UK General Election - 12th December 2019 | Con 365, Lab 203, LD 11, SNP 48, Other 23 - Tory Majority of 80

How do you intend to vote in the 2019 General Election if eligible?

  • Brexit Party

    Votes: 30 4.3%
  • Conservatives

    Votes: 73 10.6%
  • DUP

    Votes: 5 0.7%
  • Green

    Votes: 23 3.3%
  • Labour

    Votes: 355 51.4%
  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 58 8.4%
  • Plaid Cymru

    Votes: 3 0.4%
  • Sinn Fein

    Votes: 9 1.3%
  • SNP

    Votes: 19 2.8%
  • UKIP

    Votes: 6 0.9%
  • Independent

    Votes: 1 0.1%
  • Other (BNP, Change UK, UUP and anyone else that I have forgotten)

    Votes: 10 1.4%
  • Not voting

    Votes: 57 8.3%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 41 5.9%

  • Total voters
    690
  • Poll closed .
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Paul the Wolf

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They'll likely turn out like most governments which is keep some manifesto promises, break others but generally move in the direction that they say they will. This internet policy makes sense and will be good for the economy, I reckon they'll mostly end up doing it but some rural areas will still have issues.

This is more than I can say for the Tories who seem have broken almost every promise they've made (with the unfortunate exception of running an EU referendum).
I live in the middle of nowhere in rural France and fibre optic broadband is being rolled out everywhere and where I live we are due to have it by middle of next year but the service won't be free. Slightly more expensive than current broadband.
Not saying the Tories haven't been terrible but this scheme doesn't seem feasible, for free, and take another 10 years by which time new technology would have taken over. BT shares have dropped, investors are worried and Labour would have to win at least 3 consecutive GEs to see it through and it's being financed by giving the current shareholders government gilts and again the big corporations to finance the maintenance.
The more far-fetched schemes Labour propose the less likely they are going to attract votes.
 

NinjaFletch

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Hear me out guys.

Maybe, maybe, if we didn't accept the Tories selling off national assets to their mates in cut price deals that benefit nobody but themselves in a thinly disguised exercise in corruption, Labour wouldn't have to promise to spend vast quantities of money to buy them back?
 

EwanI Ted

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Hear me out guys.

Maybe, maybe, if we didn't accept the Tories selling off national assets to their mates in cut price deals that benefit nobody but themselves in a thinly disguised exercise in corruption, Labour wouldn't have to promise to spend vast quantities of money to buy them back?
I wouldn’t have privatised things like water if were up to me. But that doesn’t mean renationalising it now is a good use of cash.
 

Mr Pigeon

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'The PM describes Labour's pledge of free broadband for all as "a crackpot scheme" that would cost "many tens of billions of taxpayers' money". He adds the Tories will deliver gigabit broadband for all.'

-----
'Referring to the report on the Daily Telegraph's front page, the PM asks: "What is this nonsense?"

"I am sure there are conversations that take place between politicians of all parties but certainly nobody's been offered a peerage."'

------
'"The FCO is working around the clock to secure the release not just of Naznanin and her family... but to secure the release of all dual national prisoners who are held in Tehran," he says.

"I've made it clear to the Iranian authorities that they have no business detaining her."

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained at an Iranian airport in April 2016, while travelling home to London with her young daughter.'

-----
'"I love fish and chips," says Boris Johnson, adding that he wants to support the industry.

"Once we get Brexit done we will have entire marine wealth - entire fisheries of the UK will be under the control of the UK.

"We want to help small businesses with business rate relief.

"WIth skills... we're putting £2bn into training people up in skills."'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/election-2019-50428848
 

Mr Pigeon

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Hear me out guys.

Maybe, maybe, if we didn't accept the Tories selling off national assets to their mates in cut price deals that benefit nobody but themselves in a thinly disguised exercise in corruption, Labour wouldn't have to promise to spend vast quantities of money to buy them back?
That's crazy talk. Clearly you're a socialist plant from those Russian backed Labour crooks who've destroyed the NHS over the last 9 years.
 

Smores

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It's probably a poor policy overall compared to other routes to improve broadband access but perhaps a vote winner. I'd certainly rather this money was spent elsewhere.
 

