dune

Local/European elections are where the small parties will do well, not in General elections.

Great news for us savers....:mad: I want them back up to 5.5% asap.

Both the leader and the policies influence how I vote.

I cringe when George osborne appears on the TV. He's such a smarmy little git he could well cost the Tories the election if he gets too much publicity.

I'm not saying they should be ill treated or starved. They should simply be put to work instead of being allowed to doss about playing pool or doing meaningless wood work projects. If the penal system could be made profitable then the money saved on that could go elsewhere or our taxes could be reduced. It makes perfect sense. How about using them to create green electricity as an example. I'm sure you must have had a hamster at some stage so why not put prisoners to work on treadmills to produce power?

The point i'm making is that limiting a candidate to two terms, and we're not a republic so have no president anyway, is undemocratic. If you have an uncorrupt system of voting (as we have) then there's no reason for a limit. America really should have more faith in it's own democracy than it does.

Much of the Liberal vote has always been a protest vote and always will be.

Disagree. the two term rule is fine for fledgling democracies, but we're a little more mature than that.

You're probably right. I'm not keen on Nick griffin - he's a liability, but i agree with BNP policies. That said i'd much prefer the tories to move to the right and win back people like myself that have had to choose parties like the BNP and UKIP. I think it's the same for many of those on the left that wish Labour would move further to the left so they didn't have to turn to the likes of the Greens etc.

David cameron talks of mending a broken Britian and that is going to take some doing. Personally i think we need more police officers, more cctv cameras in crime hotspots and most importantly more prisons. These measures will all cost money, but that needn't be the case. Prisoners currently cost money and this needs to change. There are many secure ways that prisoners can be put to work and when i say work i mean 12 hour shifts 6 days a week. It's measures like this that will mend broken Britian.

On the subject of Belgium...

TBF anyone living a non marginal constituency might as well stay at home.

That response says it all. I don't agree with you ever, but for once can't we just be civil and discuss things properly?

lol, and if his missus can't make it he can always pay for a slapper.

It should cut both ways though. I'll try harder for my part, but VFTT was just as guilty as me yet you didn't single him out.

That's unfair. VFTT regularly dishes out abuse and i've not abused him. I've argued why I think he's wrong and i've given the example of an ex pat Italians view who I know and the view of the Italian people at the 2008 election. Not really sure how you can take a side here baj. I respect you want things kept civil and there's no reason why these things can't be discussed civilly.

Saints best hope is 74 points realistically. That means Huddersfield will have to pick up 6 points or less from 6 games. They'll pick up more than that.

But i've already acknowledged that Berlosconis personality is an extreme, but it is a personality non the less. In modern politics you need to be able to connect with the electorate in some way to show you are human, Brown can't do it becuase he's a loner. And apologies for you thinking i presume to know you. Perhaps you can elaborate on your qualification to speak for the Italian electorate (despite the election result).

I refer you back to my earlier point and that was that berlosconi has a personality and Gordon Brown doesn't imo. I think we're going way off the radar here with this debate on Italian politics. I have no real interest in Italian politics and on that basis i will bow to your superior knowledge on the subject. I tend to base my views on the results of elections and the last time I looked Berloscone polled 37% of the vote, but obviously you're right and i'm wrong because you've been on holiday there.

But you do acknowledge that Gordon Brown was told to start smiling more?

I see so the Italians you've spoken to are representative, but Italians with a different view are not. VFTT by all means put your case accross but do not presume to speak for everyone.

I apologise, I was wrongly under the impression that people you talked of had spent more than a fleeting moment chatting to gordon at a staged engagement. Even for Gordon Brown it's conceiveable he could come accross as being charming and funny when Mandelson had arranged proceedings. But is that the real Gordon Brown or the "Smiley" Gordon Brown that suddenly appeared in 2009?

So your views are the views of the Italian ellectorate are they?

OK OK, that was presumptious, so now tell me that all these people that think Gordon brown is the life and soul of the party have never voted Labour in their lives.

I want a leader with a little bit of charisma. Berlosconi is an extreme but i was chatting to my neighbours daughter last year who was a massive fan of berlosconi (she lives in Italy and is married to an Italian). I don't think you understand the Italian psyche. What is seen as inapropriate here is viewed very differently there.