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 - 3rd December 2014

Wednesday'sPrime Minister Questions was a prelude to the Chancellor Autumn   statement and it was interesting to say the least. 

Ed Miliband focused his six questions by reminding David Cameron of pre election promises. 

It was embarrassing for David Cameron, who ended up mixing up his jokes and accused Ed Balls of being a sado machist which he then had to walk it back and apologise.

David Cameron did not answer a single question posed to him and was busy focusing on insulting Ed Miliband.

It was a clear win for Ed Miliband and it was good time reminder David Cameron of all the promises he has failed to keep. 

So Ed did well and after relentless attacks from the media he made a great comeback and showed he has courage for the fight in the next six months.   

Prime Minister Questions - 19th November 2014

In last weeks Prime Minister Questions Ed Milliband asked David Cameron various questions about the NHS. David Cameron response was almost embarrassing. 

He was trying to be funny and make fun out of Ed Milliband he only succeeded in making himself look like he was uncomfortable discussing the subject. 

So Ed performed well today but he focused little too much on statistics and I worry that if he did regularly it would lose the effect it had today.

Considering the daily attacks that Ed faces from the right wing media he keeping himself composed and is performing remarkably well under pressure. 

David Cameron is beginning to feel the pressure therefore he has become heavily reliant using tabloid headlines to attack Ed which smacks of desperation. 

So if Ed can keep this up and not get distracted it will help get closer to winning the election in less than six months. 

Prime Minister Questions - 5th November 2014

Last weeks Prime Minister Questions Ed Miliband questions were all about Europe and he asked David Cameron specific questions on Europe and most of which David Cameron was unable to answer. 

Ed had the upper hand in most of the exchanges and all David Cameron could do to detract from Euro question was to question Ed Miliband's leadership skills. 

Although I thought Ed won the exchange he needs to do more then real off soundbites and statistics. He now  needs to find way of proving that he is Prime Minister material. 

Ed is really going have to up his game to prove that he is capable of fulfilling the role as Prime Minister. 

He needs to take the personality that he shows at PMQ's to outside of Westminster bubble if  he really wants to win this election. 

Prime Minister Questions 29th October 2014

This weeks Prime Minister Questions was mainly about immigration. Ed Miliband asked David Cameron some really good and questions and had David Cameron on the ropes. 

Ed even managed to back David a Cameron in the corner and force him to hold a key parliamentary vote before the next election by-election. 

David Cameron answers were very much scripted answers and he looked very awkward. 

David Cameron is desparately trying to chase the UKIP vote and so this exchange would not have gone down well with a UKIP voter. 

Whilst Ed Miliband came across self assured and he able to address this issue  without coming xenophobic.  

So this was a good win for Ed and hopefully he will continue build momentum.  

Prime Minister Questions - 22nd October 2014

In this weeks Prime Minister Questions focused on the NHS. David Cameron was again blaming Labour for the problems with NHS Wales. Ed Miliband was excellent at highlighting the problems within NHS England.

David Cameron response was weak and  even his own party did not really seem to be supporting him. I think it is bit ridiculous of David Cameron to blame Labour for NHS Wales when he is Prime Minister of the whole country. 

So I think that Ed Miliband won the exchange by sticking the facts and highlighting that David Cameron is responsible for NHS England which is having some serious problems. 

These are the kind of exchanges that are important for Ed Miliband to win he has any realistic chance of becoming Prime. Minister in eight months time. 

Autumn political conferences

The political conferences have now taken place and Labour Party took place few a weeks ago. I was a little disappointed with Ed Miliband. 

I did not expect him to say that he will continue with the same destructive Tory policies. 

I really hope Ed can up his game in the next eight months because this is his election to lose.

The Conservative party conference got off to a bad start with the resigniation of MP Mark Reckless. 

The Tories did not say anything new but instead doubled down on their destructive policies that many have suffered from. 

UKIP where the next to hold there conference and Nigel Farage was buoyant from the defection of Mark Reckless from the Tories to them. 

Farage was again promising to cause an earthquake in British politics. Sadly he is probably right and his brand of extreme right wing politics will probably succeed. 

Liberal Democrats held there conference last week and Nick Clegg is a man in deep trouble experts have predicted that the Lib Dems will lose almost half there MPs in the next General Election. 

There really wasn't much Nick Clegg could say that would change what the experts are predicting. I suspect he has lined himself with a nice job in Europe. 

So none of the parties had a game changer of a conference party so there is still lots for each of the parties to do. 

Hacking - political fallout

The hacking trial concluded last week and Andy Coulson the former editor of the News of the World and a former Communications Director for the Conservatives was sentenced to eighteen months.  

The conviction of Andy Coulson is hugely significant as the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer totally trusted him and asked few questions before employing him. 

It is not unreasonable for the public to ask why David Cameron chose to ignore the advice of newspapers like The Guardian who advised David Cameron that Andy Coulson came with baggage.

This trial was eight months long and it chronicled the detail in which hacking extensively took place. This included the hacking of the murdered teenager Milly Dowler. 

Andy Coulson denied any knowledge of the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone but the jury did not believe him. 

Labour's Ed Miliband had taken strong principled stance to bring the journalists at the News of the World to justice especially over the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone. 

