Jeremy Corbyn

[Tredman]

But they don't.

You sure?

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...s-to-downing-street-theresa-may-david-cameron

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Sure is a massive coincidence that the current Government's agenda exactly matches what the Daily Mail ask for.

I mean some people might like this, they get millions of votes and May's current personal approval ratings are bizarrely high, the Mail is the biggest selling paper in the country and has one of the most read websites in the world (!) so there is a residual appeal somewhere. Buggered if I can find it though. No-one who does like it ever explains it to me either.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

A government spokesperson said: “Ministers meet with a range of stakeholders. We publish the details of these meetings in our transparency returns.”

Not quite the same as Scargill and Red Robbo trying to run the country.

 

[Lord Knows]

The media greatly exaggerated the size and impact of the strikes to discredit Labour and assist Thatcher. In reality the strikes inconvenienced relatively few and, compared to genuine catastrophes like the collapse of UK manufacturing in the 1980s or the banking crisis of 2008, had no permanent economic impact. Despite this the legend of the winter of discontent is now set in stone, impervious even to the admission of Derek Jameson, editor of the Daily Express in 1979, that: ‘We pulled every dirty trick in the book. We made it look like it was general, universal and eternal, whereas it was in reality scattered, here and there, and no great problem.’

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/the-myth-of-the-1970s/

 

[Penk Wolf]

Aye, now we have Murdoch & Dacre having Caviar and Champagne at no 10 running the country. Infinitely better.

And that is why I'm pretty sure that EU nationals will find it pretty easy to get jobs in the UK as big business our the ones that really run the Country.

 

[Tony Towner]

The Sun have supported every election winner since 1979. Now there is more than element of backing a winner in that, but in others 1992, 2015 for example they have had a prominent say in who gets elected.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Whatever faults people have with the current government, it is a vast improvement on the unions trying to run the country.

As a vocal critic of both May and Cameron, I cannot compare them to anything that happened during the 70's as I wasn't born. Neither can I really make any comparison to the Thatcher years as I was only born in 1980. However, what I can compare the last 6 years or so of Conservative rule to is the prior 13 years of Labour government and I'd love a Conservative voter to enlighten me to what they have done that is a) an improvement on the previous Labour government and b) anything that is to applauded at all (the only positive thing I can think of in the last 6 years is Gay marriage).

As has been pointed out before, the argument for Conservative voters in favour of the government seems to be that the current opposition is in a shambolic mess (hard to disagree with that) but they never actually seem to highlight any government policies they are proud of. In fact, I get the impression that one of the forum's resident Tory voters is so appalled by the state of the Cameron/May government's that he no longer sees himself as a Conservative voter.

 

[The Saturday Boy]

They won't because they can't. Every now and then the number of people in work is brought up, but not often and not with any conviction because the high number of people in work can be put down to the number of part time and temporary jobs and the fact that the number in work is inflated by immigration which they want to reduce.

Occasionally we will be hit by the fact that there is more money going into the NHS, but this isn't a conversation they want to have either given that their own Health Secretary admits it is unacceptable at the moment.

Talk about building more homes is a challenge too, nobody really believes it will happen and only highlights the fact that it is a real problem.

Overhauling the benefits system - no thanks, that means also talking about the fact that disabled people have been significantly more effected than most and the sanctions being applied are hurting the most genuine of cases. Best not to discuss benefits too much either.

Education, hurrah, grammar schools surely something that they can find some support for...except from school leaders, school teachers, parents...seemingly there isn't all that much support for that either and the mosey set aside for that (and forced academisation before they withdrew that idea) is just a bad news story.

Paying down the debt. Errrr. Keep quiet about that.

So it's Brexit - the only thing this government is currently doing that has any semblance of public support. It's no wonder nobody is willing to defend this government and why they attack the opposition instead. They have nothing to say.

 

[Johnny75]

I'd agree with that TSB, this government is very bad.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

But Labour.

 

[So Long Architect]

But it would appear that enough people approve of what they're doing (or don't give a toss) to keep them in power for the forseeable. Obviously the lack of a credible alternative isn't helping in that regard.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

May's personal approval ratings baffle me. No achievements, appalling Cabinet appointments, trying to override Parliament, hiding a failed nuclear test from both the public and Parliament (right before a vote on Trident), cosying up to Trump, horrible record in the Home Office, didn't get voted in by anyone at all and she's neither charismatic nor a good speaker, doesn't even have the D-Cam gift of sort of sounding compassionate while he buries people.

