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thetrees

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Everything posted by thetrees

  1. You mean they haven't cured us of George Osborne yet? Wrong disease. That was BSE giddy on the legs I'll get my coat
  2. You really couldn't make it up
  3. And she could have just gone to Baghdad with George, where she would have got much more money. Indefatigable
  4. Before Tonyh and Nigel Farage get their bit in, dodgy French and Romanian people
  5. Unfortunately for you, they haven't. They haven't been great but, given the unprecedented mess that they inherited, they haven't done too bad a job thus far. Until this government I never realised what Liberals were good for, but it turns out it is the tempering of the radical elements of the party that they are in government with. And bear in mind, I am not trying to 'dress up' anything - it is you who continually 'blogs' on this thread with totally one sided views.
  6. Oh, I thought that we were on the 'big party Labour/Tory thing', but it turns out that we are just Tory bashing, which is fine, but it helps if you don't pretend to be doing anything other than that. You quoted 'erosion of workers' rights'. I contest that the minimum wage and compulsory paid holiday are massive steps forward in workers' rights, so it would take a lot more that what you quote to bring a result of net 'erosion'
  7. This is your Labour/Tory thing that you alluded to earlier? I am afraid that your glorious day will never come soon enough, comrade
  8. I only expected you to agree with me on the point where you were wrong. I had no expectations with the rest, I was merely showing you the respect and courtesy of a reply. i shall continue my search for the mythical tax cuts and erosion of worker's rights that you are so hooked on......
  9. You referred to them as a 'lame duck government', which was completely incorrect, as they stand a fair chance of being re-elected. For the rest, you can poke the finger at every government, regardless of colour. Ponzi schemes I'll look up when I have half a day PFI hospital contracts - again, I'll look them up when I have the other half a day. The NHS is a wonderful Labour invention, but it cannot survive under the wasteful management of a Labour government. If Labour are in the term after next, they will have plenty of money to throw at it again. Royal Mail sell off - I completely disagree with the sell off. I guess that pension funds are any given governments' 'mates'. After all Gordon liked them, as he plundered them often enough. Tax cuts? Where? Surely you are not naive enough to think that the Labour raising of the higher rate to 50% at the end of their 13 year term was nothing more than vindictive politicking? Besides which the only people really affected by such rates are those on PAYE, and I believe that it is immoral for any government to take over half of earned income from any citizen. Rich people hire accountants to reduce their liability. The scandalous 'allowance reducer' slipped in by the last Labour government has survived this one, probably because of the Liberal presence, so no tax breaks for higher earners from this government. Benefit cuts and public service cuts - the former should be about making sure that those who need benefits get them and those who are working the system don't. I am sure that there are some stories of unfairness, but all governments miss the target at times, so it is up to them to revise and hone the strategy. Public services - err, there isn't any money. It was pissed away by the last government. You can't buy anything if you don'y have the money to pay for it. Food banks - only just in existence, or been around for a while? Only subscribers who need them, or are they taken advantage of? i doubt whether you know either. Low pay? Please write to the pioneers of the minimum wage and ask them why it was set so low. Zero hours - I don't like them, but then I believe that you need to motivate people, and I think that zero hours contracts are de-motivating. I don't see them as an invention of the present government though, even if they do suit them. Erosion of workers' rights? Done that one, there has been no erosion, only progression in the past 20 years.
  10. Back to the old UKIP thingy for a moment. At home we are presently trying to do something about our garden, and are receiving some eye-watering quotes, at least some of which appears to be postcode attributable. I am presently visiting some of the components of the Spanish immigration 'problem', who are all having work done on their properties, to an extremely high standard, and at reasonable (fair, not ridiculous) cost, by Romanian tradesmen. My conclusion is that if a bunch of Romanian males moved into the house next door to me I would be round there like a shot to invite them to some of my wife's excellent home cooking, and get them all booked up to take care of the garden and any other home improvement jobs that are required.
  11. Of course, because I disagree with you, and point out another of your simple errors in what you typed, I am wrong. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
  12. I know a muslim guy who is a massive dick, largely because of his faith and his view of the world outside of his faith, and I doubt whether he has seen an AK47 in his life. But then I know another muslim guy who is a lovely man, undoubtedly one of the nicest human beings that I have ever met, with a tremendous sense of humour and kindness, largely because of his faith and his view of the world outside of his faith. Interpretation appears to be the key with Islam, which is pretty much the same for those outside of Islam. We are all capable of choosing the type of person that we would like to be, how we wish to live life, and how we wish to treat others.
  13. Of course, you could have written the same just over four years ago - and they really were collecting their wages, as they had no hope of remaining in office. At least this lot need to be careful as they stand a chance of getting in again. So none of the Gordon Brown Labour end of the line type vindictiveness to come. Another term of watered down Tory government after this one, and then the economy should be back in decent enough shape for a Labour government again. And the cycle will keep repeating, ad infinitum. Of course, if Labour are returned after only 5 years of the repair process, that would be interesting, as we could be really in the shit. Then the exodus might make the immigration figures appear better though
  14. I ambled along to watch Detroit host Texas Rangers last weekend. The Tigers got trounced. It was just like watching the Villa!
