Here is an interesting comment from a Times Online contributor
MM
"I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
more notable successes are:"
<quote>
Achievement
1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
2. Low mortgage rates
3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
7. Best-ever primary school results
8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
9. Employment is at its highest level ever
10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
11. 85,000 more nurses
12. 32,000 more doctors
13. Brought back matrons to hospital wards
14. Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament
15. Devolved power to Welsh Assembly
16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice
18. Gift aid was worth �625 million to charities last year
19. Restored city-wide government to London
20. Record number of students in higher education
21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
23. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
24. �200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra �100 for over-80s
25. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 2010
26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
27. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
28. All workers now have a right to 4 weeks� paid holiday
29. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
30. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
31. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
32. Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships
33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard
34. Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales
35. Banned fox hunting
36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the
industrial revolution
37. Free TV licences for over-75s
38. Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals
39. Waiting times for operations halved
40. Free local bus travel for over-60s
41. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
42. Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started
43. Free eye test for over 60s
44. Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less
45. Free entry to national museums and galleries
46. Overseas aid budget more than doubled
47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England,
Scotland and Wales
50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
</quote>
MM
Richard
>
> MM
No mention of support for PFI, or the liberation of the people of
Iraqi then..................strange that!
Eliot Montevideo
I completely agree, excellent government; far better than Blair's
I pray they get back in and not that clown Cameron
Andrew McGee
Even assuming that every one of the factual claims is true (probably a wrong
assumption, but that's not my point at present) I would not give many marks
out of 10 for some of them, though I di very much approve of some others.
My marks would be as follows
"Richard" <ke...@live.co.uk> wrote in message
news:94f8be43-0f1b-48c6...@p8g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
On Jan 2, 6:51 am, MM <kylix...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> The contributor writes:
>
> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
> more notable successes are:"
>
> <quote>
> Achievement
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
> 8
> 2. Low mortgage rates
> 8
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35 3
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales 0
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
> 8 (but I don't believe it)
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools 10
> (ditto)
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
> 10 (ditto)
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008 10
> (ditto)
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
> 7
> 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries 0
> 11. 85,000 more nurses
> 5
> 12. 32,000 more doctors
> 5
> 13. Brought back matrons to hospital wards
> 7
> 14. Devolved power to the Scottish
> -25
> 15. Devolved power to Welsh
> -25
> 16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
> 0
> 17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice
> 6
> 18. Gift aid was worth �625 million to charities last year
> 5
> 19. Restored city-wide government to
> -10
> 20. Record number of students in higher education
> 0
> 21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
> 6
> 22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households 6
> 23. Introduced the Disability Rights
> -5
> 24. �200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra �100 for over-80s 2
> 25. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas
> emissions by 2010
> 10 (but I don't believe it)
> 26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland 10
> 27. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
> 6
> 28. All workers now have a right to 4 weeks� paid holiday
> 0
> 29. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
> 7
> 30. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
> 7
> 31. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
> 7
> 32. Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships
> 10
> 33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard
> 8
> 34. Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales
> 3 (and is this English Labour's achievement anyway- see No 15 above)
> 35. Banned fox hunting
> 1
> 36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the
> industrial revolution
> 10 (if true)
> 37. Free TV licences for over-75s
> 3
> 38. Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals
> 0
> 39. Waiting times for operations halved
> 8 (but I don't believe it)
> 40. Free local bus travel for over-60s
> 1
> 41. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
> 8 (but I don't believe it)
> 42. Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started
> 6
> 43. Free eye test for over 60s
> 5
> 44. Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less
> 9 (but I only partly believe it)
> 45. Free entry to national museums and
> -5
> 46. Overseas aid budget more than
> -10
> 47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
> 10 (if true)
> 48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
> 10 (but I don't believe it)
> 49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England,
> 6
> Scotland and Wales
> 50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
> 6
DVH
"Eliot Montevideo" <eliot.mo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4b3f0c14$0$917$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
>
> I completely agree, excellent government; far better than Blair's
> I pray they get back in and not that clown Cameron
ROTFL.
This is a Labour press release issued by the Blair regime in 2006.
In any case, many of the large claims don't stand scrutiny.
