If you're an old tory, vote ukip, if you're an old labour supporter vote green.

To be honest I am agonising over the choice for the first time. The potential state of the economy freaks me out.

The one in red has to be a priority....The screwing and cheating of the benefit system has gone on long enough..

Its clear to see that some people on here have a better grasp of politics than i, or the general guy on the street has. The problem i face, voting for the first time really, is that neither party seems to want to step forward and offer cast iron policies. Its almost like neither party wants to alienate themselves from the general public, thus creating a mirror party to the one currently in power. It really is frustrating. I'm tempted to go with the Tories, if anything just to see if a change is good for the country, but worry that if in doing so, we'd just be rocking the boat and destabilising a system, which although flawed, is actually working for us in a difficult climate. I really am in bind. I'm 27, recently married, recently made redundant, no kids, fairly decent lifestyle before the job loss, and seem to be looking at this opportunity for change with glazed eyes. Neither party seems to want to grow a set of balls, and give the country want it wants, what it needs. The concerning thing is, that people without a moral compass, and in a similar state to me, will vote for the BNP or similar.

Too true.

I know of someone who has a bad back and get's this benefit, has done for years. He is work shy.

Yet I know a girl with a broken spinal cord who requires a wheelchair yet holds down a good job in a customer contact centre.

This country is too soft on people who cannot be d to do a days work.

The way to vote is to look at your life and ask yourself what do i want from it and what is wrong with it ?
Then look at the society around you and ask what is right about it and what is wrong with it ?

Then look at the party that answers the most question in a positive way and vote.

Read key points in the manifesto (not necessary the whole thing) try to understand them and lastly F--king drag your arris to the polling station (it's only 5 minutes of your life).

If you're not interested in politics or find it boring, don't moan about not having money or the state of this country.

I think this is indicative of a very large group of people in this country, and to be honest these are the type of voters who should be straining at the leash, to vote in a fresh, inspired Tory party to an overwhelming landslide victory.

Embarrassingly for the Conservatives though, because their leader is an indecisive mess of a man, what should be a massive victory could instead be a humiliating close run thing, and instead of a feeling of elation, similar to what was acheived by Blair in '97, Cameron's 'win' will almost certainly feel like a massive anti-climax.

Blair, for all his obvious faults, was undoubtedly a consummate politician, with a massive personality....Cameron is a cheap, shabby imitation and will be out of his depth on a huge scale if elected.

As I said before, I could accept a Tory victory if they looked like a genuine alternative to the present tired lot, but all I see is a load of chancers, promising the world, but not actually explaining how they are going to perform their miracle.

Balls to policies (if they actually exist), this country needs to return the economy to an even keel. Changing the jockey at this point would be economical suicide.

Exactly. I have feeling they'll just shade it, and agree with what you say. How hard can it be to find an enigmatic leader, and just get them to be a puppet for your policies. Jesus, get Boris Johnson with some policies behind him, i'd vote him in tomorrow. The worring thing is, is that Cameron is the best the Tories have come up with in years.

Yep, this is what is making think twice...

Cameron is the closest thing the Tories have to Blair....After trying to take on Labour with supposed politicians (Hague, Duncan-Smith, Howard) and actual policies, they have basically given up the ghost and instead gone for their own Blair clone.

The leader's debates should be pretty eye opening, and hopefully Cameron can be exposed for the chancer he truly is.....Unfortunately, I don't see Brown coming out of the debates much better, simply because, in the public's eyes, he is a dead man walking.

In a parrallel universe, I'd have loved to have seen Cameron take on Blair in this election and these forthcoming debates...Blair would have chewed him up and spat him out.

Problem is with the current system, if you vote lib dem you might as well vote for the party you dont want to be in. Vote labour one final time so they will hold a refurendum on the alternative vote. Then next time round voting for lib will actually mean something

I hope it stays as civilised as it currently is. There's quite a lot on here to debate but little nastiness yet.

There shouldn't need to be any nastiness Graham. Been a very civilised debate so far, and shows that a lot of people are, unfortunately, in the same boat with regards to the wishy-washyness of the current parties.

Do you [ireally[/i think the problem is as widespread as the Daily Mail makes out? Of course there are such people, and there are young girls who have a kid in order to get a house and benefits, and there are people who work and claim dole, but what proportion of claimants do they represent? I think it's a lot lower than received wisdom would make you believe. Attacking benefit scroungers is a classic Tory tactic to divert attention away from the results of their cutting taxes for the rich, slashing public services policies - mass unemployment, poverty and homelessness.