I might vote Tory but that doesn't make me a bad person

Rosequartz, I agree with you entirely, the [groan] that is

I think the last march that I took interest was the CND Aldermaston march.

I've just read this thread right through - some good arguments.
Being a socialist, my views coincide with those brought up by Pogs and Trisher in the last few pages - all that postwar idealist planning and legislation gradually being eroded and sold off.
But as the saying goes, some of my best friends vote Conservative.
What hasn't been explained fully yet though is why the final result was so different from the predictions. There must have been many who changed their mind at the last minute.

Freudian slip there - thinking of the pomp and circumstance march

[groan]

sorry pompa

pomp
But some of them do wear trainers with suits because they walk to work and then change footwear at work.
So I wouldn't look too out of place would I?
Oh I forgot, I sent my suits to the charity shop when I retired.

Farnorth, if marchers dressed as you suggest, in London, it would just seem like rush hour.

FarNorth you are hilarious!

balaclavers! I can't believe I spelled that wrong...

I have hiccups now!

just heard that there is a very tall SNP MP who promises he will wear only tweed from now on.Probably a tongue in cheek remark I know, but would like to think he was serious, good stuff tweed, lasts forever according to my very old next door neighbour!Besides, there isn't enough eccentricity around these days.

Yes, balaclavers and combat jackets don't really cut it, do they FarNorth?

On reflection, my last post might be a bit silly! Time for bed.

I haven't worn a suit since I retired!

If I was marching I might wear trainers. Does that mark me out as a trouble-maker?

Well actually it would. And I am not kidding. But some people are not going to get that.

I think people who go on marches should dress 'respectably' if possible, e.g. in suits / smart coats etc.
Obviously, not everyone can do that but if those who can, were to do it, the march would give a whole different impression.

trisher - true, those peaceful marches were ignored.

Are you of an opinion that a bit of disruption helps a cause? I dont know, I am just asking.

I suppose I always have in my mind the largely peaceful marches of Ghandi. Which did work eventually.

The average owed now is £35-£40k. But I would imagine that those saving for a house would owe the average of £20k or whatever it is[when the fees were £3k and not £9k.

And either they are earning enough to pay begin to pay it back a little at a time, or not earning enough, and indeed as you say, may never pay it back.

But either way, and without meaning to sound harsh, they did have a choice. It was not forced upon them. They knew what the deal was.

And the £3k fees per year were under a Labour government as well as Tory.

I may have got some of my figures a bit out there, but you get my drift.
A government does not parent young people. They themselves and guardians make the choices.

I didn't march, trisher but I was with you in spirit.
It made no difference though.

There are always some who will bring disrepute on others. They are the unthinking, brainwashed, useless idiots who do nothing to further a cause.

I meant the huge amount owed in student loans, The average owed after a 3 year course is £35-£40 thousand. Many of them will never earn enough to pay off this.
I wish that peaceful marches could work, but as I said the biggest number of people ever seen marched against the Iraq war. There were hundreds along the route shouting support from office windows and shops and we were completely ignored.

And he is not hard-hearted, he has a disabled cousin who is fine now, happier then she was 8 or so years ago.

But some young people have a job now due to the Conservative government and the expansion of small businesses!

DH went very carefully through the manifestos (yes, I know, I was impressed too!) before he voted.

Well Pogs it is quite simple if you have a generation of young people who have seen their hopes and dreams squashed, who are heavily in debt (thanks to the government) who are working zero hours contracts for a wage they can't live on (thanks to the government) who have little or no hope of ever owning property or getting housing at a reasonable rent (thanks to the government) and who have little to lose. You really can't blame them if they demonstrate to express their dissatisfaction. I am appalled that they are dismissed as 'rent-a-mob'. There may be some activists amongst them but I think for the most part they are young people who can't take any more

Can I ask a question about this please. And suggest something.
Why are they heavily in debt due to the government?

The suggestion is this. Though I am not sure you can do a thing about it.
I am thinking that the general public sit up and take notice if a demonstration is peaceful.
But if it turns violent, much if not all of the point is completely lost.
So, if you others you know want to march, I would suggest that the march is kept peaceful. Then I think that they work.

Actually many of those who survived the conflict became strong socialists. They were the generation that established the NHS, the welfare state (from the cradle to the grave), nationalised the coal industry and the railways. If they are wondering anything it is probably what happened to the society we built with care for all and why the hell is it being sold off.

Actually, my DF was one of these. Dyed-in-the-wool socialist.

But after the disastrous days of Callaghan he voted for Maggie! And did not waver in his view.
I don't think he would have changed his mind now, either, if he had lived through the Blair/Brown years, although obviously I cannot speak for him.

Just heard a Labour politician sounding like he belongs to this century. Peter Mandelson has come out(sic) to get them back on course.

Could well be but I don't think they would appreciate it.

You agree with them I don't, simple as.