What has this government achieved?

Elotoethan, I feel we're back in Narnia, like during the 1980's when it was always winter, but never Christmas.

I wonder what is at the root of the complacency that so many of us seem to demonstrate where politics is concerned.

I take your point Eloethan but what's the viable alternative? More financial fiasco with Labour, the idiot policies of UKIP, the Monster Raving Loonies, ???

Reform, darlings, reform!
oh don't forget the Green Deal which is failing to make an impact into home energy efficiency.
Actually a bit less reform would save a bob or two.

Aka puts it as it is. I can't imagine not voting, and I know who I will vote for at the next election, but too many of us feel disenfranchised and disillusioned with our politicians. I sometimes wonder if voting should be made compulsory

I'm disillusioned with all the parties too but, in my opinion, this lot have demonstrated that they are completely on the side of big business and not of the general population. - as well as being totally incompetent.

Iam64, I'm not sure that there's an atmosphere of complacency as much as just plain despair. I thought I belonged to a reformist party, indeed a party that was highly successful at local level. But then it got into bed with its erstwhile enemy.

Plain Despair sounds more active than complacency, so I'll go with it. Eleothan, I share your distaste for the current government.

I often wonder why more people aren't furious about what is happening here, but I guess a lot of them feel invisible and powerless. Given the coverage of the NHS march in Manchester a couple of Sundays ago (which we went on), it seems even 50,000 people merit next to no mention in the media.

Something else this government will do if we let it is sell off the East Coast mainline again.
Sign this petition by Friday if you would like to try to stop them.
weownit.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ef1f3f5b8067610251b19fb6c&id=02c99d0f78&e=e86ba43eff

As the owner if a small engineering business, I honestly do not think any of he parties will do anything to help me and don't know how I will begin to decide where to cast my vote at the next election. For me (and many of us in the small business community) the Labour Party only looks after the public sector and the unions and it is worrying to imagine how many new public sector jobs will be created when they return to power. The current government, despite its promises, are as usual looking after the wealthy, the bankers and big business. We are constantly being told that as a small employer we are "the backbone of Britain" I wonder when one of the political parties will actually put their money where their mouth is and do something to help us.

Absolutely gillybob - career politicians seem to have little appreciation that SMEs employ more people than big corporates and are potentially wealth generators for the country. Clueless, total blind spot, all of them.

And now for education. The academic world doesn't approve of Gove's 'reforms' to the exam system. But what does he care?
www.independent.co.uk/student/news/government-plans-to-overhaul-gcses-and-alevels-at-the-same-time-will-wreck-education-says-oxford-universitys-head-of-admissions-8881992.html

State provision of health and education was firstly introduced with the support of business owners who needed a basically educated and reasonably healthy workforce. In addition, the state, either by means of central or local government, is responsible for things like roads, policing, the justice system, etc. etc.

It is not unions and their members that are bleeding this country dry, but large national and multi national corporations and, and very wealthy individuals who benefit from the infrastructure of the country but don't want to pay any taxes towards it.

In Germany small and medium sized businesses are the mainstay of the economy and I agree that in the UK such businesses have been fighting an unequal battle against these huge corporations.

Main problem we have is that the banks created lots of illusory money that ended up being real debts on their balance sheets. This has given the coalition the excuse to cut public services in the interests of clearing this debt. The other consequence of the banking implosion is that the pound is still worth little if you exchange it for euros, Australian dollars or New Zealand dollars which makes our exports cheap but our imports expensive.

You write that, Gillybob, on the day that Gateshead Council says it may have to lay off over 400 staff. That's 400 fewer families to spend money in the local economy. That will not do any good for your business, will it?
The government is now saying that the local CCGs are to get less money to spend on our health, as we're obviously not worth it. Last week we had the Lib Dems trying to do a charm offensive in the North East, going round engineering firms and getting their soundbite policies on the local news. Don't you believe them?
JessM, if they only paid their taxes it might not be a problem. HMRC admits to there being a £35 bn. shortfall in taxes paid this year, and that's an understatement. That'll fill a hole. Have you read Tax, Lies and Videotape in Private Eye?

Yes Jendurham I do. My question to you is this; why does it matter more that public sector workers may or may not lose their jobs? The private sector loses people constantly. Companies close, move abroad and no-one bats an eyelid. When the public sector is "cutback" there is uproar. Now I hate to see anyone lose their job whether they be public or private sector but I can see the need for cutbacks. If this can be carried out through retirement etc. then all the better but we must get rid of a lot of the non jobs within the public sector and in particular the civil service. All we small busiiness want to acheive is some degree of fairness.

The 400 staff who may or may not lose their job in Gateshead will have no impact whatsoever on my business.

