State of the parties as 2015 General Election looms.

[amateur51]

Large parts of Devon, Cornwall for a start.
Fake and dull

Can I have my railway back please?

Queen Mary was a well-known kleptomaniac.

[P. G. Tipps]

I seem to recall that research showed that the amount paid illegitimately to people claiming welfare benefits was dwarfed by the sums owed to the Treasury by tax fiddlers and avoiders and other forms of cheating.

You'll doubtless want evidence of this, so I'll go a-hunting

Don't bother ...

That's a bit like saying that the tax collected from old grannies is much less than that taken from billionaires, therefore the State should only care about the billionaires and not old grannies.

[Beef Oven!]

Large parts of Devon, Cornwall for a start.
Fake and dull

Can I have my railway back please?

You were a shareholder in British Rail? You kept that quiet!

Devon and Cornwall? Anyway, this is the royal family, they have to own some land. How would they look when they meet other royal families, if they lived in a council estate?

And remember, as you have commented, the top 2 democracies in the world, and 3 out of the top 5 are constitutional monarchies. So if you and RB really want all the benefits of the Scandinavians, you're gonna have to ditch your republican stance.

[MrGongGong]

You were a shareholder in British Rail? You kept that quiet!
.

We ALL owned it (along with lots of other things) but they were stolen by an evil witch

[ahinton]

Nobody has said that all those on 'benefits' are 'scroungers', the great majority will no doubt be perfectly genuine.

Are you telling us that there are NO 'scroungers' on 'benefits' or that, if there are, they shouldn't be rooted out and charged with fraud against the taxpayer... ?

'Scroungers' are just cheats after all ...

Well, here I would agree with you. Yes, of course there are some scroungers on benefits, just as there are very rich scroungers but, as you suggest, these are in the minority. Scroungers are cheats, as you say - and don't let's kid ourselves that there are no wealthy cheats!

[Beef Oven!]

We ALL owned it (along with lots of other things) but they were stolen by an evil witch

Please do not use misogynistic language. You would not call a male prime minister an evil witch, so don't describe the late, great Mrs T like that.

I agree with you that the railroads should have never left state-ownership. Cheap transport is vital to helping people get a better stake-hold in life (your earlier link makes the point very well) and the only way to do that is to have it state-owned.

[Beef Oven!]

Well, here I would agree with you. Yes, of course there are some scroungers on benefits, just as there are very rich scroungers but, as you suggest, these are in the minority. Scroungers are cheats, as you say - and don't let's kid ourselves that there are no wealthy cheats!

It doesn't matter whether scroungers are rich or poor.

[amateur51]

Don't bother ...

That's a bit like saying that the tax collected from old grannies is much less than that taken from billionaires, therefore the State should only care about the billionaires and not old grannies.

I don't agree.

[ahinton]

As I have said before, if any rich people have stolen from poor people, they should be prosecuted and any property returned to the rightful owners.

You have indeed said it before and, insofar as it goes, it is undoubtedly a laudable statement, but if every example of such theft were to be thoroughly investigated at all levels and due redress and remedy made (assuming that it could be taken back from the thieves themselves, which is quite a big ask), I suspect that you would become less well disposed towards the exercise in practice. Moreover, how far back in history would you advocate going in putting all this to rights?

[ahinton]

Excellent idea, I used to own part of the railway and it was stolen and given away to spivs.

I never owned any of it and wouldn't have wanted to because I'd have precious little idea as to what to do with one.

I'm looking forward to seeing this in the Kipper manifesto (though it might upset those who are keen on the "Windsors")

It might upset the "Windsors" themselves rather more, I imagine!

All that said, it won't matter because there won't be a UKIP government; Mr Garage himself openly admits that.

[amateur51]

Well, here I would agree with you. Yes, of course there are some scroungers on benefits, just as there are very rich scroungers but, as you suggest, these are in the minority. Scroungers are cheats, as you say - and don't let's kid ourselves that there are no wealthy cheats!

Ratio of benefit cheats £-owed to tax cheats £-owed is 1:15, as I have demonstrated in msg # 1394.

[Beef Oven!]

You have indeed said it before and, insofar as it goes, it is undoubtedly a laudable statement, but if every example of such theft were to be thoroughly investigated at all levels and due redress and remedy made (assuming that it could be taken back from the thieves themselves, which is quite a big ask), I suspect that you would become less well disposed towards the exercise in practice. Moreover, how far back in history would you advocate going in putting all this to rights?

Maybe it should not be back-dated. Let's just say from now on ;-)

[ahinton]

It doesn't matter whether scroungers are rich or poor.

Indeed it doesn't; what matters where scroungers are concerned is the ability to indentify them as such and not to tar non-scroungers with the same brush.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

ah the feckless poor will always not be paying for themselves eh .....

[ahinton]

Anyway, this is the royal family, they have to own some land. How would they look when they meet other royal families, if they lived in a council estate?

They don't have to own the vast number of square kilometres of land that they do in order to fulfil the functions expected of them, but owning far less of it than they do would not mean them having to live on a council estate! However, since you mention other royal families, consider the amounts of land that those in Europe (those Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain) own compared to the amounts owned by the UK one!