Well, I'm stuffed; my no doubt sitting MP turns out to be a rabid brexiteer with no understanding of encryption theory and a desire to move us to a Stasi-style surveillance state. No way can I vote for that idiot Corbyn, no matter how good he's been on the campaign trail and all his promises: I don't think he's got a cat in hell's chance of delivering.

I'd love at this point to vote MRLP or some other crazy, just to help them keep their deposit, but as I always vote, won't spoil my paper, and in the absence of None Of The Above, I'm stuck with green or yellow.

Damn.

Well thats it Neil,as you say Corbyn is unlikely to deliver and is promising all sorts of fairy tales.
As are the other party candidates .

They just want to get into power or stay in power.

I'm sure many have good intentions,once thier nests are feathered.

You mentioned brexit did'nt you! Naughty naughty.

We're forked

That's all.

Limes or lemons ??

Oranges??

Well I've voted, not for my usual due to one the of reasons in the OP. One bigger problem however is that I appear to voted for a politician.

I think Corbyn is alright. Some of his policies might not seem do-able and we will surely have to pay for those that do get implemented but I'd much rather pay more for a health service that worked than see the Tories run it into the ground so that they could fool us all that it needed privatising. And happy do do away with Trident (even though it will never happen and Labour have never said they would) as it's an absolute waste of money.

I thought Theresa May would run away with things at the start of the campaign but that's not been the case. in fact she shoots herself in the foot every day while Labour gain more and more support.

The media have been in overdrive today in an attempt to portray Corbyn in a bad light but I think it will backfire on them.

Will not vote for any of the liars for hire on offer.

The SNP can't even be honest on their election leaflet ffs... latest one shows graph of the last local council election results (where the candidates and results were totally different to last general election) in an underhand attempt to split the lib dem vote due to them running a very close 2nd to the SNP at last general election.

Whatever happens, at least it'll be over soon thank god.

I get the sense I'm not voting for the best of the best, but for the least worst of the worst.

Agree with all of this.

It's as if the Conservatives have been taking backhanders to "lose".
If the younger generation are backing Corbyn and that's the way they want to go then they have a reasonable case as they'll be around a lot longer than the likes of me and my contemporaries!

That epitaph about stables and weetabix will come to haunt the May campaign.

I'm struggling to see how May made it to be an MP. She's been there for years yet buckles under the the slightest pressure.

I can't vote for May, and whilst I like Corbyn for the way he seems principled, I disagree with his policies. Therefore I decided to go lib dem. However, their representative lives 2 hours away from my constituency, so I don't see how he can represent us. Meh.

Can we have a poll?

Labour have my vote.

My local Labour MP (a relatively young chap) has a real chance of unseating the incumbent Tory even though the Lib Dems would have you believe otherwise (everything they put out just tells you how they are the only party who can oust the stories, even though the numbers don't add up).

I was sceptical of Corbyn at first but he's really impressed me. In the face of the smear campaign to end all smears campaigns he has stuck to his principles and refused to engage in an exchange of personal attacks.

I don't believe he could deliver everything his manifesto promises, but I do believe that he would give it his all to deliver as much of it as possible. In my view he's trustworthy, May isn't.

Anything other than a Tory majority is extremely unlikely. But my hope is that Theresa gets a bloody nose and Corbyn gets enough of the popular vote to continue as Labour's leader. If he can then get some of the big hitting Labour MPs back into the fray (Benn, Cooper, etc) in 5 years' time they'll have a real chance of winning.

I posted this somewhere else. I'm not looking for a debate, so sorry about that, but as someone who is at the coalface when it concerns 'small business', this is how I see it. My only argument is that Labour (or more specifically Corbyn Labour) cannot be the choice we make for moving the country forward:


As an accountant, I deal with a large number of small businesses. These are the people that prop up the country in terms of jobs, taxes and pensions. They are not earning a lot of money. Some of them earn less than their employees and have the stress of makings ends meet every day.

