Who wants a Tory Government?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by andrewb

Are you guys voting Labour honestly giving a thumbs up to massive public debt? 800bn in debt.

We're going to have over 3 million people unemployed. It's alright to go back to 30 years ago... what about now when profitable companies are collapsing simply because government failed to regulate the banks?

All this when Labour inherited a rock solid economy, unlike the Thatcher government which inherited the sick man of Europe and had to fix it. This government inherited a world class athlete of an economy and managed to destroy it.

Labour governments destroy economies. Unemployment is always higher when they leave office than when they went in. Is this really what you want?

Do you really believe that the collapse of the world economy was due to the actions of the British Labour Party And at the same time you ignore that the mess you are in is the result of right wing greed gone rampant. And you support a party that will encourage laissez faire capitalism. A year or so ago, the Icelandic economy was "a world class athlete"; and now it is about as attractive as athlete's foot. No doubt there are Icelandic tories saddling their white steeds as we speak, readying themselves to ride to the rescue .... what a crock.

[Wynonie Harris]

...as if it makes the slightest bit of difference who wins the next election.

Already large swathes of legislation are decided in Brussels. In October we'll be signed up to the European Constitution (sorry, the Lisbon Treaty, to give it its new user-friendly name). After that, there'll be no going back...onwards to a European superstate. In ten years time the Westminster parliament will have as much relevance as the Welsh Assembly.

Still, don't let me stop you...what's a little thing like national independence compared to a good old party political squabble?

[mickmc]

Originally Posted by andrewb

Are you guys voting Labour honestly giving a thumbs up to massive public debt? 800bn in debt.

We're going to have over 3 million people unemployed. It's alright to go back to 30 years ago... what about now when profitable companies are collapsing simply because government failed to regulate the banks?

All this when Labour inherited a rock solid economy, unlike the Thatcher government which inherited the sick man of Europe and had to fix it. This government inherited a world class athlete of an economy and managed to destroy it.

Labour governments destroy economies. Unemployment is always higher when they leave office than when they went in. Is this really what you want?

"over 3 million unemployed " - yep, sure sounds familiar - if you endured life under the last Tory government

Re a quote from Tom Harris MP

SITTING in the BBC studio at 4 Millbank earlier today, I found myself reminiscing on air about the first Tory recession of their time in office, when unemployment hit three million and a million more were dumped onto long-term invalidity benefits.

At the time, in the early ’80s, that level of unemployment was virtually unthinkable and had not been experienced since the 1930s. I recall speaking to a trade union official who told me that, despite the polls at the time, he had been absolutely sure that Labour would win the 1983 general election simply because the nation would not tolerate any government which presided over such a disaster…

Fast forward to today’s awful news that unemployment has hit the two million mark. And when economists predict an inexorable rise to more than three million in the next year, they’re greeted with unsurprised resignation.

The reason for that defeatism is that in recent memory, for almost the entire period of Conservative government from 1979 to 1997, mass unemployment was an inescapable fact of life. Nearly two decades in which the numbers out of work never fell below two million.

Enter Labour in 1997, and for the next 11 years we had a growing economy, record numbers of jobs and, for almost all of the period we’ve been in government, virtually full employment.



" world class athelete of an economy" - was it - were you there ?? - no, didn't think so

[andrewb]

Originally Posted by mickmc

"over 3 million unemployed " - yep, sure sounds familiar - if you endured life under the last Tory government

Re a quote from Tom Harris MP

SITTING in the BBC studio at 4 Millbank earlier today, I found myself reminiscing on air about the first Tory recession of their time in office, when unemployment hit three million and a million more were dumped onto long-term invalidity benefits.

At the time, in the early ’80s, that level of unemployment was virtually unthinkable and had not been experienced since the 1930s. I recall speaking to a trade union official who told me that, despite the polls at the time, he had been absolutely sure that Labour would win the 1983 general election simply because the nation would not tolerate any government which presided over such a disaster…

Fast forward to today’s awful news that unemployment has hit the two million mark. And when economists predict an inexorable rise to more than three million in the next year, they’re greeted with unsurprised resignation.

The reason for that defeatism is that in recent memory, for almost the entire period of Conservative government from 1979 to 1997, mass unemployment was an inescapable fact of life. Nearly two decades in which the numbers out of work never fell below two million.

