Ex Lion Tamer

No for choosing to be unemployed, if indeed it is a choice. Don't forget we had unemployment of around 3m at the time of the riots, should all these people have worked harder and then jobs would magically appear? Face it, the working poor of Britain got royally screwed by the bankers and the anti regulation elites, and had every right to say we're going to make you notice us. Not to mention a black and Asian community that was six times more likely to be stop and searched by police than if they were white. Seeing Mark Duggan killed by police was rightly or wrongly a flashpoint which caused an eruption of anger about the way the police acts in general

And when a life of low paid checkout drudgery is their alternative, who can blame them?

Well when I worked in sainsburys there were plenty of older people who had been working on checkouts for years and years, and it's doubtful whether they were earning anything near the living wage. In all honesty they weren't particularly intelligent so that's the most they could really hope for. So what did working hard do them? Should they have scanned food quicker to progress in life? All they can do is carry on in their boring jobs while claiming in work benefits and enjoy a minimal life as best they can

Don't really know what you're saying now. The point is that democracy fails those most in need, so sometimes they have to use other means to get heard. And they are the ones that most need to be heard, because their problems are most serious, and comfortable people forget what it's like outside their cosy environs

I'm confused, I actually agree with this

The majority rules in democracy. As long as 75% of people are doing OK, the rest can get to ****

It can be quite an effective way of getting people to sit up and take notice though, even if it is unfair on the people who lose property or are injured. I was in London at the time and it was pretty scary, plus a good friend of mine got badly beaten up. Yet I still can see it as a cry for help from people with no voice in society

Not directly, but even a mild anxiety or depressive personality can make "knuckling down" at school or work difficult and set someone on the road to poverty

But castigating people doesn't solve anything. If we help them out of poverty then the next time the economy tanks there won't be riots

Again you assume people are rational. Kids are dumb and make bad decisions

But it's so hard to do that when you don't have good role models or have mental health problems

All of this assumes that people act rationally. We're talking about people who are sick and tired of living in poverty, don't have any prospects, and feel powerless to change things via formal means. So eventually they lash out in an uncontrolled, directionless way

They decided it was too difficult to explain on the doorstep. It appears to be back now though because the tories' nasty and negative campaign is causing them to fall behind in the polls

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/09/david-cameron-pledges-freeze-regulated-rail-fares-five-years I'm confused about why freezing energy prices is dangerous socialism but freezing rail fares is the big society in action

Surprised more people aren't worried about Victor, he's been immense this season and probably ready to step up to a bigger club. This big question is whether we have learnt from last summer and will put our foot down if he asks to leave

This article is completely right and exposes the nonsense that the tories have been spouting for the last five years. The lib dems are still saying we could have been Greece, it's infuriating!

So why did you bring up all that nonsense about the winter of discontent, Healey, Red Robbo etc?

Just imagine what the conservatives could have been if they weren't held back by the lib dems? Their promised spending cuts for the next parliament give you a clue. The 2010 intake in particular are zealous small state thatcherites that would go places she never dared

The difference is that labour has got more moderate, whereas the tories are now actually more right wing

The big issue that none of our politicians are taking about at the moment is that the NHS in England is facing a funding shortfall of up to £54bn by 2021-22. Even if planned efficiency measures are successful, then this will only be reduced to at best around £30bn. Our ageing population is changing everything. We either need to accept paying more tax to fund a free health service or accept radical changes.

What other conclusion are we supposed to draw from what you wrote?

First I have to look up the word indolent, and now feckless, seriously guys, this is hard work!

So just to be clear, you genuinely think that everyone living in poverty is in that situation because they are lazy?

But if I've understood right, corporation tax means companies only pay when they've made a profit and can therefore afford it, whereas business rates weigh down small businesses and startups because you have to pay it regardless of how well you're doing. Plus I'm not convinced a slightly lower corporation tax offers any extra incentive to invest or work hard. More profit is more profit at the end of the day, regardless of how much it is taxed

Has this been posted yet? It's a bit easier than the one that was doing the rounds a while ago http://election2015.votematch.org/ I got 86% green, 75% labour, which means I'm more left wing than I thought