Conservative Party Conference

[BCFC Jimmer]

Just watching highlights of the Conservative party conference. Interesting that they have virtual clay pigeon shooting machines for their members to play with. Maybe that's why so many of us don't feel like we can join their 'club'. 

To be fair, they do come out with some good sound bites - creating the impression that they are the party for 'working people'.

But when it boils down to it, their economics and policies are so far detatched from reality its almost beyond parody.

They are asking the British people to work harder - but not much mention of young people, the NHS, climate change, mental health, disabled people, eliminating tax dodgers and other issues that a lot of people actually care about.

They say that we 'are all in this together' but their angle is to look after the super rich and let the 'working men' pay off the deficit - hoping that the money trickles down.

In the next 5 years they will try and claim that socialist economics don't work and that a labour government will take us back to the dark days. 

Well, from what I can see it aint working now. Despite what they say nothing is getting better - to me its a nostalgia act - Spiraling tuition fees, an angry police force, NHS workers being overworked, the list continues.

"If you can create jobs by killing Germans, you can create jobs by building schools and hospitals. If you can find money to kill people: you can find money to help people" - Tony Benn.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

Just watching highlights of the Conservative party conference. Interesting that they have virtual clay pigeon shooting machines for their members to play with. Maybe that's why so many of us don't feel like we can join their 'club'. 

To be fair, they do come out with some good sound bites - creating the impression that they are the party for 'working people'.

But when it boils down to it, their economics and policies are so far detatched from reality its almost beyond parody.

They are asking the British people to work harder - but not much mention of young people, the NHS, climate change, mental health, disabled people, eliminating tax dodgers and other issues that a lot of people actually care about.

They say that we 'are all in this together' but their angle is to look after the super rich and let the 'working men' pay off the deficit - hoping that the money trickles down.

In the next 5 years they will try and claim that socialist economics don't work and that a labour government will take us back to the dark days. 

Well, from what I can see it aint working now. Despite what they say nothing is getting better - to me its a nostalgia act - Spiraling tuition fees, an angry police force, NHS workers being overworked, the list continues.

"If you can create jobs by killing Germans, you can create jobs by building schools and hospitals. If you can find money to kill people: you can find money to help people" - Tony Benn.

Probably practice for defence of the realm if Corbyn ever got elected, mind you he'd probably would have taken the shotguns away as well.

 

 

[And Its Smith]

Jeremy Hunt saying that cutting taxes will make people work harder and learn to manage their money better was disgusting.  Completely arrogant and condescending.  Apparently we should all aspire to be Chinese.

[marshy]

Jeremy Hunt saying that cutting taxes will make people work harder and learn to manage their money better was disgusting.  Completely arrogant and condescending.  Apparently we should all aspire to be Chinese.

Having emerged from the dark days of Mao the Chinese have liberalized their economy and reduced the role of the state. As a consequence more people have emerged from poverty than at any time in history. Of course this has come at a price, society isn't as ''fair'', they have lots of those dreadful billionaires apparently, but as Margaret Thatcher said ''you don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.''

[BCFC Jimmer]

 

 

 

Social economics Vs free market economics is an interesting debate. There are strong arguments on both sides.

The problem I have with free market economics is it doesn't seem to care about climate change, the vulnerable, the poor and the young.

I think that what we have had over the past 20 years has been a good balance between the two. What concerns me is that we are now moving almost exclusively to a free market.  You will start to see all the social and economic problems that will create soon.  America is an example of a solely free market economy - having worked there it has massive downsides! Things we take for granted like being able to take time off if seriously ill is taken for granted here at the moment.

 

 

[wayne allisons tongues]

I'm not sure what was actually said by Jeremy hunt but I do think he has a point.

 

i think we have the highest if not one of % people in work, but productivity is one of the lowest. Maybe looking at ways other countries work and aspire to have there productivity is a good thing. 

[IAmNick]

Jeremy Hunt saying that cutting taxes will make people work harder and learn to manage their money better was disgusting.  Completely arrogant and condescending.  Apparently we should all aspire to be Chinese.

Having less money inspires the poor to work harder, but for the rich having even more money (via tax cuts etc.) inspires them to work harder. Interesting huh.

[The Batman]

 

 

 

 

25 year after that speech and those on the left are still trying to think of a retort to comeback with.

[chipdawg]

I'm not sure what was actually said by Jeremy hunt but I do think he has a point.

 

i think we have the highest if not one of % people in work, but productivity is one of the lowest. Maybe looking at ways other countries work and aspire to have there productivity is a good thing. 

