FabSwingers.com forum: Broken Election Promises

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Right, this may gonna open up a can of worms but I'll post it anyway..

It's well known that I am a floating voter and even though I voted for the Tories in the election I do not support them without scrutinsing every pre-election pledge they made and what they have done since the election.

This thread is to highlight broken election promises by all the parties so that they'll be easy to find, contained in this one thread.

This is not an admission that I regret my vote, I don't, and it is not an anti-Tory thread, nor an anti-Labour or anti-LibDem thread. It is an anti-Lies thread and I hope it's treated as such. I still firmly believe this country needed a change of government and I stand by the way I voted 100%.

So, in a sort of double-edged sword approach, what promises have been broken already, and more importantly, should governments face legal action for fraud for promising one thing in order to gain power and then systematically breaking that promise once in power. Indeed, should they face legal action to force them to uphold promises made prior to an election.

** Broken promises do not include pledges like the abandonment of the hated Human Rights Act and the pledge to cut inheritance tax, which were conceded by the Tories to the LibDems in the coalition negotiations, prior to forming the Coalition Government. The Tories had to give ground to the LibDems on some manifesto promises and vice versa so technically they haven't broken an election pledge.

Here goes then....

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Broken Promise:

No cuts in Child Benefit

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All the parties promised that CB would be ring fenced and that to touch it would be political suicide, yet here we are now, middle income earners are faced with losing their CB whilst some people individually earning just under the higher rate tax band but as a couple they earn well over it get to keep their CB.

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Broken Promise:

No Rise in Uni Fees

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The Liberal Democrats vowed never to raise University tuition fees if they won power. It was one of the mainstays of their election manifesto. We now know that to be nothing but a blatant falsehood designed to win young first time voters who were facing the daunting prospect of finding a Uni place and being able to afford it, and to the parents of those planning to go to Uni who, for many years, have been carefully planning how to fund their offspring through Uni. Removing the cap on the amounts Universities can charge for their courses is a proper kick in the nuts to anyone who voted Tory or LibDem on that one issue alone.

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Broken Promise:

No Rise in VAT

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During the election campaign the Tories noisily denied they had any plans to raise VAT - then George Osborne lifted it by 2.5 per cent to 20 per cent at the first opportunity.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

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Broken Promise:

Cancer drug availibility

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The Coalition government has put on hold plans for a new £200 million fund to enable NHS patients to acquire state of the art cancer-fighting drugs.

During the election campaign the Tories went out of their way to pledge that cancer sufferers will get the drugs they need to stay alive - now this will not happen until next April at the earliest - if at all.

For 'delay' read 'cancel' as that is what is more likely to happen, continual delay until it is no longer in the spotlight and then quietly abandon the policy altogether.

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Broken Promise:

Free Pensioner Nursing Care

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Gordon Brown planned to force pensioners to pay a compulsory charge towards their nursing care. During the election campaign Andrew Lansley (now Health Secretary) pledged to do away with what he called a 'death tax'. There is no doubt at all that thousands of elderly and in some cases vulnerable voters will have decided to cast their vote for the Tories after reading or hearing Lansley's eloquent words. Now Lansley is preparing to go back on his promise.

With the general election safely out of the way, and the votes in the bag, Lansley has appointed an 'independent' commission to consider a compulsory charge to fund nursing care.

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By *ugby 123Couple
Forum Mod
over a year ago

O o O oo

What did anyone expect? They all say what they think you want to hear to get you to vote for them.

I reckon if they go back on a certain amount of election promises then kick em out and do another election......but that isn't going to happen is it.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

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Broken Promise:

NHS Structural Reform

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Shortly before the election, Lansley went out of his way to rule out major structural reforms to the health service (a pledge which was then reinforced in the Coalition agreement).

Now that pledge has been ripped up with the announcement of the end of primary care trusts in what has been billed as the biggest NHS shake-up in 60 years.

It's not so much as that it needs to be done, it's the promises we were told that the NHS would be ringed-fenced and left alone. That was clearly a lie.

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Broken Promise:

No 'Bin tax'

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Caroline Spelman, shortly after the election, pledged to 'scrap Labour's bin bully policies of bin cuts, bin fines and bin taxes'. Now Environment Secretary Mrs Spelman has coolly ditched this manifesto promise by giving local councils the freedom to introduce bin taxes.

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Broken Promise:

Free Bus Passes

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Transport Minister Philip Hammond is cooking up secret plans to make pensioners wait an extra five years for a free bus pass. David Cameron dismissed Labour allegations that the Tories would slash free bus travel as 'pure and simple lies' during the election campaign.

