How long do you think the coalition will last?

First topic message reminder :

I want people's opinion of how long they think this coalition will last. ?

Margaret Thatcher dismantled British Industry so as to deprive the Unions of their power-base.

Otherwise known as, Cut your nose off to spite your face.

I am pleased to see that the latest poll in todays (thur) Sun "news"paper continues to show Labour 10 points ahead, and furthermore the rating for Cameron as best Primeminister is falling.

At present there appears to be no headlines anywhere to cheer Cameron or his poodle Clegg up, their beloved NHS reforms have been passed and waiting times and waiting lists are rising.

In some parts of the country consultants posts in understaffed hospitals are been left unfilled to save money, and only 12% of GPs believe that the reforms will improve services.

Another headline this morning "Amazon: £7 billion in sales but no corporation tax paid in UK" whilst another headline reads "Million families to lose £511 a year".

Yes folks - the Tories are back

And all this on top of a struggling economy, and when the arguments and slanging matches break out after disasterous election results, particularly for the LibDems then the coalition realy will begin to look very fragile.

More than 850,000 families stood to lose their child tax credit - worth around £545 per year - from the start of the financial year. Another 212,000 couples on less than £17,000 a year would lose working tax credit unless they were able to increase their hours of employment.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the Government had taken some "very difficult decisions" on tax and benefits but insisted they had been "fair". (stated exactly word for word by ALL Coaltion front benchers)

Fanny Alexander another Tory poodle who thinks saffron is blue.

Mel Good morning my good friend. How are you keeping?.

Fanny Alexander, I like it.

This Toxic coalition have been saying repeatedly. We are prepared to take the brave and difficult decisions. What I want to know is what is so brave in attacking the poorest, the sick, the disabled and the elderly. Bravery to them , “sono una parola” Just a word, they don’t know the meaning of Bravery. Bravery is not just what our troops are displaying on a daily basis, but what many ordinary people display every day of their lives, getting out of bed to face another day of drudgery for very little reward, just in order to put bread in the mouths of their families and a roof over their heads. Most of these people we never hear from, they are too wrapped up in survival to involve themselves in politics, and it is these people who are being constantly attacked by this COWARDLY Tory led Coalition, those who have no concept of hardship, or suffering, those who think they have some sort of divine right to rule. Lets all hope May 3^rd will give them the stuffing they so richly deserve. I am going to Italy for the Summer on the 8^th May just to be able to see the election results. Lets hope I can go with a great big smile on me boat race.

Hello bobby boy. I am keeping well thank you and I hope you are also.

Yes I have to agree those who you say "we never hear from " are the ones who just take it all and suffer in silence for several reasons IMO. First many are not bothered nor have the time perhaps to take interest in politics. There are some, not many but some who fortunately are not affected by these cruel barstewards measures. Some for example are in the debt collection business and must be doing very nicely thank you.
Second there are those too young to have felt the full force of Thatchers ideology and yet many have carried on the trait she forced upon the people of dog eat dog attitude.
We also see the damage done to the Labour party over the war in Iraq, George Galloway's constituency for example has shown us that the many Muslims feel strongly about it and more so the conflict that exists with Palestine and Israel.

The Yanks have to take the side of the Israelies IMO because America is virtually run by people of Jewish origin. That is not a criticism of those people just the facts.

Those that know nothing about politics generally put all parties in the same boat and annoy me when they come out with "it's time for a change".

Finally of course the Tory dominated media has a lot to answer for, many people really believe what they read and hear. The last election was clouded by those who thought it was time to put the LD's into power. What a shock they must be experiencing. The trouble is the suffering that that error of judgement as brought upon the many including the fools themselves is massive and much of the damage will be irriversible. I hope they are hanging their silly heads in their hands bobby.

Ivan wrote:

In 1979, the incoming Conservative government inherited an economy with inflation of 27%.

Please, atv, not that whopping great lie again! We had that one from you on the last forum, or was it at MSN?

