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What is important to you?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
With the slow ratcheting up of policies over the next couple of years as both Cameron and Brown jockey for position in you hearts I have to ask, what are the five main issues (in order of priority) which will determine who you vote for?
My answer:
1. Health (natch
)
2. Defence
3. Education
4. Crime & Punishment
5. Welfare State
Now I'm not saying which way I would vote on each area, but these are the important ones for me...
My answer:
1. Health (natch
)2. Defence
3. Education
4. Crime & Punishment
5. Welfare State
Now I'm not saying which way I would vote on each area, but these are the important ones for me...
0
Comments
2) The environment/Climate Change/Rescource depletion
3) Poverty/Social inequality
4) Education
5) The Economy
Although I don't see any particular value in limiting the issues to five, or placing them in order. Others:
6) Health/NHS
7) Transport (combined with environment now really)
8) Civil Liberties/Surveillence state
9) Electoral reform
10) Pensions Crisis
11) Trident/Defence spending
12) Europe
13) Crime/prisons
14) Social Security
15) Tax
16) Technological progress
etc, etc
All these need to be tackled seriously, ASAP. I think this country (and the western world in general) is facing a serious crisis in the next 20 years considering the number and scale of the problems being faced...
1) They have CONSERVATIVE typed next to their name on the ballot paper
2) Ditto
3) Ditto
4) Ditto
5) Ditto
1) Foreign Policy and Defence Policy
2) Northern Ireland (and the Union more generally)
3) Civil rights
4) Environment
5) Taxation
Liberty
Fraternity
Equality
and for good measure Empathy
2) Crime
3) Taxes
4) Trident/ Nuclear Weapons
5) Health
:thumb:
*environment / social conscience etc.
*aid / proactive foreign policy, but not to the extent of Iraq!
*education, education, edu-bloody-cation
*welfare, in particular an emphasis on affordable housing (hey, I'm a student, it's an issue that will effect me in the next 4 years!)
*economic policy, in particular please don't impoverish the country, but please do move towards economic integration with europe, as in the long run it will be good, even though we're going to be a net contributor for some time
As for health, whilst that's important, personally I think good healthcare is worth paying for, and the NHS is 'good enough' for most things. But I'm fairly healthy, so it's not likely to affect me...
p.s. they weren't particularly ordered, just things that came to mind
2. Council Tax
3. Education
4. Anti Social Behaviour
5. Health
2. me
3. me
4. me
5. me
Gotta love the French Rev!
I'm in an optimistic mood today so will agree
just use that, and vote for someone other than the people you like the least, then you can moan if they get into power
2. Welfare state
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Health
5. Defence
2)Defence
3)Education
4)Healthcare
5)Transport costs
2) Social welfare
3) Health
4) Civil Liberties
5) Tax
by some distance
2) Immigration
which is basically part of civil liberties
3) The Economy
4) Education
5) foreign Policy
Can't believe that I didn't think of civil liberties as a separate issue from defence and crime...
Why did you put defence at number two? Granted its something we should have, but number two?
Granted, but I dont see that unless we have massive cuts in our military spending that we are under threat from direct attack. Maybe you see it differently.
You need to be living next door mon frére
They said that in 1932 - defence spending has to be on a very long run basis. Its useless to find you need a tank which doesn't break down every few miles, has the armour to protect it and the weapons to knock out the enemy and find out there is a 15-20 year development cycle.
But its also about making sure that our current armed forces have decent medical care, housing, access to training and that there are enough soldiers that there is a decent amount of time between tours (which there isn't at the moment). Its the old fashioned view of the covenant between the state and those that risk there lives on its behalf...
education (for everyone as a whole, adults and children)
looking after those who need help
friends and family
having fun
my basic freedoms
i'd rather the money from trident be spent on well equipping the people who are brave/stupid enough to act on the governments whim and making sure they get the best medical care and free decent lodgings and food
Defence.
Law and order.
