Tuesday 30 March 2010

Daffyd Cameron you bloody fool.....


Ok, so Labour have finally captured the spirit of the 2010 election.

Seeing the online riptide of reversing tory propaganda, the Labour party have made this part of their campaign.
I don't know if you've seen the latest set of Tory posters; They have a huge picture of Gordon Brown then slogans like 'I let 80,000 criminals out early, vote for me'. A sarcastic approach there by M&C Saatchi. Very funny :|

But after seeing MyDavidCameron.com Labour has cottoned on and are giving the Tory party a taste of their own medicine.
But don't think Labour have simply dropped to the Tory level, there is method to their madness! it's part of a promotional grass roots campaign, taking a leaf from MyDavidCameron.com's book.
See here: http://www.labour.org.uk/create-labours-next-campaign (under the title 'The Brief')
Its a good move for the Brown campaign. Making a mockery of the limping Tory campaign.


I picked out my favourite from MyDavidCameron.com in light of the Chancellor debates on channel 4 the other night: Gideon
If you saw it, you'll understand what i mean.

P.S Definitely worth taking a look at this page M&C Saatchi: stuck in a time warp

My attempt at mocking the Tories: Tory Change

Sunday 28 March 2010

George Osborne, you are the weakest link; Goodbye.

George Osborne is the 'weakest link' in Tory team
As usual, read the article then read my commentary.

I think Labour has done precisely the right thing. If Gordon Brown and his cabinet are pulled into mudslinging, name calling, and poster campaigns with blown up images of Cameron in black and white with dark and dismal foretelling - then they would be fighting a losing battle.

They are choosing to trust the electorate (a very risqué move) and are striking at Tory policies, or rather lack of, to expose them for the phonies they are.
If they can show the electorate that the only real Tory promises are the same ones made 10,20,30,40 and 50 years ago. Their pledge to undermine worker, and lets not forget human, rights (we wouldn't want to forget the lack of human rights in the UK before Blair's labour, and of course Bobby Sands), their pledge to wipe out nationalised industry and the public sector, their pledge to eliminate the safety nets for poorer families and the whole welfare system.

By striking there, Brown shows not only his own integrity and leadership, but more importantly exposes Cameron as little more than a talking puppet.

Thanks for reading, this has been a public service announcement from your local neighbourhood Tory Basher.

CLP Annual Dinner

Ok, so I attended the annual constituent labour party dinner on Friday for my constituency.

I'd never been before so I wasn't sure what exactly to expect. But I realised quite quickly that it's purpose was about boosting morale, raising confidence and solidifying members faith in the party.

Our guest speaker was the Secretary of Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper, and i was surprised at how ell she spoke. Her speech was funny, engaging and got the key points across without dragging the tone down too much.
I have to say it did reinvigorate me and make me feel more wanting to help the party out.

So yes, thought I'd say that I did enjoy the evening (and the grub was lovely, beef dinner followed by Orange and Lemon Gateau, and a good dinner is always a big plus).

Thursday 25 March 2010

Tory economy.

George Osborne 2010 Conservative Budget

It was the second short phrase that grabbed my attention immediately:
"The shadow chancellor promised that voters would learn more details about the Conservatives' own plans for the economy before the election."

George Osborne is saying that the Tories may finally reveal some of their elusive policies, this time regarding the economy.
You would have thought that by now, less than 2 months before the election, that the Tories would have actually told someone what their plans are....I mean, I'm beginning to doubt whether even members of their own party know what Conservative policies are.

Without the airbrushing and the "I'm rolling my sleeves up see - I'm one of you!" look, Cameron literally has nothing to offer people of the UK according to his own election strategy.
To top it all off, M&C Saatchi (the company behind the failed 1997 Tory election) are back in the picture for the first time since '97.

If (and only if) they get in, then we will see the real Conservatives - the resurrected Thatcher.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

He stole it!!

"Tory leader warned that Labour had run out of money and run out of ideas, as it copied Conservative policies." (David Cameron Budget Premier League )

Really? Has it really gotten to this? 'He copied me!! That was my idea!!'

Here's me sat thinking that government is supposed to deliver policies that are popular with the electorate...
If only I'd known that it was about keeping David Cameron from getting in a huff!

:|

Seriously, when the Tories start mudslinging (and to be honest, i wouldn't put it past them to fire spit pellets in parliament) you know they're desperate.

'I've never voted Tory before....'

Before you do, or protest and vote Lib Dem, consider this:

Under Tory governments the NHS fell into dire disrepair.

