That is probably the weirdest comment I've ever seen on the election. I didn't realise the tories had a position on "ruby on rails". :)
On a more serious note, the tories are not offering to get us out of the EU, they are providing a referendum. It is likely that most Conservative (tories) MPs will support staying within the EU as it is "good for business".
Yep. Selling off the NHS. Taking money from the poor and disabled. And offering an EU referendum which at the very least will hurt the economy for a while and if it passes will decimate it. Back to business as usual.
The Conservatives are highly unlikely to campaign against the EU despite promising a referendum on it. Indeed, I think they're breathing a sigh of relief only 1 UKIP MP will be sitting opposite them in the house pushing forward the No vote. The lack of any cohesive UKIP vote this time around demonstrates the will of the UK is not to abandon the EU, so the Tories won't really bother to campaign either way IMHO.
This is quite an interesting stance. While I'm glad as an Englishman who appreciates the EU that UKIP didn't come to more power, I think it's unfair to say there was no UKIP vote, they came second or third in a lot of Labour areas and actually netted around 12% of all votes, which is huge, beating the Lib Dems outright.
It's only our messed up FPTP system that means we're safe from UKIP, which doesn't resonate well with me. When a party can net 12% of the overall vote, coming third overall and only get a single seat in Parliment, something is seriously wrong with our voting system.
Your parent didn't say there was no UKIP vote, he said there was no cohesive UKIP votes: UKIP got a bit of voice everywhere but as a result got nothing due to FPTP. Compare to the SNP who got less overall votes than UKIP but focused their effort in a much smaller number of constituencies.
I believe the prime minister specifically stated that they would hold the referendum but campaign for people to vote to remain in the EU. I'm guessing at least a subset of his party will campaign on the opposite side.
In a referendum, it's the number of UKIP voters that they'll need to be wary of, not the number of UKIP MPs in the House of Commons as a result of the well-known distortions of the PFTP voting system. In fact, it's the number of people who ever expressed a desire to vote for UKIP that's the worry, even if someone tactically voted Conservative or Labour in the end, that doesn't mean they're going to vote to remain in the EU.
I assume big business will ensure we stay in, but even the two years of uncertainty beforehand is going to be very costly.
It's not forced. You can very easily not pay the license fee. I don't, and haven't for ~18 months, with the full knowledge of the TV License authority. You just have to follow a simple rule of not watching or listening to live TV or radio broadcasts.
My understanding is that while people may go to jail in relation with the BBC license, they go to jail for not paying the fine, not as a result of not having purchased the license. Now, you may disagree with the fact that people face imprisonment over a fine, but that's a different matter.
"Women make up about 70% of those prosecuted and convicted, and half of those jailed for not paying the fine. When people fail to pay other utilities, such as energy companies, they are guilty of a civil offence, not a criminal one, and they cannot be prosecuted and fined for falling behind with their payments. Civil action can be taken for recovery, but without fines and jail terms."
