Election night party

[benedetti]

You are all invited to an election night party............. Who will win? I'm going to get bloottered anyway. xxx

[D and E]

The people won't win that's for sure : it will be a more a matter of what party will see us lose least. The anti-public sector agenda is so short sighted and if enacted will see us right back in recession. Working in the public sector I do see much waste but it needs to be addressed properly over time - quick fixes may attract voters but after 35 years I have never seem them work.

Anyway we will be on Symi when the "great" event takes place and our postal votes will probably be aiding the hung parliament that our money is on. We will be sitting in The Rainbow Bar without a thought for Brown, Clegg or Cameron - but we will think of you, Benedetti, consuming whatever tiple is your fancy.

[peterv]

I wish I could be there too D and E, unfortunately the election is a week too early for that. Benedetti can I join you, I have some Ouzo and Metaxa for starters

[Olga]

Like D and E, I will be on Symi(The volcano god and air traffic control permitting), anyone know if there is a bar where it may be possible to get news the next day?

[Allan]

The Sunrise Kafenion in Chorio usually has UK 24 hour news on (BBC World I think). If you want to watch the results live on the night The Two A's bar is your best bet (unless there's football on of course). They should be able to find a news channel for you and will stay open as long as you like.

[Olga]

Thanks Allan, not sure I want to watch the actual battle, the edited highlights next day will be fine, you know what they say, "no matter who you vote for, the Government allways gets in".

[snoopy2]

[quote="benedetti"]

You are all invited to an election night party............. Who will win? I'm going to get bloottered anyway. xxx
[/quote]
I am with you. Got 3/4 of a bottle of Mataxa - may as well blur the edges a little as the results pour in!

[benedetti]

I think it is the most interesting election for years. I'm ashamed to say that last year after a lifetime of voting and working for Labour I did not vote at all. This year it will be a tactical vote to keep the Tories out of Colchester and Green with my heart in the Council vote.

[snoopy2]

ops: I agree Benedetti - not since Blair missed it then got it on the second go has there been such excitment. I too will be voting tactically although if i thought labour had one iota of chance in my constituancy i would vote for them. Brown is the only fella that can get us through the economic mess and for all his personal faults i think truly cares what happens to people. Not an elected leader but Blairy boy kept him in the wings too long. Poor guy has had to pick up on a lot of 'golden boy' Blair's mistakes as well as dealing with a global economic catastrophe. Will be napping tomorrow afternon as training for keeping awake throughout the night.

[sugardens]

Here in Bath we have a great MP but unfortunately he's LIB-DEM!! It's Conservative country round here so he's got a battle on his hands to keep his seat. Expect there will be tactical voting going on to keep the tories out - hopefully! Would prefer a good Green myself but there's no-one tough enough to give it a go.
I've got a drop of chocolate liqueur left over from Xmas which should suffice on the night...maybe have a glass or two of wine first to make it stretch!?

[Kojak]

I'll be sticking to the "True Blue" vote. I do hope too many don't vote tactically because a hung Parliament is the last thing we need. I remember the last time we had a minority government and nothing was done - it just muddled through trying to survive.

[MacDuff]

As an external viewer of things British, may I make one or two observations:

In the British election, the overwhelming necessity of reforming the public sector stands out. It is not just that the budget deficit is a terrifying 11.6% of GDP, a figure that makes tax rises and spending cuts inevitable. Government now accounts for over half the economy rising to 70% in Northern Ireland. For Britain to thrive, this liberty destroying Leviathan has to be tackled.

A prime minister should not get too much credit for climbing out of a hole he himself dug as chancellor. Chancellor Brown poured money into public services. As a result, Britain's budget deficit is almost as big as Greece's in proportion to its economy; its public sector is larger. This is a time-bomb of a legacy, and one that Mr. Brown is ill equipped to defuse. The prime minister has tended to take the side of producers-especially the public sector unions-rather than consumers. He frustrated some of Mr. Blair's efforts to reform the health services and education and slowed down others once he became prime minister.

Above all, the (Labour) government is tired. Mired in infighting and scandal, just as the Tories were in 1997. New Labour has run its course.Some hope that a hung parliament would usher in a refashioning of the centre-left: a Mandelsoned and Milibanded party would arise. But it is better for the country (U.K.) that Labour has its looming nervous breakdown in opposition. A change of government is essential.