- Waiting lists for diagnosis of illnesses were months long.
- Waiting lists for scans such as MRI were up to a year long.
- Waiting lists for treatment left a 5% chance of people dying whilst waiting, with the lists spanning months for patients requiring important surgery such as a triple bypass.

Under New Labour:

- ALL waiting lists reduced to MERE TENS, most waiting lists being around 20 patients.
- Cheaper as people no longer need to pay 10,000 quid to go private to receive care.
- If someone needs immediate medical attention such as important surgery, this can happen in only a few days.
- Survival rates destroying those under Tories.


Why would any sane person vote Tory? Do you WANT to return to the terrors of Thatcher or the decay of Major?

Britain needs to look forwards, into the future. We don't need David Cameron pulling his sleeves up, slicking his hair back and telling us it's all gonna work itself out.

I started with a Tory campaign quote, and now i'll finish it;
'I've never voted Tory before, and i never will'

You never realise how good you have it until you've lost it. Don't make that mistake.



There's a lot of reasons to vote labour. But i'm not gonna write them all out..would take waaaay too long. So be content that i've given you a push to find out yourselves!

And this is why....

First, read the article.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/22/icm-poll-hung-parliament-tories-labour?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments


Then read this copy&pasted comment from a registered member of the guardian:

GuardianGoon
22 Feb 2010, 8:57PM

As a formerly floating voter, I think what turned me from the Tories was their leaderships' total misrepresentation of the causes of the current recession. Instead of blaming irresponsible lenders and borrowers, casino banking and under-regulated financial markets they chose to blame public spending and calling quite vigorously for cuts in public services.

Now, there may indeed be a need to cut public spending, but public spending had nothing to do with the causes of the recession. The public deficit is a symptom, not the disease. On reform of the financial sector they have shown a lack of policy, and what policy there is has been vague and in some cases desperate (see the 'people's bonus' article.)

And what concerns me most at present is the economy, I am trying to progress in my career and am finding it difficult due to the lack of jobs at present. I don't believe that the Conservative party has a credible program for reforming a system which is ruining our economy, namely the de-regulated financial markets, and their deflection of blame for the crisis onto public spending, combined with their extensive connections to those whose dodgy practices caused the reccession makes me believe that they aren't serious about getting the economy back on it's feet and instead are using the crisis as a means to carry out an ideologically driven transfer of wealth from the state to the private sector.

_________________________________________________________________

He hits the nail on the head.

Why David Cameron should never be PM. (warning, it's quite long)

1. He's a Tory. Anyone who remembers Margaret Thatcher's and John Major's governments will know what the Tories are like and what they did. Incidentally, if the Tories had had their way, we would not have the Minimum Wage, the NHS, unemployment benefit, sick pay, guaranteed holidays pay, Child Tax Credits, the Child Trust Fund, the Human Rights Act or Civil Partnerships.

2. Despite the fact that he tries to paint himself as a modern, liberal, "progressive" individual, he joined the Conservative Party in the '80s, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. He says today "I am certainly a big fan of Thatcher." Margaret Thatcher supported Chilean right-wing dictator (who tortured and murdered political opponents) General Pinochet. She sold weapons to Saddam Hussein for some quick cash, sold our public services (energy companies, water companies etc) to rich businessmen, who could turn them into businesses and exploit people who can't do anything about it. She and her Tory government viciously oppressed gay rights, creating the abominable policy of state-enforced homophobia Section 28 (which Cameron was in favour of, which the Tories still supported when Labour abolished it in 2002). She oppressed the trade unions to make it extremely difficult for people to strike and doubled unemployment in the first two years of power to 3 million (the highest level since the 1930s). The Tories destroyed the manufacturing industry in this country, replacing it with a system based on credit and debt, fuelled by the greedy, selfish desire for more and more money no matter what, ultimately causing economic collapse in September 2008. They closed down mines in towns based entirely around the mining, sent thousands of police to beat strikers, and simply told people to get new jobs when there were no jobs to be had. They cut benefits and welfare, as well as funding to public services like the NHS (which she planned to privatise, and turn into a system similar to the American model) and the police, whilst giving tax cuts to the rich. They introduced the Poll Tax, which resulted in widespread rioting, as it taxed everyone, regardless of income, the same amount (roughly £400, depending on where you lived), whether you were a millionaire or a cleaner, resulting in a huge tax cut for the rich and a crippling tax rise for poorer people, driving many into poverty and homelessness. They sacked teachers, nurses and cleaners to save money, and cut as much spending on such luxuries as the NHS and education as possible. They closed mental hospitals and kicked the inpatients out onto the streets. Under the Tory Thatcher government of 1979-1990, of which Cameron was a part, the poor got poorer, whilst the rich got richer. The poorest 10% of the population, over those 11 years, had their wages decreased by an average 17%. Child Benefit decreased by 21%. Pensions decreased dramatically. By the time she left office, Thatcher was the most unpopular Prime Minister in history. She looked out for the rich, at the expense of the poor. Again David Cameron worked in the Conservative Research Department for this government. He held a party at university to celebrate Thatcher winning her third election victory. And, again, Cameron said, "I AM CERTAINLY A BIG FAN OF THATCHER."