In the words of the song.. Who's Lying Now, Dave?

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"What did anyone expect? They all say what they think you want to hear to get you to vote for them.

I reckon if they go back on a certain amount of election promises then kick em out and do another election......but that isn't going to happen is it.

That's what Cameron said on numerous occasions didn't he.. "If you don't think we've done what we said we'd do.. kick us out!" - I recall him saying that.

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By *ugby 123Couple
Forum Mod
over a year ago

O o O oo

Well thats good enough for me then.......

~~dons boot

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

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Broken Promise:

Electoral Reform

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Many Tory MPs are still furious at what they regard as Cameron's blatant deception over alleged Labour Party plans to guarantee the Lib Dems electoral reform without the need for a referendum.

It was this revelation, made at a fraught meeting of the Tory backbench 1922 committee just days after the election, that persuaded many Tories to support the coalition. now Nick Clegg has revealed that Labour never made such an offer.

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Broken Promise:

Fuel Tax Stabiliser

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The pre-Election promise of a fuel tax stabiliser has now been abandoned after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has ruled that there isn't enough Treasury cash available to support it. The OBR concludes that temporary increases in oil prices have virtually no impact on public finances. It argues that any tax revenue rises derived as a result of a rise in fuel prices would be offset by a fall in demand for fuel and for goods and services in the wider economy, and that employing a fuel tax stabiliser would make fuel tax revenue diffuclt to predict.

What this means is that the OBR has given the Treasury the means to drop the stabiliser - thus breaking an election pledge.

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By *unky monkeyMan
over a year ago

in the night garden

Wow Wishy I hadn't realised there had been so many promises reneged on already! Is this a record so soon in?

The child support one is a real twat's trick but quite out of character for Conservative's to tax the middle to high earners. Possibly a Lib Dem one?

As for calling a halt and having a new election I'm not so sure this wont happen Rugby. Not many coalitions make it past 18 months without it all falling apart. Although Wishy may have more concrete facts about that?

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By *ugby 123Couple
Forum Mod
over a year ago

O o O oo

Well thats true Funky........but it is a shame that they can't be booted out ( and that goes for any party) just for welshing on any proposals they made.

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By *atisfy janeWoman
over a year ago

Torquay

In the graceful words of Connie Francis....

"Who's sorry now'?

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By *uton_coupleCouple
over a year ago

luton

i have seen this going on for more years than i care to remember

they either say "we have no plans to ,,,"

or when forced they renage on a promise because they didnt realise how big the mess was the last administration left

you can specificaly vote for an MP because they pledge say "the hospital wont close"

then lo and behold when it comes to the vote in the house they vote the other way because they were forced to by the whip .......... mayby to secure help from a minority party in what they call "a more important issue"

so for me i refuse to have the piss taken out of me anymore and do not vote

in any event i cant see the point in voting against a 10.000 majority

( and i cant see the point of voting FOR a 10.000 majority )

and would not vote for an MP that swears allegiance to the queen

if a barman asks you "what would you like to drink" and you say lager

he returns with a white wine

if this happens 10 times , how long will it be before you say , when asked "what would you like to drink"

fuck off

well ive reached that point long ago , so they can , fuck off

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"In the graceful words of Connie Francis....

"Who's sorry now'?"

Jane, read the OP hon, I said I stand by my vote. If anything I'm probably going to scrutinise the Tories more BECAUSE I voted for them. If Labour had won I'd be looking at it from a different angle for sure but I'd still have started this thread.

I'm hoping this will still be kicking around here come next election time so we can all take a peek at it to remind us of what promises were broken, what was done and what they're promising the next time round so we can compare it.

All too often we get to an election and memories of the last one fade away and we forget what lies were told, by whom, and how frequently. By keeping a record of them here we can all look back with clarity.

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By *ig badMan
over a year ago

Up North :-)

Gettaway your Tory boy wishy! I feel a Nelson Muntz moment here! " Haaaa Haa"

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By *iewMan
Forum Mod
over a year ago

Angus & Findhorn

voted Tory and am very happy with their performance.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Lets be honest the CB is common sense and should have happened years ago.

To all the labour fans, lets not mention the referendum.

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By *ig badMan
over a year ago

Up North :-)

"voted Tory and am very happy with their performance.