He said that cutting benefits will make people work harder like the Chinese or the Americans

Which aside from any moral ambiguities, shows a worrying lack of understanding as to why UK productivity is apparently lower than most other major economies (HINT: it's not because of benefit payments to working people who don't earn enough from full time jobs to properly support their families given the gap between wages and cost of living)

[Sixtyseconds]

"With Labour the debt soared - we’re going to bring it down."

Up is the new down.

[screech]

You know you're living in ****** up times when David Cameron vows an assault on poverty. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34460822

I'm sure that headline will come back and hit him squarley in the nuts.

[GrahamC]

I'm not sure what was actually said by Jeremy hunt but I do think he has a point.

 

i think we have the highest if not one of % people in work, but productivity is one of the lowest. Maybe looking at ways other countries work and aspire to have there productivity is a good thing. 

Millionaire tells those who go to work for £16k a year to work harder, you couldn't make shit like this up.

[Aizoon]

To be fair, cutting off benefits does work. Especially if the greedy buggers starve or top themselve . 

[BCFC Jimmer]

To be fair, cutting off benefits does work. Especially if the greedy buggers starve or top themselve . 

Not really a funny joke considering that is a reality for some people.

[Aizoon]

Not really a funny joke considering that is a reality for some people.

Who's joking? That's the way they see it. You don't do irony, do you?

[Red-Robbo]

Having emerged from the dark days of Mao the Chinese have liberalized their economy and reduced the role of the state. As a consequence more people have emerged from poverty than at any time in history. Of course this has come at a price, society isn't as ''fair'', they have lots of those dreadful billionaires apparently, but as Margaret Thatcher said ''you don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.''

The state has a massive role in China. It's still ruled by the Chinese Communist Party as the sole party of government.

Most of those "entrepreneurial" billionaire's of which you speak, are - in fact - current or former state officials, all tied into a very tidy position of kick-backs and bribes with other serving state officials.

It is in fact the very definition of what Socialists call a "state capitalist" society - as indeed it was under Mao.And is still a very "dark time" for those employed in the various sweatshops in its hideously polluted cities.

Thatcher famously had Stevie Wonder's eyes for history. Had she known a bit more than her "collective saloon bar wisdom" view of economics and culture she would have realised that the period of greatest prosperity arrived when you did make the rich relatively poorer to the rest of society via progressive taxation and social welfare programmes - the 20th century. Hitherto - in poorer times - the rich were relatively better off than they are today. Crassus - a contemporary of Julius Caesar - for example, was said to have a wealth equal to the entire GDP of the Roman Republic, perhaps equivalent to saying someone owned the $18tn - the US's GDP.

 

[BCFC Jimmer]

Who's joking? That's the way they see it. You don't do irony, do you?

Fair enough. I wouldn't do irony if its such a serious issue because it might be misinterpreted.

[Aizoon]

Fair enough. I wouldn't do irony if its such a serious issue because it might be misinterpreted.

Not teally. If I meant it literally, I would be at the Tory conference. 

[The Gasbuster]

Nice to see the Leftie rent a mob that Corbyn told to refrain from abuse heeded his words

More goons with their socialist wanchors party placards, and  anarch - ***** outside of the conference than ever before. The usual intimidation, attempted attacks on the police, plus egg throwing has taken place this week, all committed by the fascist left.

Then THEY have the audacity to shout "shame on you" to anybody walking out. 

You couldn't make this shit up, either !

[Esmond Million's Bung]

Fair enough. I wouldn't do irony if its such a serious issue because it might be misinterpreted.

Only by you.

[IAmNick]

Nice to see the Leftie rent a mob that Corbyn told to refrain from abuse heeded his words

More goons with their socialist wanchors party placards, and  anarch - ***** outside of the conference than ever before. The usual intimidation, attempted attacks on the police, plus egg throwing has taken place this week, all committed by the fascist left.

Then THEY have the audacity to shout "shame on you" to anybody walking out. 

You couldn't make this shit up, either !

Would you prefer to live in a country where the people cannot protest at things they do not agree with? Because that's a pretty fundamental part of this country (and modern democracies). If so I have a few examples of places where protesting against the government aren't welcome you might prefer, or maybe you just agree with the way their country works more?

[The Gasbuster]

Would you prefer to live in a country where the people cannot protest at things they do not agree with? Because that's a pretty fundamental part of this country (and modern democracies). If so I have a few examples of places where protesting against the government aren't welcome you might prefer, or maybe you just agree with the way their country works more?

Nothing wrong with protest.

Violence, spitting, intimidation and abuse is not acceptable !

Or would you disagree ?

[IAmNick]

Nothing wrong with protest.

Violence, spitting, intimidation and abuse is not acceptable !

Or would you disagree ?

Hard to disagree with that as you well know!

