UK Coalition - one year on

I just can't believe it's been a whole year. I think someone hit the fast forward button on time around 2000.
Although it does seem like a long time since I've used a fast forward button.

What? Oh, yeah, politics. Sorry. Ahem. I think...well, I think I've made my feelings on politics quite clear before - Meet the new boss, same as the old.
Well, maybe not the same, but no better or worse on a big picture scale.

The Tories have done what the Tories wanted.
The Liberals have done what the Tories wanted.
They've both done what I expected, with the exception of the NHS where they've both lost their minds.

With this bunch of tossers in charge, the rich are getting even richer, no surprise there then, whilst they're pushing the rest of us back into Dickensian times. I hope that bastards that voted them in are being as hard pushed as the rest of us.

Still too depressed after the locals to think about this stuff right now. I'm just sick of rying to lurch in three directions at once trying to protect everything they're crapping on. And what is worse is I know most of the stuff they're claiming to piss on is just intended to distract us from the stuff they really want to piss on, but I don't know which is which until they uturn on it.

They have done exactly what I expected them to do. Introduce a bunch of policies to help out their rich mates, cut benefits and services to the poor and needy, and stuck two fingers up at the concept of social mobility. Hurrah.

crunchyblanket said:

They have done exactly what I expected them to do. Introduce a bunch of policies to help out their rich mates, cut benefits and services to the poor and needy, and stuck two fingers up at the concept of social mobility. Hurrah.

Click to expand...

Wait, I'm confused. Are we talking about the UK, or the US?

We're talking about the Tories in the UK.

They've done what they always do. But some people seemed to forget what the Tories do and voted for them.

Now we're all suffering for that stupid decision. Except their mates.

When a new Prime Minister comes in, I like to work out what personality attributes they'll eventually be hated for. So we had Gordon Brown (mumbling, bullying, indecisive) and Tony Blair (glib, insincere, messianic), John Major (petulant, incompetent) and Thatcher (batshit crazy). I thought Cameron was a cheap Blair clone but his treatment of Clegg makes me think he's a backstabber. And he has the air of a Flashman, obviously.

mirandashell said:

We're talking about the Tories in the UK.

They've done what they always do. But some people seemed to forget what the Tories do and voted for them.

Now we're all suffering for that stupid decision. Except their mates.

Click to expand...

Oh, I get that. I was being facetious. We're suffering the same things on this side of the Big Pond under the oppressive reign of the Republicans and their Tea Party running dogs.

BTW, not really apropos of anything, I will be in London for three days next week, and then on to the Continent for a couple of weeks. Not that anyone there is apt to notice. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and I are taking a little vacation for our thirtieth anniversary.

Priene said:

When a new Prime Minister comes in, I like to work out what personality attributes they'll eventually be hated for. So we had Gordon Brown (mumbling, bullying, indecisive) and Tony Blair (glib, insincere, messianic), John Major (petulant, incompetent) and Thatcher (batshit crazy). I thought Cameron was a cheap Blair clone but his treatment of Clegg makes me think he's a backstabber. And he has the air of a Flashman, obviously.

Click to expand...

And this is exactly my point. Has there been a single Prime Minister since Churchill that anyone's actually liked? Even Churchill we only like because he led us to victory in the war.
I can only think of three politicians I've ever been able to hear or watch without wanting to stab them in the face, and two of those are dead, and the third is more comedian than politician.

JimmyB27 said:

And this is exactly my point. Has there been a single Prime Minister since Churchill that anyone's actually liked?

Click to expand...

Clem Attlee. Was ace.

I thought I'd stumbled onto a football forum for a minute. It seems to be a case of we hate ManU/Tories because...

As for the rich getting richer under the Tories. Didn't one P Mandelson, Labour, state something about "we are entirely comfortable with people getting filthy rich." In saying that, I don't know if he was referring to the general public or MPs.

Anyway, I still maintain that Cameron isn't a Tory.

Regards

Whacko

whacko said:

Anyway, I still maintain that Cameron isn't a Tory.

Click to expand...

Well, he's head of the Conservative Party, which is prima facie evidence for the man being a Tory in the sense that everyone else in the country understands.

Priene said:

Well, he's head of the Conservative Party, which is prima facie evidence for the man being a Tory in the sense that everyone else in the country understands.

Click to expand...

That's like calling Tony Blair a socialist.

whacko said:

That's like calling Tony Blair a socialist.

Click to expand...

Which he was, though only by Herbert Morrison's definition of socialism as being what the Labour Party does.

Morrison's grandson is of course your favourite retired Labour politician, Peter Mandelson. Plus ça change (plus c'est la même chose), as they say in Islington.

whacko said:

I thought I'd stumbled onto a football forum for a minute.

Click to expand...

Isn't othering fun! What a way to run a society. Maybe we should all just line up on opposite sides of a stream and throw spears at each other.

No answer for that Priene.

Don said:

Maybe we should all just line up on opposite sides of a stream and throw spears at each other.

Click to expand...

A big enough collection of spears could be defined as WMD.

And cheaper than the weapons we have now.

SirOtter said:

Oh, I get that. I was being facetious. We're suffering the same things on this side of the Big Pond under the oppressive reign of the Republicans and their Tea Party running dogs.

Click to expand...

Ah sorry, of course you get it. I was still in a 'I hate the Tories' grump.