"Inflation was about 10%" (in May 1979):-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1980s_recession

10.85% in May 1979 according to this source:-
http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_rate/historicalinflation.aspx

If you look up any figures for the average inflation rate for the whole of 1979, they will be around 13.4%. That was because, within weeks of coming to power in May of that year, Thatcher increased VAT from 8% to 15% (despite having had "no plans" to do so during the election - same old Tory lie).

In no way, and not according to any figures outside the lie machine known as Tory Central Office, was inflation anywhere near 27%, although after a year of Thatcher in power the figure did rise above 20% as a result of her policies.

So what you are telling me is that my links are wrong, but your links are right. In other words my figures are from Tory Central Office and yours are from Labour Central Office.
The link I gave was NOT Tory Central Office, as I keep saying, "don't shoot the messenger."

witchfinder wrote:The "great inflation" of the 1970s was caused by soaring oil prices, and the problem was not restricted to the UK, it was a world-wide problem particularly for the industrialized west.

Inflation in the UK peaked in 1975 during the reign of Harold Wilson at 26% and from that time fell, and was on a downward track at the time of the general election of 1979 when it was below 10%.

I must concur that is probably what happened, but be aware that you will be rapped for claiming that "Inflation in the UK peaked in 1975 during the reign of Harold Wilson at 26%."

The CPI ( Consumer Price Index ) inflation figure as used today to calculate inflation did not begin until 1996, therefore to make a true comparison the figures prior to this time are unofficial, though fairly accurate.

The average mean inflation rate of 1975 was 24.2% which was the peak of high inflation caused by the oil crisis.

1976 - 16.5% 1977 - 15.8% 1978 - 8.3%

Election of Margaret Thatcher and implementation of first budget by Geoffrey Howe resulted in a jump in inflation --- 13.4% 1980 - 18%

witchfinder wrote:The CPI ( Consumer Price Index ) inflation figure as used today to calculate inflation did not begin until 1996, therefore to make a true comparison the figures prior to this time are unofficial, though fairly accurate.

Thank you witchfinder,
That could explain why there are so many variations on different sites when it comes to inflation.

Mel wrote:More than 850,000 families stood to lose their child tax credit - worth around £545 per year - from the start of the financial year. Another 212,000 couples on less than £17,000 a year would lose working tax credit unless they were able to increase their hours of employment.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the Government had taken some "very difficult decisions" on tax and benefits but insisted they had been "fair". (stated exactly word for word by ALL Coaltion front benchers)

Fanny Alexander another Tory poodle who thinks saffron is blue.

I hope you are all ready for the screams this weekend is when everybody will find out that they have lost money not gained through the raising of the Tax threshold.

ATV. Your link------Economics Help is a website published by Tejvan Pettinger. Tejvan studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. He now works as a part time Economics Teacher at Cherwell College, Oxford. He writes regularly on economics, contributing to the A Level Economic Journal - Economic Review.

The link from Ivan---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1980s_recession

I think one would prefer to rely upon wikipedia rather than a blog from a Teacher who has right wing tendancies, especially if one was in short trousers or perhaps not even born in the times you refer to.

"Charity begins at home" could well be written as "Politics begin at home" because the successful governments are those who understand the effect of their decisions on the ordinary Voter. Unlike the Mongol Horde currently rampaging through the British Constitution with the connivance of the Lib-Dems.

Mel wrote:ATV.
I think one would prefer to rely upon wikipedia rather than a blog from a Teacher who has right wing tendancies, especially if one was in short trousers or perhaps not even born in the times you refer to.

Yes I agree, I am not really in the best position to comment fairly on her capabilities or otherwise. I was just a child when she was in power, so had no real comprehension of the good or bad she was doing to our country.
I do know this, I was inspired by her as a person (not knowing anything about politics). As a child she was a good role model for me who wanted to be successful. I looked up to this confident woman who was leading our country, I wanted to be like her.
When I was young money was tight, black-outs were common, we were cold in winter – and I’m only in my 30′s yet this sounds like a LONG time ago! But during the time Margaret Thatcher was in power financial burdens eased, changes to the UK power supply meant black-outs became less frequent and we could afford to having the heating on more in winter. The same applies to privatisation of utilities and so forth, these decisions were made in the best interests of the Country. And while they had pitfalls overall I say look at where we are now, yes things aren’t great but how many people have cold dark homes in winter? I don’t see anywhere near as many as there were when I was a child in the 1980′s.
So from a child’s eyes, she must have been doing something right!?