1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
Yeah right. Have a look at this chart and see whether that's true:
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/house-prices-52-09.jpg
2. Low mortgage rates
OK. The knock-on effect of this is to raise house prices, however, putting
them out of reach of first-time buyers. There's a reason why 30 year olds
are returning to mummy.
3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
So what? Minimum wages harm the low-skilled by making it difficult to employ
them. They encourage businesses to outsource to countries where they work
for a dollar a day. They raise prices to the consumer.
4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
Filling in forms.
5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
Bullshit. Official crime figures are fraudulent. Police forces aren't
recording reported crimes, and huge numbers of recorded crimes aren't
included in the official figures. See for example
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4998731.ece
6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
ROTFL. Believe that, and you'll believe anything.
5.2 million people lack functional (Level 1) literacy and 6.8 million people
lack functional (Entry Level 3) numeracy.
"In 2003, research commissioned by the former Department for Education and
Skills suggested that 23.8 million adults (75% of the adult population of
working age) in England had numeracy skills below Level 2, the level of a
good pass at GCSE, and 17.8 million (56 %) had literacy skills below this
level"
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmpubacc/154/15405.htm#n2
7. Best-ever primary school results
Certainly. But compared to what?
8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
Has this happened? Probably not.
9. Employment is at its highest level ever
Thanks to record levels of public sector recruitment.
10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
Thereby storing up trouble for the future. It's no coincidence that poor
countries were demanding more money at Copenhagen.
etc, etc.
Somebody else can expose the remaining lies if they feel like it.
johannes
Andrew McGee wrote:
>
> Just goes to show that not everyone will agree about what the successes are.
> Even assuming that every one of the factual claims is true (probably a wrong
> assumption, but that's not my point at present) I would not give many marks
> out of 10 for some of them, though I di very much approve of some others.
> My marks would be as follows
Quite so, I disagree with many of the freebies; why should I pay for free
fruits to other peoples children? It's my fruits thank you very much, I
want some. Parents can buy it themselves; they get Tax credits, don't they.
abelard
> "Eliot Montevideo" <eliot.montevi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:4b3f0c14$0$917$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
>
>
>
> > I completely agree, excellent government; far better than Blair's
> > I pray they get back in and not that clown Cameron
>
> ROTFL.
>
> This is a Labour press release issued by the Blair regime in 2006.
>
> In any case, many of the large claims don't stand scrutiny.
>
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
>
>
> 2. Low mortgage rates
>
> OK. The knock-on effect of this is to raise house prices, however, putting
> them out of reach of first-time buyers. There's a reason why 30 year olds
> are returning to mummy.
>
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to £5.35
>
> So what? Minimum wages harm the low-skilled by making it difficult to employ
> them. They encourage businesses to outsource to countries where they work
> for a dollar a day. They raise prices to the consumer.
>
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
>
> Filling in forms.
>
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
>
> Bullshit. Official crime figures are fraudulent. Police forces aren't
> recording reported crimes, and huge numbers of recorded crimes aren't
>
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
>
> ROTFL. Believe that, and you'll believe anything.
>
> 5.2 million people lack functional (Level 1) literacy and 6.8 million people
> lack functional (Entry Level 3) numeracy.
>
> "In 2003, research commissioned by the former Department for Education and
> Skills suggested that 23.8 million adults (75% of the adult population of
> working age) in England had numeracy skills below Level 2, the level of a
> good pass at GCSE, and 17.8 million (56 %) had literacy skills below this
> level"
>
>
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
>
> Certainly. But compared to what?
>
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
>
> Has this happened? Probably not.
>
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
>
> Thanks to record levels of public sector recruitment.
>
> 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
>
> Thereby storing up trouble for the future. It's no coincidence that poor
> countries were demanding more money at Copenhagen.
>
> etc, etc.
>
> Somebody else can expose the remaining lies if they feel like it.
by making long and meaningless posts
you just make yourself look even more uninformed
then you have in the past.
regards.
--
web site at www.abelard.orgasm - news comment service, logic,
economics
energy, education, politics, etc over 1 million document calls in year
past
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
all that is necessary for [] walk quietly and carry
the triumph of evil is that [] a big stick.
good people do nothing [] trust actions not words
only when it's funny -- roger rabbit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
McKevvy
Who paid for your fruit when you were a child? Who paid for you to go
see your doctor at surgery or the hospital when you were a child?