In all honesty who ever was going to win was going to have to make cuts. So go Tories! (Well i don't want to risk the chance of a gong do i)

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By *oe_Steve_NWestCouple
over a year ago

Bolton

Sorry - thought it said 'broken erection promise' and was intrigued! Z

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Wishy- thanks for highlighting these breaches of the public trust.

After a lifetime of voting Conservative I will never vote for them again.

Having said that it seems the Liberals are prepared to throw away their principles aswell and I'd like to ask the ex-prudent Chancellor Mr Brown how we got into this sorry mess.

Next time I will either not vote or vote for one of the alternative parties who have no chance of getting in.

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By *umpkinMan
over a year ago

near the sounds of the wimborne quarter jack!

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Broken Promise:

Fuel Tax Stabiliser

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What this means is that the OBR has given the Treasury the means to drop the stabiliser - thus breaking an election pledge."

And don`t forget that the Labour government put an extra 2 pence a litre duty on fuel when the VAT went down to 15% with the promise that it would be stopped when VAT returned to 17.5%. That duty is still in place. I know it`s not an election pledge to remove to my knowledge.

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By *he BananamanMan
over a year ago

WORCESTERSHIRE

i am, just sat here smiling as i think about all the broken promises that the labour government made all of 13 long years ago,and the gullible labour voters voted them back in to power,again and again!.

the coalition has been in power for less than 6 months months now trying to unravel the mess that those 13 of labour have left us in and people are moaning and groaning already!.

13 years of labour,oh dear!.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

As I said, it's not an anti-Tory/LibDem/Labour thread. It's an anti-lies thread. I just want to start a record of all the election promises that are broken by ALL of the main parties, not just those in power.

It will prove difficult to highlight Labour's broken pledges as a) they didn't win, and b) they've replaced their leader. So we have now a new Labour leader who can distance himself from any of Brown's policies that don't fit in with his idea of where Labour should be as a party under his leadership.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Name the last honest politician ......... eeerrrrr. Any party. Any country come to think of it.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

No matter which government get in they look after their own interests, and couldnt care less about the hardship of others. I reckon we should overthrow parliament totally and form a committee of decent citizens, so that the country is run by the people for the people. The government is terrified of revolt, but I believe we need a revolution.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"No matter which government get in they look after their own interests, and couldnt care less about the hardship of others. I reckon we should overthrow parliament totally and form a committee of decent citizens, so that the country is run by the people for the people. The government is terrified of revolt, but I believe we need a revolution."

And then we'd end up with a Lord of the Flies situation. The system we have is the best one available but it is by no means perfect. What we need is accountability. Those making the decisions need to be aware that if they fuck it up they will be held responsible but we also need political parties to be accountable for what they say to gain power and be forced to adhere to it. I know it will never happen and I understand circumstances do change, like the Tories couldn't have possibly known just how bad the nation's finances were because Labour weren't transparent with what had been going on so Cameron had to abandon some policies and renege on some promises. He had no choice. I know that sounds like I'm backtracking but I'm not, I want this thread to run and run so that we have a clear written document in five years time that we can refer to and see where we were lied to before and if those same lies are being purported again.

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By *heWolfMan
over a year ago

warwickshire

" it is a shame that they can't be booted out ( and that goes for any party) just for welshing on any proposals they made.

Holy shit, you can't say that, that's outrageous, I protest most strongly. You'll be saying that we've been Jewed out of our taxes by those robbing turks in the EU next.

(I believe the correct spelling is "welched", anyway)

I strongly disagree with the idea of booting out these liars who would tell you night is day simply to get their nose in the trough. No, they should be shot. Vote with a bullet, the best kind of electoral reform.

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By *heWolfMan
over a year ago

warwickshire

"Name the last honest politician ......... eeerrrrr. Any party. Any country come to think of it."

Enoch Powell? Anyone who wants to become a politician automatically disqualifies himself as someone I can trust, IMHO. The last person to go into politics on behalf of his people, instead of himself, was Adolf Hitler.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

wanting to be in goverment should excude you from beeing.

most if not all are people who would never suvive in the private sector so see it as a way to look after number one for now and the future, for the perfect case in point look at his tonyness. lied to get elected lies about the war knowing full well he would be able to cash in on it later. they are all as bad as each other.

however what the answer is i dont know

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Name the last honest politician ......... eeerrrrr. Any party. Any country come to think of it.

I wonder how many German Jews who voted for him in 1933 were murderously betrayed by him in 1940-45.

Hitler falls way short of bench mark for honesty and I think you're playing devil's advocate here. Naughty naughty.

