We are all going to pot

 

 

Obama drama ... US President suffered in polls

PRESIDENT Obama took a hammering in the US mid-term elections this week - largely due to the Tea Party, the political movement which opposes "big" government and high taxes.
The party, led by former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, is outraged by the President's £430billion public spending spree and more than 30 of its candidates seized victory in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday.
The movement is named after the 1773 Boston Tea Party rebellion, when US colonists threw tea into Boston harbour in protest at the tax on the drink levied by their British masters.
In view of the current US Tea Party's success, we decided to hold our own tea parties around the UK to see what issues Sun readers would like the British government to address.
Here JENNA SLOAN highlights the views that emerged from our chats over cuppas and slices of Victoria sponge - the opinions which David Cameron really needs to pay attention to.

Newcastle

SHOP assistant Anthony Khouri, 21, said: "If I could run the country for a day all the decisions would be simple.
"I'd have a higher minimum wage and more holidays for everyone.
"It would be hard not to go power crazy."

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Rob Clark, 20, a naval architecture student at Newcastle University, said: "Obviously tuition fees would be top of my agenda if I could change anything. "I don't think it is fair that Scottish students don't have to pay fees but we do.
"I prefer the English version of a tea party compared with American ones. With the new government and cuts at the moment, politics seems more important than ever."
Frankie King, 19, a history student at the university, said: "Tuition fees would have to go if I were in charge.
"Students and parents shouldn't have to pay extortionate amounts of money just for education."
Michael Hardy, 56, a fisheries manager, said: "It was interesting to chat over politics with a new group of people.
"As a dad of three, there are many issues affecting me and my family that are important."
Mum-of-one Elizabeth Parkin, 31, from Whitley Bay, said: "I have a six-month-old boy, Cormac, so anything that makes life easier for parents is high on my agenda.
"Child tax credits would need to be sorted, but it's a tough one as I don't really know what else I would do."

Southampton

DIRECTOR Mark McClure, 47, runs a window cleaning company in the nearby village of Bursledon.
He said: "People are being squeezed very hard by the Government. That is having a knock-on effect for people such as me who run small businesses.
"Next year VAT will jump to 20 per cent and I don't understand why I should be hit with more taxes when I will be creating jobs for people.

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"If I had my way I would not be punishing the businesses who need to prop up the economy." University student Jyoji Howse, 22, from Portswood, is in his final year of a history and archaeology degree.
He said: "I think the Lib Dems going back on the pledge of not raising tuition fees is terrible and it's ridiculous universities will be able to charge up to £9,000.
"If I had known I would pay that much money it definitely would have put me off."
Pensioner Lorraine Waters, 72, said: "When I was growing up there was a really strong sense of community and I think Britain has lost that.
"I'd like to see the Government encouraging families to stick together, not giving people a house straight away if they wind up single and pregnant." Chloe Wythe, 20, a cafe manager from Hamble, Hants, said: "If I were in power I would make sure there was much more affordable housing.
"At the moment I'm renting and have no chance of buying a place of my own."

Glasgow

SMALL businesswoman Jean Baird, 55, runs J Baird Dry Cleaners and Alterations.
She said: "I would bring back the trades for kids leaving school and encourage them to get a job instead of just signing on."
Cabbie Danny Ryan, 47, said: "I would make sure that the people running the Government had some real-life experience before they came in to power.

"I would also bring back National Service for youngsters aged up to 20 because a spell in the Armed Services works well for other countries." Unemployed Steven Holt, 32, from East Kilbride, said: "I would do more to get the unemployed back into work because you need something to get up for in the morning.
"I would also make sure that the training schemes that unemployed people are sent on are more worthwhile because I have been on one in the past that was a waste of time."
Single mum Erica Preen, 31, who works part-time in a call centre, said: "If I ran the country I would like to see mums back at work quicker than they are now. But I would also give them more benefits so that it would be worth their while."
Pensioner Willie Leach, 76, from Livingston, West Lothian, said: "I'd cut down on the number of immigrants coming in to the country because we should take care of the British first."
Media student and budding entrepreneur Connor Gillis, 18, from Fort William, said: "I'd make housing a lot more fair for students."

Birmingham

SECRETARY Lisa Child said: "I don't agree with the immigration laws in this country.

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"I don't understand why the Government are letting so many foreigners in, taking jobs and homes, when there are people here who can't get a job or social housing." Lisa, 41, from Great Barr, continued: "We should have more rights over properties than those who come from abroad."
Receptionist Nicola Humpage, 21, from Walsall, said: "I was shocked to hear that prisoners are going to be given the right to vote.
"These people lose their freedom when they commit these crimes, so they should lose their liberty and therefore their right to vote."
Salesman Dav Singh, 32, from Oldbury, said: "I am not happy with the fees the Government is charging university students. It is bang out of order.

"People who want to get knowledge can't afford to get an education. It's outrageous. They need to lower the fees as £9,000 a year is a lot of money and in these tough economic times it is unrealistic to expect people to be able to afford it."
Shane Tu, 32, an office manager from Quinton, said: "I commute to work on the train and I disagree with the cost of fares. I think public transport in the UK is much too expensive so it would be great if the Government could address this.
"If trains ran on time and were clean then maybe cost would not be an issue. But half the time you buy a ticket and can't even sit down."