Election Year or Fear!

[ramAnag]

The ‘Russian’ thing relates to my priorities (and your lack of). Using a Derby County analogy, you wouldn’t have your wish list for incoming transfers for the new season if there was no Derby County would you? So survival of the club always took priority. Likewise, I value the place we live (the British Isles) as highest priority, from which and into which all other things flow. I therefore value defence of the the realm above the other considerations. That falls into pure defence (from let’s say Russia) defence from attack on our way of life (let’s say radical Islam) and defence from more insidious ‘actors’ (let’s say China). Just a personal view, but I’m not surprised you excluded it

Andy…I didn’t exclude anything and of course I recognise the need for defence spending. I was identifying the things that explicitly need attention and putting right after the last 14 years of neglect. Maybe defence is another…I wouldn’t know but it may well be.

[Andy_Faber]

Andy…I didn’t exclude anything and of course I recognise the need for defence spending. I was identifying the things that explicitly need attention and putting right after the last 14 years of neglect. Maybe defence is another…I wouldn’t know but it may well be.

‘14 years of neglect’…you’re so easily drawn in rA!

Anyway you have my answer, although I would never volunteer any tax payment not due, if my tax went up for ‘the general good’ and was spent effectively then yes I wouldn’t be on the streets protesting about a modest increase. It’s happened often enough over the years relating to one particular ‘income stream’ I have that I’m used to it

[ramAnag]

You’ll have to explain that first sentence. Why else are schools, hospitals and roads in such a comparatively dreadful state?

I had your answer early doors this morning and appreciate it. Of course none of us would ‘volunteer any tax payment not due’ - other than charitable giving which I suppose is a form of totally selective and entirely voluntary conscience/gratitude ‘tax’ - but the point is…in the grown up real world we have to contribute towards the things we want and in terms of ‘services’ that is very likely to involve higher taxation. As ever…if we get what we pay for I, for one, won’t be objecting.

[Andy_Faber]

[QUOTE=ramAnag;40518367]You’ll have to explain that first sentence. Why else are schools, hospitals and roads in such a comparatively dreadful state?

A number of reasons and not all laid at HMG door. That's why I say our partisan, your first thought (over many years and subjects) is to find or hope for fault in the Tories or Brexit, and whist they are a long way from being brilliant, there have and continue to be other factors, many of which I've bleated on about in a non-partisan way - 'waste' (poor processes), increased demand (partly but not solely immigration), higher expectations, and the eggshells that public servants have to negotiate to stay 'clean' (which I guess has an impact on 'waste') etc etc. I might be unusual but when there's a cock -up my first thought isn't to dump on the people in charge, in terms of politics I think yours is.

As we are in a (hopefully long-lasting) period of ceasefire, I'd be interested to know the criteria you use for voting intentions. I've seen 'anyone but the Tories' which IMO is a bit sad