parties of fighting of each vote. 

It has been fasincating to see what the parties have been doing to try and get people to vote for them. 

I think Labour led by Ed Miliband have done well to be so close in the polls. Ed has had a strong message about making the UK a fairer society and get people who are not paying tax to pay tax. 

However his message may not be getting through due to the backlash from the right winger media. 

They are doing everything in their power for Ed to come across as incompetent. What they don't realise is that they coming accross as bullies which is why is not helping the Tory campaign.

The Tory campaign has been an unmitigated disaster, after they had spent the last year telling the British people how well the economy is doing we find out the economy is going backwards and there has only been 0.3 growth in April. 

Yet David Cameron is at pains to stress how the UK is thriving but the reality is the ones at the top have benefited whilst rest of the UK keeping it's head above water. 

Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats is trying to cling to power by stating that if there is a hung party then they will be the kingmakers which is unlikely as the polls are suggesting they will lose half there seats. 

UKIP have been making a lot of noise but they have gone quiet about there determination to leave Europe as they know it's not a vote a winner. They will be lucky to get three MPs.

So it's there is still all to play for but I am hoping that Ed and his wife Justine will be standing on the doorsteps of No10 as he is elected Prime Minister. 

General Election. BBC debate

Last night was the second General Election debate and it was hosted by the BBC. Both Nick Clegg and David Cameron were missing from this debate. 

Nick Clegg was strangely not invited and David Cameron declined his invite. For David Cameron this probably the biggest political gamble he has made and could hand the keys of number ten to Ed Miliband. 

Ed Miliband had a great night and he came across strong and assertive and oozed with charm. 

Nicola Sturgeon was not as strong as she was in the first debate and I almost found her cringeworthy at times when she was begging for Ed Miliband help. 

Nigel Farage did not have his best night and it culminated with him accusing the BBC of left wing bias. It was Nigel melt down moment which will not be easily forgotten. 

The other two  leaders Lianne Wood and Natalie Bennett had a pretty quiet evening but still have to convince  voters to vote for their party. 

Overall Ed Miliband did a fantastic job of looking Prime Ministerial and if he keeps this up he make get enough votes to get the majority that he needs to govern. 

General Elections - Manifestos

This week each of the parties vying office launched there manifesto and the first party to launch there manifesto were the Labour Party. 

I would say that in all the years that I have watched and followed politics I have never taken such a keen interest in the manifestos. 

I was very impressed with Labour and Ed Miliband as they did not make any unrealistic promises they know cannot be achieved and it seems like they had spent time to cost every pledge out. 

I would say that they did not provide us with specific details as to what areas they will cut and how much of the cuts the UK public should expect. 

However it was somewhat a of good manifesto and it was presented very well by Ed Miliband. 

The next day it was the  Conversatives and David Cameron turn and their manifesto was a complete contrast to Labour's.  

The Conservatives were promising to spend money left, right and centre. This after spending three years telling us that there was no money. 

David Cameron presentation of this manifesto was weak. He seemed very red face and came across like he was not comfortable with what he was saying. 

He also seemed to gloss over the manifesto and did not  go over the weekend announcements of more spending in the NHS. 

Liberal Democrats were equally woeful as their leader Nick Clegg only selected one journalist in the question and answer session. 

Overall a good manifesto launch for Labour and now they really need to capitalise on this launch and build up a lead in the opinion polls.  

Week One - General Election campaign

Last week was an excellent week for Ed Miliband and the Labour and it is clear now that the British people are now listening and maybe prepared to give Ed Miliband go. 

Ed Miliband announcement on going after UK citizens with "non dom status" has played really well the voting public and he has laid some solid foundations for the next three weeks of campaigning. 

However the biggest problem that the Labour Party is a potential loss of votes and seats to the Scottish National Party. These loss of seats could be the reason the Labour Party do not get a majority. 

 

For me it is deeply troubling and I am not seeing real signs as to what the plan to do about it. I hope the Labour put more resources and time into keeping their Scottish seats and also enlist the help of Gordon Brown. 

I believe the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown really help to turn it around but they need to ask him now and not three days before polling day. If the Labour Party are serious about getting a majority. 

For the Tories the first official ended on a bad note with George Osborne giving a "car crash" interview and he simply could not answer where the Tories where going to get 8 billions pounds to fund the NHS. 

The Tories are about 2 percent down the polls and Labour really need to capitalise on this and even try to extend their lead if  they are to get a majority in the May elections. 