" I looked up to this confident woman who was leading our country, I wanted to be like her."

Perfectly understandable. Charismatic people have that ability to electrify an audience into wanting to follow.

Topical once again would be a showing of "Olympia" a Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

It's stirring stuff, and explains a lot of what happened during the ensuing nine years.

oftenwrong wrote:[i Topical once again would be a showing of "Olympia" a Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

It's stirring stuff, and explains a lot of what happened during the ensuing nine years.

Propaganda within Nazi Germany was taken to a new and frequently perverse level. Hitler was very aware of the value of good propaganda and he appointed Dr Joseph Goebbels as head of propaganda. His official title however was Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment.
As Minister of Enlightenment, Goebbels had two main tasks:
To ensure nobody in Germany could read or see anything that was hostile or damaging to the Nazi Party.
To ensure that the views of the Nazis were put across in the most persuasive manner possible.
To ensure success, Goebbels had to work with the SS and Gestapo and Albert Speer. The former hunted out those who might produce articles defamatory to the Nazis and Hitler while Speer helped Goebbels with public displays of propaganda.
www.historylearningsite.co.uk/propaganda_in_nazi_germany.htmCached - Similar

Why does Blair, Mandelson, Damian McBride and Derek Draper spring to mind when I read the above?

bobby wrote:Mel Good morning my good friend. How are you keeping?.

Fanny Alexander, I like it.

This Toxic coalition have been saying repeatedly. We are prepared to take the brave and difficult decisions. What I want to know is what is so brave in attacking the poorest, the sick, the disabled and the elderly. Bravery to them , “sono una parola” Just a word, they don’t know the meaning of Bravery. Bravery is not just what our troops are displaying on a daily basis, but what many ordinary people display every day of their lives, getting out of bed to face another day of drudgery for very little reward, just in order to put bread in the mouths of their families and a roof over their heads. Most of these people we never hear from, they are too wrapped up in survival to involve themselves in politics, and it is these people who are being constantly attacked by this COWARDLY Tory led Coalition, those who have no concept of hardship, or suffering, those who think they have some sort of divine right to rule. Lets all hope May 3^rd will give them the stuffing they so richly deserve. I am going to Italy for the Summer on the 8^th May just to be able to see the election results. Lets hope I can go with a great big smile on me boat race.

What they will not tell us bobby that 80% of the UK debt belongs to the money borrowed to bail out the banks so the other 20% belongs to the borrowing of the Labour party, but what i want to know is why is this Incompetent Gov't can not say that because sooner or later they will find out and are they going to be "MAD".

LMAO, atv, the Tories learned well from Goebbels!

To ensure nobody in the UK could read or see anything that was hostile or damaging to the Tory Party.

Stick Chris Patten in the BBC and threaten it with fragmentation to ensure that it toes the line. The BBC had a news blackout on all the demonstrations against the NHS Bill, which this evil government had no mandate to introduce.

To ensure that the views of the Tories were put across in the most persuasive manner possible.

Go and see Murdoch, agree to give 'a second chance' to one of his criminals by employing him in the heart of Downing Street, then offer BSkyB on a plate. In return, get a guarantee of a warped and biased media in the run up to a general election which Cameron still couldn't win outright.

That could explain why there are so many variations on different sites when it comes to inflation.

No, atv, protest as much as you like, but inflation was nowhere near 27% in 1979. That's plain wrong, just as it was when we had this argument on a previous forum. Repeating a lie doesn't make it the truth, even if people in Tory Central Office have been studying Dr Goebbels.

