David cocking Blunkett

[Tom]

I have formed the opinion that David Blunkett is a fascist. The man seems to think that we need protecting from ourselves. Every opportunity he has to remove rights from the public and impose new laws and 'security' on us, he takes with glee.

What a wanker. I tell you what, I'm voting conservative at the next election (last time, I voted libdem I think). This government is hell-bent on taking all our rights away.

 

[gmloki]

I have formed the opinion that David Blunkett is a fascist. The man seems to think that we need protecting from ourselves. Every opportunity he has to remove rights from the public and impose new laws and 'security' on us, he takes with glee.

What a wanker. I tell you what, I'm voting conservative at the next election (last time, I voted libdem I think). This government is hell-bent on taking all our rights away.

With you there Tom. He has to be the most self opinionated and out of touch home secretary for a good number of years. Slowly but surely our civil liberties are being eroded. Especially with this id card bollox

 

[DaGaffer]

Yep. fascist cnut as far as I'm concerned. Politics of fear man.

 

[Mazling]

Use your vote wisely and don't create a two-party system (any more than it already is), just because one is useless and the 'other' major party is more likely to get in. There's getting what you want, and wanting what you can get.

 

[throdgrain]

ID cards are a fine idea, unless you are some kind of conspiracy theory looney.
Some of the other stuff though, like for example the electrical wiring regulations, are rediculous. Its a bit of a funny situation though, as I dont agree with everything this government is doing, but I could never ever vote tory and lib dem is obviously a wasted vote innit.
Hmmm.

 

[Jopasc]

I actually think the guy is great and would be a better PM than Blair

 

[nath]

It's not a wasted vote - the more people vote lib dem, the more labour will take note and amend their policies in order to win the votes back.

Plus, if everyone who said "voting lib dem is a wasted vote" voted lib dem, they'd probably be the opposition by now. It's like saying recycling is a waste of time since no one else does it.

 

[tRoG]

I like him. Some of his policies are a bit shitey, but the guy seems very normal and... erm... nice

 

[DaGaffer]

I like him. Some of his policies are a bit shitey, but the guy seems very normal and... erm... nice

After the revelations of the last few weeks, he not only seems like an authoritarian git, but a pretty sleazy one to boot. I'd piss myself laughing if the visa allegations are true, but even if they're not, he doesn't seem to mind abusing his position in other areas.

 

[Trem]

LibDem are a Labour/Tory hybrid. They change their policies to suit the mood.

Tory all the way for me.

 

[kingcon]

I think hes got a hard job really, on the one hand if he dose something he thinks helps the country be safer (e.g. ID cards) he gets slated for pooping all over civil liberties. On the other hand, if he does nothing and something bad happens, hell be one of the first in line to be blamed as to “why did you let this happen” governing a country such as ours is tougher than people may think.

 

[Vae]

Unfortunately we lack a credible opposition at the moment so Labour will get a third term allbeit with a reduced majority.

 

[Tom]

I think the point is, some of the measures he proposes will actually end up costing far more than the potential for problems thats hes trying to avoid.

This country has been in far worse scrapes before now, we've had 30 years of the IRA planting bombs (and that was a visible well organised terrorist group with clearly stated aims), the government banned broadcasters from transmitting Gerry Adams' voice, but the broadcasters just got actors in! IIRC we had extended periods of detention prior to charging, but at the end of the day, if the intelligence services had no proof, they had to let them go (or make it up - Birmingham six anyone?)

Nobody ever proposed a complusory ID card, private trials without jury or public supervision (very worrying), detention without charge, secondment of private citizens and their property during national emergencies, Community Safety Officers replacing the Police (with the power to detain)......

But hes not the only one. Speed cameras going everywhere, ANPR surveys to stop and inspect your vehicle without prior suspicion, satellite monitoring of vehicle movements for taxation and insurance purposes....

Banning fox hunting for no good reason (what about vivisection?) Stopping competent persons from undertaking simple electrical work (without expensive qualifications), demanding energy certificates for all new windows...


I was glad when this government took over. They have achieved some worthwhile things (minimum wage, boe control of interest rates, improved funding for public services), but they have spent massively, and seem to be obsessed with controlling every aspect of our lives! I think they spent so long out of power, they have become obsessed with retaining it, at any cost to civil liberties.

