Paphos People

As an avid political geek I watch the newscasts with huge interest. This political campaign has proved so astonishingly close that I am just staggered at the amount of support there seems to be for a party which almost bankrupted the UK. How anyone can even think of supporting Labour is truly beyond me. All this party stands for is further ruination of UK.COM

Along with many others I'm clearly not alone in remembering their leaving note in the treasury - 'there's no money left' . The sadness is that they meant it!

The creepy, sycophantic,self-seeking Bliar, followed by the wholly inept gold-selling, pension-raiding Brown brought the UK to its knees. Cameron and Osborne, even whilst being shackled by their Lib Dem partners have restored the UK finances and set the country back on its feet.

So why does the man in the street continue to support this utterly failing Labour party and it's equally inept, jaded and ruthless leader. He who had no qualms about stabbing his far superior brother in the back and hitching his star to the manipulation of the unions, Len Mcluskey in particular, and (albeit whilst lying through his back teeth) to the equally cloaked dagger of Sturgeon.

I do believe Sturgeon, along with her puppet master Salmond, have much to answer for in this campaign. I watched with disdain the sheer thuggery of the SNP during the referendum and have been astonished that it has reared its ugly head yet again in these election hustings.

I have no allegiance whatsoever to the dismal Labour party but feel deeply for Jim Murphy the leader of that party in Scotland who, yet again, had to contend with the thuggery of the SNP when legitimately campaigning for his party in Scotland. This was a replay of his referendum campaign and was equally disgraceful.

Sturgeon and Salmond have much to answer for and it will be the death knell of democracy if they have even a whisper of an input into UK politics in any future parliament. Any 'A' level sixth form accountancy candidate could tell the country that their sums simply don't add up, and will cost the UK dearly if they ever have so much as a voice in any decisions concerning the UK as a whole.

14 Photos of British Politicians Improved By “Game Of Thrones” Quotes
http://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/an-election-is-coming?bfwa#.nf2e8wGVyp

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

You continually tell us that the British media tell lies about Russia but donT seem to realise that they do the same about the SNP. The thuggery you talk about is mostly from the unionists ,it just doesn't get reported. As for finance,we are told Scotland could not flourish with such low oil prices. With oil at 100 dollars a barrel, Scotland receives approx 10% ie 10$ If Scotland were independent and oil was at $25 Scotland would still be better off as they would get 100% ie $25. Before someone points out that the Govts. Don't get the whole of the oil price only the tax take it is still better to get 100% of the tax than 10%

Nicola Sturgeon is the acceptable face of Scottish Nationalism, and in her world I am sure she truly believes all is well, but as quite clear from news reports there is an underlying violence that is being perpetrated by followers of the SNP, this is the nature of all Nationalist parties, they simply cannot abide the views or opinions of others, there is no room for alternative policies and their reaction is violence. If the SNP have any influence in the next Government it will not benefit the United Kingdom, it will be used to Benifit Scotland, they simply have no interest in doing anything else...independence by the back door, against the wishes of the majority of the Scottish people. And how any sane mined person can vote, to take the UK back to the brink of destruction, to vote labour and that bunch of self serving idiots in charge is frankly beyond me.

If you run a company you pay an accountant to do your accounts.

So why did Labour put Gordon Brown a holder of a PHD in history in charge of the UK accounts.

If you wish to find out about Gordon Brown his full name is James Gordon Brown.

You know why he calls himself Gordon Brown there was a coloured singer call James Brown!

I am most certainly not going to promote the violence seen in Glasgow yesteday. Whether it was SNP driven or planned is another matter.

Voters in the referendum were being told by Better together that Scotland would be better served by being part of the union. Which is a perfectly valid opinion, whether you agree with it or not. They were also told that their voice would be also better served within the union, again a valid opinion.

Now it seems to people south of the border that when there is a real possibility of a large tranche of gains by the SNP to Westminster it is all doom and gloom and will be bad for the UK as a whole. The whole right wing English media seems to do nothing but demonise the Nationalists, with constant negative reporting.