These are not the views of a rabid right winger, I copied the above comments directly from The Economist of May 1st. Not known as a right wing magazine, indeed one which supported New Labour in the two previous elections!!!

But as a Canadian, I have to say that the value of the pound reflects the economy of the U.K. and the pound is just about flat on its face in the money markets. Yes, by not being involved in the Euro zone, the U.K. pound can slide on it's own. The Euro is burdened by the problem's of Greece's nightmarish debt and trying to bail it out (again, from a hole which Greece dug). The pound's slide down the slippery slope reflects the management capabilities of Mr. Brown's government.

Why should I care? Well my U.K. pensions when converted, are worth only two thirds of their value only two years ago. Remember that it was "our 'arold" Wilson who devalued the pound to 14/6d. It was Honest Jim Callaghan who had to bring in the IMF and it is "Wee Gordie Broon who dug the current hole. "Old" Labour? "New" Labour?
Like Lugless Douglas, a new name doesn't change the spots.

The U.K. bank collapses were a consequence of lack of suitable regulations and Mr. Brown's relationship to the City. We in Canada did not have to give a single buck in support of our banks - and our government is right wing.

I say all this, because like many ex-pats, I have been concerned to see a once great country abandon standards, morality and integrity. Whatever government emerges from the election, I wish it every success in dragging the U.K. out of the financial morass.

[peterv]

I like the comments Macduff made-

However I would comment on the "a Mandelsoned and Milibanded party" bit. Mandy is the guru who gave us blair, and then was made to resign from the cabinet twice and then sent to Europe. I believe he is the one who "saved" labour from a humiliating disaster this time round.

As for Gordon, he encouraged everyone to spend, spend, spend on borrowed money. It is only low interest rates that has saved the general public a lot of pain and able to repay some of the debt. If interest rates had not fallen, there would be a very large number of people really hurting now the economy is very tight.

Without going into great detail about why the banks (in the US and UK) messed up, it is very simplistically a matter of the US banks desparate to "grow" their business by lending to people who had no ability to pay it back, packaging up the debts and selling them to other banks.

It is appropriate to note that it was a US bank that helped the Greek Government disguise its liabilities and get into the Euro. If it was not for the activities of the US bank, Greece would never have got into the Euro.

Last year (until October) I worked for a UK insurance company owned by a US company, and the UK arm was bought on the cheap (about 1/2 price) by a Canadian based company. I am now being made redundant (Hooray!!!!) and am planning to leave the UK later in the year.


Sorry lecture over!

Anyone who wants more detail, I will be on Symi on 12th! I should be found at Pachos on at least one evening.

[Kojak]

"Found" at Pachos? Under the table? A man after my own heart! I'll probably join you there after May 19th.

[MacDuff]

Yes Peterv, the House(s) of cards was constructed primarily by the U.S. banking system and has seriously affected the economies of the western world. "Oor wee Gordie Broon" however somewhat strangely for a man of the left, became enamoured of the City and lack of sensible banking regulations by New Labour, permitted the growth of Northern Rock, RBS and the like. We here had sensible banking regulations and our current government would not for example allow our banks to sell insurance in their branches. But the realities of today for the U.K. are those adumbrated by The Economist. Whatever government emerges from the current discussions, there is an unavoidable need to address the terrifying U.K. debt. Doind so is going to be painful for a very large number of people who will suffer the same type of loss of income, jobs and government services that is currently staring Greece in the face. This will be a long term problem not in terms of months, but years. Yes, Canadian banks did not experience the rapid growth and "earnings" experienced by U.S. U.K. and European banks. But then none went broke and none had to receive public money (ie: taxpayers money). Public sevice unions going on strike will resolve nothing, irrespective of the colour of government. I don't envy whichever form of government has to start to clear up the Gordie Broon and Tony Blare mess. Reminds one of the old saying: "How much does a Grecian urn."

[peterv]

And here was me trying to be apolitical

Yes, there is a mess that needs to be cleared up, and the unions have started.. BA cabin crew for starters.

Yes, Kojak... Found is the appropriate word!