Enter Labour in 1997, and for the next 11 years we had a growing economy, record numbers of jobs and, for almost all of the period we’ve been in government, virtually full employment.



" world class athelete of an economy" - was it - were you there ?? - no, didn't think so

We get it - there was high unemployment in the 80's. That doesn't make it okay for the 3 million people going to be unemployed by this time next year.

We had a growing economy that was built on debt after they stopped following the Conservative economic plans in 2001. Nothing to be proud of.

[mickmc]

"We get it - there was high unemployment in the 80's"

Not just "in the 80's" - you make it sound like a month or two - 17 long, long years where it never fell below 2 million

[katex]

Don't you think that the rise in unemployment was mainly due to the loss of our manufacturing industries due to the overwhelming surge of cheap imports ?

We've all experienced it locally with the textile industry.

Not sure who which party we can blame here ... just asking the question.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by mickmc

"We get it - there was high unemployment in the 80's"

Not just "in the 80's" - you make it sound like a month or two - 17 long, long years where it never fell below 2 million

Rather than being in living memory, for some young people the 'halcyon' days under the Conservatives are known only through the pages of a history book, as some weren't even swinging from their mother's teat at the time, so don't remember the utter misery that was endured by the majority, especially here in the north.

Embrace a lezzie, hug a hoodie, cuddle a kiddie fiddler.

No matter how much they try and disguise themselves under a caring/sharing guise they are still the same old Tories. The super wealthy masters who rely on their blindingly loyal footsoldiers to do their bidding.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but the fact remains it's still a pig.

[accyman]

thinking about it unemployment was a damn sight higher than what people think under the tories they just hid millions of teenagers in somthing called teh Y.T.S where you worked a full week for £28.50 and even in teh 80's that was a miserable amount of money to recieve for a weeks work

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by katex

Don't you think that the rise in unemployment was mainly due to the loss of our manufacturing industries due to the overwhelming surge of cheap imports ?

We've all experienced it locally with the textile industry.

Not sure who which party we can blame here ... just asking the question.

Your the first person o pose that question, never heard a hue and cry when the Lancashire Cotton industry went belly up, due to cheap import from the far East, people wanted the cheap clothes made by cheap labour and said sod it to cotton industry jobs

[garinda]

Originally Posted by accyman

thinking about it unemployment was a damn sight higher than what people think under the tories they just hid millions of teenagers in somthing called teh Y.T.S where you worked a full week for £28.50 and even in teh 80's that was a miserable amount of money to recieve for a weeks work

Oh don't go spoiling the illusion, just because you can remember what actually happened, because you lived through it!

[garinda]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Your the first person o pose that question, never heard a hue and cry when the Lancashire Cotton industry went belly up, due to cheap import from the far East, people wanted the cheap clothes made by cheap labour and said sod it to cotton industry jobs

Isn't profit the most important thing under a free market economy, so beloved of the Conservatives?

[accyman]

Originally Posted by garinda

Oh don't go spoiling the illusion, just because you can remember what actually happened, because you lived through it!

i must admit i do wonder how some can comment on how good or bad things were under the tories when they were either not born or still wearing nappies at the time

mind you thatcher did steal their milk lol

[Bernard Dawson]

Originally Posted by accyman

thinking about it unemployment was a damn sight higher than what people think under the tories they just hid millions of teenagers in somthing called teh Y.T.S where you worked a full week for £28.50 and even in teh 80's that was a miserable amount of money to recieve for a weeks work

I would think a few people will remember the various Tory schemes to keep the unemployment figures artificially low in the 1980's

They also changed the the way the numbers of unemployed were counted several times to make it appear lower.

Unemployment had it's height in the 1980's was probably nearer to 4 million than 3 million

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Bernard Dawson

I would think a few people will remember the various Tory schemes to keep the unemployment figures artificially low in the 1980's

They also changed the the way the numbers of unemployed were counted several times to make it appear lower.

Unemployment had it's height in the 1980's was probably nearer to 4 million than 3 million

And you reckon that this shower don't doctor every set of figures in every department that are issued

[Bernard Dawson]

Originally Posted by jaysay

And you reckon that this shower don't doctor every set of figures in every department that are issued

I think there's no doubt that unemployment was far higher in the 1980's, than it is now.

It wasn't uncommon to see people being made redundant two or three times during that period.

The unemployment count is also far more accurate now than it was then. The Tories fiddled the unemployment count for years to make it appear lower