PTC you really have no idea what goes on in government its only your view based on your own blinkered beliefs so please don't try and take the high ground when you haven't got a clue what goes on like the rest of us! Government is all about making tough and diffcult decisions and just because you don't agree with them it doesn't make them wrong and it doesn't mean that cabinet ministers are aloof from criticism. Like I say we have a wonderful system in this country where you get the chance every 5 years to vote these guys out if you want to! And while we are on the subject of ideaology, Gove is merely accelerating some of the policies that the last Labour Govt had begun when they were in office. Savings have to be found across the board in all areas of government and its just fanciful to believe like Labour do that we can simply borrow our way out of trouble. I support organised Sport but it shouldn't be immune from cuts as we all have to live under the appalling consequences of the last governments economic policies.
What a creep, and bootlicker. The comments are not very supportive for him under this story. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/15/queen-royal-yacht-diamond-jubilee-gove
irony is alive and well. sorry mate, gove is a complete prick. i find it staggering anyone, tory or not, can defend him and his actions. he's possibly one of the most dislikable politician of all time and the reasons for this are numerous.
I have no idea what you are on about JWM, I've laid no claim in this thread (until now) to know what goes on in Government again you seem to miss the point of the argument.?? I certainly was not taking any high ground. But if you are going on that line, I actually have studied some areas of policy recently (mainly public health), so I do have a slight understanding. On the face of it, from what I can gather (If you'd prefer me to say this) alot of Goves decisions I completely disagree with, he's making decisions that a Tory government would have made 50/60 years ago. Like I've said I dislike alot of Tory decisions but alot of them I can understand why they are doing them but Gove's decisions just to me seem out of date and most teachers seem to agree(and I'm not talking about their pensions etc). I think Education needs reforming but he seems to be reforming it backwards rather than modernising it!! From what I can see there are a few in the Cabinet who are aloof to criticism, Gove, Cameron, Osborne and Lansey, all have idea's that are ideologically driven and push ahead with their ideas despite recommendations or evidence to suggest they should go in a different direction. It's just how they come accross. And you're right some of the policies Gove is accelerating from the (New) Labour Gov, i.e the Acadamies which I think are a good thing. I agree savings need to be found accross all departments. Which is why I actually think they should have also cut the NHS budget rather than ring fence it, which I believe is a political ploy to attract voters. By actually ring fencing the NHS it is thought this will be more dentrimental on health than cutting it, due to the extra cuts needed in other areas such as Sport etc. I'm fed up of hearing this the concequences of the last government thing aswell because a) it was a Worldwide crash and b) the Tory Party said it would match Labour spending until the crash!!
My chief disagreement would be that the government was elected (Although I wasn't old enough to vote at the time) on the mandate of eliminating the deficit. Yet borrowing is still going up if I believe rightly, so tell me, what is all this pain for?
I'm fed up with Mr Milliband and Mr Balls constantly crying and moaning about the 'savage' cuts that this Government has had to make without telling us what they would cut or what they would do differently. If Balls ever became Chancellor it would be like Dracula being put in charge of the bloodbank On Education I am all for selection on the basis of attainment and for more Grammar schools and finally putting an end to the totally useless comprehensive system that has ruined so many kids life chances.
Pray tell me then Mr Superhighandmighty, which political party truly has this country's interests at heart other than Mr Farage's ?
These two numbskulls are doing little more than allowing the government to wreak their havoc with minimal opposition. What Milliband would do is irrelevant because he's unelectable. [video=youtube;PZtVm8wtyFI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZtVm8wtyFI[/video]
as yorkie points out, the issue all voters have is that there is no realistic opposition to the government. the labour party are more toothless than shane mcgowan and the lib dems have alienated every single person who ever voted for them before with their 'wet blanket' act. the tories weren't even elected to run the country! politics in this country is as out of touch with the man on the street as its ever been. there is no alternative to cameron, just as there was no alternative to blair, and that is why the country is going down the pan. there is no clear ground, no clear differences in principal between any of the major parties and ukip may have valid concerns about immigration but if you stuck them in charge, this country would collapse quicker than a page 3 girls knickers in the presence of a premier league footballer. maybe we could loan obama from the states. he doesn't get anywhere near enough support from his fellow countrymen for the good stuff he's tried to bring in. and he'd keep the nhs, unlike the tories. politics: like religion, its a load of ****e
When I commented at the time of the olympics that there would be no legacy then I was moaned at by 99% of the posters on these boards. It really goes to show how a bit of good publicity and a feel good factor can make you paper over the fact that a months worth of 'in your face' exposure was never going to have a long term effect. On politicans then I know when they are being sneaky - their lips move. None of them are able to tell the truth, none will say what they would do to change things but just go on about how the other parties messed the subject up in the first place. Watching question time or snippets from the houses of parliment on the news is the equivilent of watching 5 year olds in the play ground (you started it, no I didnt you did, no you called me .... etc) None of them have ever been out into the real world and have simply worked their way up the whitehall staircase. They make mistakes and u-turns that in any other walk of life would see you kicked out of your job but they simply get away with it. All the opposition party ever does is say automatically that they wouldnt have done that but wont tell you what they would do, even if in secret they actually agree, which they cant admit to as it would be like agreeing with the enemy. The whole way every politician operates is pathetic and child like and they wonder why nobody votes or take an interest these days.
Warky - by all independent and Govt appointed finance committees, the borrowing rate is actually increasing...more than Labour's last set of figures! Over many years I have found the Torygraph best for sport (but dont read it anymore), The Guardian best for most else...and wouldn't allow the Mail in my House...but you can still come anytime!
Ooops, missed this one from Warky. I admire the way you worked your way up from more humble background, Warky...single parent and all that. That is precisely why I, as a rather priveledged public school boy, got myself trained proper and entered the state system and taught comprehensives and primaries for years. Most of these kids will never get the opportunities or luck that privately educated children assume by divine right. So please dont get me started on education!
Very true. I think our political parties are very out of date. Blair tried to change it by creating a party within a party but that's never going to work long term. As I keep going back to, Labour and the Tories are entrenched in history and ideology and although they say and plan to fight for the so called middleground both revert back to type, Blair is the only politician to ever grab the middleground with both hands as he wasn't really Labour (his dad was a conservative) but as you say he had no real competition. Both are ideologically driven, one by the Unions and one by the rich and powerful, both really represent a small part of our population, there is noone firmly in the centre ground. As I said Labour tried to do it under Blair to some extent successfully but there was opposition from within the party and also traditional Labour supporters because quite rightly IMO, as who was now representing the working classes?? Demographics change which is why Labour overtook Liberals a century ago because back then we had a huge working class who were given the vote and parties struggle to adapt!! This is why we now see UKIP doing so well because Cameron has tried to move his party closer to the middleground (as I see it not with great success) and those thinking "I'm Tory but some of this Parties policies aren't so I feel like they're not representing me". As I say the 2 main parties are entrenched in history and ideology and it makes politics boring and petty one side against another, with the same arguments being pulled up as they were 50 years ago, "Labour are under the thumb of the Unions", "Tories don't care about the poor" etc.. The only way I see this changing is if we have a couple of new Parties come into the centre ground and then Labour and Conservatives can go back to their roots (if they're comfortable with not being in power) and represent what they originally were all about but I just cannot see this happening, there was rumours that when Blair was in power there were thoughts about breaking up the Labour party, I'm of the opinion that this would've been really good for politics!!!