In an ideal world there would be an endless stream of money available to prop up the health service, the civil service etc. but there isn't.

I would love the Lib Dems to have a walk around our Industrial Estate, they would certainly be met with some "interesting" comments.

"Despair", "impotence" etc. yes all of that, but not apathy. I am angry at the state of British politics along with many others, but value our democracy, however flawed.

Who to vote for? Does anyone have a coherent policy? Do any politicians really care?

This terrible sense of impotence is so damaging to our democracy and it does make me angry.

This government's policies have been characterized by lack of forethought, intelligence and planning and seem to be made on the back of envelopes. But their representative in our area is easily the best local MP we have ever had - he fights for local causes, involves himself in the community and votes with his conscience even if it is to his personal detriment. I did not vote for him and probably won't in the future. Bit of a conundrum.

Our current politicians from all parties are weak or laughable individuals. We need some real statespersons to appear out of the murk or this mess will cintinue.

Do you not find it obscene, Gillybob, that there are foodbanks in towns like Alnwick, Morpeth and Hexham? The towns where many council workers live? The richest towns in the North East?
What would probably help any manufacturing business in the North East is the dualling of the A1 and the road linking Hull and York, to improve transport links. But this government will not do that because we do not vote for them.
You are right, Mishap, it's the impotence that's the problem, feeling that they cannot see the harm they are doing to huge areas outside the South East. Or if they can see, they do not care.
It's quite laughable going over to China and relaxing the rules for visas for the Chinese to come here while at the same time railing against Eastern Europeans. But I suppose the Chinese are going to bankroll the nuclear power station at Hinckley, so that's okay then.

Jendurham I don't expect the Chinese who will come over here will be claiming benefits!

Yes I do Jendurham Is there perhaps a connection that they are the richest towns in the North East and that many council workers live there? Not trying to pick an argument just wondering. There is very little actual industry around these areas although I have noticed a lot of immigrants in Alnwick now and wonder what kind of work is there available for them in these areas? I find it obscene that foodbanks exist (or rather need to exist) in this country at all. It is 2013 and we have the biggest divide between the have and the havenots. Likewise the North/South. I believe the amount of people relying on them is somewhere in the region of 20,000 per week in the North east alone.

I agree with you about the dualling of the A1 which would have happened years ago had the same stretch been in the South. I travel the A1 regularly and the single lane stretches are death traps as well as snail lanes.

Gillybob, I only listed the foodbanks in the rich towns on purpose. There are foodbanks in Ashington, Amble, Bedlington and Blyth as well. There are, as you say, too many fooodbanks. It's an obscenity in one of the richest countries in the world.
Morpeth has the headquarters of the council, so that's what getting rid of 1500 council workers over three years in Northumberland does.

An interesting thing about the nuclear power station in Hinckley which is to be owned by the Chinese and the French is that EDF say they are not going to use engineers from Britain because we no longer have the skills.
So what sort of engineering does your company do, Gillybob?
My son got a degree in electro mechanical engineering, then couldn't get a job as an engineer.

Over the years we have found it extremely difficult to recruit Jenduram . Firstly we find that young graduates are leaving university with very little or no experience with this illusion that they should have a starting pay of £30k plus .
Secondly working for an SME is a very different thing to working in a big company and many people in Engineering simply cannot work in a small business. They have either come from bigger industry and are used to being propped up by labourers, tea ladies, cleaners etc. or they have a need to be a boss of something and in a small business you dont really have many places for bosses.We have a stict rule that in our small company everyone cleanes up after themselves, everyone washes their own cup, empties their own bin (you know wat I mean). We do not emply labourers only Engineers.
Thirdly we cannot (and no longer even try to) match the salaries of the likes of Nissan who swallow up everyone who's any good.

I meet regularly with the universities who all tell me that it is not fashionable to be "in Engineering". It does not command the salaries that being an accountant, lawyer etc. does and does not hold the same status. Many people view Engineering as a dirty job and persuading young people otherwise is difficult. Apparently bragging to your relatives that Tristran is to become an Accountant is much preferable to saying he is going to work in Engineering.

We are Control System Engineers, Jen.

My son does his own washing up etc. He works for the council and does it in his own office.
He got his degree as a mature student, and the interviews he went for he was told they wanted youngsters that they could pay less to. This was when he was 30, and had no family, so after a year of trying he went back to the job he had before he got his degree.
Is it your day off today?

No Jen I have had my office and desk taken over today and I am sitting in the workshop (being deafened by the noise) and playing on a computer! I am away (with work) tomorrow so will no doubt have to come back here tonight (to do what I should have been doing) after I have been and seen to Grandma.