 

[Guest]

And you think michael (jail em until we have to release em coz the court of human rights says we have to) Howard can do any better job than tony blair, for gods sake, i am of an age when the tories 1st came to power i was in a class of 35 kids with 18 books and no heating, crime was up and unemployment was stupid and we all had power cuts and a few strikes thrown in for good measure. I dont mind carrying an id card with me, the coppers can stop and search me if they like, thy cam scan my card in to see if i have any outstanding fines etc, i dont mind, all politicians are are bad as each other, and saying they have been out of power too long isnt a valid argument.

imho NO one can be as bad as the tories, but give them you're vote and see what they do with it, micheal howard was in thatchers cabinet and look what he did, now he wants to run the country, the uk population can still remember what him and his cronies did last time and iirc there are more 30+ years old people voting than <30 year olds, those that can remember what the tories did to the UK would never vote them back in.

 

[Tom]

Erm, you seem to be confusing what you think happened with what actually happened. The previous Labour government was very adept at giving the same job to more than one person. When the Tories came to power, they stopped all that, hence very high unemployment for a few years.

I also remember the power cuts. That was down to the Unions, unhappy at their massively abused base of power being taken from underneath their feet. Oh and don't think that power cuts were the preserve of Tory governments. They were happening regularly, even under a Labour administration (and the Tory one before that). This country was the basketcase of Europe during the 70's, with practically zero foreign investment. Co-incidence that most of our major car manufacturers disappeared during this period? I think not.

Ever try to get a phone installed during the 70's? You had to wait weeks. And the only one you could install was whatever the GPO said you could have. Which they sold to you.

I'm not saying the Tories were perfect, but IMO they did a much better job of running the country at the time than Labour could ever have hoped to do. If you disagree, try going to France, see what Union power does there.

Anyway, I didn't intend for this to become an argument about the pros and cons of various political parties, which at the end of the day is a matter of personal opinion.

 

[throdgrain]

Disagree Tom, I think Brooky has hit the nail on the head this time. The Tories are a collection of self-serving *****, at least Labour believe in what they are doing, even if they do get it wrong sometimes, the Tories only believe in themselves and thier old boys network.

 

[~Yuckfou~]

Can't he see what he's doing to the country ?!

I'll put money on there being truth in the ex-lover/nanny fast track deal. Labour got in on family values, ever since they have proved to be as bent as the tories. Blairs pauses for drama when he speaks just make me want to brick his face tbh. Most insincere prick on the planet.
I am going to vote UKIP next time round. I'm fucking sick of immigrants, they can all fuck off tbh. I also want to keep the Pound and our independance from Europe.
As for keeping terrorists in prison without charge, fucking result !! I'd feed them to the sharks, but I suspect the sharks would spit them out, sharks don't eat shit. Come here for "asylum" aka free ride, then plot to kill us and ours.


Sorry to sound too vitriolic
erm.. Actually no I'm not, they are my views.

 

[fatbusinessman]

I am going to vote UKIP next time round. I'm fucking sick of immigrants, they can all fuck off tbh. I also want to keep the Pound and our independance from Europe.

Why do you want to keep the pound and our independence from Europe? If it's for economic reasons (you think we'd suffer under a single currency, you think we'd have important political decisions removed from our heads of state) then fair enough. If you want to keep the pound because "it's part of our national identity" and you want independence from Europe because "I'm not submitting to a bunch of Frogs and Krauts" then I'm afraid for our country.

As for keeping terrorists in prison without charge, fucking result !! I'd feed them to the sharks, but I suspect the sharks would spit them out, sharks don't eat shit. Come here for "asylum" aka free ride, then plot to kill us and ours.

One important distinction here: keeping suspected terrorists in prison without charge. If they're actual terrorists, if you've got real evidence, then take them to court, get them convicted and get them locked up for as long as you damn well please. If, however, you just want to lock them away because you think they might do something at some point, maybe, then I say to you this: prove it.

 

[~Yuckfou~]

Fair points well made, but I disagree. Such is democracy

 

[DaGaffer]

Disagree Tom, I think Brooky has hit the nail on the head this time. The Tories are a collection of self-serving *****, at least Labour believe in what they are doing, even if they do get it wrong sometimes, the Tories only believe in themselves and thier old boys network.

Yeah, Labour (or at least Blair's inner circle) believe in what they're doing alright, being a collection of self-serving *****! I really can't see any area where the Labour cabinet haven't proved to be as bad as the Tories. They absolutely can't be trusted, and that's what's so scary about the Blunkett measures; you look at each little erosion of freedom one at a time and think, "OK, I can see why they might need to do that" and then all of sudden the policies put in place for "security" are in the hands of people who have no problem with controlling the population "for their own good". The one advantage of the Tories is they actually don't give a shit about the population and couldn't be arsed trying to control every aspect of our lives.

