Local Elections on Thursday.
 

Are you going to vote?

I am and I have a choice of four candidates to choose from. Just for a change I’ve had about a dozen leaflets from the usual three parties all clammering for my vote. No personal call though.

I got one flyer from the Tories, 3 from the Labour lot and 5 from the Liberals. Plus a new local party called the Darwen Party who gave me three well presented leaflets that outlined their manifesto.

Re: Local Elections on Thursday.
 

I'll be voting for the first time this Thursday.

One question - why do these leaflets never state what the candidate wants to actually DO?!

Are they backing themselves up for the future when people complain?
"Well, I never said I'd do anything!"

They all just criticise the others and plaster their ugly mugs all over the place.

I think eany-meany-miney-mo will be my method of selection on Thursday.

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Re: Local Elections on Thursday.
 

I will be voting and i will be running round like an idiot as usual tomorrow and friday.

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I will vote.....

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Is your voting going to be a s bad as this;

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I WONT be voting. They are ALL the same.

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I always got told to vote because its a vote wasted if you dont and also even if you vote for the person who doesnt get in then you still have the right to complain about them. If you dont vote you havent got the right to moan about the councillor that does get in because you didnt vote it could have been your vote that was the difference between someone getting in or not.

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I'm with Jen, If you don't vote then don't come on wingeing about ANYTHING to do with local politics or goverment as you threw away your right when you couldn't be bothered to vote.

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If you abstain from voting because you are sick of hearing year after year, decade after decade the same rubbish about what they are going to do and never deliver I think you have every right to whinge :)

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i went down and voted half an hour ago, the concervatives round here havent put a candidate in this year, so we had Labour, BNP and Lib Dems

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I won't be voting ths year!

But only because my ward is not up for election. Would do if I could.

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ok i cant spell .....conservative :(

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I'll be voting in an hour or so if I can make it in time before college!

I've received leaflets from the Conservatives, Labour and Greens and can't say i've had the same problem as you Shakermaker :o

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Snap.....:D

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Just back from the polling station and boy was it quiet. Another action done in what is our duty in life. Now for a coffee to cure the brain ache.

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Already been. Only a choice of two, so I'm afraid it wasn't a difficult choice.

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In the same ward so I'm the same. I would do if I could though because my Grandma drummed it into me when I was younger "Women fought for the right for you to vote" So I always have done (well since I was old enough)

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i think some people will vote so that certain councillers wont be elected. my friend who lives in church ward normally doesnt vote but on this occasion she will vote so that the new tory candidate wont be able to become a counciller. god help us all if he does.

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That is an example of the power of the vote.

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We went at 9 oclock and it was very busy,,, we could pick 2 canidates...

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Exactly,,,,Shame on you Anne:D:)

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Well I’ve done my duty in the farce that they call a secret ballot.

My polling card had a number on it.
The list of voters for that area had my name against that number.
The voting slip had a number on the back and a numbered counterfoil.
The clerk wrote my polling list number against a list of voting slip numbers.
Thus it would be possible to relate a person’s vote to a particular person.

Not very secret is it?

Why all these inter-related numbers? We are told that it is to help to prevent voting fraud. Well maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t but it does compromise secrecy and that makes the secret ballot in the UK an out and out farce.

In this day and age with the advent of computers and text recognition software it would be possible for a database to be compiled of who votes for whom. Who knows if this has already been done but what’s the betting that some time in the not too distant future there will be a database of voters votes.

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It does seem quite an antiquated system, and I can see were you are coming from when you suggest that a data base could be constructed from the idividually identifiable voting slips. I suppose at the moment it is the cheapest and easiest way to stop people abusing the system. Perhaps the introduction of identity cards could prevent this.

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We had to post ours unfoled and face down as per the instructions on the pollers card. A4 size sheets as well and the confusion it caused pensioners was unreal (no offence to pensioners) it was crazy and they were coloured.

We to had the numbers and cross reference carry on but I accept that as part as what is to happen even if I dont like it.

