pinlock   10 #1 Posted January 13, 2004 Overall, do you consider that the current government has delivered on it's promises... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Geoff   10 #2 Posted January 13, 2004 I moved this to General Chat rather than General Sheffield Chat where you first posted it. If you meant for us to discuss local politics then let me know and I'll move it back. I'm assuming you are talking nationally though... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
t020 Â Â 11 #3 Posted January 13, 2004 "New Labour not a tax and spend party". 6 and a half years down the line, and the chancellor is borrowing billions to spend on public services, wasted by the fact that most spending will be on red tape and civil servants. Since 1997, the cost of running Whitehall has risen from 14.8billion to just under 21billion today. For every new police officer, 2 civil servants are being employed. The spending is certainly there, but its not going in the right places and the general public can see very little improvement for the extra amount being spent. Then there are the taxes. Over 60 new taxes introduced by Labour since 1997. Dramatic rises in council tax, up to 40% a year in some areas. Not to mention all of the "stealth" taxes that voters are burdened with. The average Briton is paying more tax now than pre-1997 and seeing very little, if any, reward. Â Then there are the "top up" fees for universities. These will serve only to burden students with massive debts to start their working lives with, and with house prices through the roof many will not be able to afford property until well into their 30s or later. Some students may also be put off by the prospect of starting out in life in so much debt. Then theres the fact that the policy may even result in a LOSS for the universities due to all the extra red tape and concessions for poor students, so in trying to raise extra money for the universities the government may actually end up generating less than they do now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Belle   10 #4 Posted January 13, 2004 Broadly speaking yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Funky Dave   10 #5 Posted January 13, 2004 Does it matter which of the three major parties are in power any more? I don't think politicians have any interest in the average person, other than as a source of revenue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
halevan   11 #6 Posted January 13, 2004 Originally posted by Belle Broadly speaking yes  I agree with you one hundred per cent! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lickszz   10 #7 Posted January 13, 2004 Far from it.  They seem to have a policy and have had if for yonks.  'Don't stand in the way of potential votes. Don't rock the boat, keep your heads down and make little noises and soundbites...that way we will get away with it'  I have been rattling on about this for ages.  IMO this is the worst government this country has ever been falsely led to vote for.  A manifesto which has been altered and changed daily.  A megalomaniac for a prime minister and his retinue of programmed robots in support.  All destroying this country (and other countries) daily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
t020 Â Â 11 #8 Posted January 13, 2004 Lets hope Michael Howard can pull off an election win in 2005. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Grissom   10 #9 Posted January 13, 2004 Are you happy with the labour Government? <------ Can't comment what with being employed by the Home Office Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Belle   10 #10 Posted January 14, 2004 Originally posted by Lickszz Far from it.  They seem to have a policy and have had if for yonks.  'Don't stand in the way of potential votes. Don't rock the boat, keep your heads down and make little noises and soundbites...that way we will get away with it'   Dont go to war with Iraq despite a huge amount of opposition  Oh hang on  Let me go back a step  That doesnt fit quite with "dont rock the boat" does it  In fact it is a bit more like "Do what you think is right and bugger the rest"  So how about if we argue on that basis instead? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lickszz   10 #11 Posted January 14, 2004 Originally posted by Belle Dont go to war with Iraq despite a huge amount of opposition  Oh hang on  Let me go back a step  That doesnt fit quite with "dont rock the boat" does it    Hi Belle  Perhaps you care to share this logic with regards to the Barnet formula with me?  Also, with regards to the war in Iraq. Did you support the war and did it rock your boat?  It appears (according to some) that Bliar may have misled parliament about WMD. IMO the boat could only be classed as really been rocked when this became apparent and it wasn't through choice that it did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Agent Smith   10 #12 Posted January 14, 2004 If Michael Howard wins the next general election, me and the wife are leaving the country. Seriously. I would be so ashamed of British people if the overall populace fell for all the BS that the tories put out, with no credible alternatives.  I just couldn't face any more years of conservative government, after all that we had to suffer from them in the 80's and early nineties. I'm not saying that this Labour government is perfect, far from it, but they are a far better choice than the tories.  The conservative party is not for the working man, it never has been and never will be. They make the rich, richer and the poor, poorer.  Their record speaks for itself:  Who brought in the council tax so despised by t020? Who let unemployment get to 3,000,000? Who reduced spending and cut infrastructure in all public services by so much, that only now are they beginning to show small signs of recovery. Economic bust and boom.... VAT...... Need I say more. But I'm going to!!  I here a lot of tories banging on about student tuition fees and about how Labour have lost the plot etc etc. But do you know something, they don't give a proper alternative. Has anybody else noticed this. They'll pull a Labour or Liberal policy to bits but yet they don't give a credible alternative plan. They're all so hot under the collar about students having to find the fees for university, but if the money isn't realised from this source, where is it going to come from? They've already said they won't put taxes up, so where are they going to get the money from? This is just common sense, it doesn't matter who you vote for, it's a fact. Can someone please tell me where they're going to get the money from, if not from students/parents and not from ANY taxation? Ohh, they could get a loan I suppose......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...