Is this not democracy in action, is this what elections are all about.

You ask the electorate for their opinion and for some it would seem if you don't get the answer you want, you shout from the rooftops that it will be the ruin of the UK.

Surely you look at whatever the outcome of the vote is on Thursday and if 1 part of the union is speaking loudly enough and does return 50 or whatever MP's then they should at least have their opinions respected by others across the UK.

Jim.

Nicola Sturgeon is a very dangerous person. Everything she says is a THREAT. Remember the THREAT she said about David Cameron. Scottish people will never forgive you. Remember the THREAT she said in the TV debate to Ed Miliband. Scottish people will never forgive you. That says it all. She wants power at any costs. Nothing to do with running the country, just power crazy.
If Labour and the SNP get in just imagine the financial chaos after 5 years. It will take another government a decade to sort out the mess. Maybe longer. Most people don’t realise that it will take them that long or longer to get their own households into order. Sadly many will lose all and regret ever having labour on the tip of their tongue.
If Ed Miliband and Nicola Sturgeon gain power, people will find out very soon what they have done. When we are bankrupt, interest rates sky high, no jobs, everybody claiming benefits or job seekers allowance and labour blaming the Tories saying they left them in this mess everybody will surly think WHAT MESS DID THEY LEAVE.

I would have not have problem with the SNP gaining seats in Scotland as I am sure they will...my issue is that Nicola Sturgeon has made it very clear that she cares very little for the Union and she will do all in her and her parties power to gain maximum benefit for Scotland and the Scottish people...admirable aims if you are Scottish and a Scottish Nationalist but completely ignores the bigger issues played out daily in Westminster, and she refuses to rule out another referendum on Indendence in the next 5 or 6 years......I have friends in Scotland and the referendum has left a bad taste and recriminations are still being played out. I have no time for Nationistic Political Organisations....violence and thuggery seems to be their default option if opposed or intimidated.....I am extremely proud to be British and English and take pride that the BNP, EDL and their ilk have found no sure footing in my country....The SNP are no friends of the Union and would not wish them to have significant influence in matters which concern it....at best they will cause mischief, at worst wil have the potential to cause havoc.

The only thing I will say and I am not putting forward my own opinions here.

During the referendum last year the one very positive thing to transpire was the re engagement of all ages throughout Scotland in the political debate. I think this has followed on from that into this election and like it or not I personally think that is a very positive change going forward. There is just something going on in Scotland at the moment that is not it seems going to go away. Whether that is in the medium to long term a growing will towards independance or a move towards a more federal UK for us all, I do not know and as the next generation come to the fore only then could we find out.

If the turnout on Thursday North of the border is anything like 80% or close in this election then whatever the result democracy will have had a good day.

Whether you agree or not with what the SNP stand for and I totally respect people in England's view that it is not what they see as a good thing, if people in large enough numbers vote for them then you have to at least look at the possibility of including that vote in some form going forward at Westminster. Otherwise you may inadvertantly be putting what you see as bad for the union at risk by trying to ignore it.

Jim.

The population of the UK is about 65 million
The population of Scotland is about 5 million ( about 1/12 of UK)
SNP got 44% of the Scottish votes last election - representing about 2 million.

Therefore SNP represent about 1-2% of the UK population and they want to break away from the UK anyway.
Why should we (rest of UK) care what they think?

Because if they win 50+ seats they will have more seats than all the other minority parties *plus* the projected difference between the two parties.

That means that even the main party that gets the least votes can form a government with SNP support alone, and all the other minority parties will be a complete irrelevance.

If that turns out to be the case, gives you a good reason for caring, I'd say.

I may not have a lot of political acumen, but my arithmetic ........ spot on :)

This woman threatens another referendum to leave the Union. Which to me points to her disdain for those who voted to stay in the Union. The majority.
This woman has stated she will go all out to get everything possible for Scotland to the detriment of the rest of the UK.
I hope those who have shown support for this woman and her party are just taking the pee with pollsters and that at the very least Labour ( yuk!) will keep their majority in Scotland.
I fail to understand how those who voted against Salmond and his lot can be thinking of voting for this woman, who in my opinion is far far more dangerous to the Union than the twerp Salmond ever was.