 

[So Long Architect]

May's personal approval ratings baffle me. No achievements, appalling Cabinet appointments, trying to override Parliament, hiding a failed nuclear test from both the public and Parliament (right before a vote on Trident), cosying up to Trump, horrible record in the Home Office, didn't get voted in by anyone at all and she's neither charismatic nor a good speaker, doesn't even have the D-Cam gift of sort of sounding compassionate while he buries people.

My mum, who's anything but a Tory (and voted to Remain) thinks she's doing a bang up job. Baffles me too.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Maybe it is also partly down to the lack of a good opposition pointing out what they are getting wrong?

Brexit is going through, economy isn't/hasn't tanked, and the papers are generally happy.

Also she isn't Donald Trump.

 

[The Saturday Boy]

Maybe it is also partly down to the lack of a good opposition pointing out what they are getting wrong?

Brexit is going through, economy isn't/hasn't tanked, and the papers are generally happy.

Also she isn't Donald Trump.

I do think May's approval ratings are closely related to the lack of perceived opposition. Perception is more important than reality and Corbyn is perceived poorly regardless of what he actually does. In comparison to Corbyn, Teresa May is nearly a saint.

If Labour were to get their act together with a charismatic leader I think those numbers would change.

Also, Teresa May just doesn't do anything to stir people's emotions. You could rely on Cameron, Osborne, Gove etc to rile people...May just doesn't do anything interesting. She's a plodder hiding behind Brexit at the moment.

 

[So Long Architect]

I think as we have a news media that is broadly supportive of the government, the criticisms that get made a lot of on here will barely register with most people as they don't get aired in the wider world.
Using my mum as an example again, she's not a Tory voter but she reads the Mail, and watches the 10 o'clock news. So even though her heart's in the right place (in my view) and she is a very intelligent woman, she's not being exposed to any form of counter narrative.

I'm not saying people like her would automatically be left wing zealots IF ONLY THEY UNDERSTOOD!!! but if you only get one, fairly positive, side of the story, you're going to think things are OK, aren't you, especially if you live in a reasonably affluent bit of the country.

People get exercised about the state of the NHS because that's often a bad news story in the papers and the BBC will run week-long features on its problems. As well as being something they'll have first-hand experience of. If people have information then they're able to form a view. If you never went to a hospital or read/watched about a health crisis, you wouldn't think the NHS had a problem. Equally, if you're not disabled or caring for a disabled person, and you don't read about the impact of cuts on the disabled, why would you think there as a problem?

 

[visage]

Tories never change. Neil Kinnock , 1983: If Margaret Thatcher is re-elected as prime minister on Thursday, I warn you. I warn you that you will have pain – when healing and relief depend upon payment. I warn you that you will have ignorance – when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right. I warn you that you will have poverty –when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can't pay. I warn you that you will be cold –when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don't notice and the poor can't afford. I warn you that you must not expect work – when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don't earn, they don't spend. When they don't spend, work dies. I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light. I warn you that you will be quiet – when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient. I warn you that you will have defence of a sort – with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding. I warn you that you will be home-bound – when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up. I warn you that you will borrow less – when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.

If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday, I warn you not to be ordinary. I warn you not to be young. I warn you not to fall ill. I warn younot to get old.

 

[machin05]

Yeah but the unions and those free jam sandwhiches though.

 

[So Long Architect]

Tories never change. Neil Kinnock , 1983: If Margaret Thatcher is re-elected as prime minister on Thursday, I warn you. I warn you that you will have pain – when healing and relief depend upon payment. I warn you that you will have ignorance – when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right. I warn you that you will have poverty –when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can't pay. I warn you that you will be cold –when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don't notice and the poor can't afford. I warn you that you must not expect work – when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don't earn, they don't spend. When they don't spend, work dies. I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light. I warn you that you will be quiet – when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient. I warn you that you will have defence of a sort – with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding. I warn you that you will be home-bound – when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up. I warn you that you will borrow less – when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.

If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday, I warn you not to be ordinary. I warn you not to be young. I warn you not to fall ill. I warn younot to get old.

Well, he got the borrowing bit wrong but other than that...

 

[Tony Towner]

I think there is enough publicity about the state of the NHS for the average person to know it's in trouble, however in many minds it probably plays into the immigration narrative, so will be fixed post Brexit when they all 'go home'