The Liberal Democrats. Pfft!

[selfraising]

I'm not very good at political debates but in my opinion we are just returning to the Thatcher years.

[bubblewrap]

With the value of "scrap" these days the Ark Royal & all those tanks and planes should pay off a good chunk of the national debt.

[Snadger]

I'm not very good at political debates but in my opinion we are just returning to the Thatcher years.

Apparently Baroness Thatcher has just been rushed into hospital so I hope she's Ok.

What I will say though, is that listening to David Cameron is unnervingly like listening to her alter ego!

[bubblewrap]

Miners celebrating & scousers out on the streets last week I thought Thatcher had died.

[buzzingtalk]

A room in a shared house is about �90 a week in Norwich. Shocking

Mine is much less than that, but we have a big ole house with lots of us living in it. Plus the rental price down PoW is much cheaper than just a few roads away, so we have lovely cheap rent here. Bizarre that I can have a massive 4 story house for a week, or a small council maisonette on a grim London estate instead! And the minimum wage is not much difference, but the cost of living between the two places is very different.

[zazen999]

zazan- i don't think we are getting too excitable?

With all due respect - these politics threads can get very heated and when they start getting personal it's time to cool it or end it.

I'm not getting into the ins and outs but we've been here before with those on either side spitting feathers - so debate away [nobody minds that] but lets all keep the personals out of it.

[Not you mind, it's others that felt like it was getting personal....just re-emphasising the point...]

[piskieinboots]

Miners celebrating & scousers out on the streets last week I thought Thatcher had died.

I'm probably the only one that doesn't find that funny

[bubblewrap]

I'm probably the only one that doesn't find that funny

Like a lot of "jokes" it's up to your sense of humour.
I lost a good job(redundant)through that "woman's? actions.

[pigletwillie]

This debt began with the tories in the 80's though, and I'm sure labour would have loved to have had a clean slate and not have to sort out the mess they have inherited. .

Perhaps you need to refresh your history and not rely on anecdotal tales,

In 1997 our national debt was �36 billion, down from �50 billion in 1979 when the Tories came to government. A debt I might add that has been reducing since the end of the war when it had peaked at �250 billion.

In March of this year it was �1000.4 billion, up from the �36 billion inherited in 1997, and costs �42 billion a year in interest.

Some difference but please dont pin it on Thatcher, she may have been many things but feckless with our money she was not. From 1950 to 1997 every government had reduced our national debt, including hers.

[Nicos]

Following on from that PW....when did we finish paying off the Americans for our post war loan?....not so long ago I recall.

[StephenH]

As much as I hate the Tories, I can honestly say that I hope the Lib Dems get annihalated at the next General Election. They conned voters into voting for them in order to keep the Tories out- they actively encouraged this kind of tactical voting.

I was one of those tactical voters- hence my anger.

They probably will. Lefties like me, who have voted for them in the past (I've usually voted Labour, but occasionally Lib Dem, including at the 2005 Gen. Election) will never vote for them again after this betrayal; disaffected Tories will never vote for them, because they usually go to UKRAP; and even some members and supporters of the Lib Dems may fall away. They are dead in the water, and serve them bloody well right. However, I note that a few Lib Dem M.P.s are at last rebelling, including two former leaders, Kennedy and Campbell. The latter has definitely said that he will vote against increasing tuition fees, and Kennedy, last I heard, was thought likely to as well, though he hadn't committed himself. I can think of more important issues to rebel over, but it's a start.

[StephenH]

As an NHS employee between 1974 and 1979, I can assure you that the Jim Callaghan administration systematically starved the NHS of funds. If Clair Rayner is going to come hack and haunt anyone for the ruination of 'her beloved NHS' it should be him. Not Maggie Thatcher, nor David Cameron. All the last labour government has done to the NHS is throw money at it. You can't solve a problem by chucking more and more money at it.

Make your mind up! Callaghan's condemned for starving the NHS of funds, and the last Labour government for spending money on it! Of course you can solve problems by spending money on things (not "throwing money at" - bloody tiresome, Daily-Mail expression). Labour and Liberal governments gave us the NHS, the Open University, Council housing, votes for women, labour exchanges, old age pensions, and lots more. What have the Tories ever done for ordinary people? Name one thing that they've introduced that compares with the above list that helps ordinary people.

[lindyloo]

Just regarding the usage of council housing, ie. i think someone mentioned the many council houses being retained by people who didn't really need them, as being something which has come about fairly recently in labour's time of gov. I just wanted to say that when my marriage broke up in 1990, and i applied for a council house, i was told by the lady from the council who came out to see me, that they had many 3 bed. houses being lived in by older people, in one room only, which they couldn't re - allocate due to 'policy'. this was still in the conservative's time of power. I think it was just before the big sell off, in fact, but might be wrong on that. I was told to go to the head council offices and then they would put us into bed and breakfast, for however long it took to have a house become available. ( at what cost - probably 75-80 pounds a week then, i would think) ( instead, i borrowed some money to sort it out myself)

I think this illistrates the thing which irritates me about all political parties- the fact that they only ever look at the surface, blame the previous party, and throw some money at it, without dealing with the real cause of the problem. It seems to me that each party tries to bend the problem, to fit thier particular beliefs, rather than solve the root problem.


What i would really like, from any party, is to hear some total honesty.

P.S. david cameron was noted as a huge thatcherite, long before he had his remake as a prime candidate.

[piskieinboots]

What i would really like, from any party, is to hear some total honesty.

Have you got something you can be getting on with whilst you wait

[Nicos]

Have you got something you can be getting on with whilst you wait

Ha ha ha!!!...perfek Piskie