No doubt you'd like to distract us with your dishonest history lesson rather than talk about the disgusting things that are happening now. I was watching ITV news about an hour ago and it went into some detail about how the working poor are losing thousands of pounds a year - from this week - because of this evil government of arrogant, upper class spivs that you support. The same government that's giving a tax rebate of £42,000 a year to their millionaire friends and the bankers who caused our economic woes. Or are you again going to peddle that tired old Tory lie that Labour caused the crisis? Dr Goebbels would indeed be proud of you and your sick party of traitors.

atv. Your beloved Witch strangled the unions where I agree were in some cases holding the government to ransom. Most of us remember the "blackouts" and could in many cases sympathsise with the unions.
Unfortunately they went too far and so did Thatcher as she saw this opportunity to crush the unions for reasons other than to save the public thi inconvienience of the strikes.

She gathered more and more power unopposed, (just like Cameron now) and as Hitler did when power went to his head. She (the Witch) used every means in the book to enhance the gains of the wealthy and in doing so she destroyed the very fabric of this country and the togetherness of the people in it. A woman with power is a dangerous animal and this one proved the point.

What a terrible price the masses had to pay as a result her just quelling union power. Thatcher like all dictators pushed her power to the limit until it finished her off with the help of her highly embarrased members of her Cabinet.
We still suffer her disgusting policies and doctrine to this day and Camer-con is continuing her dirty work, unopposed so far.

Ivan wrote:

That could explain why there are so many variations on different sites when it comes to inflation.

No, atv, protest as much as you like, but inflation was nowhere near 27% in 1979.

I believe what the link was trying to explain that the incoming Conservative government inherited an economy were inflation had reached 27%, but as witchfinder explained

Inflation in the UK peaked in 1975 during the reign of Harold Wilson at 26% and from that time fell, and was on a downward track at the time of the general election of 1979 when it was below 10%.

I will refer to the above in future.

But let us not distract from the point that many industries were considered inefficient and trades unions were powerful. There had been a winter of discontent with many strikes taking place in the late 1970s.

Also as your link explained,

As with most of the developed world, recession also hit the United Kingdom at the turn of 1980s, although the economy had been plagued by a string of crises for most of the 1970s and unemployment had gradually increased since the mid 1960s. When the Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher won the general election of May 1979 and swept James Callaghan's Labour Party from power, the country had just witnessed the Winter of Discontent in which numerous public sector workers had staged strikes. Inflation was about 10% and some 1,500,000 people were unemployed; compared to some 1,000,000 in 1974, 580,000 in 1970 and just over 300,000 in 1964.[49] Margaret Thatcher set about to control inflation with monetarist policies and change trade union laws in an attempt to reduce the strikes which had blighted Britain for so many years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_1980s_recession

Was this one of the Tory recessions that Labourites claimed had nothing to do with a Global rececession?

Was this one of the Tory recessions that Labourites claimed had nothing to do with a Global rececession?

That's a question that applies to all Governments, of whatever colour. The economy of Great Britain was permanently affected by WW2, and although we have paid our debts from that era, we are still the poorer as a result.

The quaduple increase in the price of Oil made 1974 the next crisis point for all Western Economies, with ourselves not at all insulated. All subsequent Governments suffered until North Sea Oil (and Gas) came onstream. In 1978 the UK became a nett EXPORTER of Oil, which enabled the Tory majority to hang on to power through buying silence from the unemployed masses.

OW?

Are there any figures out to say how much Dollar Help was given to Germany and Japan to rebuild and re-equip factories, roads and housing?

AND How much did we pay the Yanks for "lease lend?"

Yes. All of which have been included in previous correspondence on this board and its predecessors. Britain had little or nothing to do with Japanese rehabilitation.

atv wrote:-

In 1979, the incoming Conservative government inherited an economy with inflation of 27%.

and then:-

I believe what the link was trying to explain that the incoming Conservative government inherited an economy were inflation had reached 27%

Not quite the same thing then? Labour inherited an economy in 1997 where interest rates had gone from 10% to 15% in a single day known as 'Black Wednesday' in 1992 (proof if ever it was needed of Tory economic incompetence). However, I haven't yet met a Labour supporter who tried to claim that interest rates were 15% in 1997.

