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Something positive about this government

(382 Posts)
whitewave Fri 18-Mar-16 09:15:54

I thought it might be a good exercise to list the successful and positive things this government has achieved, as I am struggling at the moment to feel anything but utterly gloomy.

I will get back with a contribution to the list once I can think of something.

obieone Sun 20-Mar-16 14:06:06

daphnedill, the end of your first paragraph is what I meant by saying "they dont thrive outside their social circle well".
It would make an interesting tv programme though. To see the practicalities of how well they do and cope.

obieone Sun 20-Mar-16 14:06:58

14.01 paragraph

obieone Sun 20-Mar-16 14:10:32

dd, I sent you a pm to explain. So as you will see I do have personal experience. Lots of it.

Which bits of my posts do you think is judgemental?

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 14:14:10

Jane10, I said nothing nasty, it was rarely that unskilled workers moved from country to country looking for work. Men who chose this life joined the army, in fact in the 19th and 20th centuries people can here to the coal mines and iron works from other countries . I assumed you were a grandmother, sorry if I placed you in the wrong generation

daphnedill Sun 20-Mar-16 14:17:43

Galen, I'm sorry to hear that and apologise if I've upset you. However, I stand by the point I made. You are an educated, skilled professional. Your dh presumably had a good job. There ARE jobs around for the more highly educated and skilled.

I worked with children who had hardly ever been outside their villages. Their parents hadn't either. I had never come across people like this and it seemed to me that they had hardly moved on in terms of mobility from the nineteenth century. Some of the children were physically sick at the thought of doing work experience in a neighbouring town.

Coming from a mobile, educated family, I couldn't understand it at first, but then I started looking at life from their point of view. They hadn't a clue what university was; they knew few people who had moved out of the area never mind emigrated; some of them (in the early 1980s) didn't even have inside toilets or electricity throughout the house. It was quite common for the older children to take time off school to help with sick relatives or younger siblings. This was an area less than 50 miles from London. They weren't unhappy. Now the area has become gentrified. Their landlords have sold their houses and the work they did doesn't exist, but they don't have the skills to move on.

daphnedill Sun 20-Mar-16 14:19:37

obieone, I really don't understand. I know people don't thrive well outside their social circles - please see my previous post. I'm not disputing that.

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 14:25:28

I belong to a large extended family, my siblings and I stayed in this town as did our husbands. Our grandchildren ,most went to or hopefully will go to university, have moved away and have very good occupations , one nephew didn't do well in school has no qualifications , he is too fearful to leave this town . He does work , unfortunately on a zero contract , he wouldn't and couldn't cope with a new town, Unknown streets, strangers .

We are talking about people, some seem to forget this , what is right for some is not for others. Can all people be second hand car dealers, soldiers, politician, nurses etc? No.

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 14:28:30

Great post Daphnehill, good for you recognising the fact that we are not all the same

Jane10 Sun 20-Mar-16 14:42:49

Good for you Ab to recognise that there are all sorts of people in this world not just evil Tories and perfect Labour supporters. You assumed wrong again in my case. I am a grandmother. Neither my GF or uncles joined armies. That was not the only option available. They went abroad to find work and got it in agriculture. DS has found work in hospitality. There always options.

daphnedill Sun 20-Mar-16 14:44:19

Thank you, ab. The point I'm trying to make is that my own upbringing has encouraged me to be mobile. In the last hundred or so years my ancestors have moved from London to the North East, back to London and the Home Counties to the Northwest, back to London and the South East. My eldest child is settled in Manchester and all but one of my cousins have emigrated.

I'm not afraid of 'getting on my bike' BUT I would never just send somebody out Dick Whittington-style to make his/her own way in the world. The people who survive are resourceful and resilient. Unfortunately, there are many who fall by the wayside - try finding out the backgrounds of some of the homeless in London.

I don't want to live in a society where tinkers, beggars and the homeless are a common sight on our streets, as they were in the nineteenth century. That's what happens when society forgets them.

whitewave Sun 20-Mar-16 14:49:49

See Government suffered quite a lot of defeats in the House of Lords. Theyhad hoped to lob an Exocet into Labours finances by changes to union fees, but even Tory Lords felt they couldn't stomach such unfairness. It was therefore voted down.

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 14:53:38

Jane10, I have never said all Tory voters are evil or all labour supporters perfect, your mistake

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 15:00:10

Daphne, the very point I have bern trying - but failing - to make . I admit because I work for a county archives social history has become of such interest to me. I see the many Irish who came to Wales for the pits and ironworks, they lived in the same rows of houses . I brought up the workhouses but it is fact that this is where many ended up, now they sleep on the streets . This is because society didn't care .

Jane10 Sun 20-Mar-16 15:11:11

Ab your opinions are crystal clear. Explicit stating of them is not actually required. Paying any attention to them is similarly unnecessary so I will discount them henceforth.

rosesarered Sun 20-Mar-16 15:19:13

Jane I have been discounting them for a long time.

rosesarered Sun 20-Mar-16 15:21:35

On any political thread I wait with interest for the first mention of Nazis / workhouses.

whitewave Sun 20-Mar-16 15:24:09

confused

daphnedill Sun 20-Mar-16 15:38:13

ab, That must be fascinating! I'm a volunteer with my local archives and I've been interested in local and family history for about 15 years. I even did some modules with the OU (when it was affordable) and a Cambridge Extramural course on local history. I've traced the lives of certain families from a small town in the North East and wrote my dissertation about them, so I know a little about social mobility. My own work/experience was another eye-opener to me.

PS. I believe Cornish tin miners also migrated to South Wales. One of my ex-husband's ancestors was one of them.

Nonnie Sun 20-Mar-16 16:19:50

daphne you obviously haven't read everything or you would see that one was abusive and it was deleted.

It is not my opinions I am ignoring it is a statement about my parents which has nothing to do with anything I said and it a complete fabrication. In the face of such infantile behaviour I have decided to not play that person's silly games.

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 16:28:47

Rosesarered, you take more interest in my posts than any other poster , so saying you discount them is rather odd .

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 16:34:21

Daphne, I love the work, I am so lucky to be taught much by the head archivist , she shares so much . Work I would recommend to anyone and the poor law is incredibly interesting, what happened after it was brought in, I suggest anyone that visits archives to read of this period take a box of tissues.

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 16:37:47

Have I had a post deleted ?

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 16:39:49

Jane10, just a few poster like yourself assume what a person is thinking , not good for discussions is it?

Jane10 Sun 20-Mar-16 16:41:57

Pot . Kettle. Black. Make the connection Ab

Anniebach Sun 20-Mar-16 16:44:51

Jane10, with respect - you are discounting my posts .

Nonnie, I have not had a post deleted , apology would be appreciated, thank you