Zorba, not sure if you are referring to me in particular, or 'you' in general when you say "you continually tell us........." But I have never commented on .....Russian lies.

Jim, I have no problem with the number of votes and support the SNP gets, it's democracy in action and I applaud it. Nor do I have a problem with SNP having a voice to represent Scotland in Westminster.

What I do have a problem with is legal and law abiding candidates being attacked and shouted down in campaign meetings simply because they oppose the SNP. This is, as it was in the referendum simply disgraceful and simply reflects back on the SNP, no one else.

I also have a problem with the threats, the bullying, the complacency, the demands and the blatant assumptions being made by Sturgeon in particular and Salmond as her general chief of staff. The threats, as outlined by Britt are nothing short of repulsive - whilst I have no respect whatsoever for the inept Miliband I find it wholly distasteful that she is bringing such pressure to bear on a fellow party leader and potential PM, God help the UK. She and Salmond have made it clear that they fully expect to be kingmakers and are making their demands on the back of that. The sheer complacency and presumption of the woman are staggering. As Old John says, the SNP represent a mere 1% or 2% of the population, what planet is this woman on that she thinks she should be pulling Westminsters strings, or bringing down a democratically elected government in order to fulfil her megalomaniac ambitions ???

Believe me Jim, she is bringing disgrace on both the SNP and the Scottish people.

No one is denying that they deserve a voice in Westminster, but that is nowhere enough for this foolish self opinionated woman, she believes that the measly 50 ish seats the SNP may take should give her a place in Downing Street.

Last word is her economic predictions. As I have said a 16 year old economics/accountancy student could blow holes the size of Scotland in her figures, she simply hasn't a clue. The sad thing is that she is leading the Scots by the nose, not a pretty site, particularly if she herself finishes up with the bloody nose.

I have the greatest respect for the Scots, but it really will be a sad day for them if this woman gets her way in any way, shape or form. And if Miliband allows her to do him over like a kipper, he truly will regret the day, but not half as much as the citizens of the UK will.

As Old John says, the SNP represent a mere 1% or 2% of the population, what planet is this woman on that she thinks she should be pulling Westminsters strings, or bringing down a democratically elected government in order to fulfil her megalomaniac ambitions ???
and the tories have one rep in Scotland but Scotland has to suffer under the tories.

Zorba

Not sure if Zorba's last line is tongue in cheek!

Anyway as has been pointed out the Scottish total vote is about 2% of the UK population.

If what has been said by some posters here that this being the case.

Over the last 70 years or so Labour has had the unerring large support of Scot's voters able to supply a regular quota of around 40 to 50 Labour seats to Westminster and now the possibility has potentially arisen that this could collapse and go to the SNP, what is the problem here. It is democracy in action, the fact that it is not now possibly going to be one of the two recognised main UK parties that are "unionist". This is what happens in a democracy, it may happen it may not, there may be a second election there may not, it may return the same or close verdict it may not. If it does what then happens.

At some point if it remains a hung UK parliament then the parties involved will have to get on with it and that as I said at the start of this is what some people may have to get used to and that may possibly include taking a political party that has 50 or so seats into account if not what is the point of voting at all.

Jim

Picking up on what is the value of voting at all.

Why bother voting indeed if the increasing number of UK Laws are made by the unelected, unaccountable and un-sackable elite in the EU. Only the UK's withdrawal from the EU/GDR will our votes count again.

This is possibly going to be the most destructive UK parliament since Oliver Cromwell. The SNP, only some 10% of the voting population will cause mayhem until they get their independence. I reckon the first item in the Queens Speech should be a referendum for the UK asking if we want Scotland as part of the UK - the result I suggest would be a resounding no we don't. Scotland then gets what it wants, the remainder of Britain can get on and get out of the EU and prosper in a market comprising of countries with similar language, laws and culture. The EU is a failed state. The Euro a failed currency - it cannot go on much longer. Remember we had no advanced notice when the USSR broke up or the Berlin Wall came down.
One Saturday morning, we will wake up an find the ATM machines don't work and the announcement made that the Euro is slowly being withdrawn and old national currencies re-introduced. What interesting times we live in.