3. Cameron worked for the next government, under John Major, until its defeat in 1997. He was one of the most senior advisors in the Treasury during the 1992 recession.
-During this recession, what did he do to help the unemployed? What did he do to help people having their homes repossessed? What did he do to help people who couldn't pay their heating bills? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The Conservative government's policy was to leave people to "sink or swim". We are in a recession now, when people desperately need help to keep a roof over their head, to feed their children, to stay in work, and he pretends to care. But in '92, he, along with the rest of the Tory government, let people go to the wall.
-David Cameron stood by his boss's, Chancellor Norman Lamont, side when he said "If unemployment is the price we have to pay to combat inflation, then it is a price worth paying." Of course, Cameron, Lamont and his other millionaire cronies never had to pay this price. They never even knew anyone who had their home repossessed, or lost their job, or who "earned" under £500,000 a year. But as usual, the poorest can pay the price for them, in order to help the businessmen and the bankers.

4. Gordon Brown is currently trying to help people struggling with the current recession (NOT caused by Gordon Brown, incidentally, as the Tories would have you believe) with the Winter Fuel Allowance, increase in Child Benefit, increase in Pensions, tax cuts for the poorest, cut in VAT, measures to prevent repossessions as much as is possible. Contrast this to what Cameron and the Tories did in '92. Nothing. Because they didn't care. They look after their own, and everyone else can go to the wall.

5. By the end of the 18 years of Tory government from '79 to '97, half of which of which Cameron had been a part of, the UK had the highest child poverty rating in the developed world, and record-breaking unemployment figures, as well as horrendous public services-the Tories closed over 300 hospitals between 1979 and 1997. Half of all the hospitals in the country dated before 1948. Labour reversed this, dragging a million children out of poverty, ENDING pensioner poverty, having virtually full employment, and building 100 new hospitals in 11 years.

6. Cameron is a millionaire. He has approximately £30,000,000 in the bank, mostly family inheritance. Coincidentally, he wants to slash Inheritance Tax on the richest- A £2 BILLION TAX CUT ON THE RICHEST 3000 PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY. Well, I'm sure that'll really help the struggling single mother with 3 kids, who works 2 jobs to pay the rent and to be able to feed her children. I'm sure it will be of great benefit to her, because when she inherits £900,000, she doesn't have to pay tax on it! Well done! Another fair policy from the Conservative Party.

7.Cameron got his first job in the Conservative Research Department because a friend of his from Buckingham Palace phoned up and got it for him.

8. Cameron is directly descended from King George III ("Mad King George").

9. Cameron went to the extremely posh, stuck-up, upper-class school Eton as a child, and was a member of the extremely exclusive Bullingdon Club at Oxford University (a club for rich toffs who prance about in coat and tails and top hats). You have to be very posh, and very rich to get in. The uniform of coat and tails and top hat alone costs £3000).

10. CAMERON, THE MILLIONAIRE, WHO IS AS ARISTOCRATIC AND UPPER-CLASS AS YOU CAN GET, RELATED TO THE MONARCHY, OPPOSED THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT IN 1998. Before Blair and Brown, before '98, there was no minimum wage, and people, adults, with families, were often paid as little as 90p an hour, or less. One Tory MP, Peter Bone, has boasted that he once paid an employee 88p an hour. Millions had to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week just to get by. LABOUR introduced the Minimum Wage. GORDON BROWN budgeted for it. The CONSERVATIVES, and DAVID CAMERON himself, OPPOSED THE MINIMUM WAGE. Fact. Why? Because to pay workers higher, fairer wages costs the rich employers money. Also, before Labour, there was no guaranteed sick pay or holiday pay. You could work for 88p an hour, with no holiday leave at all, and would simply not be paid if you were ill and couldn't work. Labour ended that-the Tories opposed them.

