whoever moves into number 10 tomorrow...

[alexxxxx]

...needs to cut the budget deficit. and show that they want to do it and have a very CLEAR way of doing it. Even if it means raising taxes (direct and indirect). What's happened in grease will spread to spain, then portugal, then ireland and then us. We need strong governance - so the inevitable hung parliament needs to work well.

[-:Undertaker:-]

If you raise taxes then you make the situation worse, we need massive public sector cuts right now and tax cuts also for business and the public at large. It worked in the 1980s so lets make it work again although this Conservative Party doesnt have what it takes regardless.

[Catzsy]

Well it is not necessarily true that it will spread to us. We have growth again and the best export and manufactoring figures for 15years. Gordon Brown has always been good economically whether or not he spends too much on the public sector. Out of all of them I would trust him to get us out of the global recession.

[alexxxxx]

If you raise taxes then you make the situation worse, we need massive public sector cuts right now and tax cuts also for business and the public at large. It worked in the 1980s so lets make it work again although this Conservative Party doesnt have what it takes regardless.

you can't cut taxes. you can't afford it. in the future - yes you should cut taxes, especially on business, but you can't at this moment in time. a real clear plan for fiscal balancing needs to be cut for the markets and speculators to stay away.

gordon brown did a decent job until around 2002 when the wars we are in started to cost the government billions.

[Bun]

grease, i like it!

and yeh whoever gets voted in is going to be hated for a long time to come.

[-:Undertaker:-]

you can't cut taxes. you can't afford it. in the future - yes you should cut taxes, especially on business, but you can't at this moment in time. a real clear plan for fiscal balancing needs to be cut for the markets and speculators to stay away.

gordon brown did a decent job until around 2002 when the wars we are in started to cost the government billions.

You can cut taxes, cutting taxes stimulates growth and thus brings in a bigger amount for the government. At first the picture would be very bleak with tax cuts and the debt would jump considerably, however within a period of around 18 months government revenue starts to return to pre-cut levels and over infact as discovered by Reagan and Thatcher in the 1980s. We need cuts and we need them now, it will get the economy moving again and would create many jobs thus lifting the burden on the state.

[Catzsy]

You can cut taxes, cutting taxes stimulates growth and thus brings in a bigger amount for the government. At first the picture would be very bleak with tax cuts and the debt would jump considerably, however within a period of around 18 months government revenue starts to return to pre-cut levels and over infact as discovered by Reagan and Thatcher in the 1980s. We need cuts and we need them now, it will get the economy moving again and would create many jobs thus lifting the burden on the state.

How would it create jobs?

[alexxxxx]

You can cut taxes, cutting taxes stimulates growth and thus brings in a bigger amount for the government. At first the picture would be very bleak with tax cuts and the debt would jump considerably, however within a period of around 18 months government revenue starts to return to pre-cut levels and over infact as discovered by Reagan and Thatcher in the 1980s. We need cuts and we need them now, it will get the economy moving again and would create many jobs thus lifting the burden on the state.

i wouldn't want to try that with the europe wide problems that we have experienced. it's not so much HOW to deal with it, but a clear, concise and strong way of doing it. I personally don't think markets would like to see tax cuts.

[Jordy]

you can't cut taxes. you can't afford it. in the future - yes you should cut taxes, especially on business, but you can't at this moment in time. a real clear plan for fiscal balancing needs to be cut for the markets and speculators to stay away.

gordon brown did a decent job until around 2002 when the wars we are in started to cost the government billions.

That's because it was layed out for him by the Conservatives till then. In 2002 he could no longer continue riding the wave from the Thatcher/Major governments and had to start making his own decisions, that's when the trouble starts.

Business Taxes do need to be cut like the Conservatives are suggesting, this will attract more businesses to start-up, stop more going bust and most importantly, attract business from abroad which brings in the money.

Well it is not necessarily true that it will spread to us. We have growth again and the best export and manufactoring figures for 15years. Gordon Brown has always been good economically whether or not he spends too much on the public sector. Out of all of them I would trust him to get us out of the global recession.

That's positive thinking to be honest, 51% of people are now employed in the public sector and that does not generate the economy money, it just wastes money going round in a cycle.

I'm glad there's been growth and export/manufacturing figures are good, however we are at risk from Greece being in the EU, especially if Portugal and Spain get caught up in it too. Simply not being in the Eurozone isn't enough to safeguard us, it does help us yes but investors could soon lose faith in us as we're part of the EU. And of course there's the deficit... Some economic guru he is.

[alexxxxx]

That's because it was layed out for him by the Conservatives till then. In 2002 he could no longer continue riding the wave from the Thatcher/Major governments and had to start making his own decisions, that's when the trouble starts.

Business Taxes do need to be cut like the Conservatives are suggesting, this will attract more businesses to start-up, stop more going bust and most importantly, attract business from abroad which brings in the money.

If he'd followed, near or near enough, the golden rule that he set out at the beginning of his tenure, we would be in a lot better position. I would argue that he has followed a lot of the conservative policy for further than 2002, in respect of moving from fully Keynesian economics to almost fully a monetarist economic theory.

Yeah, perhaps business taxes could be cut for new businesses, but fiscal problems, i think, could get worse. Markets are very short sighted and they a promise that fiscal situation in the UK will be better in 6 months has a lot more weight than a gamble. Foreign Direct Investment won't be forthcoming very soon due to world wide problems.