McK.
McKevvy
>
Most of this is correct and has positive results. Some item I'd object
to but that's party politics.
MCKevvy
johannes
abelard wrote:
>
>
> by making long and meaningless posts
> you just make yourself look even more uninformed
> then you have in the past.
^
Spelling error!
johannes
My parents paid for my fruits. I didn't mention the Health System in my post.
McKevvy
So because your parents did, then EVERYONES parents should?
Divided by Diversity ☺☻☺
> 47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
New Labour are taking credit for that are they? A list of bad things
could be five times longer.
True Blue
> "Eliot Montevideo" <eliot.montevi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:4b3f0c14$0$917$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
>
>
>
> > I completely agree, excellent government; far better than Blair's
> > I pray they get back in and not that clown Cameron
>
> ROTFL.
>
> This is a Labour press release issued by the Blair regime in 2006.
>
> In any case, many of the large claims don't stand scrutiny.
>
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
>
>
> 2. Low mortgage rates
>
> OK. The knock-on effect of this is to raise house prices, however, putting
> them out of reach of first-time buyers. There's a reason why 30 year olds
> are returning to mummy.
>
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to £5.35
>
> So what? Minimum wages harm the low-skilled by making it difficult to employ
> them. They encourage businesses to outsource to countries where they work
> for a dollar a day. They raise prices to the consumer.
>
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
>
> Filling in forms.
>
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
>
> Bullshit. Official crime figures are fraudulent. Police forces aren't
> recording reported crimes, and huge numbers of recorded crimes aren't
>
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
>
> ROTFL. Believe that, and you'll believe anything.
>
> 5.2 million people lack functional (Level 1) literacy and 6.8 million people
> lack functional (Entry Level 3) numeracy.
>
> "In 2003, research commissioned by the former Department for Education and
> Skills suggested that 23.8 million adults (75% of the adult population of
> working age) in England had numeracy skills below Level 2, the level of a
> good pass at GCSE, and 17.8 million (56 %) had literacy skills below this
> level"
>
>
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
>
> Certainly. But compared to what?
>
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
>
> Has this happened? Probably not.
>
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
>
> Thanks to record levels of public sector recruitment.
>
> 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
>
> Thereby storing up trouble for the future. It's no coincidence that poor
> countries were demanding more money at Copenhagen.
>
> etc, etc.
>
> Somebody else can expose the remaining lies if they feel like it.
I'd envisaged taking half an hour of researching to fisk this shit.
Thanks for saving me the bother.
johannes
No, there are higher principles at stake than that. Why should I pay for
fruits when the parents are not poor and can well afford to eat? If the
parents were poor and starving, then they will get benefits.
Shaun
In Summary:
1. Fiddled the crime, unemployment, and NHS waiting list figures
2. Put more people on benefits
3. Helped corrupt African countries
4. Imported loads of foreign workers
5. Destroyed both the free access and the quality of the University
system.
MM
<eliot.mo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>I completely agree, excellent government; far better than Blair's
>I pray they get back in and not that clown Cameron
You can agree all you like, they won't get back in. The likelihood of
Labour winning is about the same as winning the lottery jackpot.
MM
Iain
news:quauj55n0vv6gcug8...@4ax.com...
Don't become too complacent. I assumed this at the last election, and they
still got back in. There are too many people who spout hot air and then do
not even bother to vote.
Iain
pete
> The contributor writes:
>
> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
> more notable successes are:"
>
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/6922127/Hypocrite-Jack-Straws-role-in-destroying-the-police.html
>
> MM
So, when you examine the list, it turns out there are three sorts of
"achievement" listed.
- things that have happened irrespective of which colour government
is in power (e.g. inflation)
- some legal changes, such as minimum wage, fox hunting
- changes to the way the government spends OUR TAXES, including the
increased number and amount of tax they take. This is the vast
majority of the listed "achievements": merely giving back to us what
they take.
In addition, there is a lot of double-counting in the list. Such as
having seperate entries for increased number of police _and_ reduced
numbers of crimes - surely different views of the same thing?
What seems to be entirely missing from the list is any sort of claim
that the actions of the government have increased the _wealth_ of the
country as a whole. Such as by encouraging new industries, increasing
exports or bringing investment into the country.