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when i went down this morning i was told as usual to cross the one i wanted to vote for, then i had to show them the number on the back of the voting slip before i put it into the box (aswell as show them my card) i thought this was a bit strange as ive never had to do this before

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i cant vote,i got a card through the post this morning and it says....please note that,following the close of nominations for election to teesdale district council,the number of candidates nominated for your area did not exceed the number of vacancies;this means that the election is uncontested and YOU WILL NOT NEED TO GO TO THE POLLING STATION TO VOTE ON THE 3rd MAY 2007.(neither has it been necessary to issue postal votes.
but i wanted to vote but i cant because their isnt anyone to vote for

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snap again........:(

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I've been and voted. Now just to finish off what i was doing last night and get back up hassy with everything. If you see me later on i'll tell you what it was like being an agent for a candidate on voting day.

Cyfr, Gayle - by the way DONT be an agent you get earache from everyone and no thanks!!!! lol

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just a thought, no polling cards arrived at our house this time, but a card arrived yesterday stating( YOU Dont need your polling card to vote, just turn up and give your full name and address. ) as i know 3/4 people on our street that dont vote, surely it would be easy for anyone to go and vote giving this info? if enough did so then the vote could be rigged.:confused:

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Well as you all know I recently moved from one house to another just two streets away, but I crossed a border so I no longer live in Accrington West, I live in Accrington Central.

This gave me a great deal of pleasure because the thought of being able to cast my vote against a man that doesn't speak English, not only as his first language but in any comprehensible way at all was something I was looking forward to. :rolleyes:

However it didn't quite work out like that with my move being so recent I had to go to my old polling station and put an X against the guy opposing one of his friends.

:D

Less (nee Britcliffe)

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It'd be hard because they would recognise you, which brings to rise the question of veils and if you have to lift them to prove your identity while voting?

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wouldnt be hard at all cyfr, you just get mates from another ward to cast the votes, easy if your determined,;)

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Well I can say, categorically, that the candidates are not notified about how people vote. Parties do have a fairly good idea of who votes for them by going around and visiting people and talking to them, so when it comes to elections and knocking up they pretty much know who to contact but don't always get it spot on.

As for the numbers, there has to be some way of verifying each person, they have to ensure that there is no cheating and this is the best way to do it.

However, that said, last year I did identify three ways in which an unscrupulous candidate could cheat or manipulate the vote.

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its good that last year you identified 3 ways gayle, but the question is have they took any notice? would hope so, but the cynical git in me suspects not.;)

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Cashy, I'm sure that there are other candidates how have identified the same three areas, possibly more, and are unscrupulous enough to use them. I didn't and wouldn't, nor would I want to give anyone any ideas.

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yeh it was probably not the best move i ever made (earlier post) just get really bugged when i think of folk cheating.

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I also get really bugged when people cheat.

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i got a card from royal mail mist a parcel being deliverd.went to pick it up but had no form of id on me so i could not pick up.so why when you go to vote you just take your card?

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you dont actually need that card to vote ya know

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so what do you need

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nothing see post 30,just yer name n address.

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so you can go up and say joe bloggs 10 downing street?

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no they check you on the electoral list. you had a few or what davo69?:D

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so i can go and give next doors name and adress and i can use there vote if they avent already used it .? and yes have had a few lol

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yep i already said that way back in thread.pmsl

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so in my close i no 20 people havent voted so i could use there vote .hummmmmmmmmm.what happens if i go to vote and some one as used mine?

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The Lancashire Evening Telegraph have a live link, as the votes come in.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk...ions/hyndburn/

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I was in a lose lose situation - vote for Pritchard who is anti-Stanley or vote tory.
So I didn't bother :D

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heard somewhere the votes wouldn,t be in till friday morning ( not early as used to be):confused:

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People could always employ a cunning disguise.:D

http://www.utexas.edu/student/esl/so...alloween60.jpg

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Just heard on radio lancashire Hyndburn no change:

18 Conservative
15 Labour
2 Independent

Conservatives lost Central to Labour and Labour lost Rishton

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Thanks shillelagh, didn't know where the changes had happened!

Just got home and watching BBC1 now. :D

Funfun!

I hear blackburn with darwen is no overall control, though pending recounts.

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Im listening to radio theyre always quicker than tv. Anyway im off to bed i got to be up and in Whitworth tomorrow morning for rossendales count.

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Is that as in Cunning Stunt? :rolleyes::D:D:D
It suits you by the way.

