New Labour

[madein1978]

Come 2009 or 10 there will be another General Election, Will you be voting for New Labour again, if so why?

[Drisgirl]

When are people going to comprehend that the Scottish Parliament .thje Welsh Assembly and the Assembly of NI is TOTALLY different from the Government.

Please appraise yourselves of the the facts before you answer -i've tried until I am weak!Just shows no-one reads anyone elses post in their haste to post their own opinion.

[noxlumos]

Having been a labour voter because I hated the Tories with a passion I have been increasingly horrified at the demise of the labour party into some kind of Tory Party replica. I won't vote labour but who the credible opposition will be remains to be seen. I'm afraid they may get in again by default.

[stevie_c2it]

Noxlumos, like you I remember the Tories only too well, and believe that Tony Blair pulled off the con of the decade when he re-branded old Conservative policies under a New Labour banner.

There must be times when Margaret Thatcher lies awake at night wishing she could have got away with the kind of right wing agenda that TB manages to push through.

I.D. Cards, Trial by jury, DNA database, etc.

The belief that Thatcher�s Conservative party and Tony�s New Labour are different regimes has been a thinly disguised illusion. If only one of the other parties (or its leaders) would put together credible agenda for change.

[bernardo]

I will probably vote for myself again at the next general election. If I do not stand, then I will probably vote for the UKIP, or possibly the Green Party. It is extremely unlikely that I will vote Labour because I am scared of the authoritarian state which Blair is building up, and of the erosion of civil liberties, freedom of speech, association and assembly, detention without trial, etc. If I were in the unfortunate position of being confined to a choice of only the three main parties, I would vote Conservative - but only because of the better-than-average qualities of my Conservative MP.

[sp1814]

Waldo and Drusilla1S - you hero/heroine.

Good to see people who can bring some reasoned analysis
to a political debate.

Mr.Tamzarian - the BNP is a party supported by those who have failed
in life and are desperately scrabbling around for something or
someone to blame.

For the sake of MY family (immigrants from the West Indies in the
50s), I hope they never become more than a campaign party, supported by the impotent in small numbers.

If the BNP DID become a credible force in British politics, can you IMAGINE what that would do to race relations?

I dunno - seems pretty obvious to me...doesn't it seem obvious to you?

In answer to the original post - I have no idea who I'd vote for. Probably Labour - lesser of three evils.

[sp1814]

Pippa and madein1978 - I want to ask you this because I'm really curious to see what your answer would be.

Who amongst the non-immigrant population of this country is going to do the underpaid jobs that legal immigrants do?

Who will clean the schools, run the transport system and nurse your grandparents in hospital.

Seriously. If it's all got out of control and 4.8% of this country (the immigrant population) left - who would do these jobs?

You?

The reason I get so worked up about this subject is because my mpther came to this country worked hard all her life, brought up three kids who all work hard, pay taxes and contribute as much as anyone else, then I read statements like yours and it just makes me extremely...disappointed.

[madein1978]

Who would do all the underpaid jobs? How about british people like they used to before new labour filled their heads with a load of talk that seemed to build the lower classes up and suddenly jobs like being a cha lady or a toilet attendent were seen as infra dig, it was beneath them. What about the people who are on the dole who will neither work nor want, why can't they be told to take these jobs or forfeit their benefits, just like they used to be? I suppose a lavvy attendant or hospital attendant is too good for the average broo bear (Glasgow term), it would eat into ones drinking time too much!

[madein1978]

By the way SP1814, If you work hard and so does your family then good, its the immigrants that come here and latch onto our benefits and social services like some parasite and get everything thats going without working for it that I'm against. I don't mind if they come here and actually work and are coming here for the reason they say they are, to better themselves, not to come for an easy ride.

[jake-the-peg]

Sadly for many of us it makes absolutlely no difference how we vote.

I live in a very safe seat and I dare say a fair few of you do too

[Trojanfarce]

100% not, mind you not that I ever have. Under Labour, Council Tax has more than doubled, the pensions nightmare is directly attributable to their incompetence, Brown continues to rob us blind, the immigration service is on the point of collapse, and gun crime has rocketed even after their knee jerk reaction to Dunblane.

With the introduction of the Human Rights Act, our police forces have effectively lost their power to act (but it's OK because Cherie Blair - who I think really runs this country -is making plenty from it). Under this government, if you're a victim of crime that's tough, but if you're a criminal, well your rights are paramount.