In that respect, at least they're being truthful.
Francis Burton
Maybe so, and maybe not - but in any case some of the bad things
are really terrible. Off the top of my head...
Iraq war
PFI
no FOI as promised
no EU referendum
mishandling immigration
far too many new laws (often poorly thought out)
including 'terror' legislation
detention without trial
increase surveillance
pushing for ID database (and card)
erosion of right to jury trial
spin (i.e. lying/deceit) including that thug Campbell
more centralised govt
mean-spirited attitude to Gurkhas and Chagos islanders
more complicity in corrupt arms sales
cronyism
cash for honours
10p tax band fiasco
licking US ass (including asymmetric extradition legislation)
collusion in torture
Hazel Blears
Heathrow third runway
war on drugs
vetting and barring scheme that makes parents suspects
Philistine higher education agenda
Francis
abelard
>abelard wrote:
forger has been busy
i've obviously offended some weak minded dope...that's a surprise
--
web site at www.abelard.org - news comment service, logic, economics
energy, education, politics, etc over 1 million document calls in year past
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
all that is necessary for [] walk quietly and carry
the triumph of evil is that [] a big stick.
good people do nothing [] trust actions not words
only when it's funny -- roger rabbit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
abelard
just so...
in our house we have a 600 inch tv....
we have a roller in the drive...
i have/had 6 houses valued at �7 million....
separate nannies for our 4 children....
unfortunately the bailiffs are due in tomorrow and
the company is bankrupt....and i'm going through little
difficulties with the tax man and some mean bastards
at the old bailey...
i've just found out granny has a hospital acquired disease,
the wife has cancer and i can't get the specialists...oh, and
none of the teen age children can read....
i've been super generous....i've given some gold bars i stole to my
aunts and uncles and nephews and nieces and brothers (i don't have
any sisters) and thousands of friends....
but none of them are now returning my calls...the liars keep telling
people they didn't know they were stolen!!! or even that they
don't know me
would you believe it....some people are so-o-o-o dishonest!!!!!!
and ungrateful....
but i believe i have done a marvelous job for my family
....every one of them has an iphone and highly
overpriced trainers and membership of god knows how many clubs...
shame i'll be indisposed for a while but i do have a
swiss account none of them have found yet...
i'm trying to blame it all on my accountant because i told him
to fix up the books for me and now he's gone and got caught...
but he's turning queen's evidence and saying i told him to spend
as much as he liked and i'd take responsibility..
it's all so very unfair
regards
DVH
Somebody wrote in message
news:c4fbb602-39d2-4c8c...@b2g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...
> by making long and meaningless posts
> you just make yourself look even more uninformed
> then you have in the past.
You're a Brown groupie. You have my sympathy.
DVH
"True Blue" <garyb...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:bbe23a62-6f92-4856...@j14g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
> I'd envisaged taking half an hour of researching to fisk this shit.
> Thanks for saving me the bother.
I like how they take credit for EU-mandated changes like clean beaches and 4
weeks holiday.
abelard
thank you for your efforts...
the boredom of dealing with their constant and egregious lies
is unsupportable
DVH
"abelard" <abel...@abelard.org> wrote in message
news:30ouj5hjqcnnnngu0...@4ax.com...
>>Somebody else can expose the remaining lies if they feel like it.
>
> thank you for your efforts...
> the boredom of dealing with their constant and egregious lies
> is unsupportable
I hadn't realised this press release was still doing the rounds.
It's great how they claim future intentions as actual achievements (funding
for schoolchildren to double by 2008).
abelard
what actually angers me is the pretence/lie that more money
means improved results...
it means no such thing under socialist government and
socialist unions...
the schools are a national disgrace
John Turner
"McKevvy" wrote
> So because your parents did, then EVERYONES parents should?
What's wrong with the argument that you should only have kids if you can
afford to have them and bring them up at your own expense?
Having said that I accept that education and health care should be provided
by the state through taxation.
John.
R. Mark Clayton
> The contributor writes:
>
> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
> more notable successes are:"
>
> <quote>
> Achievement
Well Ken Clarke started this, however wait and see what happens in the next
few months when all that "quantitative easing [i.e.printing money]" works
its way through.
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
They will be cutting 300 from my force next year to a level described as
"inadequate" by the previous CC.