Classical Mechanic

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Labour support in the poll is at its lowest level since it came out, 47.4%, why is that and where have they moved to?

Just dropped down to 47.2%???
Probably because the Tory's cheap tricks to influence the debate on a shallow level work. I think the noise around maintaining and extending(!) free movement is a real vote killer too. I know it's not going to be in the manifesto but high ranking Labour politicians like Abbott seemingly publicly advocating it makes it easy for opposition forces to weaponise the idea against Labour.
 

Sassy Colin

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Probably because the Tory's cheap tricks to influence the debate on a shallow level work. I think the noise around maintaining and extending(!) free movement is a real vote killer too. I know it's not going to be in the manifesto but high ranking Labour politicians like Abbott seemingly publicly advocating it makes it easy for opposition forces to weaponise the idea against Labour.
We're talking about RedCafe here :wenger:
 

Pexbo

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Is there anywhere in the world where broadband is free? I've never come across it.

It amazes me that people don't see through these blatant bribes. It will cost 30b to deploy to all homes and a few hundred million per year to run, all from the magic money tree.
30bn to deploy and a few hundred million a year to run sounds like absolute chump change compared to the figures that have already been pissed away in Brexit preparations and the benefits that could be had in ensuring the entire country has equal access to broadband are huge.

It's being dismissed as fanciful at best and radical at worst but I'm not sure why. Technology and the internet isn't some future concept and luxury, it's very much the present and a dependency of modern life. The digital divide is a very real thing and the digital infrastructure of a country has an obvious correlation with the strength of it's economy.
 

MikeUpNorth

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A return to a statist approach from Labour seems like a disaster waiting to happen. I think this is unfortunately the first election of my lifetime where I won't be voting Labour.
 

Sassy Colin

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30bn to deploy and a few hundred million a year to run sounds like absolute chump change compared to the figures that have already been pissed away in Brexit preparations and the benefits that could be had in ensuring the entire country has equal access to broadband are huge.

It's being dismissed as fanciful at best and radical at worst but I'm not sure why. Technology and the internet isn't some future concept and luxury, it's very much the present and a dependency of modern life. The digital divide is a very real thing and the digital infrastructure of a country has an obvious correlation with the strength of it's economy.
Why don't they buy the rights to PL football while they are at it, then it can be free to air on the BBC. £4.5B should do it for a 3 year deal, good value for the tax payer, pocket change really, and watching football should be a basic human right. They should do the same for Test matches, too. :)
 

Kaos

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Really wish they’d press Johnson/Tories more on the Russian donors and how he just casually suppressed the report of the investigation being released. Tories getting away with murder.
 

berbatrick

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So to summarise there's the current reality of private players all of which have to give data over to the govt. This data transfer from the competing ISPs to the govt happened long before there was any publicly-known legal framework for it - it was part of what Snowden revealed about the five eyes surveillance. There's the known reality that other governments from the same continent have provided unrestricted uncensored free and fast internet universally. And there is the manifesto promise about protecting privacy from a person with a consistent record on civil rights. But market competition is literally magic which can undo the actually occuring reality, therefore the policy is bad.
 

11101

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30bn to deploy and a few hundred million a year to run sounds like absolute chump change compared to the figures that have already been pissed away in Brexit preparations and the benefits that could be had in ensuring the entire country has equal access to broadband are huge.

It's being dismissed as fanciful at best and radical at worst but I'm not sure why. Technology and the internet isn't some future concept and luxury, it's very much the present and a dependency of modern life. The digital divide is a very real thing and the digital infrastructure of a country has an obvious correlation with the strength of it's economy.
All true, but why does it have to be free? Invest in the infrastructure by all means but then giving it away for nothing is just a blatant vote bribe and not sustainable.
 

711

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BT share price down 2% at the moment, which I presume is based on the current chance of there being a Labour government.

If we can suddenly find £30b from wherever wouldn't it be better going to social care and the NHS? And what @11101 said.
 