The problem is, what viable alternatives do we have?

[sp1814]

madein1978 - I hear what you're saying, but I really think you should clarify your remarks before lumping all immigrants together.

The overwhelming majority of immigrants to this country are like my parents, are like me, are like the Pakistani bloke who runs the corner shop across the street who send their kids to school and want the same things as you do - a happy life.

On the one hand you seem to be castigating the leeches (and believe me, you don't have to be an immigrant to be a leech), then on the other you point out that immigrants are filling up all low paid jobs.

It's got to be one or the other, hasn't it?

Sorry for slightly (completely) hijacking this topic. I just can't sit by and read stuff about lazy grasping immigrants without taking it personally.

Now I'm off to the dole office, before kicking back for a day watching telly.

(Kidding...really).

[Pippa68]

As I stated in my post, I am NOT against immigration per se ~ I fully take on board the fact that immigration has been a very long-standing tradition & hard working immigrants get my full support.

The immigrants I speak of are the ones who have been allowed access to life in Britain with no intention of working. They come because they can, & know full well that they will be treated to the comfort of a home & all financial benefits which go with it. My husband builds houses ~ he has to build a certain amount of social housing on estates with private housing. Not many of these go to hard working people (nationals or immigrants) they go to immigrants to have no intention of even trying to pay for their housing OR intergrate into Britain in the proper manner.

A friend of mine recently had to see off her boyfriend on a plane back to Kosovo. He was a hard working taxpayer who has just been deported. This I believe to be wrong & injust.

The immigration problem needs to be addressed. I believe in my heart that when immigration is spoken about, it's these types we pertain to. Hope this clarifies :o)

[madein1978]

Sorry, but I wasn't pointing out that immigrants have taken all the low paid jobs, I was saying the layabouts that soak up the benefits should be on these jobs, immigrant or indigenous. I dont want this to turn into an immigration debate, even although when you mention Labour it is very difficult not to mention immigration! I'm sorry you feel bad SP, but theres no need to, if you work hard you've nothing to feel sensitive about, on the contrary, you can feel superior, because you aren't a freeloader. The freeloaders in this country, whether they be immigrants or are indigenous are the scourge of this country and they seem to thrive in this New Labour environment.

[mike1222]

In all seriousness, I would not vote for any politician - I have said many times that they are ALL liars and are in politics, not for any altruistic reason, but to benefit THEMSELVES!

[sp1814]

Okay madein1978 and Pippa - I hear your points. No problem.

However, there's something (going back to the original post) which really depresses me...I am seriously beginning to think that the quality of MPs we have in all parties...are just a little bit...well, rubbish.

I was really excited when Labour came to power, and for a while, it was all looking good with Cool Britannia and all that.

And then...boom...I suddenly realised one day that life wasn't any better under Labour than it had been under the Conservatives.

I honestly don't think there is a major politican party, or figure behind whom we could all unite to make the country a better place.

...and that's scary.

[Pippa68]

sp1814 I agree with you ~ which is why I doubt I will be voting again. NONE of them seem worthy of my vote.

I know I have had people telling me that if I don't vote it will be a waste & 'people died for my right to vote' but I seriously feel that to vote for anyone right now would be a waste :o(

[sp1814]

Pippa - what you posted is almost word for word what I feel. I'd be gutted not to vote, because as you say, people died for my rights...but right now, it feels like having to choose between eating one of three rotting, maggot-infested carcasses.

Sorry if you're in the middle of lunch.

[flashpig]

I don't like the way that things have gone under New Labour, but I have utter faith in my belief that the Conservatives would have somehow done the same or worse.

I do believe that some things have improved under Labour, and they have done less badly than everyone makes out. But I don't know whether that was because after 18 years of the Conservatives things could only get better. (what a glum slogan that was, but it was true)

So... I don't know how I'll vote but it won't be for either of these two.

[Loosehead]

To all those who complain that Labour became the new Tories, you are resonably correct but why do you think that was.

I'll tell you because Labour realised that their lefty policies made them unelectable. Impersonation is after all the sincerest form of flattery.

Remember people, no country has ever made socialism work, it's a romantic ideal but it relies on changing human nature, QED it can't work.

Impersonation is after all the sincerest form of flattery

[madein1978]

Oh how I so agree with that, socialism doesn't work!