12 years in power

No doubt someone will be along to tell you that they got Brexit done. ?

Grandmabatty

No doubt someone will be along to tell you that they got Brexit done. ?

But is it a benefit??

I’m at a loss to think of anything positive but could list lots of negative.

The Tories have not been entirely in power since 2010.

The Coalition government of 2010-2015 did some good things because of the need to enact good LibDem policies like pupil premium.

Since 2015 we have seen a totalitarian Tory regime (elected by a minority of voters) which has inflicted much damage on this country - and the Russian backed brexit has been responsible for the very worst changes in our country

Pitting one UK citizen against another to blame the EU and immigrants for all the failings of our own government, and alienating our closest allies in Europe . The ludicrous unnecessary bureaucracy adding huge costs to our trade, but worst of all the destruction of belief in all our politicians caused by our lying cheat of a PM.

Ah the pupil premium which this government have cleverly altered so schools lose out again.

An analysis by Schools Week of freedom of information (FOI) requests from 114 councils suggests schools stand to lose £94.3 million. Extrapolated across all councils, this amounts to a cut of £125 million.
England’s largest academy trust – which faces a £775,000 dip – has flagged the issue with Department for Education officials.
Ministers decided to base premium funding on the number of free school meal (FSM) pupils schools had in October, rather than January as previously.
Our figures show an estimated additional 102,000 children became eligible for free school meals between last autumn and January this year.
schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-how-much-your-area-will-lose-from-pupil-premium-funding-change/

They have done things that they think will please their core voters, like reduce the amount that benefit claimants have to live on, but I don't think their core vote appreciates it. People still imagine we have a generous benefits system, so they have reduced people's living standards and damaged the economy for nothing.

Unfortunately the core voters are reading very right wing propaganda in The Express, The Telegraph, The Sun and The Daily Mail.

varian

Unfortunately the core voters are reading very right wing propaganda in The Express, The Telegraph, The Sun and The Daily Mail.

Exactly. Those that believe people can milk the benefits system. Until a GN member comes on (as happened recently) and posts about the stark reality and huge amount of difficulty they were having accessing appointments, never mind actual getting benefits, at which point, the critics make no appearance.

Sadly, I can think of many ways they have made things worse. None that have made things better.

It's so difficult to accept people have voted to do this to our country. I hope one of their supporters can explain why they have voted to let a far-right neoliberal party burst forth from the chest of the original "Broad Church" "One Nation" Conservative Party. Certainly, the views of this predator are alien to most people in this country.

Unless you belong to the small group of extremely wealthy and privileged people (a few tens of thousands) whom the Conservative Party exists to serve, voting for it is an act of self-harm. [Source: George Monbiot, Twitter]

Rory Stewart on his podcast.

Gay marriage

Yes that is definitely a positive.

So that’s 1.

Whitewavemark2, 12 lost years - what a waste, what a drag - and what a complete tragedy - an embarrassment too - just can't wait for a change!

Recently, I started to look very closely at the voting records for certain Tory MPs particularly those who are considered to be very popular in their predominantly working class constituencies.

I suspect that many voteres would be surprised, even shocked, to see how they vote - consistently against anything that would make life better for the majority of people and consistently for anything that protects the wealthy. In other words (or indeed the words of Rousseau) they vote selfishly.

For example, as we currently have a topic about Section 21 evictions - in January 2016, the new housing minister (since Feb 2022) Stuart Andrew was one of 72 MPs who voted down an amendment in Parliament on rental homes being "fit for human habitation" who were themselves landlords who derived an income from a property.

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/12/tories-reject-move-to-ensure-rented-homes-fit-for-human-habitation

Conservative MPs have voted against proposed new rules requiring private sector landlords to ensure their properties are fit for human habitation.

A Labour amendment to the government’s housing and planning bill, designed to ensure that all rented accommodation was safe for people to live in, was defeated by 312 votes to 219 on Tuesday, a majority of 93.

It should be of great concern that Johnson has appointed a housing minister who thinks this way.

Hetty58

Whitewavemark2, 12 lost years - what a waste, what a drag - and what a complete tragedy - an embarrassment too - just can't wait for a change!

One can only hope!