T00lsh3d

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That's how Lingard always get 1% of the MotM vote, I guess. Blame Liverpool supporters, I say.
Yes. I don't even think Lingard has one of those deluded acolytes on here. The poor lamb.
Can we get Lingard Nationalised? He’s surely an asset that’s being run hugely inefficiently in the private sector. There’d be no qualms from me if they offered below market value
 

Drifter

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Free Broadband for everybody sounds like a great idea .But i have no faith in the infrastructure in this country.Could it handle the demand? ,2019 and some rural areas are still getting slow speeds. And i just don't trust the Government when it comes to this particular issue.
 

Shamwow

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wtf are you on about?

Broadband is more of a basic human right that water, why don't you use your fecking head. I know which one is more important to me.

People are just downright fecking rude in this place.
You don't deserve civility after your previous posts.

Anyway I can see you didn't use your brain. Think about the finite quantity of water Vs the quantity of internets. Do you remember the last internet drought?
 

Sassy Colin

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BT share price down 2% at the moment, which I presume is based on the current chance of there being a Labour government.

If we can suddenly find £30b from wherever wouldn't it be better going to social care and the NHS? And what @11101 said.
Exactly, there are a lot more useful things to spend £30B on, why can't we have free water instead?
 

Mr Pigeon

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Really wish they’d press Johnson/Tories more on the Russian donors and how he just casually suppressed the report of the investigation being released. Tories getting away with murder.
Taken from the BBC 5Live interview at 9 today;

Q: Why aren’t you publishing the report on Russia before the election?

Johnson says he sees no reason to change the normal procedures just because there is an election.

Q: But it has been cleared for publication by the intelligence agencies.

Johnson repeats the point about there being no need to change the standard publication procedures.

(Dominic Grieve, the intelligence and security committee chair, has said it is not true to say that it is normal for No 10 to hold up a report like this for weeks. It has happened before, when a reports needs security clearance. But this report was cleared by the intelligence services some time ago.)

Q: How many Russian oligarchs donate to the Conservative party?

Johnson says those figures are publicly available.
Taken from the Guardian live blog
 

Ultimate Grib

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Free Broadband for everybody sounds like a great idea .But i have no faith in the infrastructure in this country.Could it handle the demand? ,2019 and some rural areas are still getting slow speeds. And i just don't trust the Government when it comes to this particular issue.
The whole point of the policy is to build the insfrastructure required for the technological revolution. We're very far behind at the moment. Bottom of the list.
 

Pexbo

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All true, but why does it have to be free? Invest in the infrastructure by all means but then giving it away for nothing is just a blatant vote bribe and not sustainable.
Because we're served by our government, we're not their customers. Giving everyone in the country free access to the internet would be a huge boost towards greater prosperity for the entire country.

Most people here seem to have the mindset that the internet is merely a luxury entertainment tool. It's the backbone of the global economy and it's an invaluable source of information. Guaranteeing that adults and children alike have access to it no matter what their financial status is would be a huge advantage compared to other countries for whom it's still a luxury.
 

Shamwow

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All the more reason to secure and provide free water supplies, it's far more essential need than broadband. Any brainless idiot can see that.
Alright water is free for everyone, what's to stop some unscrupulous business exploiting that and causing a local water shortage.
 

711

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Because we're served by our government, we're not their customers. Giving everyone in the country free access to the internet would be a huge boost towards greater prosperity for the entire country.

Most people here seem to have the mindset that the internet is merely a luxury entertainment tool. It's the backbone of the global economy and it's an invaluable source of information. Guaranteeing that adults and children alike have access to it no matter what their financial status is would be a huge advantage compared to other countries for whom it's still a luxury.
I can see the point about access, but why free? Why can't the pensioner on no more than state pension have the cash to spend on heating instead? Why can't the young parent using a foodbank spend it on winter clothes for the kids? Shouldn't they have the choice?
 

Pexbo

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I can see the point about access, but why free? Why can't the pensioner on no more than state pension have the cash to spend on heating instead? Why can't the young parent using a foodbank spend it on winter clothes for the kids? Shouldn't they have the choice?
That can be said for just about anything that taxes are spent on. Take roads for example which are "free" for everyone to use and paid for by taxes. I'd argue that the internet is merely a digital transport network. It's essential in the modern day world to have access to it.
 

FlawlessThaw

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The fact that EHRC haven't looked into the Conservative Party at all is a bit bizarre.
 
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