...being able to marry who you want whatever their gender...guaranteed paid holidays...more choice of jobs...better pay...low inflation...low interest rates...no recessions...this aint no Tory-Lib Dem world.
Do we really want to go back to John Major-Thatcher world? It is up to you.
You forgot to mention free admission to larger museums and galleries and a massive building programme - funded largely by the National Lottery, thank you Mr Major - for galleries and performance spaces. All that is to the good, along with the things on your list.
ReplyDeleteYou could equally say, however, that this is the Government which has encouraged lowly socio-economic groups to blow their wages, or benefits, in 24-hour boozing sheds and now refuses to heed warnings about the problem gambling that will surely follow when casinos proliferate. Quite understandably, the Exchequer would rather they spend their money here than in Las Vagas.
Downsides from the past decade? A draconian take on civil liberties, the prosecution of largely futile wars in which 100,000s of women and children have died, punitive use of prison so that we now have 80,000 people behind bars with scant attempt being made to rehabilitate them, the usurping of Cabinet government in favour of sofa government, the extension and reinforcement of the client state, a respect 'tsar' who presides over streets that feel less safe and more menacing - and dirtier, incidentally.
Rant over, except for one final point: politicians are not magicians and societies need a degree of self help and self reliance in order to produce independent thinkers and wealth creators. I can't say I hold out much hope of things improving when my lot are back in.
Marry who you want whatever their gender? That just isn't true, is it?
ReplyDeleteWhich party is offering a return to Major-Thatcher policies? I only ask because Tony Blair was so keen to say how much he admired Thatcher, and he's certainly adopted a range of Thatcher/Major policies - PFI to name but one.
Icedink: Mostly fair points. I am as against gambling as you and there has been a punitive use of prison (mainly to please the right wing press).
ReplyDeleteAs for usurping government procedure, it has hardly changed under Blair except they have devolved govt in London, Wales and Scotland (Thatcher virtually abolished local govt - remember her large scale use of unelected quangos and the way she used the parliament act so often on a largely compliant Tory House of Lords which has been far more hostile to Labour.
As for streets feeling more menacing and looking cleaner, I suggest you take a look at a picture of your Town Centre in the early nineties and compare with today. Do you remember what it was like? I do.
urko: Legally, civil partnerships are indistinguishable from marriage. As for religion, most gay people have more sense than to believe that rubbish anyway so are unconcerned about having an 'official' religious ceremony.
As for Blair admiring Thatcher, yes he did, he admired the fact that she was a 'winner'. Without that parties cannot do anything.