The General Election

If anyone with an opposing view (or similar view) feels the need to write an article, please send it in. FM?s pages are open to all political views, of whatever political persuasion, that may affect angling.

i have not got a clue who to vote for,i think that all the parties have some flaws in their facts and figures ,the trouble is most people are in the same boat and don't know who to vote for and it usually ends up with the votes going on who has the best spin or campaign budget to win peoples votes over on a whim,with no real thought process and measured judgement into the decision.
so what do i do ?not vote and at least then i can have no responsibility over who gets in ?
or do i vote for a minority party so that it is another vote against the big 3?
i dont know and i am sure a lot of people have the same problem

i will just have to toss a coin..........

At least you should vote Matt, and that is important.

Excellent article David. Some real home truths here.

Without doubt the Labour Party is very strongly inclined to legislate, control and ban. Their Angler's Charter does look good on paper, yet I fear the worst when they get in again.

what about this ukip party ,i have had a browse of their website but their biggest statement seems to be to come out of the eu
and i dont know what the outcome of that could be?


i might be a while cos im going down the trent for a recce,early i know but i need to see the beloved river and have a fix

It would be nice to read contributions to this debate which didn't include the old cliches about the Labour Party being "stuffed with loony-left fanatics", etc. etc. and being keen to legislate everything out of existence. Ditto the Greens being "a load old hippies", "urban feminists whoi don't undertand the countryside", etc. Such gross over-simplifications don't add to the quality of the debate or enable us to make an informed decision. Ron, if they'd wanted to move against angling, they could have done so by now, with such an enormous majority. You say "without doubt". Are any of the other parties less inclined to use legislation? I think the answer to that is no. As for "old labourites", they are far more likely to support angling, which is still a predominantly working class sport, so why have a go at them?

I appreciate your points Laurie.

Simple question here.

Who do you consider to be "Working Class" people?

In the past I have voted Tory (suprise, suprise......Not!) UKIP, Referendum party and yes BNP (in the european elections). The thought of a BNP Euro MP in brussels amuses me no end, far more entertaining than that over tanned meglamaniac daytime tv presenter Killroy-Silk!

Stopped voting Tory when they became unbearably shite at their job's and were more interested in how much they could get in their back pockets.

They are still shite at their jobs because any opposition party worth their salt would rip and tear this piss poor bunch of thieving tax hungry tw*ts into a million tiny bits and make no mistake about that!

1) Are you better off?
2) Do you feel safe? Can you walk the streets at night?
3) Is immigration under control? Or are we being taken for idiots by a government that is trying to artificially increase the population so that in the long term there will be more tax money to harvest?
4) Do you feel you pay too much tax? Are you getting good value?
5) Is the health service working well, OR is it running out of control and simply surviving on ever increasing amounts of tax being thrown at it?
6) Do you trust your local MP? or is he/she a shyster on the take?
7) Do you trust any MP? or are they all shysters on the take?
8) Does your future look good? or does it look bleak and grey?
9) Are you worried how to get on the property ladder? A first mortgage of ?100,000 is no fun and will work you till you drop!
10) Is your pension safe, or will you spend your last years in poverty? Are our MP's pensions at threat, will they have a poor dotage?

I love fishing but it does not make my top ten, these are the things that really worry me! Any government that spends time worrying and interferring with peoples pastimes should stop! and think, considering they have more pressing engagements at hand.

Lee,

Your first 9 points are obviously very personal and individual questions.

However, as to your last point - MP's are guaranteed a 25% pension, index linked (of their basic salary excluding 'allownaces')for LIFE providing that they serve at least ONE full term in Parliament!

So, the answer to the first part of your question number 10 might be:

Stand for election yourself?

Jesus Christ, A pension for life after FOUR YEARS! I need a suntan and baby holding lessons sharpish!

My pension has been growing for 15 years and its nowhere near ready to support me yet!

Best job in the world being an MP, especially in a safe seat.

Peter, I can see what you are saying about my first 9 points but really they are not that personal to me because I am lucky enough to live in an area where street crime isnt out of control yet but close enough to see it first hand.
My mortgage is tiny in comparison to what first time buyers have to spend now.
My pension although no where near as lucrative as an MP's should look after me and the missus well enough.