My impression from involvement with this and another board for the past 4 years or so is that you Labour followers have given the Tory Boys a very easy time on the facts and figures front : it has always seemed that there was no hesitation in Blue circles in making up convenient data and indulging in exaggeration to the point of moving any inconvenient decimal point rightwards (where else?!)...

What this government needs is constant and unflinching opposition from all quarters - and in a manner as blatantly unfair as that which the Tories demonstrated so willingly when in Opposition themselves. Let's see some blood on the walls....!!

It's distasteful to most Brits to have to get down in the gutter and haggle with antagonists.

When you know you're right, it's sometimes effective to give the blow-hards enough rope with which to hang themselves.

This is an interesting article from 2009, when New Labour were still in power.

As the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber remarks: 'Those on middle incomes got left behind under the Conservatives, were left out of Labour's boom that has now ended in recession, and are now fearing for their jobs and homes as unemployment bites.'
Barber devastatingly notes that for this group of people, 'rising ambitions and expectations have been largely unfulfilled'.
There is a fundamental moral wrongness about this. For the people that Barber describes are the very backbone of British society. They are the ones that pay their taxes, obey the law, do the right thing, care for their families, and work the longest hours.
They are the very people who are most likely to be found devoting what little spare time they have to serving their communities. And their reward has been to be taxed almost out of existence by a greedy and amoral political class intent on feathering its own nest at the expense of the general public.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1189349/PETER-OBORNE-New-Labours-victims-Middle-Britons-obey-law-work-long-hours-taxed-extinction-This-plain-wrong.html#ixzz1rLqlD27g

When ever I ask "what has Labour done for the working man" all I get is "we have Thatcher's child now", or "Labour is the People's party", and of course the classic "the Torys only favour the toffs", convienently forgetting that thanks to Gordon Brown's tax breaks, New Labour's election landslide of 1997 produced private wealth on a scale not seen since the plutocrats bestrode Edwardian England on the eve of World War 1.
So give me some facts, other than the minimum wage that cost skilled workers their jobs. What has Labour done for the working man?

atv wrote:This is an interesting article from 2009, when New Labour were still in power.

As the TUC general secretary Brendan Barber remarks: 'Those on middle incomes got left behind under the Conservatives, were left out of Labour's boom that has now ended in recession, and are now fearing for their jobs and homes as unemployment bites.'
Barber devastatingly notes that for this group of people, 'rising ambitions and expectations have been largely unfulfilled'.
There is a fundamental moral wrongness about this. For the people that Barber describes are the very backbone of British society. They are the ones that pay their taxes, obey the law, do the right thing, care for their families, and work the longest hours.
They are the very people who are most likely to be found devoting what little spare time they have to serving their communities. And their reward has been to be taxed almost out of existence by a greedy and amoral political class intent on feathering its own nest at the expense of the general public.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1189349/PETER-OBORNE-New-Labours-victims-Middle-Britons-obey-law-work-long-hours-taxed-extinction-This-plain-wrong.html#ixzz1rLqlD27g

When ever I ask "what has Labour done for the working man" all I get is "we have Thatcher's child now", or "Labour is the People's party", and of course the classic "the Torys only favour the toffs", convienently forgetting that thanks to Gordon Brown's tax breaks, New Labour's election landslide of 1997 produced private wealth on a scale not seen since the plutocrats bestrode Edwardian England on the eve of World War 1.
So give me some facts, other than the minimum wage that cost skilled workers their jobs. What has Labour done for the working man?

He has given the working man the minimum wage something the Tories will do away with given half a chance maybe to one of there Donors for the going rate of £250,000, and what do you call giving people that earn £150,00 pre year a tax cut of 5p while someone on £25,000 has had there pay frozen for two years if that is not looking after the toffs I don't no what is, and what about these dinners for £250,000 and dessert was a chance to change policy that effects Millions of people lives and the policy change has not been to benefit all just the chosen few