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something surprised me as I was browsing the HBC site for the election results (nothing posted so far) but what did get my attention was the number of candidates standing for election who live outside the election area ....e.g. one candidate for the Milnshaw ward (Accrington) had a Gt. Harwood address and another for Altham ward had an Oswaldtwistle address, would have thought that a candidate for the local council would have been required to live in the ward in which he/she was up for election .... , local democracy and all that stuff
anyone care to comment ... :confused: :confused:






(since its only a local election I dont suppose it would be necessary to import a Hampstead guacamole slurping socialist ):D :D :D

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Isn't there some significance to that. Does it mean Hyndburn won't have a non-English speaking Mayor after all ?

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not sure dave but it sure as hell pleases me.;)

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CLAYTON-LE-MOORSCandidate Party Votes Janet Storey Conservatives 666


Number of the beast.:evil: :D

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Garinda - I was at the count last night and it was pointed out at the time that Janet Storey had got 'Number of the Beast'. which as she can be very rude - to say the least- did seem appropriate

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Who's Pritchard and why is he/she anti-Stanley?

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Wasn't it something to do with residents complaining about noise/roof etc

There was a he and his daughter who were Councillors in the same ward IIRC

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clare pritchard comes on here from time to time

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Looks like it was smoother down there than the shambles we have up in this neck of the woods. PB will have a grin wider than the Amazon delta this morning.

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That'll do me :)

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Having been hooked to the tv until the early hours and now hooked to the college internet, it seems it has been a great night for the Conservatives! :D

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wouldn't think so cyfr, yes they have made gains as was obvious, in the locals, but NOWHERE near the gains they hoped and projected. they still have a hell of a lot to do,if they want to win a general.:)

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Cyfr, please tell me you don't have a UK constituency map on your bedroom wall with red, blue and yellow pins stuck in, like the young William Hague used to have! :D

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Is that the official statement that all Tories have to say when questioned today ? :D

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.................:rofl38: maybe Cyfr is going to be the future Mr Hague:D

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now mel,wouldnt wish that on anybody.:D

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I was under the impression the Conservatives were aiming to have 700 new councilors and with just under 100 councils to count their votes, they have 566 which I would put them as well on their way to achieving the target!

Of course not! I have the TV and internet to do that for me! :D

I can only wish to be half as dominent as a debater as William Hague!

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xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Do the Tory target figures of 700 only include new councillors, because in some councils they might have won seats but also lost seats as well.
In Hyndburn they gained Rishton, but lost Central, would that count as 1 new councillor (with the lost seat being ignored).
It would be interesting to see the figures for seats gained and seats lost as well.

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Yes I think it means 700 gain in total including losses.

Currently at +690
Labour: -369
Lib Dem: -231
other: -88

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to me they can all bog off, all of em are bloody liars!!....:D

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In Hyndburn the figures for votes cast were as follows-
Green Party - 183
Independent - 838
Tory -

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tory....??? they not added it yet?

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I know the Queen isn't up for re-election this go round;) but wished to make a brief comment on her. You'd think, with all me Accyweb Mates, she'd of had the decency to pop on in for a cuppa during her trip to Virginia. For that may I suggest voting her out next go round? But her to put in her place . . . okay that's for another thread!:D

Carry on!

Brian

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(Ooops I pressed post - before I had finished typing.)
In Hyndburn the figures for votes cast were as follows-
Green Party - 183 (1.03% of votes cast)
Independent - 838 (4.69% of votes cast)
Tory - 8612 (48.25% of votes cast)
Labour - 8217 (46.03% of votes cast)

Total Electorate (in wards contested) 46659
% of voters who voted 38.34

There were no elections in Peel, Spring Hill, St Andrews, Netherton

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know the turn out is usually low in locals, but 38% speaks volumes.:p

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I quite agree, young man, you have a great deal going for you and your insight is remarkable for your age, except that I think it would be a great night for all those torys to go out and hang themselves, I was forced to bring a family up under your darling maggie when your lot did nothing but throw real workers onto the dole but made sure the fat cats could still make their money.

I too would vote tory if I only had my self interests at heart.:clown:

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im just glad that kazi siddike has lost to someone who can at least speak english . i wonder if kazi is still the community cohesion officer. he was given this post by britcliff. i just wonder if kazi has been removed from this position because he is no longer a counciller

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I have a sneaking suspicion that it would not be unreasonable to substitute the name of any political party in place of tory.

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It was close. Obviously some disappointment that the local Tories are still in. We came within 60, 80 and 80 from running the Council with a decent majority of seats, racking up some big wins in other seats where Councillors have worked exceptionally hard.

