Forum Topic

Election musings

I think the Tories think they've got Ealing Central & Acton in the bag, but I wonder what effect their negative campaign ads will have. I for one am getting fed up of seeing their posters with the picture of Gordon Brown with the unsubtle headline round almost every corner. I would have thought they would have been better served spending the money on pictures of Cameron waffling on about vision, a new Britain, mending the broken society etc. I think the Tories may also be hit by the misdemeanours of their council - the new developments planned for Ealing town centre, the proposed extension of Derwentwater School etc. Personally I'm not that keen on Gordon Brown. But I am amazed at the ingratitude of all the old people. Every newspaper and radio phone in seem to have at least one pensioner complaining about the Government - yet the old aged pensions/pension credit have gone up 100%, not to mention free TV licenses, the winter fuel grant, the vast expenditure on the NHS, and now the plans to pay for everyone's nursing care. It just goes to show, it doesn't really matter how much you do, people will still complain and vote on who looks nicest on TV.Conversely I'm amazed that more attempts haven't been made to mobilise the younger generation. People in their 20s have been totally shafted by the Blair/Brown 50+ generation. The latter got everything on a plate - free university places, student grants etc and they responded by saddling the next generation with vast unpayable debts, load paid jobs, an impossible housing ladder while preparing the way for their own impending twilight years. I suppose the youngsters have themselves to blame for their apathy. If they won't vote you can't blame politicians for ignoring them.Finally, I am amazed at Nick Clegg's impact in the debate. As soon as he started speaking I thought to myself, here we go again. Liberal nice guy saying how the others should stop slagging each other off and work together etc. No more yah boo politics. The reason the others argue is that they have got something to argue about. What's the point of having a debate if you're not allowed to disagree or argue your point.

Patrick Gray ● 5996d14 Comments

I agree those posters are wholly unproductive - dunno why - after the demon eyes debacle - the Tories don't just give up on negative ad campaigns.

Sara Nathan ● 5996d

"Personally I'm not that keen on Gordon Brown. But I am amazed at the ingratitude of all the old people."Remember that he was the Chancellor who crippled final salary pensions by removing the tax exemption on dividends in 1997.

Richard Jennings ● 5996d

Richard, from memory that tax tweak was to help tackle companies flipping their contributions to save tax and pension holidays, but it was a long time ago.....Other factors have had more of an impact on fs pensions, longer life projections and stock market performance, also a more cost orientated approach from all companies given freedom to remove fs from new employees and even end fs for existing. There is much knocking of public sector pensions but my late wife ended c.35 years in local government as a Librarian with a contributory pension of £10.5k, albeit with a period of job share when the children were small.As to 'old people' and the general electorate, they will never remember what the romans/Labour, did for us, they need reminding!

Iain Muir ● 5996d

In fact ruined the whole pensions industry and failed to introduce a new pensions industry so as to protect the young of today in their old age.This is one of the most shameful acts of Gordon Brown.

George Knox ● 5996d

A big impact on pensions that seems to be forgotten was the 'holiday' that many companies took at the same time on paying in their share of the contributions, adding to the underfunding. On top of that was the push by the Tories to promote personal pensions as against final salary schemes - a basic fraud on working people. It is this that is the real scandal of the pensions industry.

Pete Grist ● 5996d

"A big impact on pensions that seems to be forgotten was the 'holiday' that many companies took at the same time on paying in their share of the contributions, adding to the underfunding. On top of that was the push by the Tories to promote personal pensions as against final salary schemes - a basic fraud on working people."The facts don't really bear out this view:1. The thing that really did for the pension schemes was the change to tax on dividends which served to reduce the re-investment returns i.e. less dividends went back into schemes thus compromising long term performance2. The accounting rules were changed to require that firms look at funding over a 3 year window despite the very strong warnings at the time that this would result in schemes closing during periods of economic slow down.On both of these points Gordon Brown ignored expert advice and ploughed on regardless - per his refusal to accept advice from the Bank of England not to dump our national gold reserve onto the market all at once and at a low price.The final point is that it's been patently clear since the mid 1980's that defined benefit schemes are not affordable due to the extended period people now live into retirement. The simple economics bear this out - how can a member of the armed forces or policeman retire after 20 / 30 years on full benefits and be funded at 2/3 their salary for the next 40-60 years? Defined contribution schemes are the only affordable option - and our reluctance to accept that explains why we are now heading towards a £1.4 trillion pension liability for the public sector and minimum tax rises of £10B every year just to make up the shorfalls.

Ed Yelland ● 5996d

You make a point about the police & then generalise to the public sector as a whole. Most public sector workers would need to work 45 years to get near a 2/3 pension. What you don't consider is what sort of pension do people expect, or need to live on? The alternative to defined benefits, is a gamble on the state of the markets & interest rates at the time you retire. Most of these schemes will be hopelessly inadequate and the state will have to make up the difference in benefits. So a failure of the pension industry will be transferred to the taxpayer.Finally, nobody in the 1980's was expecting to live as long as now in their retirement.

Pete Grist ● 5996d

My original comment was looking at the levels of state benefits which if you include means tested elements like pension credit have gone up vastly under Labour. Private pensions are in a mess but clearly there are many factors in this and Brown is only partly to blame. Defined contribution schemes don't bother me provided that the employer pays enough into them. In most cases defined benefit schemes where the employer was shelling out 20%+ of the salary to keep it going have been replaced by schemes where they are only putting in 10% or lower. Labour bringing in their minimum scheme requiring only 4% or something hasn't helped.On another point - The Tories must be in  panic now. David Cameron must be wondering why he agreed to the debate idea in the first place. The next election looks like being a hung parliament. If electoral reform comes in we could see  Labour / Liberal coalitions for the forseeable future and the Tories excluded from power forever!

Patrick Gray ● 5995d

Hi Patrick,Very eloquently put! I could not agree moreThank god there are people like you... people have short memories

Robert Klein ● 5993d

Still nought - not so much as a leaflet - from the LibDems. You would have thought they would be cashing in on the Cleggomanic surge for all they are worth.Still, today's Daily Mail in its transparent Cleggclobbering and Brown busting is enough to make anyone vote LibDem, It is a ghastly paper. Dunno why I still read/pay for it - except it's jolly amusing outside election times.

Sara Nathan ● 5993d

Also there is a Sara Nathan who writes articles for the Daily Mail

Alice Jones ● 5993d

No relation and a generation younger than me.Confusing I know.There's a Malcolm Singer (not the one I'm married to) who is a bass baritone and does classical music interviews - and has indeed interviewed my one.And loads of Jon Bakers, Trevor Barnes inter alia.

Sara Nathan ● 5993d

You know there are lots of Jon Barnes and Trevor Bakers?  How quaint to know all these titbits

Alice Jones ● 5992d

or vice versa.

Sara Nathan ● 5990d