I think I was a bit too much of a youth in 1989 to be considered for the scheme - I would only have been 6!
At the airport now, about to fly into London, , will catch the last home game of the season, and then the final next week, weeeee.
It's getting quite scary how only a few weeks of the Tories being in power on their own and they are already reducing civil liberties, looking to make it harder for unions to protest/protect employees, looking to take away the European protection of our Human Rights, while saying that no longer will the government be tolerant even if you don't break any laws. All this while they are continuing with their draconian welfare cuts, and increasing the deficit by stalling the economy. Making the poor bare the brunt of their cuts, at the same time that they are turning their backs on the Leveson enquiry recommendations and instead giving the press even greater freedom and power over us. But don't worry, they've dealt with the important issue - they'll re-legalise fox hunting! Because who doesn't like blood sports...
On a sidenote {with regards to the Tories being back in power}, one of the main issues with FPTP is that people can vote for a particular party based on their local MP. Some MPs for the Tories don't always toe the party line and actually do some decent work on a regional level - but inadvertently, if you vote for them, you end up voting for the leader of that party even if you don't like them. I think one of the main changes should be a vote for your local MP and then a separate box/column for the party you want to represent you on a national level. Surely, in addition to a form of proportional representation, that would make it completely fair? I know a lot of people didn't vote, but to this day, I can't for the life of me understand how the Tories got more votes than any of the other parties. It really does frustrate me how stupid people can be.
I agree, as although it didn't make much difference in this election (my MP is labour, and seems to do a decent job, and Labour were always going to win my constituency) it did in my previous constituency, where Jenny Willott did a really good job and seemed to be roundly liked in the main, she was a Lib Dem, and seemed to lose her seat because nobody wanted to vote for Nick Clegg or vote for the party nationally.
http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...id-cameron-cuts-young-people?CMP=share_btn_fb A really good article in The Guardian yesterday.
Some people might argue that having 50% turn out for a strike vote that affects the public is a good idea. Some might also argue proposing a ban on tax increases for five years and providing free childcare for 3 & 4 year olds may actually help the poorer in our society. Some might also with reducing the cap on benefits claims. Just a thought.......
It just shows the power of propaganda, and how the party who is backed by the (majority) of the press always wins, regardless of their policies. Neil Kinnock was almost the one exception (I was too young to be politically aware at the time, but I've read a little about it), but of course, in the end the press jumped on anything bad he did, and it lost him the election. There is still this overwhelming belief - little challenged, that Labour caused the global recession, while the Tories have had to make such drastic cuts to balance the books and reduce the deficit. And that they are responsible for our recovery. Despite them increasing the deficit, stagnating our recovery and that there is huge amounts of evidence that austerity has had the opposite effect to what was intended, and doesn't work. That counties that stimulate growth in their economies are doing a lot better than the countries who have cut services and public sector jobs and spending in the hope that they can cut spending to make the economy grow.