For the Prime Minister David Cameron that hacking trial did not put him in good light. He came across as someone who was trying to please too many people and was scared of Rupert Murdoch. 

So now Andy Coulson and some of his ex-colleagues have been convicted. I hope the days where some journalists abuse there positions and politicians are scared to confront them is behind us.  

Prime Minister Questions -25 June 2014

In last weeks Prime Minister Questions Ed Miliband focused his six questions on the conviction of David Cameron's former Communications Director Andy Coulson for hacking. 

Ed Miliband asked David Cameron six awkward questions about why he chose to ignore advice from various people. 

All David Cameron could do was respond with stock responses about how Levenson inquiry cleared him of any wrongdoing. 

It was good day for Ed he had David Cameron on the back foot and looking very awkward. David ended the exchange asking why Ed doesn't  ask him about the economy. 

Which told me that David Cameron feels vulnerable when talking about the Andy Coulson.

 I think this hacking scandal and the conviction of Andy Coulson could come back and haunt David Cameron at the General Election. 

Labour and Ed Miliband need to press home the point that it's questions David Cameron's leadership and the kind of people he trusts in inner circle. 

Ed's questions to David Cameron were helpfully backed up by the questions that his backbenchers who asked David Cameron similar questions on hacking. 

So this was a good clear win for Ed Miliband and I am hoping he can continue to focus David Cameron 's leadership problems especially as the opinion polls have started to tighten. 

Prime Minister's Questions - 18th June 2014

In this weeks Prime Minister's Questions, Ed Miliband focused his six questions on the ongoing tensions in Iraq. 

Ed was particularly focused on the reports that British citizens have been fighting in Iraq. 

The exchanges between Ed Miliband and David Cameron where very amicable and it was nice to see. 

However Ed made sure that his backbenchers where asking key questions on the NHS. 

After about four questions on the NHS, David Cameron got annoyed and responded with usual soundbite about how Labour are in charge of the NHS in Wales and not running the service properly. 

So although the questions that Ed asked where met with an amicable response. Ed's backbenchers asked the question which I think rattled David Cameron. 

It's not easy for Ed at the moment with poll after poll suggesting that he is not leadership material.

 He just has to ignore these polls and focus the issues that affect voters I.e. the changes to the NHS, zero hours contract and childcare. 

Prime Minister's Questions 11th June 2014

Prime Minister's Questions returned after a one month break and Ed Miliband did not waste any time in asking David Cameron some key questions. 

Ed's two main topics where education and accountability in the Birmingham schools scandal and the Home Office and passport delays. 

Today Ed was back to his best he asked the kind of questions that David Cameron had no real answer to and in the end David Cameron responded in his now typical "flashman" style. 

Both these topics are important to voters and these are the kind issues that can make or break a leader. David Cameron I came accross as weak and not full aware of the facts. 

So Ed Milband has returned from the months break with a real bang and had David Cameron on the back foot he just now to keep up this line of attack. 

Review of the UK Euro elections

The results of the Euro elections was announced yesterday and as expected UKIP got the largest share of the vote. 

Although UKIP did well and came top, like the local elections they didn't do particular well in the major cities. 

The Conservatives came third overall and this was bad result for David Cameron and it has put pressure on him to either form a pact with UKIP or call the EU referendum earlier. 

Neither of which Cameron wants to do and it leaves him and his party in a perilous situation. 

The Labour Party had the best set of results since 1999 and doubled the number of MEPs in London alone. But strangely the BBC said was a terrible result for Labour. 

The Liberal Democrats had a bad Euro election and they only have one Euro MEP down from eight. Like I said in my previous blog Nick Clegg should do the honourable thing and resign. 

Overall great Euro election for UKIP and the Labour Party but the Labour Party have a lot to do to ensure they get that majority in May 2015.

Review of the UK Local Elections

Last weeks local elections had some very surprising results. It was clear from the results that UKIP are no longer a fringe party and they made significant gains in the local elections.

UKIP made some surprising gains in the North and South East England. But where unsuccessful in inner London where Londoners rejected there Euro/immigration policies. 

Whilst I accept that UKIP have made some considerable gains, the media especially the BBC said it had been an "earthquake" to UK politics. 

Which I think completely oversimplifies it yes UKIP made gains but they failed to make any inroads into various cities in the UK so they have some work to do to convince black and ethnic minority groups that they are not a racist party. 

Meanwhile Conservatives had a poor local election losing councils like Hammersmith and Fulham, Croydon and Cambridge. 

A loss of these councils would be a bitter blow to David Cameron and his party are losing vital support and getting a majority government in 2015 is looking more elusive with each passing day.

The Labour Party had a successful local election they gained over three hundred seats. 

But if you watched the BBC and other media outlets then they had a terrible election and this thought is not backed up with the statistics. 

Labour need to work on ensuring that they can get the people from the main cities to vote and this will ensure they are elected as a majority government. 

The shock of the local elections was the Liberal Democrats who did very badly and even lost the running of Kingston Borough Council to the Conservatives. 

I personally think that the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg should resign and allow the Lib Dems to regroup and salvage some proud. 

So overall I don't think any of the parties where outstanding and they all have some real work to do before the next General Election.