Unfortunately for us as a nation, we have to compete with Eastern Europe and other low wage economies. The only way we survive/compete is on zero hour contracts, minimum wage and low rates of corporation tax/dividends. Labour will take these away. Once that happens unemployment will rise, tax take will fall, and the rest will be history

A sensible move for a potential government of any description might be to look at the zero-hour contract and make it more user-friendly for those who are hired-and-fired at a moment's notice.
Sure, folk such as students often like to work this way which is fine for them, but then they are actually doing "something else" often involving massive loans, rather than relying on an intermittent income to feed their family on.

Jonny, the Labour manifesto specifically states that "large corporations" will pay "a little more" and that small business will be protected.

It's on page 9 if you want to confirm this yourself.

As someone who runs a small business I have to agree with Jonny, I accept your point ali_hire as I have looked through both manifestos but have to say that the prospects for a prosperous Britain don't look good to me if we get a Labour government - far too many very large holes in their "fully costed" manifesto.

On a personal level there is a proposal within the Labour manifesto which could mean my business being unable to survive - essentially they are promising to make an existing competitor free (FE colleges) for people to use. I can compete very effectively against them currently through much better service and outputs but if there is no charge for them I can't see how I would get enough custom to be viable. I wrote to the incumbent labour MP for my constituency to question this and when he eventually replied (it took 3 weeks) his conclusion of "hope this helps" was completely wrong as he completely missed the point I was asking. I suspect he sees me as one of the few despite only earning a fraction of what he gets. Guess who I'm not voting for!

Edinburgh- Agreed, but small businesses rely on them to stay afloat rather than use them as the media portray.

Ali- I'm afraid it's clear to me that from their manifesto that they don't have a clue about what small businesses do for the country.

Although that could be directed at any political party.

Can you elaborate? I'm not looking for an argument, but I also run a small business and I feel like I've missed something.

Not that it would necessarily sway my vote (too late anyway). But when I vote, I vote for what I think is best overall and not just what affects me directly.

(That's not a dig at anyone or a suggestion that anyone on here does).

I would vote labour but Keith Vaz is our MP and I can't vote for a corrupt individual with no integrity and a set of moral values I cannot identify with. If I vote Tory then I am legitimising the woman who lied about Making cuts that affect our national security while claiming we are safer as a result. I know my local independent MP and have worked with her in the past. She is getting my vote this time.

Ali-

Corporation tax and the taxation of owners:

Business owners understand what's best to grow their business. Every day I hear the phrase 'I've made more profit and so I'm looking to employ someone else'. They don't generally want to stand still.

We are an example of that, making the conscious decision to employ someone else with the lower corporation tax rates. Why will that work? More staff equals more sales and less workload, so they are happier, more efficient and better paid. Everyone wins.

The same applies with manufacturers, ploughing tax savings into new machinery (which they need to compete with other countries). Those machines were made by someone etc etc...

The lower rates of tax paid personally by business owners is often ploughed into investment just as corporation tax is.

Minimum wage/zero hours wages

The £10 ph wage is a massive increase. We simply won't be able to compete with Eastern European countries. One of my clients employs 30 staff on close to minimum wage. They already struggle to win new contracts with Romania. The increase in staff wages would mean the company would have to shut down. There would be no way out.

Care home costs would rise more than 15% on the introduction of the £10 minimum wage. Other labour intensive businesses would see the same issues. The new minimum wage wouldn't go very far in our world of huge inflation.

Another client (haulage) doesn't know one week to the next how many contracts they will be given (competition with Easter European hauliers). They already only take wages when they can, but of course the staff are paid every week. Quite a few others are on zero hours, as the business has to take work when it can get it. Again, under labour (and without zero hours) the business will shut down.

There are MANY businesses like this across Britain.

Of course many businesses are doing very well and don't pay/play fairly. The problem is that a business owner can simply pay themselves less if they don't need all of their wages/dividends. If Labour brought back the 50% tax rate, they will not get the tax take they are expecting because people will take less. It's happened before and it will happen again.

There's a fine line with what is best for business and the complete steamrollering that Labour would bring in would be ruinous (IMO...)

I could go on but I won't. It's very frustrating.

All fair points. Mine's a service based industry and no one who works for us earns anywhere near minimum wage, so I guess I'm sheltered from a lot of this.

