Tonight's seven~horse TV debate. Place your bets.

[Scuffers]

clockworks said:

Personally, I think that a Boris/Farage double act would be a good thing in 5 years time.

that's pretty much my thinking..

CMD is a nice enough guy, but totally in-effective and lacking 'drive'

Boris for all his buffoonery seems to get the job done and has actually supported some of UKIP's policies

[wc98]

Mr Whippy said:

Anyone but UKIP will see us being bhes to Europe and slaves to their form of corporate elite oligarchy under TTIP and the 'best that money can buy' democracy the USA offers.



I'm confused why anyone wants to be part of the EU given how the Greece situation is unfolding. It's proving the EU is only there for those in power. The people of member states are treated like st for the benefit of a few.

Dave

i cannot believe how the average europhile cannot see this is exactly what is happening. the original concept was great, no wonder people voted for it.unfortunately as with most things where people get a taste of some power and influence it rapidly went tits up. in effect it is just a larger version of your average local uk council,where there are a few staff in place to face the public and the people that make all decisions (and piss the populace off) are securely locked in their ivory towers to keep the plebs away .
it is now a large clique of nepotism,graft and corruption, all paid for by what must be the meekest population of europeans ever seen on earth.

[MGJohn]

clockworks said:

... but a Tory/UKIP coalition seems like the best option this time around.

Personally, I think that a Boris/Farage double act would be a good thing in 5 years time.

Hardly worse than any of the current possible outcomes.

I shall be voting UKIP for the first time in my life. If that means as some would have us believe that will allow the hoirrific Two Eds scenario access to Downing Street, so be it!

What really was interestying to see in the aftermath of last night's seven sided TV debate was the huge variation in the results of various Polls. One TV report showed that Nigel Farage was voted the most effective and least effective speaker! Other polls showed permutate any 4 from seven as the top three.... hiow much of a reliable indicator are those polls ... no chance.

With that in mind, just maybe the GE Polls so far have provided data just as unreliable. I suspect many folks for various reasons, are loath to reveal where their vote will go come May 7th. TV folks stopping people and asking how they will vote showed a high proportion who were not prepared to say where their vote will go. Where those reticent folks finally place their Xs could torpedo all the data gathered on the polls so far.

[Halb]

There are three debates yes?
Have we had all three?

[carinaman]

Around 17.15 on Radio 4's PM they went through the stats used by Farage on HIV and the number of houses we needed to build.

[anonymous-user]

I'm not sure what they went through on radio 4 but from buzzfeed-quoting a report from public health england

6,000 (not 7000) people diagnosed with HIV in 2013, of whom 54% were foreign-born. Country of birth data only available for 83% of the 6000

The number peaked in 2005 (at 7,890), decline put down to fewer diagnoses reported among heterosexuals born in high HIV prevalence countries.

[GadgeS3C]

carinaman said:

Around 17.15 on Radio 4's PM they went through the stats used by Farage on HIV and the number of houses we needed to build.

Just heard that - they said he was wrong. Only 6,000 HIV diagnoses a year. Seemed to be practically impossible to work out how many were "entitled" to treatment on the NHS, some were from countries with reciprocal health care agreements, other weren't. Some were born here, etc.

Bottomline his number seemed a bit high currently but the HIV diagnoses have been declining and a few years ago it could well have been correct.

To say he was wrong from the available data seemed a little unfair. There was still a good few million being spent on it.

He wasn't far off on the house building number.

I'm not a UKIP fan but I do like to see "facts" in the right ball park. I'm not going to get too upset over 6,000 vs 7,000.

[anonymous-user]

Just to throw another post in there.

As far as I can tell (willing to be proved wrong) anti-HIV drugs also reduce the chance of passing on the disease, so isn't the money spent on the drugs also about protecting the population at large?

[NicD]

cookie118 said:

Just to throw another post in there.

As far as I can tell (willing to be proved wrong) anti-HIV drugs also reduce the chance of passing on the disease, so isn't the money spent on the drugs also about protecting the population at large?

Yes, it it is used as a public interest reason.

[anonymous-user]

i would vote for farage, but not ukip. he has old skool charm with underlying core values of character. he appears to speak honestly as well.

[VolvoT5]

The Spruce goose said:

i would vote for farage, but not ukip. he has old skool charm with underlying core values of character. he appears to speak honestly as well.

^ Makes no sense at all. Farage IS ukip, they wouldn't even be on the radar but for him. He sets the whole ukip agenda as far as I can see.

[bitchstewie]

The Spruce goose said:

i would vote for farage, but not ukip. he has old skool charm with underlying core values of character. he appears to speak honestly as well.

