The UK 2010 election is finally upon us

By Marco Pietropoli, April 2010

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Investment Performance

The UK General Election 2010

Well here we are. Decision time. Unfortunately there isn't that much that is fundamentally different between the parties. There are no radical ideas so far.

The economy is clearly at the top of the agenda. But whichever party wins, we are going to have to tackle the huge deficit. In many ways this is now out of our hands. The credit rating agencies are looking for a credible austerity budget shortly after the election. If this does not happen the UK is likely to be downgraded. The markets are likely to force policy anyway.

The main parties do not seem to be necessarily addressing what many people wish to hear. The benefits culture and the seemingly uncontrolled immigration are not being addressed. Many people feel we need to get away from the idea of something for nothing. The immigration issue is increasing the votes for UKIP and the BNP.

Don't get me wrong I'm not against immigration, but if it not managed properly it can lead to social unrest and an increasing vote for extreme parties.

What is the plan for strengthening the Pound? How are we going to sort out the transport system to cope with present and future volume? What about the pension time bomb? How are we going return to an economy focused on production rather than consumption?

How do we create a culture of savings rather than debt? How are we going to create jobs? How are we going to fund proper long term care for the elderly? How are we going to sort out our energy problems and move away from importing costly carbon products? How are we going to reverse the environmental damage we have caused and start recycling properly?

There is also general distrust of parliament following the expenses scandal. This is leading to despondency by the electorate.

The biggest risk of course is a hung parliament. This would lead to stagnation in policy making as it would be difficult for any party to push through parliament significant changes. It would also be very difficult to tackle the deficit.

Let's hope better ideas emerge and we have a proper debate about the issues. The important thing is to get these muppets out of government. They are responsible for the situation we find ourselves in.

What is troubling the electorate is that there is no point removing the devil you know for an equally incompetent set of spin doctors. Yes in principle, the Conservatives may be better at managing the deficit and the underlying national debt. But that doesn't really seem enough.

The UK needs real leadership with a vision. We also need a team at the top with the guts to actually implement radical change. Let's hope we get some better ideas in the manifestos.

We cannot have a sustainable future if the harder you work the more you get taxed and the less you do, the more you get given. It is also unsustainable to continually increase taxes on the private sector to fund a growing public sector as a proportion of GDP.


                                                  Medway Independent Financial Advisor