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
rubbish!
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
Spin!
Unemployment >2M and still rising...
==
Yes some of the measures (like fuel payments, free TV licenses and buss
passes for OAP's) are very nice, but the big issue is that in the last three
years Gordon & Co. have really ****ed up the economy. First into recession,
deeper than other developed economies and still in it when almost all other
places are already out. Government borrowing is increasing by about a
week's median wages per month per household and the pound has collapsed
against the Dollar and the Euro. Apart from that, a couple of botched
foreign adventures, numerous Stasi state proposals, a preponderance of
Labour parliamentarians facing the beak for fiddling their expenses and
multiple IT project failures what have Labour done wrong to lose the voters'
confidence? ;-}
Please make a longer list below: -
abelard
<nospam...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>"MM" <kyli...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:r2rtj5p20526beac3...@4ax.com...
>> The contributor writes:
>>
>> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
>> more notable successes are:"
>>
>> <quote>
>> Achievement
>> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
>> 2. Low mortgage rates
>
>Well Ken Clarke started this, however wait and see what happens in the next
>few months when all that "quantitative easing [i.e.printing money]" works
>its way through.
>
>> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
>> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
>
>They will be cutting 300 from my force next year to a level described as
>"inadequate" by the previous CC.
all government sinecure organisations always describe their
make-work layabout schemes as inadequate however grossly
over-manned they become
Lou Ravi
> "Eliot Montevideo" <eliot.mo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4b3f0c14$0$917$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
>
> So what? Minimum wages harm the low-skilled by making it difficult to
> employ them. They encourage businesses to outsource to countries
> where they work for a dollar a day. They raise prices to the consumer.
They also allow the lowest paid to live with some sort of decency. A few
quid a week does not cause much difficulty for business it just means that
the profit will be a little lower. Good, it is time that the difference
between rich and poor was reduced. Few businesses can or do outsource for
this reason IMO and as far as raising prices for the consumer goes... tough
shit. What do you want, be surrounded by starving people or pay a penny more
for a loaf of bread?
abelard
for each extra penny you pay...the poor have to
pay that penny and profit and taxes and employers
tax and 'insurance' contributions and office space...
and on and on...
the minimum wages do not help the poor...
just the reverse....
they can help unions to drive up prices the poor will pay
and keep out competition
your economics comes straight from socialism and
woolworths....not from reasonable education or study
delenda est socialismus
Lou Ravi
> the schools are a national disgrace
Seems like it's been like that for a while to judge by your execrable
English.
Lou Ravi
A totally incomprehensible reply because a) you top posted, and b) you have
absolutely no idea how to run your news client.
Do try harder.
Lou Ravi
> "McKevvy" wrote
>
>> So because your parents did, then EVERYONES parents should?
>
> What's wrong with the argument that you should only have kids if you
> can afford to have them and bring them up at your own expense?
And what happens if you have kids in 20xx when you have a well-paid job and
in 20xx+1 you lose it?
abelard
i'm glad to see i'm steadily widening your vocabulary
even though you still have no style
Andy Pandy
> more notable successes are:"
>
> <quote>
> Achievement
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
So successful that we're now in deflation.
> 2. Low mortgage rates
Resulting in a house price bubble.
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
Resulting in increased offshoring.
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
Needed for the police state.
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
Or the reporting of it.
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
Or easier tests.
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
As above.
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
More "business managers" in schools.
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
More part time jobs.
> 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
And UK govt debt up to the highest level in peacetime history.
> 11. 85,000 more nurses
> 12. 32,000 more doctors
And "foundation hospitals" which put targets before patients' lives.
> 13. Brought back matrons to hospital wards
But still record levels of deadly hospital acquired infections like
MRSA and C difficile.
> 14. Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament
But not to England, resulting in Scottish MPs being allowed to vote on
issues which only affect England but not vv. One of the most blatently
undemocratic acts of any government.
> 15. Devolved power to Welsh Assembly
As above.
> 16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
Paid at about �100 a week, compared to 90% of pay for the first 6
weeks for the mother. What happened to equality?
> 17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice
Talk to a nurse on the phone instead of seeing a doctor.