Education.
Foreign policy/Europe.
I do not suspect there will be many big differences between Brown and Cameron on most of the above.
Cameron might have to make some vague promise of tax cuts to appease the Conservative grassroots. And the Conservatives are more likely to reverse cutbacks to the armed forces, Labour don't like our armed forces and even overstretched and deployed around the world cutbacks continue. On law and order, education, foreign policy I don't think there is much between Brown and Cameron.
On foreign policy both will be broadly atlanticist, although perhaps slightly less so than Blair. Although, I think it will depend mostly on who is in the White House. On Europe, I do not think either would risk the wrath of The Sun and endorse any change to the status quo. (Unfortunately I cannot see Brown or Cameron enthusiastically promoting the Euro or a European Constitution).
Can't see much changing on education. Although, maybe Cameron will have more ideas - Brown seems to think just throwing money at problems is the solution. He's been doing it since 1997 and it hasn't worked. The government has spent millions putting 'interactive whiteboards' in almost every classroom. Whilst increased funding was (and in many cases, still is) needed it's not the sole answer to reversing Britain's decline in the classroom.
Meh, in spite of all the issues I could never vote for Brown. The LibDems are muddled. And whilst Cameron is a twat I'll vote Conservative as the alternatives are worse. The Conservatives will do better on the economy, defence and law/order and I cannot see how they could do any worse on education.
:yes:
It is never a good idea to cut back on defence spending. That is a short-term gain with a long-term price tag.
1. Defence/security/foreign policy (and the removal of civil liberties disguising itself as such)
2. Education (with specific interest in what each party intends to do about the worse performing students and students with special needs/learning difficulties, since I think in the long term, good performance in this area would result in future crime levels improving)
3. Transport
4. Welfare/benefits/getting people back into work
5. Health
I wouldn't say these are the most important issues to me in general, just at the moment, as I feel these are the areas where the current government is making the biggest cock ups.
In general, I would say the following issues are most important to me, and would determine what country I lived in if I could pick any country:
1. Employment opportunities
2. Civil liberties
3. Healthcare
4. Education
5. Crime
Call me old fashioned, but I personally think that I'm more likely to come to harm as a result of being mugged on a street corner, than by a terrorist or foreign government. And tbh, I can't say I see any corrolation between defence spending and how likely a country is to be attacked. In fact from what I can tell, the countries that spend the least often seem to be at the bottom of potential targets. So defence isn't even in my reckoning, though foreign policy is and would probably be number 6.
Health
Transport
Environment
Pensions crisis and care of old people (can I lump that into one?)
Really I want house prices to come down so I can afford to buy one, cookery to be taught in schools, no ID cards and to afford to have children in a few years. If there was someone to vote for who could sort that out for me then I'd tick their box! Heh.
Health
Transport
Support/education/future for the poorer areas where knife/gun crime is high.
Of course, and I totally agree. But I guess I just dont see it as a very high priority when I am voting because all the parties are roughly similar in terms of spending on defence. I know the Tories have promised to spend more, but they are not talking of massive increases are they.
Obviously if a party suggested that the funding should be drastically cut then I wouldnt vote for them, but no party is suggesting that are they.
True - but I think its more than spending. Its about have a Defence Secretary who appreciates the army is not a civilian job and its values are not the same as that of wider society. Whilst I think the Tories are no-where near as good as they were, they still have more MPs who are ex-forces, TA or reservist and are more likely not to see the army as just a job.
2. Foreign policy
3. Economy
4. Education
5. Law and order
You might think that no.5 conflicts with no.1, but the fact is if we pissed less foreigners off, had a healthy economy which rewarded labour fairly and spread wealth more evenly, and educated people to have some morals and respect, then maybe you wouldn't have such segregated/isolated sections of society at odds with each other, you wouldn't need so many cameras/laws/police to keep everyone in order, and consequently you wouldn't need such a big government to enforce it all.....ahh silly me.