atv.
This may be of interest to you. It was compiled by a good friend of mine who went under the name of NofinTory.
1979
Having been elected on promises to reduce unemployment and lower taxes, the Tories immediately increased VAT from 8% to 15%. Interest rates reached 17%. Prescription charge increased from 20p to 45p an item.
1980
Inflation more than doubled in twelve months to 21.9%. National Insurance increased from 6.5% to 6.75%. Link between state retirement pension and average earnings broken. 25% starting rate of income tax abolished. British Steel axed 11,000 jobs in Wales. Unemployment rose to 1.9 million. Nutritional standards for school meals abolished. Prescription charge increased to £1 an item.
1981
National Insurance increased to 7.75%. Personal tax allowances frozen. Tax on beer increased by 24%, tax on petrol increased by 24%, tax on cigarettes increased by 16%. Manufacturing output down 17% since May 1979, the fastest recorded fall in history. Unemployment exceeded 2.5 million. Thatcher sacked most ‘moderates’ from Cabinet. Riots in Brixton and Toxteth.
1982
National Insurance increased to 8.75%. Unemployment over 3 million. After cuts to the Royal Navy’s budget for patrols, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands.
1983
National Insurance increased to 9%. NHS ordered to privatise cleaning, catering and laundry. Tory plan to abolish GLC and replace it with quangos, leaving London as the West’s only major city without democratic local government. Cecil Parkinson forced to resign over an affair and an illegitimate child. Protests at Greenham Common.
1984
Tax relief on life assurance premiums abolished. IRA bombed Grand Hotel in Brighton. Miners’ strike with pitched battles at Orgreave and other pits. Unions banned from GCHQ. Sarah Tisdall jailed for leaking details on Cruise missile deployment. Clive Ponting charged for leaking details of the sinking of the Belgrano.
1985
The scope of VAT extended. Currency crisis forced government to reintroduce the minimum lending rate, which had been abandoned in 1981. About £100 million of foreign reserves lost trying to stabilise sterling. Riots in Handsworth and Brixton. Thatcher boycotted anti-apartheid sanctions on South Africa. Prescription charge reached £2 an item.
1986
Treasury abandoned monetarism. Heseltine resigned over Westland affair; in the ensuing chaos over leaking to the press, Leon Brittan was forced to resign but not investigated by the police like Tisdall and Ponting. Government injunction banned ‘Spycatcher’.
1987
Black Monday wiped £50 billion off stock market. Thatcher denounced Mandela’s ANC as “a terrorist organisation” at the Commonwealth conference. Jeffrey Archer awarded £500,000 damages after lying in court.
1988
Poll tax legislation passed with the help of hundreds of hereditary peers. First plans to commercialise the NHS. Charge introduced for eye tests and dental check-ups, both of which had been free for forty years. Schools taken away from elected local authorities and given to quangos. Benefit withdrawn from 16 and 17-year olds, leading to a stream of young homeless.

atv. Here is something else to get your Tory teeth into.

Just a small sample of what Labour did for the working man and woman.

All children have access to quality early years and childcare services and their parents can work knowing that their children have a Sure Start. It’s easier for parents to balance work and childcare thanks to the following:

• parents with young children and carers can work flexibly
• maternity leave and pay has been increased
• paid paternity and parental leave have been introduced
• the number of registered childcare places has doubled
• free nursery education for 3 and 4 year olds
• 3,500 children’s centres offering a range of support by 2010
• development of extended schools and after school clubs
• tax exemptions on childcare vouchers
• tax credits to boost income and help pay for childcare
• minimum wage which has particularly helped working women

atv. Just a little more to makr your day

Labour were----

Helping hard-working people and families with a £145 tax cut for every basic rate taxpayer and VAT cut worth £275 off the average household bill.

Helping pensioners and parents by bringing forward April’s increase in Child Benefit to January, increasing Child Tax Credit and giving a payment of £60 to all pensioners that is equivalent to bringing forward the April increase in the basic state pension.

Supporting small business by providing them with £1bn worth of tax breaks, tax cuts and tax deferrals.

Help for businesses with a support package to help small and medium sized businesses who are finding it difficult to access credit and finance their plans, with loan guarantees and a new Capital for Enterprise Fund aimed at helping companies struggling to access finance for working capital and investment.

