The Political Parties

[Clive Evans 1]

Rik's words "our passion" strike a chord in me. I believe in his sincerity and concur, as I am sure you all do.
Unfortunately I also remember vividly, the words of Margaret Thatcher; "There is no society"!
You band of men (and women Ron) united in common cause, might take a moment to consider the implications of those words. And Michael Howard's past affilliation with same!
I love my fishing, the more so since I have the time and means to pursue it at my leisure.
But I cannot put pleasure before principle, even if it means losing out.
Not that I am in any way convinced that Labour is out to do that. I think Ron is just crying wolf again for the sake of controversy.
Even were it to come about, I'm afraid one of you would have to cancel out my vote.

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

Reluctant as I am to defend the Labour Party, I think it's fair to say that as Labour draws most of its support (certainly its core support) from the socio-economic groups most heavily represented in angling, I doubt that they'll ever mount an attack on angling.

The Conservatives, by inclination and tradition are more sympathetic, to what for the sake of convenience we'll call "field sports". Angling, therefore, is probably safe with them.

The party with least sympathy to angling is probably the Green Party. While it is true that they have never become a significant force in U.K. politics, we shoud never say never (look what happened in Germany).

The Liberal Democrats are difficult to "read" on this score. If I had to place money, I'd place it on their being more anti than pro - I can't support that view with any evidence, though.

My vote, therefore, will be decided by the various political parties' track record and stated aims as regards the economy, law and order, the health service and cormorants!

 

[Big Rik]

"as Labour draws most of its support (certainly its core support) from the socio-economic groups most heavily represented in angling, I doubt that they'll ever mount an attack on angling."

but as many previous polls proved, 'the man on the street' didn't want a ban on hunting, yet Labour forced it through.
Unless a particular party states that it supports angling, then it wont get my vote.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

Changing the subject slightly, there is no doubt that the Labour Party wants Britain fully in the EU. If they held a referendum on this matter, I have no doubt there would be a resounding NO.

Yet watch what happens if Labour get in again.

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

Political parties don't necessarily represent the "man in the street" - if they did we'd almost certainly have capital punishment (which would have forced our withdrawal from the EEC) - but they wouldn't knowingly alienate their primary sources of support (i.e. votes!)

"Unless a party says that it supports angling...." - the Labour Party stated unambiguously that there would be no rise in taxes, then went on to raise National Insurance contributions. And what about Council Tax, that has risen inexorably? And what about lying (alright, being disingenuous if you prefer) by omission, e.g. they said nothing about students' tuition fees?

I prefer to rely on the various parties' track-record and their inherent inclinations rather than what they say.

 

[Big Rik]

don't start me on Labour stealth taxes.

"we will not raise income tax"
they haven't, but they have raised or created every other tax known in this country.

47 new taxes in the first 18 months of their government.

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

.....and then there's education. Non-selective education is the Labour Party credo. Presumably, then, Labour politicians send their children to the local comprehensive.

They don't! You amaze me! Now there's a thing....

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

....and another thing. I'm told that gipsies were ordered off an illegal site in Buckinghamshire by the local council, but the decision was overturned by John Prescott's department. If so, this is worrying for my part of Kent where two such disputes are currently in progress. Not that I've anything against gipsies, you understand - a more socially responsible group of people you'd find it difficult to find!

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

....and another thing! The phrase "stealth taxes" suggests that such taxes were not mentioned in election manifestos and were slipped in "under the door", so to speak. You're not suggesting for one fleeting nanosecond that the Labour Party did any such thing, are you Rik?

 

[Malc Bason]

..........and the Labour party are the only party thats ever introduced such taxes are they?


What a load of Bollox!

 

[Les Clark]

Jim Gibbinson`s new book ,Modern fairy stories and flying pigs .lol

 

[Malc Bason]

This started off as a thread on the various political parties policies on angling - look where its gone now!

Same old crap!

 

[Malc Bason]

As Iv'e said before - people have such short memories! Or they choose not to remember?

17 years of Tory hell this country had to endure!

The Tory's will use everything they possibly can to win votes, and if they thought they could win a few more votes by banning angling they would do so, make no bones about it!

 

[Malc Bason]

I'm off, Ive had enough

 

[Jim Gibbinson]

I'll refrain from trading personal insults (banal and unproductive), but I'd welcome the opportunity to debate any of the issues I've raised.

 

[Les Clark]

Jim ,My remark was in reference to yours about the gipsies ,thats all.

 

[swordsy]

I would like to hand pick the best people in the house of commons, scrap the party system and the whip system and have intelligent talented experts in their chosen fields pass laws and create directives that were relavant to everyday joe soap trying to make a living instead of the continual abuse we get from all the parties we have had in power in my lifetime.

I will never vote labour because they want to brainwash the population into being p/c robots

The tories can drowned themselves in their own greed and upperclass arogance at times

The lib dems are simply bland boring pseudo-labourites

The greens are corrupted by the animal rights extremists

We do not have a completly all-round viable party to vote for at the moment, they all have some merit but none have the real issues of the day at heart and are willing to act on them.

 

[Woody (Cheeky Monkey)]

The problem with the party system is that it does remove true democracy.

Wouldn't it be nice to vote for the person whose thoughts and policies matched your own, near as possible. The problem is, that might well be a sensible member of the Monster Raving Loony Party and if he's the only member of that party in Parliament, he's not going to have much effect.

Unless of course, they were all like that - independants as well. Then they'd have to bring in policies that the nation TRULY wanted rather than what the Whips forced through for the party leader.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

"Whips" - "Whippers-In"

Sounds like a pack of hounds.

 

[Clive Evans 1]

Woody,
what makes you think that 650 different opinions vying for supremacy in the commons, would be any improvement on the present situation.