When I was thinking about the result the Housemartins acclaimed iconically titled debut album came to mind;

Anti-Government Voters 4 - 0 Hyndburn Residents.

People were influenced by an unpopular Labour Government in their voting intentions and local issues took a back seat, just! Without the Anti-Government vote I think the result would have been a Labour Council with such small numbers in those marginal seats.

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The position of Community Liason Office is a Cabinet post on HBC, so as Kazi Siddique was defeated as a councillor yesterday, he will no longer hold this post.

Anyone like to guess who the new older of this office will be?

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The new Mayor is Tony Dobson (with Kazi defeated) to raise his profile as the Conservative Parilamentary Candidate in 2009 aginst Greg Pope.

Marlene Haworth is the new duputy leader rumour has it.

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Well thats over for another 10 months. Will take that long for my feet to recover from the pounding of the streets, brain to forget the insults i received, my knuckles from the knocking on the doors and the voice from going hoarse from all the talking ive done.

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How about the fingers you got trapped in letterboxes. I have quite a few 'battle wounds' on my hands.

I think that there should be a law, that no letterboxes should be fitted at the bottom of doors.It certainly slows leafleting down when you have to juggle a pile of leaflets and bend down to a letterbox at the bottom of the door.

I always pity the poor postman who has to contend with awkward and undersize letterboxes every day.

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Its the dogs on the otherside of them letterboxes that get me!!! Last year ended up in Accy Vic having a tetanus because a dog was at the otherside of the letterbox and when i pushed the leaflet through it bit me!

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Indeed! I had blood on my hands after delivering leaflets around my ward! :p

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I can understand peoples views about Margaret Thatcher, and although I don't believe its really that black and white, I still respect how you feel.

However.. I really do feel that the Conservative party of today is not the same. We arnt fighting socialism anymore, we arnt fighting blackouts from strikes, we arnt facing global recession, some of which are government related some of which arnt. The point being we won the ideological battle and now live in a Liberal Democracy that dosn't need radical policy or government to fix things like strikes, blackouts, economic decline.. Therefore I honestly don't think people should still refer to 30years in the past when they're deciding who to vote for.

After all, many people who voted Labour in 1997 realized that the party was different to that of when Michael Foot was leader in 1983 when Thatcher won her landslide victory.

Personally, if I ever become a councilor or MP, my self interest would be to serve the people, making their lives better. I truly feel that this is the sole purpose of becoming a public servant.

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For those of us who lived through the Margaret Thatcher years, and suffered because of her policies the issues are still very black and white. In East Lancashire we are still saddled with her legacy, she set out to break the back of the industrial infrastructsure of Britian, and the low wage economy of this area is testament to her legacy.

We will never trust the Tories - the history of the party shows that they exisits to conserve the interests of the landowners, employers etc, they believe thay have a 'divine right' to keep us under control.

I am sorry but Cameron will never change the basic underlying aims of the Tory party.

I, for one, still hate the Tories and always will.

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Hate's astrong word, I don't hate anyone, but I know where you are coming from, and totally agree.

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I agree with CyFr on this to some degree. If you are going to continue judging the Conservative party on the Thatcher years then are you going to continue judging the local Labour party in Hyndburn on its failings of six years ago?

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Scratch away the shiny new logo, and all the hug a hoodie nonsense, and the hard core Tory supporters are still the same old biggots that idolised Thatcher.

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I agree completely with you garinda.

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Cyfr, even for a tory that makes no sense, if we live in a liberal society then you should be voting, erm' liberal?

But 30 years ago is still fresh in my mind when I think of the problems one stubborn woman caused for masses of people, she closed steel works and mines that could have still been producing economically for several generations to come. I suppose you could say that some of these workers were compensated by their redundancies, but the torys knew that really that was only a loan that would be paid back because ordinary folk hadn't the resources to use such a windfall without somebody ripping them off, especially when the value of the houses they lived in, in the now defunct mining villages tumbled and drained their resources.

It's the fact that some of us remember 30 years ago that makes me hope we never see the same again.

Nowhere near as bad as the 1930's with starvation, but you try telling a young child that christmas isn't coming because his nice Uncle the Policeman is on overtime but his dad the miner has been arrested because he tried to keep his job!:o

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Don't get me wrong here, I still would never vote for Conservatives but that is because I don't agree with their views and I don't trust Cameron. However, to not vote for them simply because you don't like Thatcher is not a valid enough reason.