> 18. Gift aid was worth �625 million to charities last year
Subsidises hobbies. Does in my case anyway :-)
> 19. Restored city-wide government to London
Which blew up in their face, like all the other devolution. They
devolved power to areas they expected to vote Labour, first Ken
defeated the official Labour candidate, now Boris is major. Other
cities are even better - a monkey and a robocop were preferred to
Labour.
> 20. Record number of students in higher education
Loads of media studies graduates on the dole or serving in McDonalds,
and plumbers getting paid �50k because they aren't enough of them.
> 21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
They take money off us and give it back. What an acheivement.
> 22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
Encouraging the poor to have lots of children.
> 23. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
And lots of other useless quangos.
> 24. �200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra �100 for over-80s
Bribes, as they know pensioners are more likely to vote than younger
people.
> 25. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas
> emissions by 2010
But sanctioned a third runway at Heathrow.
> 26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern
> Ireland
With foreign help.
> 27. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
And a business manager in every school.
> 28. All workers now have a right to 4 weeks' paid holiday
But when you phone your bank you get India.
> 29. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
> 30. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
Meaningless. Relative poverty means that if those on average and above
average incomes become richer, more people are in relative poverty
even if their standard of living stays constant. And vv - if the
recession makes the average person worse off, then less people could
be in relative poverty even if they're becoming poorer!
> 31. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
With high withdrawal rates and the hypocrisy of assessing income tax
as individuals but tax credits as couples. Resulting in a sharp divide
between 2 earner and no earner households - and the UK having the
highest proportion of children in jobless households in the EU,
despite having lower than average unemployment.
> 32. Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships
But chickened out of allowing it to be called marriage.
> 33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard
And made houses unaffordable for many (see 2)
> 34. Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales
Subsidised by the English. Wales and Scotland get 10-15% more public
spending per person so they can afford thing like this, free
prescriptions, free nursing care etc.
> 35. Banned fox hunting
Just let the foxes rip other innocent animals apart instead...
> 36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the
> industrial revolution
EU rules.
> 37. Free TV licences for over-75s
More bribes.
> 38. Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals
Why not ban meat and have done with it?
> 39. Waiting times for operations halved
But there's a wait to get on the waiting list (and other stat fiddles
pulled by NHS trusts more interested in box ticking than patient
welfare).
> 40. Free local bus travel for over-60s
Pensioners again? Did I say they are more likely to vote?
> 41. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
As did the YTS.
> 42. Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started
But nothing for kids born before 2002.
> 43. Free eye test for over 60s
Ooh, pensioners again.
> 44. Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less
Resulting in more mixed-year classes because heads aren't allowed to
make common sense decisions about teacher allocation. My son's school
had 50 in his year and 35 in the year below - the budget would only
pay for 3 teachers between the 2 years. Anyone with half a brain would
have put one teacher in charge of the 35 in the lower year and had 2
teachers for the 50 in the higher year. But this wasn't allowed
because it ruins the soundbite. So they had to put 5 of the children
in the lower year into one of the higher year classes. Childrens'
education being sacrificed for government soundbites.
> 45. Free entry to national museums and galleries
UK taxpayer subsidising foreign tourists...
> 46. Overseas aid budget more than doubled
From not very much.
> 47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
Still no screening programme for prostate cancer.
> 48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
Lots more McDonalds and KFCs...
> 49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England,
> Scotland and Wales
Part time.
> 50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
Yes! The crowning acheivement!
--
Andy
euno...@yahoo.com.au
> The contributor writes:
>
> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
> more notable successes are:"
>
> <quote>
> Achievement
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
The above are the result of Maragaret Thatchers policies and Ronald
Reagans in the USA: supply side economics did destoy stagflaltion.
After railing against Thatchers economic strategies the Labour party
actually adopted them.
The rest of these 'achievements' are mere flow on effects and laggadly
by OECD standards.
Political correctness is perhaps Labours only real achievement.
Its immigraion policy is a total disgrace. They deserve to be thrown
into the electoral wildereness for a decade.
Their immigraion policy is nothing other than an attempt to bring in
to the UK future labour voters.
