And they are off...! General Election 2019

[Chadwick]

So how is things going? Any leaflets, door knocking or phone calls for you?

I've had a couple of bits of recycling come through the door.

Oh, and the Labour guy popped up on our local facebook group, noting that there'd been a plea for less politics on the group, and then giving a canned resume of his experience and credentials. I feel he missed an opportunity there to just interact and be useful, rather than just advertise himself with back-of-book-cover blurb.

[BeautifulSunshine]

So how is things going? Any leaflets, door knocking or phone calls for you?

Had a 4 side newspaper from the Tories hand delivered. Both of us have had the Green Party leaflet through the post.

And that is the lot so far

Postie just delivered post and Labour leaflet.

I've had leaflets from all the usual suspects. I must say that the Brexit Party leaflet looks very professional of them all.

[blythburgh]

A Labour leaflet through the door which again makes me wonder why a woman called Sonia Barker stood at the last election but an identically looking woman called Sonia Valerie Barker is standing this time.

Is she trying to garner votes from people called Sonia and also from people called Valerie?

And why is the the Christian Alliance candidate merely states they come from South Norfolk no town let alone address like other candidates. A friend (who had received his postal vote) thought it odd and phoned the local council. "When I was a Labour Party agent (in the 1970's) the name and address of the agent if not the candidate had to be on the leaflet. Can you please give me their contact details." The reply was they did not know but gave him the address of the HQ for the Christian Alliance. Like my friend I thought the agent and office address had to be on all election material.

[expressman33]

Labour’s manifesto commits to scrapping marriage allowance, a policy introduced in 2015 which gives a tax break to couples with a combined income of under £62,500. This means that a couple with just 1 at work and earning say £15,000 pa, or where one of the couple earn less than £12,500 pa ,would lose £5 per week . This will affect both young families and pensioners

They also say, in subsequent interviews where this has been raised, (I have not checked) that this is more than made up by tax changes in other areas and that no one would lose out, also that the system as is, is unfair and unequal to those that are not married. If this claim by Labour is correct then your claim that "would lose £5 per week" is incorrect.

This highlights the dangers of being selective and not giving the full facts when quoting.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance - Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,250 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner.
A simple fact - by losing the marriage allowance a couple are £5 worse off per week than they would be when claiming the marriage allowance.

[Richard Frost]

Labour’s manifesto commits to scrapping marriage allowance, a policy introduced in 2015 which gives a tax break to couples with a combined income of under £62,500. This means that a couple with just 1 at work and earning say £15,000 pa, or where one of the couple earn less than £12,500 pa ,would lose £5 per week . This will affect both young families and pensioners

They also say, in subsequent interviews where this has been raised, (I have not checked) that this is more than made up by tax changes in other areas and that no one would lose out, also that the system as is, is unfair and unequal to those that are not married. If this claim by Labour is correct then your claim that "would lose £5 per week" is incorrect.

This highlights the dangers of being selective and not giving the full facts when quoting.

https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance - Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,250 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner.
A simple fact - by losing the marriage allowance a couple are £5 worse off per week than they would be when claiming the marriage allowance.

You are factually correct if marriage allowance was to be removed and no other changes were to be made. But at the risk of repeating myself

They also say, in subsequent interviews where this has been raised, (I have not checked) that this is more than made up by tax changes in other areas and that no one would lose out, also that the system as is, is unfair and unequal to those that are not married. If this claim by Labour is correct then your claim that "would lose £5 per week" is incorrect.

This highlights the dangers of being selective and not giving the full facts when quoting.

I will not be discussing this matter any further as it is not in my opinion a major issue.

[Chadwick]

A Labour leaflet through the door which again makes me wonder why a woman called Sonia Barker stood at the last election but an identically looking woman called Sonia Valerie Barker is standing this time.

Is she trying to garner votes from people called Sonia and also from people called Valerie?

It's probably her middle name. Maybe there's another Sonia Barker in the area and SVB is now using her full name for clarity. Maybe there's a good reason why one SB doesn't want to be confused with the other.

And why is the the Christian Alliance candidate merely states they come from South Norfolk no town let alone address like other candidates. A friend (who had received his postal vote) thought it odd and phoned the local council. "When I was a Labour Party agent (in the 1970's) the name and address of the agent if not the candidate had to be on the leaflet. Can you please give me their contact details." The reply was they did not know but gave him the address of the HQ for the Christian Alliance. Like my friend I thought the agent and office address had to be on all election material.

The candidate is no longer obliged to state their address on election material, including the ballot paper. But I thought the 'promoter' had to state theirs.

[macliam]

Wow, £5 a week...... how much have Tory policies cost the average joe over the past decade? Bung the oiks a few quid and they'll overlook the growing gap between average wages and what the big boys rake in.

As Juvenal wrote so long ago "the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses."

[kevinchess1]

Our Boris is quick to withdraw from the EU it's a shame he was as quick to withdraw from a few woman he's known
Still, baby steps... he's missed those as well

[Sarah]

Voting for the party currently led by Boris Johnson won't 'Get Brexit Done' anytime soon and he surely knows it. It's obvious his plan is simply to Get Britain Stuck where going forward would impose the inevitable negative consequences of leaving the EU but we can't go back anymore. That's what they really have on offer in this election. The spending promises are a sideshow.

Katya Adler expects more UK red lines to be sacrificed if Boris Johnson tries to rush an EU trade agreement next year:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1203 ... 10272.html

[macliam]

Boris has certainly lost the DUP support for his Brexit plan...... and his continual denial that NI will be treated differently to the rest of the UK would be laughable, if it wasn't such a blatant lie. Anyone who thinks the Tories would even do the bare minimum of what they have promised is deluding themselves - if they are ready to stab their allies in the back, they are more than capable of lying through their teeth to gain electoral advantage.

If the Tories get a majority, the electorate will have plenty of time to regret their willingness to give Boris his opportunity to to for Britain what he did for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.