11. Gordon Brown is providing help to people who need it now. The Tories have been very good at pretending to be something they're not, until very recently, when they've come out with some policies.
-They criticise the Prime Minister for "recklessly" borrowing and spending, after "maxing-out the country's credit card." Their shameful lack of understanding of economics betrays their ignorance and stupidity, or simply their callousness and lack of caring. YES, we have to borrow to get out of it. YES, we'll have to pay higher taxes later to pay for it. BUT there is no alternative to that policy. You HAVE to spend now, in order to stimulate the economy, because the private sector isn't spending, so the government has to. Otherwise, millions and millions will lose their jobs, their houses and countless businesses will go bust. The recession would last longer, and would be far more severe. We have to borrow in order to fund it, as we can't tax more in a recession. When we start to recover, we will be paying it back by taxing the richest more. The claim that "future generations will be saddled with debt", and that "our children will pay for Gordon Brown's mistakes" is a dreadful misrepresentation of the facts. We've managed in the past when we've had to pay off debt for Tory mistakes (ahem, 1992). We'll manage again. If we go with their policy, we will lose a whole generation to unemployment, and millions more to poverty, and future generations will suffer. Plus, we would pay far more in unemployment benefits long-term if we go with their policy, than the debts we will be paying of with Labour. Basically, their do-nothing policy is a despicable lie exploiting and manipulating people who don't understand economics that well (i.e. most people)
In short:

Labour policy=increase spending to replace spending taken out of the economy by the private sector, to save jobs and businesses, and to prevent repossessions. Pay it back with higher taxes on the rich later.

Tory policy=cut taxes and public spending. Raise some taxes marginally after the recession, but generally cut taxes. Fund this through cutting public spending on things such as apprenticeships, welfare, benefits, Surestart (free nurseries for struggling parents) and ultimately on the NHS and education-those who can afford to pay for their education and healthcare won't suffer from this-in order to cut tax later, in particular on the rich.

Brown is helping the poorest by taxing the rich more. Cameron stood up and opposed this.

Cameron's disaster of an economic policy is despicable in its blatant attempt to limit tax rises for the rich at the expense of people struggling due to the recession, and in its lack of caring for the British economy. It would result in enormous unemployment and poor quality public services. It would make the recession far, far worse, and would severely damage British businesses, and would mean the recession would last longer. It is a policy of poverty, repossessions and unemployment, in order to fund tax cuts for the rich later on. It is ignorant and bigoted, and extremely unfair.

12.He cycled to work to show how "green" he is-but had a car following him a few minutes behind, behind all the cameras, carrying his shoes.

13. Cameron claims to be a family man. And yet he wants to cut Maternity Leave and get rid of Paternity Leave altogether, presumably because it costs employers too much money.

14. George Osborne, Cameron's friend and Shadow Chancellor, the man who wants to run the economy, was also a Bullingdon Club member, and is very rich, as was Boris Johnson.
-When Brown and Darling were finding the solution to the global meltdown of the banking system, when the rest of the world followed their lead and recapitalised the banks, where was Osborne? Working out a sensible economic strategy for dealing with the problems? Working out how to help the people who's houses are being taken and are losing their jobs? No. He was on a private yaught, with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has links with the mafia, with his chief fundraiser, trying to get an illegal donation for the Tory Party.

15. The economic strategy being employed by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling now is the same policy which got the Americans out of the Depression in the 1930s. It is the policy being used, copied, by pretty much every government in the world, and is supported by business leaders, the CBI and the IMF. NO-ONE SUPPORTS CAMERON'S POLICY, which is essentially the same policy that Margaret Thatcher employed. There were 2 finance ministers in the bitterly divided German government who agreed with Cameron, critising Brown's "reckless borrowing" to fund the fiscal stimulus plan. And guess what? Just weeks later, Germany decides to go with Gordon Brown's fiscal stimulus plan. Tories lose last shreds of international support.

16. The crisis has largely been caused by lack of financial regulation. The vast bulk of financial deregualtion was carried out by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s and then by Major's government following it. The Tories have been calling for less and less regulation over the past 10 years, and Osborne said only last year, as this crisis was taking hold, that we should completely deregulate the mortgage market, when the lack of regulation in the mortgage market is largely to blame for the whole crisis, and if we'd followed his advice, even more would be having their homes repossessed. They opposed the nationalisation of Northern Rock-if we'd done what they asked, we'd have been in a much worse position. At every major decision regarding the economy, THEY HAVE GOT IT WRONG.

