The Labour Government

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Imagine being so wrong that your wife has to register to a forum to tell you you talk shite.

 

[stonerblue]

Of course -give a nice sympathetic Christmas broadcast where we're all pulling together and then bugger off to the sunshine in Madiera. How selfish of me to expect any different.

My neighbours 'buggered off' to Malta, daughter and family went to Copenhagen and 2 mates went to Thailand. Selfish bastards eh...

 

[stonerblue]

Imagine being so wrong that your wife has to register to a forum to tell you you talk shite.

hahahahaha

 

[The perfect fumble]

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In May last year Khan won a landmark third successive term as mayor of London.

The Tories put Zac Goldsmith, the twat he defeated back in 2016, in the House of Lords, he's now Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park.

Last year Khan beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes - representing a swing of 3.2% to Labour.

He won nine of the 14 constituencies including two gains from the Tories.

He has an impressive list of achievements to his name, I doubt you could name one.

I don't like Khan, I don't like his politics and I don't like his style, but he's a formidable political operator, has done more good than harm and Londoners keep re-electing him.

But you chose to go with knife crime to ridicule the honour he's received, an honour that's routinely dished out to lesser men without comment.

 

[Really_here]

My neighbours 'buggered off' to Malta, daughter and family went to Copenhagen and 2 mates went to Thailand. Selfish bastards eh...

Did your neighbours read out a Christmas message to the nation to say they know it's hard right now but we're all in this together before they left? Did they pose for photographs with the Waspie women before being elected then saying 'sorry but it's tough" after? Did your neighbours decide to spend billions of pounds on a silly carbon capture scheme just after telling some of the poorest pensioners there is no money for the Winter fuel allowance? I could go on.
I'm not pro Tory or Anti Labour. What I don't like is Mr. Starmers total disregard for anyone's feelings and his complete lack of remorse for saying one thing and then doing another. He's safe and secure with his massive majority (thanks to our outdated "first past the post" system) but IMHO he's a complete liability for the Labour party. I for one (and MANY people I know) will never ever vote Labour again. We need PR as soon as possible.

 

[The perfect fumble]

I for one will never ever vote Labour again.

So who will you be voting for?

 

[stonerblue]

Did your neighbours read out a Christmas message to the nation to say they know it's hard right now but we're all in this together before they left?

No, but like Starmer and thousands of others, they were on holiday.

Did they pose for photographs with the Waspie women before being elected then saying 'sorry but it's tough" after? Did your neighbours decide to spend billions of pounds on a silly carbon capture scheme just after telling some of the poorest pensioners there is no money for the Winter fuel allowance? I could go on.
I'm not pro Tory or Anti Labour. What I don't like is Mr. Starmers total disregard for anyone's feelings and his complete lack of remorse for saying one thing and then doing another. He's safe and secure with his massive majority (thanks to our outdated "first past the post" system) but IMHO he's a complete liability for the Labour party. I for one (and MANY people I know) will never ever vote Labour again. We need PR as soon as possible.

 

[Really_here]

So who will you be voting for?

Anyone else, maybe an independent or even the Monster Raving Loonies. Sadly where I Iive in Oldham Labour will always win under the present system so my vote can only be a protest.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

This country has been badly battered:

1. Covid. OK a once-in-a-lifetime event, probably. But the consequences can scarcely be exaggerated. For a start, it ballooned the National Debt. Nor was it particularly well-managed. The contracts for mates were an absolute scandal. But, in fairness, it was an unprecedented situation. It's gone now, and we hope it will not recur. The melody lingers on, however.

2. War in Ukraine. This will probably end in the next year or so. To quote Emperor Hirohito, 'Not necessarily to our advantage.' But it has cost us a mint and the damage to European stability is considerable. We shall probably start spending more on defence because of a sense of insecurity. On the precedent of the 1930s, this might boost our economy; the difference is we don't have a pool of unemployed so it could also boost wage inflation.

3. Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving. Everyone agrees, pretty much, we got a shit deal. But any attempt to improve it provokes shrieks of 'betrayal' from the terminally stupid. (Who, by the way, have no alternative to offer outside the realms of fantasy.) The damage to trade is costing our economy a fortune and it's hard to see how this can be sorted by any practical means. Maybe in 20 years when people have grown up and more of the fossils are dead.

So what's our response? Well, from a diabolical field of political wankers, we chose a classic centrist. Someone who is a small 'c' conservative. Someone who wants not to scare the horses. Someone who is in the hands of the right-wing Labour clique, one of the least imaginative cohorts of people in the country.

Did people really expect Camelot? Did they expect it overnight?

I expected slow progress at best. And I was, and am still, prepared to cut this government a lot of slack, because the country's economic situation is fucking dire, and any government that works within the concept of 'balancing the books' is going to have to make difficult and unpopular decisions.

And what, pray are the alternatives?

Ed Davey's Lib Dems? I'd give them a chance, but most people won't as it's not clear what they stand for and they have no presence in much of the country.

Badenoch's Tories? I'd say she's the worst Tory leader, bar Truss, in my lifetime and the Tories still haven't accepted that Brexit is a total, embarrassing failure. All they have to offer is the last 14 years on steroids. Unaffordable tax cuts and endless damage to public services. Culture wars and petty (British) nationalism.

Farage? Sorry, but a clearer example of a snake-oil salesman I have never seen. How people can be taken in by this charlatan I do not know.

The bottom line is this country is fucked and there's no easy way out. Anyone who thinks there is is deluding themselves and dooming themselves to disappointment. It's a long-term job.

I am sorry Brian, but this is way too negative for me. I just don't think things are as bad as you state. Despite the problems we still have a very strong economy, the second biggest in Europe in fact and we appear to be cementing that position not relinquishing it. We have the best if not one of the best free health care systems in the world. Our education system is excellent. Serious crime is generally low compared to many parts of the world. We have amazing social freedoms and rights and a multi cultural society and we live in a democracy. Sure things could be better and hopefully they will become better gradually. But essentially your statement that we as a country are fucked is simply just not true.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Of course -give a nice sympathetic Christmas broadcast where we're all pulling together and then bugger off to the sunshine in Madiera. How selfish of me to expect any different.

Starmer has made some mistakes in his first few months. But going on holiday with his family isn't really one of them in my book. He's the PM, I don't expect him to queue with everyone else for security reasons alone. We've all seen how politicians have become targets for loons the past few years.