Someone talking sense

[Not So Wise]

It is possible that history has been "revised" in the interim without me looking but wasn't he a bit of a national embarrassment when Prime Minister?

His party at the time was an embarrassment (to long in power) he on the other hand was pretty good at his job but quite boring.

And sadly being good but boring is not a vote winner, better to be crap at your job while being a good rabble rouser with tons of sound bites and spin (Blair)

Unfortunately for us Brown is not only boring but also crap at his job (and his previous one as well), plus side though is his chances of getting re-elected because of this are pretty much zero.

Though sadly Cameron just seems like Blair under a different party

[oracleslave]

Labour will never take any bold measures that would upset unions who are their paymasters. People may grasp this fact one day.

Just look at how they backed down on modernisation of public sector pensions in 2005 as soon as the unions started to threaten militant action.

I thought the thread title would have precluded you from posting

[minestrone]

When he introduced the TESSA in 1990 he stated that the amount of consumer debt was worrying and that he wanted to give the public more options in investing money. And people still think Labour winning in '97 was a good thing.

[Cyberman]

Back to the OP, Major is right on this.

The UK is in a hole, bold measures are needed to get out of it, noone seems to have faced up (publicly anyway) to this.

Labour will never take any bold measures that would upset unions who are their paymasters. People may grasp this fact one day.

Just look at how they backed down on modernisation of public sector pensions in 2005 as soon as the unions started to threaten militant action.

[Gonzo]

Back to the OP, Major is right on this.

The UK is in a hole, bold measures are needed to get out of it, noone seems to have faced up (publicly anyway) to this.

[Gonzo]

I dont think he was. His problem was the rest of his government bringing home scandal after scandal after scandal.
He was just dull, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
To his credit (though it is never given) he started the NI peace process amongst other things.
His Government handed over the best economy any Government has ever received.

I just have the image of "underpants" in my mind for some reason. I may have been more influenced by the Guardian () and Spitting Image in those days than I would be now.

To his credit he did win a General Election during a recession, he was unfortunate that the slender majority meant he had no effective way of dealing with problem MP behaviour and that made party business difficult.

[VectraMan]

I dont think he was. His problem was the rest of his government bringing home scandal after scandal after scandal.
He was just dull, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
To his credit (though it is never given) he started the NI peace process amongst other things.

I agree; I had a lot of respect for him personally then as now. But it was clear the rest of the Tories were a complete shambles and couldn't continue. And Major, much like Brown is now, wasn't best suited to be in the full glare of the top job in the same way that Thatcher and Blair were.

[Cyberman]

I dont think he was. His problem was the rest of his government bringing home scandal after scandal after scandal.
He was just dull, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
To his credit (though it is never given) he started the NI peace process amongst other things.
His Government handed over the best economy any Government has ever received.

There was never as much scandal under the Tories, and most of it was private and sexually related which does not actually affect the running of government. Labour had outdone any Tory scandal in spades within two years of coming to power. Think about it, because I remember having this discussion during 1999 when I was already punch-drunk with Labour scandals.


Eccleston and F1 advertising for a 1 million donation, Mandelson and the Hinduja passport affair, as well as lying on his mortgage application, releasing bad news on Diana's death to deflect attention, multiple releasing of funding news, double/triple-counting of investment in the NHS immediately spring to mind. Oh Dear oh Dear.

[jimjamuk]

lets face it - my kids could have steered the economy through the boom years - all you had to do was sit back and watch the coins come flooding in.......

[alreadypacked]

I think he is right.

I need to move my sterling soon

[The Lone Gunman]

It is possible that history has been "revised" in the interim without me looking but wasn't he a bit of a national embarrassment when Prime Minister?

I dont think he was. His problem was the rest of his government bringing home scandal after scandal after scandal.
He was just dull, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
To his credit (though it is never given) he started the NI peace process amongst other things.
His Government handed over the best economy any Government has ever received.

[Cyberman]

It is possible that history has been "revised" in the interim without me looking but wasn't he a bit of a national embarrassment when Prime Minister?

... and isn't Brown the best chancellor in history ?

[Cyberman]

In all my years, the Tories in the main have been a party for telling the truth. Labour since 1997 have demolished my faith in government by their constant lies and spin.

We are losing 1 Billion pounds every two days, and one respected political commentator I was reading at the weekend reckons we may have to raise taxes by 30 per cent or make spending cuts of that magnitude. We really are in a very serious situation but Labour is in denial saying carry on spending , just as James Callaghan was in 1979. 'Crisis, what crisis ?' were his famous words......

[Gonzo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8134963.stm

Can you imagine Brown having such a sensible reasoned discussion?

It is possible that history has been "revised" in the interim without me looking but wasn't he a bit of a national embarrassment when Prime Minister?

[DimPrawn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8134963.stm

Can you imagine Brown having such a sensible reasoned discussion?