Your choice of language is just amusing in the original post, putting it down to leftie socialists and their "usual" tactics. One minute they're all lily livered limp wristsed lefties and the next they're rent a thug egg throwing monsters scaring the poor honest tories. If it were the other way around it would be our brave boys standing up for Britain in the face of encroaching Corbyn inspired communism or some such rhetoric.

Because he "hates Britain", whatever that means.

Unlike the tories who love Britain so much they've sold off/dismantled the more embarrassing and unbritish parts of our society like the NHS, the tunnel, our welfare system, our schools, the royal mail, and even had a go at selling off our forests (making a fair amount of cash in the process of each). Truely they love what makes people proud to be British. A few headlines about Corbyn hating "our troops" and an imagination hamas/hezbollah love-in and it's all forgotten though as the boys in blue come to save the day and remind us that an honest days work will leave us with a smile on our faces and £1000 less in our pockets each year. Apparently loving Britain is sinking it's poorest further into poverty and squeezing the middle class to breaking point.

In some ways I can understand why these people are angry at them now I come to think of it.

[Red-Robbo]

Hard to disagree with that as you well know!

Your choice of language is just amusing in the original post, putting it down to leftie socialists and their "usual" tactics. One minute they're all lily livered limp wristsed lefties and the next they're rent a thug egg throwing monsters scaring the poor honest tories. If it were the other way around it would be our brave boys standing up for Britain in the face of encroaching Corbyn inspired communism or some such rhetoric.

Because he "hates Britain", whatever that means.

Unlike the tories who love Britain so much they've sold off/dismantled the more embarrassing and unbritish parts of our society like the NHS, the tunnel, our welfare system, our schools, the royal mail, and even had a go at selling off our forests (making a fair amount of cash in the process of each). Truely they love what makes people proud to be British. A few headlines about Corbyn hating "our troops" and an imagination hamas/hezbollah love-in and it's all forgotten though as the boys in blue come to save the day and remind us that an honest days work will leave us with a smile on our faces and £1000 less in our pockets each year. Apparently loving Britain is sinking it's poorest further into poverty and squeezing the middle class to breaking point.

In some ways I can understand why these people are angry at them now I come to think of it.

Of course the Tory "goons" weren't out in force at the Labour conference. 

They were writing stories in the Mail; Express; Telegraph; Sun; FT; Times etc on behalf of their right-wing, non-UK based, multi-millionaire owners.

[marshy]

Nothing wrong with protest.

Violence, spitting, intimidation and abuse is not acceptable !

Or would you disagree ?

Apparently these idiots spat at journalists attending the conference and also, amazingly, a representative form Shelter who said it was the first time she'd been spat at in her line of work.

What I find even more vomit inducing is those holier-than-thou individuals trying to claim the high moral ground for themselves carrying banners declaring that 'Decent people don't vote Tory'. Basically they are trying to say something about themselves rather than others, something along the lines of 'I am a decent person as I am demonstrating against the Tories'. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned British values of modesty and self-deprecation?

[The Gasbuster]

Of course the Tory "goons" weren't out in force at the Labour conference. 

They were writing stories in the Mail; Express; Telegraph; Sun; FT; Times etc on behalf of their right-wing, non-UK based, multi-millionaire owners.

That's right, committing the heinous crimes of writing stories.

Completely comparable with spitting at women, attacking police and causing damage to property !

[Red-Robbo]

That's right, committing the heinous crimes of writing stories.

Completely comparable with spitting at women, attacking police and causing damage to property !

Not arguing with you GB, just pointing out the different sort of goonery involved. Never any excuse for spitting.

Stories is being a bit kind though IMO. Smears is more accurate.

[The Gasbuster]

Apparently these idiots spat at journalists attending the conference and also, amazingly, a representative form Shelter who said it was the first time she'd been spat at in her line of work.

What I find even more vomit inducing is those holier-than-thou individuals trying to claim the high moral ground for themselves carrying banners declaring that 'Decent people don't vote Tory'. Basically they are trying to say something about themselves rather than others, something along the lines of 'I am a decent person as I am demonstrating against the Tories'. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned British values of modesty and self-deprecation?

What they fail to realise is that such behaviour hardens attitudes towards them, it certainly doesn't aid their cause.

I don't agree with everything this government do, in particular reduction of tax credits.

Some of the protesters are decent people with genuine grievances.

My problem is with the rent a mob militants who always manage to hijack these demonstrations.

Their actions are despicable.

 

[One BCFC]

Oh how I would love to see Jeremy Corbyn and Labour take over in 2020. Cant see it but sure it would wipe the smug looks off all those arrogant Tory scum faces.

[And Its Smith]

I see Cameron let himself down by taking half a quote from Corbyn and going to town with it.  He should be ashamed but I can guarantee he isn't.