Supporting industry and jobs by bringing forward £3bn of capital spending from next year on infrastructure projects including increasing motorway capacity, improving housing and renewing schools; and £400m of Government spending on housing will be brought forward to help the construction industry.

Help for hard-working people worried about losing their homes, with an Income Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, which helps people with their mortgage payments if they lose their jobs; and new Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme to allow people to defer interest payments for up to two years while they get their family finances back on track.

Help with energy costs with a £6.8bn Home Energy Saving Programme to help people insulate their homes and save on fuel costs; a new £350 million Community Energy Saving Programme offering free and discounted central heating, energy efficiency measures and benefit checks; and with £150m for Warm Front to help insulate people’s homes and cut heating costs.

Supporting mums-to-be with the new Health in Pregnancy Grant. From April 2009 every pregnant woman will receive a one-off tax-free payment of £190, payable after the 25th week of pregnancy, along with advice from a health professional, to help them with the additional needs they have at this important time.

Have a nice day.

Cut 'n' paste Rules!! Yay!


Has anyone anything original to contribute?

oftenwrong wrote:Cut 'n' paste Rules!! Yay!


Has anyone anything original to contribute?

Are you upset OW cut and paste is something most people do.

Good day OW.

"Has anyone anything original to contribute?"

Looks like the answer is Nay!!!!. However on occasion it is a good tool to try to educate those Tories here IMO who seem to rely upon the Daily Mail and Tory bloggers for anti Labour propaganda.

How long do you think the coalition will last ? - how long is a piece of string. ?

Some very interesting news has come out this morning, it seems that under the surface the Lib Dems are in complete disarray, the party cannot find enough activists to stand in the local elections on May 3rd.

There are 1200 fewer candidates standing for the Lib Dems than Labour.
In four key metropolitan areas the Lib Dems do not have a full compliment of candidates, and in five town hall contests they are fielding no candidates at all, Lib Dem candidates are missing in wards in a further 49 councils.

There are also unconfirmed reports of Lib Dem councillors and activists resigning and standing as independents.

Benjamin Ramm, the editor of "The Liberal" has said that "It is more difficult than at any other time in the past two decades to find people in Liverpool and Leeds who are willing to stand with a yellow rosette and pound the streets on a cold Tuesday evening. The NHS reforms, tuition fees, the rise in VAT – a lot of this is very difficult for grassroots activists to defend."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lib-dems-in-disarray-as-fewer-candidates-contest-elections-7627007.html

Hello Witchy. Those who are to stand as independants must be living in Cloud Cuckoo land. As a party, they have allowed the Tories either actively or in fact by their inactivity to push through the nastiest bills in their political agenda. Are they foolish enough to now think, by changing to independent they will gain the support of those they sold down the swany, I don’t think so, they will be remembered as much for what the didn’t do as well as what they did do. They have all stood firm behind the Tories, and it was that and that alone which has allowed the Tories to continue the Privatisation of the NHS that was started by the nearly dead bitch Thatcher, also the way they lied about the school fee's. If they think they are going to be forgiven simply by changing to independent, they have another thing coming. What is to say that as an independent they will not still follow Clegg up Herr Cameron’s arsehole as they have for the past two years, they must think we are as stupid as they so obviously are.
They have left it all too late to show their dislike or distrust of the Tories. Once you have shot someone a smile will not stop the bullet. So although I am aware that we Labour need some Lib-Dem turncoats to swell our ranks for the next General Election, I for one and I believe one of many will keep the yellow bastards well at arms length.

What is the most likely response of a British electorate in marginal seats, faced with Hobson's Choice of voting Labour or not at all?

A rumour, just a rumor that I picked up.

It seems that Francis Maude MP "would not mind if UK became a tax haven!"

NOW QUESTION!

Would this be on
#1 The Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco (where his good buddy Ashcroft abides) model
or
#2 The West African, Carribbean, Pacific model

I'll wager it is the second. Anybody picked this up?

Mel, here is something to get your Labour teeth into.