Like I said earlier, I know Labour can't possibly win, but my hope is that this is a slap in the face for regular politics and a show that a large section of society aren't prepared to put up with the status quo of no investment and never ending spending cuts.

It's been a funny old year and no mistake! This time in 2016, we still hadn't had the referendum - seems like a very distant memory to me, so much political water under the bridge.
I've frequently said (on here and elsewhere) that I am utterly disillusioned with politics - I'm SO tired of the whole left/right bollocks - it belongs in history and should be replaced by something fit for the modern era. And, it is shameful that in our democracy, None of the Above is not an option on every ballot paper.
I voted Labour through conviction for much of my youth, then had no vote for 20 years while I lived in France (my own choice/fault), which covered the Blair era. I believed in Blair and (unfashionable as it may be to say it), he and his government in the early days brought a feeling of pride in being British that I'd never felt before. Let's just say that it didn't end so well - war crimes and megalomania so often go hand-in-hand...
However, 2 things have been largely forgotten about the end of Labour's last term in office: 1. Gordon Brown was actually a pretty good Chancellor (not so good in the Big Chair), who did a lot for lower income families and 2. Labour didn't cause the crash in 2007/8; they could have handled the aftermath better, but that is an accusation that can be levelled at every government in power at the time - worldwide.
Back to this election...
I have never thought Jeremy Corbyn was electable to the office of Prime Minister - nice, genuine bloke, very popular with grass-roots members, some laudable - if unlikely policy ideas, but just cannon fodder to the crushing machine of the media. He'll just end up a footnote, a meme after the catastrophic election results. And I really don't like McDonnell or quite a few of the Corbyn accolytes. I do, however like Diane Abbott, who is an extraordinary woman, despite what a lot of ill-informed or, frankly racist, people will have you believe. I think she is currently clearly very unwell, but only time will tell.
As for the Tories; I have maintained for many years that Theresa May is the most dangerous person in UK politics; she used fear in her time as Home Secretary to build an impressive powerbase. Yet, look at those involved in implementing the counter-terror policies she trumpeted. Pro-May? Nope. Since the most opportunistic coup in recent Tory history, May has shown herself to be utterly devoid of character, principle, policy, resolve or humanity.
I was going to vote Green (I'm disillusioned, but I understand as the legacy of the fight for universal suffrage that as NOTA is unavailable, not voting is a poor choice), but as the campaign has gone on, I've slowly been persuaded that in my constituency, there is the possibility of the Labour candidate regaining the seat from the Conservatives. I know we've been beaten and bludgeoned into believing that austerity is the one true faith, but actually, it isn't.
I'm a small business owner (have been since 1998), and today (perhaps ironically, Jonny!) we received our Certificate of Incorporation for our fledgling limited company.
Nonetheless, this time, maybe for the last time, I'm voting Labour.

I don't think for a moment that Corbyn will win, though...

It's not easy, but don't you just vote for who you want to win (candidate, party or whatever)

The irony is strong Jim! But good luck to you, and if Labour do get in, I will send you a business survival email.

There is one other inexplicable faux-pas attributable to the present Tory leader - her inability to extend an amnesty to foreign nationals already in this country. Not only is this bordering on inhumane but also sets a negative precedent to the other 20-odd countries with whom Britain will be dealing during the withdrawal process.

In spite of the interminable flak that's been dredged up to fling at Corbyn he gives me the impression of being the one who will best discuss terms with the heads of EU countries. At least they'll believe what he says.

Once again, we can look to the business world to tell us who makes a good negotiator/deal maker. Nice people always fail. Absolute ***** always win. Do you still want Corbyn doing the deal for us?

I'm sorry but that's just not true.

Do you consider yourself a failure or an absolute *****?

Edited to add;

I get the sentiment, that you sometimes need to have a bit of a killer instinct when negotiating in the business world, but even if Corbyn lacks that, he wouldn't be sitting in a room on his own with 27 other diplomats working out these deals.

I'm pretty sure Keri Stamer (QC) will have faced some tough opposition in his time.

Jesus! Exit poll puts Tories short of a majority.