17. David Cameron said that he supported the government's policy of recapitalising the banks. For ten days. Then he saw that he was slipping behind in the polls, and decided to oppose it. This put him at odds with virtually every government in the world, as well as business leaders. His place in the opinion polls fell even more. He said we should have tax cuts, but didn't specify to whom. The government introduced targeted tax cuts for the poorest, during the recession, so he opposed it. He then said that tax rises following the recession were "inevitable." Now he says that he will cut tax after the recession, despite not being able to show how he would pay for it. All in the space of a few months. HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING.

18. David Cameron's only economic experience is his experience in the Treasury in 1992, when he was Special Advisor to the Chancellor (Norman Lamont). That year, due to the treasury's incompetence, billions had to be borrowed in order to prop up the pound sterling, which had fallen to a disasterously low level on Black Wednesday (although its lowest level ever was, and still is, 1985 under Thatcher) and Britain had to pull out of the Exchange rate Mechanism (ERM). There was also a recession that year, during which the chancellor and the treasury did nothing to prevent huge unemployment and damage to the economy. Lamont was subsequently sacked as Chancellor; the new Chancellor, kenneth Clarke, sacked cameron as advisor and Treasury minister.

19. There is a genuine criticism of Labour to be made in that there was not enough regulation of the banks. However, to the Tories Labour was regulating too much. Tory leader from 1997-2001 and now Tory Deputy leader William Hague said: “As Prime Minister, I would put deregulation one of my top priorities. I will drive deregulation from the centre. I will promote ministers, not on the basis of whether they regulate enough, but on the basis of how much they deregulate.” David Cameron said to the Tory conference a few years ago, “Everyone knows we need greater deregulation. Who is standing in our way? The great regulator, Gordon Brown.” Things would be worse with them.

20. As for the rest of David Cameron's career, it has been mainly PR and the manipulation of the media. He worked for the Conservative Research Department, essentially the Conservative Party's PR and media department, and advised John Major on how to answer tricky questions during Prime Minister's Questions. He came up with the famous "Labour's Tax Bombshell" slogan which was used to great effect in the 1992 election, a phrase which he has recently dug up, thinking it might bring electoral success once more. He took time out from politics in the mid to late '90s to work for media boss Michael Green at Carlton TV. He worked as a spin doctor for him, and it was his job to lie to and manipulate the media. Cameron is an excellent PR man, salesman for the Tory Party and fantastic spin doctor, and was once accused of performing "media dark arts" by Peter Mandelson, the Prince of Darkness and master of media manipulation himself. Cameron is very good at spin, at PR, at presenting a positive image of the party to the media, but has very little experience of government, and had never even held a Shadow Cabinet post before he became leader of the Conservative Party. He is inexperienced, incompetent, and unqualified, whether you're a Tory or a Socialist, he is unfit to be Prime Minister, and doesn't deserve your vote. He is simply a salesman for the Conservative Party, the modern face of it, but the party itself has not changed. He doesn't lead his party: he is a tool used by his party to get elected, and nothing more.

21. David Cameron is a media invention. He has built his career, and fortunes of the "new" Conservative Party on soundbites and lies. He worked as a spin doctor for 8 years for media mogul Michael Green at Carlton TV. The skills he learnt there have obviously come in very handy as leader of the Tory party.

He can manipulate the media (he was paid an awful lot of money for this at Carlton) and can create a positive image of himself-but underneath, he is an incompetent, inexperienced, lying, ignorant, Thatcherite Tory, and nothing else.

DON'T BE MANIPULATED BY THIS LIAR. IF YOU BELIEVE A WORD THIS MAN SAYS, YOU ARE A FOOL. LOOK AT POLICIES, FACTS, NOT SOUNDBITES. AND DON'T LET THE TORIES BACK IN.

Oh, almost forgot!

I was surfing the guardian website when i came across this:

Cameron's Utopian Britain

The interviewer asks what the Tory Britain would look like, compared to our 'Broken Britain'.

After watching it i drew this conclusion; What the Tories want is the 1950's. Where women bake apple pies and leave them on their windowsills for rapscallion boys to come and take a bite! Where men come home from work calling 'Honey, i'm home!'.
Where everything is just hunky dorey.

/sarcasm.

First things first...

Ok, well - this is my first blog....

I think of my 320 friends on facebook, about 4 regularly gave a toss about what i had to say in regards to politics and in particular - tory bashing!

So i figured 'hey, why not start a blog?' ...so i did :)
Ok well, i guess those notes i posted on facebook best find their way onto here.


Expect good things.....

Blog News

November 2nd
Yup, still going, and hopefully November will be a return to regular blogging as I settle back into things.
As always, feel free to comment, I WILL respond.
________

Thanks, Tom.