General Chat

not really

if a party wins 3 or more elections on the trot - as both tories and labour have managed - then it is unlikely that a majority hate them at that time

the British by and large find politics boring and prefer boring politicians - all the wild deviations from the norm and jack in the box politics will not get the coalition parties re elected

Milliband is keeping low profile and boring, his only sure pronouncements are fixing what are widely seen as deviations eg the bedroom tax and the "minimum wage" which has become a minimal wage

UKIP appeals to all sorts of people and the €uroparl elections ( which the British do not take seriously ) will be a good opportunity to give the parties a poke

the election of 2015 though will be serious and the most boring party will win ; the current mishmash of Tories and Orange Book Liberals are many things to many people but not boring

Farage is of course mildy entertaining and rarely boring if somewhat one dimensional

as it is a topic close to the heart of UKIP it may be worth saying that Labour in power will have even more issues with the €U than the Tories do, but hat is for another day

Don't know why we analyse politics so much, Dermot :-D I think your summary just about covers it all. Just like Barbara Windsor - short and sweet ;-)

No matter who we vote for, the Government always wins.

And the new Government is soon hated just as much, if not more, than the old one. The electorate are never satisfied.

You can tell I know a lot about British politics!

Photo of Mr Farage addressing UKIP Conference:

http://media.photobucket.com/user/daddylittlegirl77/media/kermit_the_frog.png.html?filters[term]=frog&filters[primary]=images&sort=1&o=27

Voting for the 'alternative' party usually end up with the very party you didn't want to get in elected.

Hopefully UKIP have now shown themselves to be the waste of space that they always were.

Having voted in every single election, Local, MP and EP for just over 40 years with the exception of one local election which took place in the middle of a house move, I am also of the opinion that if you don't bother to vote then keep silent.

Not sure I can see Cleggy getting into bed with Ed Milliband at next election. Clegg seems too fit to woo :-) ;-)

And I have just realised that this dirty fridge man who whacks people like Prescott is one of Britain's representives in Brussels. And will remain so. :-(

:-D Rollo, a strong resemblance indeed.

The more Tory voters of the hanging' floggin' bash Johnny Foreigner vote UKIP the more likely that Milliband will be the next PM.

Funny old world.

Nobody seems to have picked up that N Farrage is also a dead ringer with one of the characters in Kenneth Graham's "Wind in the Willows". Probably not Badger.

“Toad, with no one to check his statements or to criticize in an unfriendly spirit, rather let himself go. Indeed, much that he related belonged more properly to the category of what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in-time-instead-of-ten-minutes-afterwards. Those are always the best and raciest adventures; and why should they not be truly ours, as much as the somewhat inadequate things that really come off?”

Parp parp.

lol Merlin it's often the quiet ones ;-)

I had a Young man who worked for me some years ago, very mild mannered would,nt say boo to a goose, However I found out that he played the Drums in a Group at weekends, went to see him, :-D He was Manic, just like the drummer that appeared on that show,even the hairstyle was similar. :-D

Merlin I found out via FR that he eventually 'hopped' all the way to NZ bless him :-D

I suppose you told him to Hop It sometimes. :-D

lol Merlin, whenever i think of Kermit and Miss Piggy, it takes me right back to when i worked with a young man who wore green trousers and perched on the desk with his legs swinging :-) He called me Miss P because I used to toss my hair back in a similar fashion ;-)

RR. Think of Kermit and grin.You never know Miss Piggy might stand for Parliament and win. :-D :-D :-D

Thank you for the serious comments John. though the thread has a degree of levity I am also very concerned about UKIP.

It is imo the 'thin end of the wedge'....a party trading on populist policies to hide their own rather less appetising agenda. A party which attracts to it the Holocaust deniers and racially intolerant MUST have something about it which should concern?

I genuinely do worry, that UKIP is just the 'acceptable alternative face' to the BNP...which also has some 'good' policies if one is not good at reading subtext .

The Devil is in the detail, not the looks of any candidate of any party.

I don't go by looks as far as politics go either Ann...my comment was not to suggest that good looks ( whatever one perceives those to be ) is relevant in voting choice.nor should it be . Just an observation. If he looked ( insert name of beautiful man of your own choice) and not at all frog like I still wouldn't be voting for him. :-D

I must be - I can't remember the last time I cleaned behind my fridge :-S :-0 :-D

glad to hear it - you're no slut obviously :-D

Agree with you there Ann and when I was young thought all politicians looked like Granda :-).......

...by the way just like to say that....I washed behind me fridge yesterday :-D

If TV had been widely available in WW2 d'you think Churchill or Attlee would have been revered for their looks? I don't think so