Then kicked out into the long grass... I cannot remember back 14 plus years to the last labour government, did they go on like this?
I don't remember any government going on like this, Labour/Tory/Coalition ... ... they're absolutely rubbish.
Blair made plenty of commitments he failed to deliver. I wont raise taxes! He did. I will remove red tape from schools. He added more. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime - they had an early prisoner release system which saw many go on to repeat offend. They came to power after the John Major govt sleaze scandals. Promised to clean up politcs only to have the dubious cash for honours story rumble and a repayment of loans made necessary and Blair nominated peers rejected. Opinion polls at one point showed the public felt the labour govt were more sleazy than Majors tories had been. It was a remarkable fall from such a bright start. Then of course was the matter of the war and its legality. Personally I find it hard to look back on the last labour govt with anything but a question of what might have been. They had my vote at the outset, but it was under that govt they lost it and any suport since I am afraid. Not saying they were worse than the current shambles, but they were a poor bunch in my opinion.
I don’t defend Blair for a lot of things but as someone working in youth justice at the time I think they did both. ASBO’s being tough (arguably flawed, definitely tough) but also invested a lot into youth crime prevention. It was the golden era in helping vulnerable kids and vulnerable neighbourhoods. I think their neighbourhood renewal programme was also outstanding noticeable by its absence in deprived communities in recent years, as is the youth crime prevention and is financial suicide ie the cost of secure care and custody as well as the social cost eg knife epidemic. They opened the door to private dominaton of public services though which has made a disorganised hash of many things including ironically justice - he that giveth taketh away.
If it is any consolation the tories before the last labour govt were dreadful. To me it seems we are stuck in a cycle of govts who get too long in power and the longer they have the more the power goes to their heads and they become out of control. Hoping the next Labour govt buck the trend. We need a break.
That is very fair mate and great insight. ASBOs at the time had quite a stigma attached to them, but that stigma seemed to be a deterrent in a lot of cases.
They weren’t practiced well mind, SEND kids for example being responsible for a lack of supervision and support by parents and not having a clue what the conditions even meant but I do think they gave power to victims and it reduced the sense of lawlessness we see now.
Desperate for a change mate as you know but I think a well balanced democracy which allows for check and challenge is crucial. It’s a nonsense that the government in power establish the conditions and processes for elections and numbers rarely reflect the balance of opinions.
Rishi Sunak faces fresh byelection as former Tory MP suspended Blackpool South’s Scott Benton had suggested to undercover reporters he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money The quicker we get rid of these morale corrupt vermin the better
Grubby, very grubby. GB News has paid Conservative MPs more than £660,000 in appearance fees and salaries since it launched, against just £1,100 to Labour MPs, Guardian analysis shows. https://amp.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/28/payments-tory-mps-by-gb-news-since-its-launch …. The biggest single beneficiary was Jacob Rees-Mogg, with the former business secretary paid nearly £325,000 in the last year. He currently receives slightly more than £29,000 a month as a presenter for 40 hours of work, or £729 an hour. Lee Anderson, who was hired as a Tory MP but is an independent since losing the whip at the weekend over alleged Islamophobic comments, is on a salary of £100,000 a year, plus £50 extra a month to display a GB News logo on his X profile page. The other big earners are the husband and wife MP team of Esther McVey and Philip Davies, who have been paid just under £130,000 and slightly over £60,000 respectively as presenters. The only two Labour MPs to have been paid for appearing are Rosie Duffield and Barry Gardiner, who were paid £500 and £600 respectively as one-off guests….
I'm a Labour man, but Lamy came across poor on question time. Expected more from him, especially when he raises his voice. Tim Stanley historian came across more professional, others were poor, especially that x green.