The thing I do find interesting about UKIP is, other than Farage, name a UKIP politician?

I'd like to consider myself reasonably familiar with politics in so much as I know (some) ministers and would recognise a lot of MP names etc.

With UKIP I couldn't identify anyone in the party beyond Farage.

It's just interesting because to me it does suggest a lot of people are voting on the man rather than the party.

[spaximus]

Rollin said:

spaximus said:

Well many go in to Med school as post grad, here they pay the first year and the NHS pays the rest. So would it be wrong to expect any country taking a Doctor once qualified to not pay that.
I agree we could make it better for Doctors, but she works hard but understands that others not a medical profession work just as hard if not harder. She has no intention of leaving but others are already looking at this as there are jobs which pay more for much less. As for drop out rates, many reasons, not all of those are workload or conditions.

I see nothing wrong in having an arrangement that people sign to keep them for a period of time so society gets the benefit, we could argue the length, we could argue the compensation level from another country. In the army you sign up for a period of time, so is it that wrong?

Are you going to apply this restriction of work to all graduates?

How do you think the number of applications to medical schools will change?

Not to all graduates, but those who have had a huge benefit of world class instruction in medicine I see no wrong in wanting commitment to serve those who have helped fund it. Other graduates fully fund their entire education so they have paid for what they get, all in my opinion which others are free to accept.
As for the numbers, there are many more applicants than there are places in British Med schools but I think we need to understand that the world does not train enough Doctors which is why a large number of countries the UK included try to attract people to their health facilities.

The NHS and health care in general is such an issue that perhaps we need to start thinking outside the norm. Cameron saying that Doctors surgeries will be open 7 day's per week 8am-8pm is a good example. Most would say it sensible, but how will this be delivered with so few Doctors?

[Negative Creep]

Ii was interesting to hear Natalie Bennet state that she agrees with immigration controls when her party's manifesto says rich countries don't have the rights to impose one

http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/mg.html

[bitchstewie]

fking hell has anyone seen the ad on Sky with Cameron, Ed, Nick, and Nigel "singing" I swear?

https://youtu.be/MH0K_XIIBow

Pure comedy

[carinaman]

Guam said:

carinaman said:

Around 17.15 on Radio 4's PM they went through the stats used by Farage on HIV and the number of houses we needed to build.

And?
What was your opinion?

I don't think going through the stats completely negated the points he made.

It reminded me of Evan Davis giving Grant Shapps a hard time about £12 Billion of cuts, rather than £60 Billion of cuts over a 5 year term on Monday on Newsnight.

[BGARK]

I was working with a Romanian colleague today who has no clue about the elections or politics within the UK.

For a bit of fun I sent him this link have a go at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2...

The result.. 75% UKIP.

His comments when chatting about some of his own values, nothing instigated by me he very clearly said that if it was up to him he wouldn't have let half the idiots he knows into this country!

[vonuber]

bad company said:

Scuffers said:

Bradgate said:

Except they would probably use different terminology to describe homosexuals....

you do talk rubbish!

.

You used the term poofters if I recall (with regards to the EA spreading gay propaganda)?

[MGJohn]

BGARK said:

I was working with a Romanian colleague today who has no clue about the elections or politics within the UK.

For a bit of fun I sent him this link have a go at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2...

The result.. 75% UKIP.

His comments when chatting about some of his own values, nothing instigated by me he very clearly said that if it was up to him he wouldn't have let half the idiots he knows into this country!

Funny you say that, I have two long standing immigrant friends both who my wife and I have known for at least twenty years. A lady who is Polish and a gent from the Caribbean. Talking to them, both agree immigration has gone beyond control in the UK. The Polish friend is frequently used by the local Police for interpretation jobs as many here cannot speak a word of English ... or, maybe pretend not too when nicked.

More recently, I was removing a Turbocharger unit from a car in a breaker yard. Working on the cars each side of me were two guys both of Eastern European origin. Two different countries. How do I know this? I asked them when both asked me if they could borrow a tool from me and I helped. Jokingly I told both not to leave the country before returning my tool. One told me he has no respect of the other lazy so-and-so because of their country of origin.

Only in the UK....

Yuz cudnee mek eet oop.

[Thorodin]

While watching the very self-satisfied Nicola, it dawned on me that we are being taken large. It is just possible, even likely, that Alec, realising that he personally riled more Scots voters than any other cause and that it was he that 'lost' the vote, made a pact with Nicola. Alec would strategically withdraw from the pointy end allowing she to take the reins so he could return to prominence if and when SNP became significant in Westminster. Then referendum with impetus.