I suspect the Tories will now throw the kitchen sink at the election and I hope Labour are willing and ready to respond in a dignified manner that can help them get the keys to number ten. 

UK General Election - 8th April

So by this time next month we will know who is to govern the UK for the next five years. I was incredibly lifted by Ed Miliband plan to ban the "non dom" tax status. 

This is when a person who was born and lives the UK claims tax concessions..i.e. Pay no tax on on their incomes outside of the UK due to their father or grandfather being born abroad.  

This tax law has existed for over two hundred years and it's great that Ed Miliband wants everybody living in the UK to pay their fair share. 

The Tory response to Labour announcement was embarrassing, as they tried to pick holes in what Ed Balls said about non doms three months ago and tried to make out they are making up policy on the hoof instead addressing inequalities in the tax law. 

Judging by the political commentary and the Tory response, I think this will really help Ed and he just now needs to consolidate his message. 

Tories launched their Education policy yesterday and it was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster and which culminated into little girl having her head on the desk as David Cameron was trying to read to her! 

So Ed Miliband is doing well without trying to play it safe and being true to himself. 

Leaders debate - 2nd April

It's  is now just a month to the next General Election and  last Thursday the leaders vying for the keys to number 10 met for a debate. 

This debate was definitely better than I imagined it to be and it was good to hear from all the political leaders. 

To start of with Nick Clegg had a poor night and sounded more like a Personal Assistant than a leader of a political party. He looked tired and wounded and did not come across like he had any political fight left in him.  

David Cameron came cross like he had been told to say as little as possible and if so it backfired because he looked like he was out of his depth.

Ed Miliband did well and he came across as confident and self assured. He just needs to relax or he will come across as not being Prime Ministeral. 

Nigel Farage attendance to these debates was not good for him or his party.

 When he was asked about the NHS he banged on about how the NHS should stop providing non UK citizens with HIV drugs. To me he sounded cruel and almost bordering on evil. 

Nigel Farage showed his true racist colours and I can only imagine what he putting his half German children through. 

Nicola Sturgeon apparently won the debate which is easier to win when none of her party policies are being forensically analysed.

Overall Ed Miliband did reasonably well and he now needs to up the ante if he is going to get the keys to number ten. 

Prime Minister Questions - 4th March 2015

Last weeks Prime Minister Questions was all about immigration statistics and David Cameron refusal to take part in the General Election debate. Ed Miliband was very good, firstly he asked David Cameron about his promise to get immigration down. 

All David Cameron could respond with his how well the economy was growing and it noticeable that is normal quite loud backbenchers were noticeably quiter. 

It got even more uncomfortable for David Cameron as when Ed Miliband brought up the television debates. David Cameron responses were truly feeble and it would leave one to think of how terrified he is of Ed in the debates.

So Ed Miliband well and truly won this exchange and he just has to keep the pressure up and make the voting public aware of David Cameron failed promises and continue to inform the public of these television debates that David Cameron is soo scared of. 

Prime Minister Questions - 11th February 2015

Last weeks Prime Minister Questions was all about tax dodgers and it was interesting to say the very least. Ed Miliband really stepped it up and told David Cameron what he thought of him. 

To be fair it's been a while since we have seen this side of Ed, but I would say that it is about time and there no point of being "Mr Nice" when the other side are not playing nice. 

David Cameron was surprised by the relentless attack from Ed Miliband and it made him realise that he is not only the one that can be assertive in their debate. 

Ed Miliband made some very good points and he realises that he has to expose the kind of people and organisations that support David Cameron. 

Ed Miliband needs to carry with his attack and expose the people and organisations who trying to avoid pay taxes. 

So this was a good day for Ed Miliband but he really needs to step it up now that election is less than four months. 

Prime Minister Questions - 28th January 2015

This weeks Prime Minister Questions was all about the NHS and both David Cameron and Ed Milliband repeated their usual arguments. 

I have to say I didn't find either of them convincing and now they know that the General Election is round the corner both are desparate to not to make that mistake that could cost them election. 

However I do think David Cameron was being more cautious in his delivery than Ed Miliband. Ed is confident and he probably knows were the votes are going to come from to get him over the finishing line. 

However he must still keep up his attacks on David Cameron and not get complacent or before he knows it the election would have come and gone..

So Ed is doing reasonable well he just has to prepare himself for the negative   campaigning the Tories will be doing.