 

[throdgrain]

So far no recessions under Labour.
You're right, the tories dont give a shit about the population. They do however care about getting and keeping power.
Probably why they cut interest rates rates right before an election, even though the bank of England and every other financial institution said that rates should be going up in order to curb inflation.
So what happened. Ill tell you, in case you were too young to remember.
Massive recession. I lost my job, was unemployed for a year. Fucked me right up. Arguably a direct consequence of the Tories buying vote with interest rates.
Miners strike anyone ? Does anyone actually remember that? The Poll Tax for godds sake??
People seem to have short memories, and a lot of the kids today who have left school in the last couple of years, maybe who are voting for the first time, wouldnt know about a lot of this stuff anyway.
But Micheal Howard comes from exactly the same stable as the people who did all this stuff, plus lots more. I wouldnt trust him anymore than I could gob him :/

 

[Draylor]

Can't he see what he's doing to the country ?!

Interesting choice of words when talking about him

 

[DaGaffer]

So far no recessions under Labour.
You're right, the tories dont give a shit about the population. They do however care about getting and keeping power.
Probably why they cut interest rates rates right before an election, even though the bank of England and every other financial institution said that rates should be going up in order to curb inflation.
So what happened. Ill tell you, in case you were too young to remember.
Massive recession. I lost my job, was unemployed for a year. Fucked me right up. Arguably a direct consequence of the Tories buying vote with interest rates.
Miners strike anyone ? Does anyone actually remember that? The Poll Tax for godds sake??
People seem to have short memories, and a lot of the kids today who have left school in the last couple of years, maybe who are voting for the first time, wouldnt know about a lot of this stuff anyway.
But Micheal Howard comes from exactly the same stable as the people who did all this stuff, plus lots more. I wouldnt trust him anymore than I could gob him :/

Ahem. I'm 39. I can remember exactly what the Tories were like and I don't trust Michael Howard either. However, I don't quite remember the Thatcher years quite the way you do; Poll Tax, yes, total f*ck up, Miner's strike? Not so much in hindsight (labour's plans for Natural Gas dependency on Russia are far scarier). The Tories were in power far too long, and they did stuff that was terrible, but the country ended up in better shape because they did it (I remember being forced to go on strike, even though the reason was utterly ridiculous - the Tories put a stop to all that shit).

But that's not really the point, I'm not saying the Tories are great (far from it), and I don't really want to vote for them, but all i want from Government is for them to leave me alone as much as possible; Labour are that antithesis of that approach and they really scare me.

 

[throdgrain]

The miners strike was a disaster. Why ? We dont have any coal production in this country. Niether can we start to have again without huge and uneconomic investment . All the people made unemployed by that action? Many places in Wales still ravaged by it 20 years later.
I agree some things are bad, a glaring example being the Iraq war. From a personal point of view the shooting laws seem to about to be tightened yet again. Dont start me off on that one !
But just because some things ar wrong doesnt mean that the answer is to vote for something completely opposite.
Eventually, probably after the next term, the Labour government will be voted out, but I dread to think what will replace them

 

[GekuL]

The Torys are blatant tabloid politicians, chasing the votes on what ever bandwagon is in the Daily Mail at the time. I can't believe anyone would demean themselves by voting for them, but that's democracy for you.

 

[Guest]

My dad was a shop steward at his work and he taught me alot about the way that politicians worked with their rhetoric, my beliefs are componded by living through the thatcher 80's with boom and bust mentality, if a person abuses the trust put in them by the electorate/prime minister then that person should get sacked/resign, we need proof that blunket _did_ fast track this person and if thats the case then its his job, how many scandals did the tories go through, can you remember that MP who was found dead with his pants down and a carrot sticking out of his arse, just watch any episode of the new statesman and it tells you all you need to know about the tories.

tbh as i said before, they are all the same, the labour government just seems to be a bit more feeling than the tories for the young/old/unemployed/sick people in the UK, i mean we actually build hospitals now.

The best party political broadcast by the labour party would be to educate the younger members of society, giving special attention to the 18 years from 1979 to 1997.

If you think you are gonig to lose the election, goto war with the Argies, lower interest ratess and let everyone buy a house they cant afford 2 years later because the interest rates have gone up like fuck.

ho hum

 

[Cyfr]

Vote BNP!11

 

[throdgrain]

If you think you are gonig to lose the election, goto war with the Argies, lower interest ratess and let everyone buy a house they cant afford 2 years later because the interest rates have gone up like fuck.

ho hum

Nothing more to say.

 

[tRoG]

Seems to me like you just have to pick the best of a bad bunch.

 

[DaGaffer]

Vote BNP!11

Shut up. Tool.