Labour's Legacy
- £22,500 of debt for every child born in Britain
- 111 tax rises from a government that promised no tax rises at all
- The longest national tax code in the world
- 100,000 million pounds drained from British pension funds
- Gun crime up by 57%
- Violent crime up 70%
- The highest proportion of children living in workless households anywhere in Europe
- The number of pensioners living in poverty up by 100,000
- The lowest level of social mobility in the developed world
- The only G7 country with no growth this year
- One in six young people neither earning nor learning
- 5 million people on out-of –work benefits
- Missing the target of halving child poverty
- Ending up with child poverty rising in each of the last three years instead
- Cancer survival rates among the worst in Europe
- Hospital-acquired infections killing nearly three times as many people as are killed on the roads
- Falling from 4th to 13th in the world competitiveness league
- Falling from 8th to 24th in the world education rankings in maths
- Falling from 7th to 17th in the rankings in literacy
- The police spending more time on paperwork than on the beat
- Fatal stabbings at an all-time high
- Prisoners released without serving their sentences
- Foreign prisoners released and never deported
- 7 million people without an NHS dentist
- Small business taxes going up
- Business taxes raised from among the lowest to among the highest in Europe
- Tax rises for working people set for after the election
- The 10p tax rate abolished
- And the ludicrous promise to have ended boom and bust
- Our gold reserves sold for a quarter of their worth
- Our armed forces overstretched and under-supplied
- Profitable post offices closed against their will
- One of the highest rates of family breakdown in Europe
- The ‘Golden Rule’ on borrowing abandoned when it didn’t fit
- Police inspectors in 10,Downing Street
- Dossiers that were dodgy
- Mandelson resigning the first time
- Mandelson resigning the second time
- Mandelson coming back for a third time
- Bad news buried
- Personal details lost
- An election bottled
- A referendum denied
William Hague's Labour legacy bitch list...
www.pistonheads.com › ... › News, Politics & EconomicsCached

Don't worry ATV, the coalition will do their damndest to beat those figures!


ERM, yer don't mention that we are now 8th in the world rankings of rich nations
Our armed forces are even more depleted, and industry suffering as a consequence. - RAF Kinloss closed amongst others, Nimrod scrapped. Harrier scrapped (intresting to note that UK no longer manufactures or flies the harrier, the US does that, and is right now making Harrier Jump Jets to EXPORT to Italy!! Australia is now soaking up with relish, all the paid off Fliers and Mariners for their own forces. And, that's in less than 2 years, more than 3 to go! Good one David Cameron!

Just a reminder of the title of this thread:-
"How long do you think the coalition will last?"

atv. Posting a pack of lies and unsubstantiated claptrap is just proof of the desperation of some people who will do anything rather than attempt to defend the indefensible actions of the sickest, most right-wing and most corrupt government in living memory.

Same old modus operandi that brownboots1 used to use at MSN. He had a list of 500 pieces of sleaze, which read in much the same vein and included such items as "the Marxist family" and "Gordon Brown having his photo taken on the London Underground". So post a load of lies (including 27% inflation in 1979), and when they are found out, lie low for a while and then post them all over again. I've lost count of the number of times that I've answered your smears about Mandelson, but I'm not wasting time doing so all over again. Then throw in a couple of paragraphs of stereotypical and dishonest drivel about how Labour voters are all benefit scroungers (lie - people on benefits are the least likely to vote) and that's supposed to pass for constructive dialogue. Even the link you provided is meaningless.

As for charity donations, Gordon Brown has donated all of the proceeds of his recent book to charity. He also decide to forego his PM pension, not something a Tory has ever done. Far from it, despite being too gaga to do anything useful, Thatcher claimed £1.7 million between 2006 and 2011 for "carrying out duties", multimilllionaire Cameron claimed the maximum mortgage on his constituency home when he and his wife have enough money to buy an entire estate outright, and Cameron also claimed DLA for his son but now denies that facility to others with disabled children. I know all about Tory charity - it begins at home and it stays there.

These political boards are for discussing the facts, not fantasy, and you're skating on very thin ice if you think your unmitigated rubbish will be tolerated for much longer. Try posting reasoned arguments supported by facts and links to their sources if you want anyone to discuss issues with you.