Reply to: Is it just me......

[bogeyman]

I agree with you on the authoritarian points and, having voted Labour in '97 am also gutted that they have been so useless. But if I could go back. I'd do the same again because the one thing we didn't need was another four or five years of John Major's tax rises and sleaze. I'm voting Tory next time on the single issue of ID cards, but to suggest that the only party that can't be trusted is Labour shows a lack of appreciation of history. They have done some good - not nearly as much as they should have, but some nonetheless.

[a lack of appreciation of history]

LOL! Dig deep!

Yes, Labour gave us the NHS, a great idea, which is perpetually on the brink of extinction under this godawful administration. I have a good friend whose wife is a senior hospital manager. She says the whole thing is a ferking basket case.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Labour are not all bad? You can't be serious!

BTW it's 12 years, not 10.

I (for shame) voted Labour in 1997, hoping they would deliver on their promises. What a total corking mug I was!

I realised I was the 'enemy' when Dawn Primarolo rolled out IR35.

Nothing has changed since. Labour are a shower of incompetent, authoritarian, big-state, intrusive-state, chunts.

May they all rot in hell.

I've never been a big fan of the Tories, but I am now!

I agree with you on the authoritarian points and, having voted Labour in '97 am also gutted that they have been so useless. But if I could go back. I'd do the same again because the one thing we didn't need was another four or five years of John Major's tax rises and sleaze. I'm voting Tory next time on the single issue of ID cards, but to suggest that the only party that can't be trusted is Labour shows a lack of appreciation of history. They have done some good - not nearly as much as they should have, but some nonetheless.

[bogeyman]

They haven't made the Health Service worse - not as much better as they should have, but not worse.

Freedom of Information - they panicked when they realised what it was going to mean, but it's been a step forward, and one we never managed under previous Labour or Tory governments.

Writing off African Debt

Not a great record for 10 years and they deserve the sack ASAP, but just as the Tories aren't all bad, neither are Labour.

Labour are not all bad? You can't be serious!

BTW it's 12 years, not 10.

I (for shame) voted Labour in 1997, hoping they would deliver on their promises. What a total corking mug I was!

I realised I was the 'enemy' when Dawn Primarolo rolled out IR35.

Nothing has changed since. Labour are a shower of incompetent, authoritarian, big-state, intrusive-state, chunts.

May they all rot in hell.

I've never been a big fan of the Tories, but I am now!

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Can you think of anything Labour *hasn't* made worse in the last ten years?

I'm eternally flipped if I can.

They haven't made the Health Service worse - not as much better as they should have, but not worse.

Freedom of Information - they panicked when they realised what it was going to mean, but it's been a step forward, and one we never managed under previous Labour or Tory governments.

Writing off African Debt

Not a great record for 10 years and they deserve the sack ASAP, but just as the Tories aren't all bad, neither are Labour.

[bogeyman]

Can you think of anything Labour *hasn't* made worse in the last ten years?

I'm eternally flipped if I can.

The political blogosphere. It has thrived in these years of Labour misrule.

[OwlHoot]

... Blair also made a good speech in 1996, but only achieved a small fraction of what he wanted, and made many things worse.

Can you think of anything Labour *hasn't* made worse in the last ten years?

I'm eternally flipped if I can.

[Doggy Styles]

Not a bad speech. Miles better than Brown's, but Brown is a ret*rd so that's not difficult.

Better than Mandelson's because Mandelson's speech was all about keeping Labour and himself in power, and nothing about the economy.

Darling was as downbeat as he was allowed to be - I get the feeling he'd like to say what he thought about Brown's stewardship and used Osborne's speech.

Cameron went on about smaller government, less red tape, more economical literacy - all good aspirations but can he put it in practice? Blair also made a good speech in 1996, but only achieved a small fraction of what he wanted, and made many things worse.

[dang65]

Oh God, just saw a bit of his speech on the news. The bit where he gets all "angry" and "passionate" about the poverty issue.



What's even more is that 'Er Indoors said she thought it was a really good speech and that she thinks she will vote Tory in the election!!

[TheFaQQer]

So - public sector throughout then.

No.

[Menelaus]

On giving Dannatt a peerage - it's normal to provide retiring CDS with a peerage (e.g., Lord Inge) but given that his progression to CDS was spiked by Broon it's hardly surprising that Cameroon would want to put him in the Lords.

[Menelaus]

From 1976 to 1980 he was employed as a lecturer in Politics at Glasgow College of Technology.

From 1980 he worked as a journalist at Scottish Television, later serving as current affairs editor until his election to parliament in 1983.

He also worked as a tutor for the Open University.

HTH

So - public sector throughout then.

[TheFaQQer]

Perhaps you can tell me what "real" job James Gordon Brown had before entering politics?

From 1976 to 1980 he was employed as a lecturer in Politics at Glasgow College of Technology.

From 1980 he worked as a journalist at Scottish Television, later serving as current affairs editor until his election to parliament in 1983.

He also worked as a tutor for the Open University.

HTH

[Scary]

I'm not going to vote.

Tories (and bed-wetter Osbourne) are a shoe-in round here. Labour usually send some 'work-experience' candidate and then, because it's a fairly infamous constituency, we get more than our fair share of racists, delusionists and attention seekers.

Not worth the shoe-leather.

Could always stand for election if you think you could do a better job. Probably lose your deposit, but it would be an experience...

[sunnysan]

Voting

But don't you always vote Tory anyway?

Never voted here before, but when I do vote I will most probably vote Tory, for no other reason than to unseat the incumbents unless of course you can give me any reason why I should rather vote labour.

I will vote for them as I do not give a flying f3ck about anyone else except myself and my loved ones. I care about my community as it will affect the afore mentioned loved ones.

I will vote for them as they appear to be less interventionist, more pro business. An added bonus would be if they can come up with a better education and health system but seriously, do you think labour will make ANY improvement whatsoever?

Whoever takes over now will need to pretty much do one thing and one thing only and thats cut spending. Everythign else is pretty much secondary.

On that point alone who would you vote for?

[dang65]

Didn't someone once say if you vote Tory when you're young you haven't got a heart, but if you vote Labour when you're older, you haven't got a brain....or words to that effect....

I know that neither party can afford to be too fussy these days, but even they have to accept that having both a heart and a brain are basic prerequisites for entitlement to vote.