  15. The situation that you describe is not one that has come about recently, it has been pretty much the norm for decades, unless the 'pro-business bias' description applies to every government since 1945? I also don't see an erosion of worker's rights. Compulsory paid holidays, minimum wage and the (IMO) ridiculous paternity leave are examples of an improvement of worker's rights (i know, all Labour led improvements). There can always be an argument for further improvements, but I cannot see erosion there. As far as I see it, life is about choices. I, like many others, choose to work hard, and many unpaid hours, in order to make a decent living to take care of my family. On two occasions during our married life, my wife and I have chosen to compromise our income and lifestyle for things that are more important. We made that choice, and had no expectation of others at both times. I also choose to work in the private sector, which can be argued has potentially greater risks and greater rewards. A job in the public sector, with the promise of a pension, and conditions that are probably nearer to your desired working situation, would maybe more suitable for some.
  16. Hallelujah to that. I am sure that is something that we would all like to do. And we can all work less hard and less hours, if we are prepared to sacrifice a portion of our income. Or is the expectation that someone else should pay for it?
  17. Of course, government is 'business', so it does help if there is some business experience in the cabinet, particularly in terms of the economy. Should I assume that, in your judgement, people in business cannot be 'for the people'?
  18. I agree with you, except the 99% bit, and your notion, whether intended or not, that you need to come from an 'activist background' to 'care'. I would contest that there are more than 7 MPs who are there for the right reasons, and that there are good, bad and indifferent MPs from all political parties.
  19. As I have often alluded to on here, we need to find a way of engaging with people from all walks of life, rather than shout them down or call them names because of their misguided views. Unfortunately, if VT is anything to go by, those who are completely partisan are not interested in engaging in debate, nor even trying to see the other person's point of view, so there isn't much chance really.
  20. My point was that if they are good enough, I don't care what sex, race or colour that they are. The reality is that a cabinet will have a mixture of people, because there are always capable people from all walks of life. I certainly don't subscribe to the misrepresentation as chrisp spun it. The only thing that I find objectionable is unelected people assuming huge power, something that Mandelsson and Campbell did in the last Labour government. (And I am sure that there may be similar in the coalition, but certainly not so prominent)
  21. All white middle aged (pushing old age)men. That's the vibrant new alternative to Westminster's mostly white male, middle aged (pushing old age) male demographic. Racism, ageism and sexism, all in one take. How right wing of you I'd like a good mix of genders, ages and backgrounds. How right wing am I? Not very, if Cameron's cabinet is the benchmark. So you want to dictate the makeup of parties that you are not interested in? I really couldn't care what the make up of the cabinet is, so long as only elected MPs were in key positions, and that ministers are capable of doing their job. Whether they were all male, all female, all black, all white, I really don't care. Lesser people shouldn't be given a position over a more able candidate just because there is a perceived need to have 'balance'.
  22. All white middle aged (pushing old age)men. That's the vibrant new alternative to Westminster's mostly white male, middle aged (pushing old age) male demographic. Racism, ageism and sexism, all in one take. How right wing of you
  23. one of those excellent scientifically accurate BBC vox pops just interviewed a few people BBC: 'how do you intend to vote?'Bloke with bad teeth: 'yeah, I'll be voting UKIP'BBC: 'why?'Bloke with bad teeth: 'don't know really' Further evidence that UKIP are stealing votes from Labour?Labour voters have bad teeth? Nope, according to our American cousins, everyone in the UK has bad teeth My father-in-law, rest his soul, was a Labour voter all of his life, but had no idea why. The only politician that ever did anything for him was Thatcher, who allowed him to buy his council house and to do what he wanted, which was go to work without fear of bullying and intimidation. But the Tories were "for the rich" I loved the man to bits, bless him. So you think that without unions, people at work don't get bullied and intimidated? Quite the reverse, I'd say. On the contrary, I believe in the principle of unions, if the practise can, in some cases, be a little undesirable. But I firmly believe in the rights of the individual to cast their vote without intimidation.
  24. one of those excellent scientifically accurate BBC vox pops just interviewed a few people BBC: 'how do you intend to vote?'Bloke with bad teeth: 'yeah, I'll be voting UKIP'BBC: 'why?'Bloke with bad teeth: 'don't know really' Further evidence that UKIP are stealing votes from Labour?Labour voters have bad teeth? Nope, according to our American cousins, everyone in the UK has bad teeth My father-in-law, rest his soul, was a Labour voter all of his life, but had no idea why. The only politician that ever did anything for him was Thatcher, who allowed him to buy his council house and to do what he wanted, which was go to work without fear of bullying and intimidation. But the Tories were "for the rich" I loved the man to bits, bless him.
  25. one of those excellent scientifically accurate BBC vox pops just interviewed a few people BBC: 'how do you intend to vote?' Bloke with bad teeth: 'yeah, I'll be voting UKIP' BBC: 'why?' Bloke with bad teeth: 'don't know really' Further evidence that UKIP are stealing votes from Labour?
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