Maria
> The contributor writes:
>
> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
> more notable successes are:"
>
> <quote>
> Achievement
> 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
Lie
> 2. Low mortgage rates
Not really
> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
True
> 4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
Useless
> 5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
Lie
> 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
Big lie
> 7. Best-ever primary school results
Biggest ever lie
> 8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
Probably true
> 9. Employment is at its highest level ever
Because we imported 3 million extra workers while ignoring the young,
the old, the infirm, and then everyone who was left after that
> 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
Oh grand
> 11. 85,000 more nurses
> 12. 32,000 more doctors
How many administrators?
> 13. Brought back matrons to hospital wards
Woo
> 14. Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament
Good
> 15. Devolved power to Welsh Assembly
Good
> 16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
So
> 17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice
Rubbish advice? Do you have a temperature? Headache? Sore throat? You
have swine flu - go to nearest chemist with this printed out form,
collect expensive taxpayer funded Tamiflu etc etc.
> 18. Gift aid was worth �625 million to charities last year
So
> 19. Restored city-wide government to London
Fat lot of good that did
> 20. Record number of students in higher education
Hides them from the dole figures for a few years (at taxpayers expense)
and churns out unemployable idiots.
> 21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
From �10 to a whole �12 or something.
> 22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
Waste
> 23. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
Woo another expensive quango
> 24. �200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra �100 for over-80s
Nothing for the non-pension age vulnerable people or children
> 25. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas
> emissions by 2010
Cobblers
> 26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
> 27. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
> 28. All workers now have a right to 4 weeks� paid holiday
> 29. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
> 30. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
> 31. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
> 32. Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships
> 33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard
> 34. Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales
> 35. Banned fox hunting
> 36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the
> industrial revolution
> 37. Free TV licences for over-75s
> 38. Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals
> 39. Waiting times for operations halved
> 40. Free local bus travel for over-60s
> 41. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
> 42. Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started
> 43. Free eye test for over 60s
> 44. Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less
> 45. Free entry to national museums and galleries
> 46. Overseas aid budget more than doubled
> 47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
> 48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
> 49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England,
> Scotland and Wales
> 50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
> </quote>
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/6922127/Hypocrite-Jack-Straws-role-in-destroying-the-police.html
Can't be bothered with the rest of the lies and cobblers and omissions.
Paul Cummins
spam8...@wonderful.spam.invalid (Andy Pandy) wrote:
> > 26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern
> > Ireland
>
> With foreign help.
Pretty much set up by the Tories, actually.
--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981
Lou Ravi
> On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 20:00:27 +0100, "Lou Ravi"
> <j.mu...@libertysurf.fr> wrote:
>
>> DVH wrote:
>>> "Eliot Montevideo" <eliot.mo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:4b3f0c14$0$917$ba4a...@news.orange.fr...
>>
>>> 3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to �5.35
>>>
>>> So what? Minimum wages harm the low-skilled by making it difficult
>>> to employ them. They encourage businesses to outsource to countries
>>> where they work for a dollar a day. They raise prices to the
>>> consumer.
>>
>> They also allow the lowest paid to live with some sort of decency. A
>> few quid a week does not cause much difficulty for business it just
>> means that the profit will be a little lower. Good, it is time that
>> the difference between rich and poor was reduced. Few businesses can
>> or do outsource for this reason IMO and as far as raising prices for
>> the consumer goes... tough shit. What do you want, be surrounded by
>> starving people or pay a penny more for a loaf of bread?
>
> for each extra penny you pay...the poor have to
> pay that penny and profit and taxes and employers
> tax and 'insurance' contributions and office space...
> and on and on...
>
> the minimum wages do not help the poor...
> just the reverse....
Absolute rubbish as usual. I've worked for the minimum wage, I've also
worked for rip off wages in the UK when they didn't have a minimum wage. I
know by experience which is the better for the poor. So stop talking out of
your fucking arse you pompous cunt. You don't know what poverty is.
> they can help unions to drive up prices the poor will pay
> and keep out competition
Fuck the competition, that only interests those who want to make fat bucks,
most people want a decent life and a minimum wage gives them that in part.
You are coming out with the tired old arguments from fat profiteers with too
much money, not enough sense and an innate greed who wailed before the
minimum wage was introduced (finally) in the UK. Sheer bollocks and proved
so.
> your economics comes straight from socialism and
> woolworths....not from reasonable education or study
Go fuck yourself you pathetic little man. You know fuck all about fuck all
as you show daily here. So don't play the all-knowing intellectual because
it just makes you look even more laughable that you appear already.