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By *edonistsatplayCouple
over a year ago

Portsmouth, North Brittany, France

You are all unfortunately forgetting the single point of fact from which ALL politicians base their electorial campaigns from.....

They stand for what they believe people will fall for...

"Don't vote, it only encourages the bast*rds" (Copyright Mr B. Connolly)

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The child benefit one is a stinker, wonder who thought that one up, strange how a single earner on 45k loses the benefit, but if you have a joint income of 80k you’re entitled to it

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

my only thought is do we really need a main goverment.

most of the important things could be sorted at a local level, then all you would need is a few and i mean a few people to sort the national things like the forces etc.

maybe a very simple _iew but we cant really need whitehall and all the billions it costs us

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By *heWolfMan
over a year ago

warwickshire

"I wonder how many German Jews who voted for him in 1933 were murderously betrayed by him in 1940-45.

Hitler falls way short of bench mark for honesty and I think you're playing devil's advocate here. Naughty naughty.

Bastard, outed already!

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By *unky monkeyMan
over a year ago

in the night garden

"Name the last honest politician ......... eeerrrrr. Any party. Any country come to think of it."

I can't remember who made the quote but I whole heartedly agree with it.

'Anybody who actually seeks to be a politician should never ever be allowed to be one'

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"The child benefit one is a stinker, wonder who thought that one up, strange how a single earner on 45k loses the benefit, but if you have a joint income of 80k you’re entitled to it

The whole thing stinks no matter which way you look at it. Child Ben. was introduced as a universal benefit which meant that every parent got it regardless of circumstances. It was ringed-fenced as untouchable during the election and that's what I'm seething about. With all this news about Chile going on at the moment I'd pay careful attention to what our govt is doing quietly whilst we're all looking elsewhere - international events are known to be used as a smokescreen for quietly slipping things by domestically.

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By *uton_coupleCouple
over a year ago

luton

the Milbank protest got me thinking

it is very wrong that people are left in such a possition ie , seething in anger , because governments blatently break election promises or renage on fundamental points in there manifesto

of course the answer is not to go out and smash the place up , but there has to be a solution

my answer to the problem would be this

prior to an election there would be a system of points , these points can be decided by the parties themselves

labour might say for example , we pledge 20 points we will not increase UNI fees

conservatives might "out bid" them by pledging 25 points

so ......... after the election and it transpires the conservatives U turn and put fees up what happens then ?

well they would be "docked" 25 votes every time they had a vote in the house

this would have the effect of weakening the government , and making it more likely they need to call an election sooner than they would like

the more U turns they make the weaker they get and the faster they lose power

during the build up to an election some parties might be bold enough to pledge say 100 points ! and if an issue is very important to you then that is the party you can confidently try to have elected by giving your vote

this idea is not as daft as it first appears , after all we do it all the time with football teams etc

you even get points on your driving liscence that makes you drive a bit more carefull if youve been going over the line

if there was something like this in place it might tempt me to start voting again , as things are at the moment i refuse to be treated like a fecking lemon and will continue to refrain from voting

on reflection it all seems a bit too democratic , and smashing the place up dont seem such a bad idea

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

In response to luton couples post, the sad thing is we are supposed to live in a democracy where the government is made up of a selection of our peers.

they are elected to speak for us and when policies are made, we vote for or against them.

How can they then throw away those pledges without some payback? How do their votes still remain valid?

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By *uton_coupleCouple
over a year ago

luton

"In response to luton couples post, the sad thing is we are supposed to live in a democracy where the government is made up of a selection of our peers.

they are elected to speak for us and when policies are made, we vote for or against them.

How can they then throw away those pledges without some payback? How do their votes still remain valid?

there is no one in the government that is MY peer , a peer in the context your infering is a person of the same ilk ie another member of the darts team you play for

to find a senior politician that is NOT a millionare is like finding a needle in a haystack

as far as i am concerned they are not elected to speak for us , they are in fact elected to follow tghrough on election manifesto promises , or something near

once elected it is they that vote in the house and not us or "we"

there is no payback when the vote the opposite way to the one they pledged , unless you count the fact you can vote them back out again , but that could be as much as 5 years hence

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"The child benefit one is a stinker, wonder who thought that one up, strange how a single earner on 45k loses the benefit, but if you have a joint income of 80k you’re entitled to it

Only a devious deceitful **** like George Osborne - a man who's never needed child benefit in his life could have thought that one up.

It should be borne in mind that, even according to the Torygraph, Mr Osborne has a personal net worth of around £4 million as well as a salary of £130,000 pa.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"the Milbank protest got me thinking