If National wins ...

[Major von Tempsky]

And the really chilling thing to EZ and Daytr (if they have read articles on Why the Opinion Polls were Wrong for the UK Election) is the realization that Opinion Polls are understating the popularity of both John Key and the National Party.

"The left has been rejected.

When it came down to it the voting public could not stomach electing an utter spastic. When you have a dopey leader you end up with results like this.

Of course there is the “Little Effect”. Andrew Little dropped into the UK to ‘help’ with Labour’s election campaign. A man who knows nothing about winning a constituency other than watching his opponents increase their majorities may have poo-fingered Ed Miliband simply by turning up.

One day the Labour party in NZ and the UK will learn that people are done with union bully boys and nastiness, and they don’t vote for coalitions that are possibly supported by lunatics.

The problem Labour now faces is the stupid system they use to elect their leaders. They will go through the same process now that delivered up the fool Ed Miliband."

[winner69]

Yes, W69, they are taking almost all of that on board, as far as I'm aware. I am not privy to the review reports, but they've been asking the right questions, and all Labour members can give them their ideas and advice. I know I have put in my 2c worth. Very senior and clever people in the review: Bryan Gould, etc. We have a very good new party president, to complement Andrew Little, and Andrew is there for the long haul, we've been chopping party leaders far too often in the recent past.

What I didn't know from your post: Crosby-Textor, those neo-liberal sods, have been paid to help the Conservatives, I bet that lined up with more money being spent in their campaign, better slogans, better marketing, statistics massaged, etc. Just like National's doing over here. But at least we can figure out how they're doing it, and we'll own the spaces next time.

Here's an article about it, and in hindsight it appears to have worked. Stick to the decided message, safety first. (Do all the nasty neo-liberal stuff once you're back in) .

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/454aa...#axzz3ZaVjClWf

Sounds like National's plan over here, regurgitated.

Good article eh EZ

Remember what I keep telling you - A consistent narrative and perception go hand in hand.

Whats Labour narrative for 2017 .... campaigning not that far away

[winner69]

Hope Labour have better plans / policies than this gem

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=11445759

[Sgt Pepper]

Major

"utter spastic"".dopey leader" "poo-fingered"

A rather confusing analysis, with rather juvenille prose . You have indicated you are an economist. Do you have a Masters of Economics or Ph D? Did you supplement your undergraduate studies with any economic history, political science or history papers.?

[artemis]

Major

"utter spastic"".dopey leader" "poo-fingered"
A rather confusing analysis, with rather juvenille prose . You have indicated you are an economist. Do you have a Masters of Economics or Ph D? Did you supplement your undergraduate studies with any economic history, political science or history papers.?

MVT is quoting. That's why there are "s. Might have been helpful if the source had been quoted. Not hard to find though. Some would say rather obvious!

[Sgt Pepper]

MVT is quoting. That's why there are "s. Might have been helpful if the source had been quoted. Not hard to find though. Some would say rather obvious!

Artemis
The quotation marks were mine not the Majors.

[Daytr]

Sounds a bit like how the regions in NZ will react to National's neglect. The Northland by-election was a small & probably exaggerated insight into that.
Unfortunately in my view the voting public of Auckland will allow Key to basically do anything he wants, as long as their property prices are going up.
He can lie, tug ponytails & be surrounded by a bullying cabinet who over & over have shown complete disregard for the laws & conflicts of interest that the rest of us mere mortals are held to account for. This is the bribe that Key knows guarantee's his popularity. He will do nothing to hinder that & doesn't care what mess that eventually leads to in regards an eventual collapse. Reported this morning about people sleeping in their cars overnight to be first in line to be able to buy into a new subdivision. This isn't a rock concert, it was to buy a section!
Unfortunately this is a reflection on modern society. (I generalize) Profit & self interest ahead of the common good.

Good commentary there BP

Scots turned against Labour because Labour took them for granted and in the Scots eyes betrayed them by moving too far away from Labour once stood for ..... loved the stories of Scots in the streets yelling at Labour candidates and calling them Red Tories. That summed it up.

But then Labour didn't really do that well in England either, for much of the same reason?

[Daytr]

EZ, well actually he has stated why it needs to include the family home & its for two main reasons. 1) without including the family home its too easy to get around by putting property in partners or kids names etc. 2) If you chose to rent & had $500k in the bank rather than having it in a house, you get taxed on the interest. He sees the capital gain on the family home as the same.

Gareth Morgan on his comprehensive property tax. He fails to mention why ordinary homeowners, who don't get to claim interest as a cost, would have to pay the same tax rate as an investor, who does reclaim the interest cost and some other expenses in their tax return. I think the CGT is fairer, who cares if there is a loophole on your own home? It is rarely a true investment, if all costs out of tax-paid income and labour put in, are considered.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/n...day+8+May+2015

[winner69]

MVT is quoting. That's why there are "s. Might have been helpful if the source had been quoted. Not hard to find though. Some would say rather obvious!

Probably too embarrassed to admit he visits that site, let alone quote from it

[Major von Tempsky]

Some observant people, unlike Sergeant Pepper, may have noticed the quote marks around what I posted. This means the prose was not mine, although I agree with the colourful sentiments....