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Clive of Payia

Clive, you are completely out of touch with reality if you think the UK will be better off outside the EU. The UK will loose most of it's markets as EU import tariffs will apply, raising the prices of UK goods. On a personal level, you and I will no be in Cyprus as EU citizens, but as third country nationals with fewer rights and tighter immigration requirements, leading to potential expulsion of some Brits.
As to "prosper in a market comprising of countries with similar language, laws and culture", I assume you mean the USA and Canada etc. Have they said they will drop their import tariffs if the UK is adrift on it's own? No, not a word, so that is one big gamble.
Not that we will have much to export anyway. Nissan, for example, is only in the UK because it's in the EU. If the UK leaves, so will Nissan. Presumably you have an idea as to how the 6000 employees and the thousands who supply them will find alternative jobs. There are many other firms, manufacturing and financial services, who will be in the same situation.
The EU may not be perfect, and needs work to make it better. But it's better than any available alternative.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

Hopefully the Tories will form the next Government which I suspect will be another coalition, there will be a referendum which hopefully will vote to remain in the EU. But not the unholy mess of an EU at the moment but on terms renegotiated perhaps taking us back to the original concept of a free trade environment rather than an EU intent on creating a federal state that is already failing and ultimately will do so.....

I've thought that for a long time. Clive remains convinced that Cyprus wants, and needs, to leave the EU...and will be better off without it. It won't.


My sentiment exactly.

Surely time fop Proportional Representation in UK politics now?


Bianca

Do you mean so many men, so many women and so many man pretending to be women etc? or just political parties?

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

But surely the problem is that you have no levers to effect that change if you eliminate the possibility of exit up front.

Most people I know who oppose Europe are massively in favour of a unified free trade block, it's what they voted for in 1975, but that was a unrestricted movement block amongst [roughly] economic equals, regulated to everyone's commercial advantage.

However the commission have expanded the EU beyond the point where [economically] unfettered mobility makes any sense at all, and expended into areas not even remotely connected to trade [foreign policy, debt management to bolster the german surplus] in the name of seeking further power and influence, which is turning out to be a bad idea for all member states, albeit for remarkable different reasons.

So the question remains, if you do think that the EU requires reform, what levers do you have to reverse the position of the entrenched bureaucracy over which you have little [or no] control, except 'sort it, or stop spending our money altogether'.

I believe the answer to be 'none whatsoever', but if you guys know of one you need to put it on the table. I would love to see a fiscally responsible free trade block in Europe, but the price of an incompetent, corrupt and ever expanding bureaucracy, enforcing socialist fiscal controls that even Stalin would have baulked at is a bit too rich for my taste

One lever that all countries in the EU have is the financial one. The money spent by the EU comes from it's members. He who pays the piper calls the tune. If the other countries agree with reforms proposed by the UK, then that is a mighty lever indeed. If they don't, then ask yourself why the UK is the odd one out.

Don't forget, some excellent legislation has come out of the EU, and wouldn't have been adopted by the UK otherwise. Which ones? Well, what about maximum weekly working hours, minimum wage, age discrimination legislation, protection of employee terms on transfer of undertakings? There are many more. It's not all bad you know.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein

PeteG

But I can see JosefK point too. I don't actually think financial methods would work, so at the end of the day it has to be down to Cameron's negotiations, (please God if the UK electorate come to their senses today)

And if the EU seriously don't want Greece to leave the EU, then how much more will they not want the UK to leave. Sadly, don't think he would get much support from other member states, so the devil will be in the detail of the negotiations I'm afraid!

Gocallmedave

I think the issue with Greece is them coming out of the euro-zone, not out of the EU. I doubt that the EU as a whole is that concerned about Greece leaving the euro, despite what might appear in the media.

As for the UK, long may we stay in the EU.