My points are general and affect almost every WORKING man and woman in the country.

Maybe I didn't express myself properly Lee.

What I meant is that each individual will have different answers to each of those questions based on his, or her, situation.

Now, I don't think that I pay too much tax for example, and where I live we don't have a street to walk on in the first place (jokingly put)

If I think back my first mortgage was for ?6,500 at an interest rate of (wait for this) 8.125% which rose in the next 5 years to nearly 16%!
Today you can get a mortgage for what, 4.5%?

Final point Lee, you would never get selected as a Parliamentary candidate in the first instance - because you are far too intelligent. They only take second rate minds based on some of their recent acts!

I really do hope that opposing views are put forward as articles by ALL parties, or this site could be seen as politically biased by publishing only one!

Sorry, not me - needs oneone are far better ability.

Besides, I'm off to France tonight! he he he

I do not think this site could ever be classed as politically biased.

Good luck in France!

Jesus Christ if I am regarded as intelligent in relation to parliamentarians we are truly doomed, doomed I tell you, DOOOOOOMED!

then again TB cannot be the sharpest knife otherwise he would get that wonky gnasher sorted out as it spoils his "I have just wet my pants smile"

Labour MP's? Useless load of ex shop stewards who couldn't run a market stall let alone a country. "You name it, we'll tax it" should be their motto.

Conservative MP's? Useless load of toadies, in it for what they can get out of it. University educated the majority of them but less brains than a bottle of HP sauce.

Liberal MP's? Useless load of idealists who can't really do anything but talk of banning everything. Can't think of anyone who would want to be a liberal.

Who would protect my right to fish? None of them if the price was right, they're all as bent as a nine bob note.

God knows where my vote will be going but I believe that the conservatives would protect field sports and fishing better than the rest. As for law, tax, education etc they all promise us the best of everything until they're elected then spend the next 4 years saying they can't do it because of what they inherited from the previous government.

With age comes wisdom and insight !

"I really do hope that opposing views are put forward as articles by ALL parties, or this site could be seen as politically biased by publishing only one!" Said Malc.

I don't think anyone will think this site is politically biased at all, which is why I made a point of saying our pages are open to articles from writers of all political persuasions.

You can hardly blame FM if no one takes up the offer. We can't publish what we haven't got.

This site couldn't be less politicaly biased, just look at all the opposing views you get on the forum every time politics is mentioned. Infact I wish politics was mentioned a little less, you can't switch on the TV or radio without it being rammed down your neck at the moment, I come on here for a break !!
As for which party is best don't worry about it, messing with a past-time with so many paticipants from so many economic and social differing backgrounds would be as we all know political suicide. It would be the equivilant of trying to ban football on the basis its turning all our kids into hooligans.(probably true but would recieve zero support).
What we should worry about is getting our own house in order, presenting a uniform front with one overall governing body who would make the laws that exist work for us, instead of the shambles we have at the moment. Then we wouldn't have to have this debate time and time again.

As a matter of interest I have just had this minute a BNP leaflet through the letter box.

It's from Marlene Guest, the candidate for Rotherham.

Here's what it says:

1: The BNP will always come out and fight for the people of the town on issues other parties avoid.

2: The BNP wants to stop the mass privatisation of everything from council housing to hospitals and schools.

3: The BNP believes we all owe a dept to our elderly who have built this town and would fight to keep our homes safe.

(There has been several instances of burglars attacking pensioners lately in Rotherham and the Labour Party has done nothing to prevent it)

The back of the leaflet shows Blair allowing immigrants and asylum seekers in.

Then it says:

Only the BNP tells the truth about the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism.

Labour have wasted ?billions on the EU. The BNP would spend the money on a first class NHS

The BNP would take the PC handcuffs off the police and put them on the criminals. We would destroy drug trafficking totally.

The BNP would defend our jobs, wages and pensions. The BNP would stop exporting jobs and importing cheap foreign labour.

The BNP will stop politicians mugging Middle England with stealth and council taxes to pay for the spongers.

What do you all think to this.

In one word Ron . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cobblers!

In more than one word, do these people explain how, and where, they will get the money to fund these (emotive) issues?