Not only do I not suppport fools gladly, I do not support them at all. You
disgust me, and I mean disgust me. Go back to the UK, I object greatly to
have to support a waster such as yourself though MY taxes.
PLONK
Lou Ravi
> On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 22:31:30 +0100, "Lou Ravi"
> <j.mu...@libertysurf.fr> wrote:
>
>> abelard wrote:
>>
>>> the schools are a national disgrace
>>
>> Seems like it's been like that for a while to judge by your execrable
>> English.
>
> i'm glad to see i'm steadily widening your vocabulary
> even though you still have no style
Oh goodness, did you teach me the word 'execrable' that I learnt about 50
years ago? I didn't even notice you were there, you really should have
introduced yourself.
> even though you still have no style
Bwahahahahahahaha. The Illiterate One speaketh, listen O world.
abelard
<j.mu...@libertysurf.fr> wrote:
do stick to what you know....capital letters
> I've worked for the minimum wage,
hardly surprising....
i've no inclination to read the rest of your whining...
rbu
> I've also
>worked for rip off wages in the UK when they didn't have a minimum wage. I
>know by experience which is the better for the poor. So stop talking out of
>your fucking arse you pompous cunt. You don't know what poverty is.
>
>> they can help unions to drive up prices the poor will pay
>> and keep out competition
>
>Fuck the competition, that only interests those who want to make fat bucks,
>most people want a decent life and a minimum wage gives them that in part.
>You are coming out with the tired old arguments from fat profiteers with too
>much money, not enough sense and an innate greed who wailed before the
>minimum wage was introduced (finally) in the UK. Sheer bollocks and proved
>so.
>
>> your economics comes straight from socialism and
>> woolworths....not from reasonable education or study
>
>Go fuck yourself you pathetic little man. You know fuck all about fuck all
>as you show daily here. So don't play the all-knowing intellectual because
>it just makes you look even more laughable that you appear already.
>
>Not only do I not suppport fools gladly, I do not support them at all. You
>disgust me, and I mean disgust me. Go back to the UK, I object greatly to
>have to support a waster such as yourself though MY taxes.
>
>PLONK
>
>
--
Colin Trunt
"Maria" <falli...@holeinshoe.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ic-dnbAflayyYaLW...@bt.com...
> MM wrote:
>> The contributor writes:
>>
>> "I disagree that the the Government has been a disaster. Some of the
>> more notable successes are:"
>>
>> <quote>
>> Achievement 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
>
> Lie
>
>> 2. Low mortgage rates
>
> Not really
>
>
> So
>
>> 19. Restored city-wide government to London
>
> Fat lot of good that did
>
>> 20. Record number of students in higher education
>
> Hides them from the dole figures for a few years (at taxpayers expense)
> and churns out unemployable idiots.
>
>> 21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
>
>
>> 22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
>
> Waste
>
>> 23. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
>
> Woo another expensive quango
>
>
> Nothing for the non-pension age vulnerable people or children
>
>> 25. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas
>> emissions by 2010
>
> Cobblers
>
>> 26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland 27.
>> Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools 28. All workers now have a
>> Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents 32. Scrapped
>> Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships 33. Brought over 1 million
>> social homes up to standard 34. Free school milk for five, six and
>> seven-year-olds in Wales 35. Banned fox hunting 36. Cleanest rivers,
>> beaches, drinking water and air since the
>> industrial revolution 37. Free TV licences for over-75s 38. Banned fur
>> farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals 39. Waiting times for
>> operations halved 40. Free local bus travel for over-60s 41. New Deal -
>> helped over a million people into work 42. Over 1.5 million child trust
>> funds have been started 43. Free eye test for over 60s 44. Five, six and
>> seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less 45. Free entry to national
>> museums and galleries 46. Overseas aid budget more than doubled 47.
>> Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives 48. Cut
>> long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
HaHa we have about 1 million of the
>> 49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England,
>> Scotland and Wales 50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
>> </quote>
>>
>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/6922127/Hypocrite-Jack-Straws-role-in-destroying-the-police.html
>
> Can't be bothered with the rest of the lies and cobblers and omissions.
Don't forget the �ｿｽ2 trillion pound charge for the above ;)