[Bornblue]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16608394

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate also rose to 8.4% from 8.3%, the highest since January 1996.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in December rose by 1,200 to 1.6 million.

The number of young people looking for work hit a new record of 1.043m, taking the rate for 16-24 year-olds to 22.3%.
The figures support the picture of a flat UK economy, with other data released on Wednesday showing average weekly earnings, including bonuses, grew at just 1.9%.



So the jobless total is at it's highest point in 17 years. Coincidentally since the last time Conservatives were in power.

They're really saving the country.

[Bill_Gates]

Im sure its ALOT more than that! alot of people slip through the official net.

[Bornblue]

The conservatives often said public sector cuts meant the private sector would start employing more. Well where are they? More people out of work,more people forced to live on benefits.

[Care-Free]

that usually only includes the unemployed who are also out of education...imagine the numbers when you consider those of us who are in full time education at the same time as looking for work...it's very worrying.

[Will Lucky]

(Original post by Bornblue)
The conservatives often said public sector cuts meant the private sector would start employing more. Well where are they? More people out of work,more people forced to live on benefits.

And the kicker is the higher taxes in general negate the ability of the Private Sector to take on more workers.

[chefdave]

(Original post by Bornblue)
So the jobless total is at it's highest point in 17 years. Coincidentally since the last time Conservatives were in power.

They're really saving the country.

So what would Labour do differently then? Let me guess: squander invest shedloads of other people's money and hope the problem goes away. Unemployment is high because Labour drove the economy into recession you nincompoop.

[Bornblue]

(Original post by chefdave)
So what would Labour do differently then? Let me guess: squander invest shedloads of other people's money and hope the problem goes away. Unemployment is high because Labour drove the economy into recession you nincompoop.

This isn't about Labour nor what they would do better.

The conservatives claimed they'd fix the country. Yet all they've done is drove unemployment through the roof.

Wasn't Cameron saying the private sector would start employing more people to make up for public sector cuts? Yet all that's happened is there have been cuts and no jobs.

[creak]

(Original post by chefdave)
So what would Labour do differently then? Let me guess: squander invest shedloads of other people's money and hope the problem goes away. Unemployment is high because Labour drove the economy into recession you nincompoop.

What was the realistic alternative to bailing out the banks, and what would the Tories have done differently to Labour in 2008?

[Bornblue]

(Original post by creak)
What was the realistic alternative to bailing out the banks, and what would the Tories have done differently to Labour in 2008?

Don't expect any Tories to give you an answer. The Daily Mail isn't that in depth.

[chefdave]

(Original post by creak)
What was the realistic alternative to bailing out the banks, and what would the Tories have done differently to Labour in 2008?

This is an unfair question because the Tories wouldn't have spent the preceeding years racking up debt and inflating the housing market to such a degree. Conservatives such as Ken Clarke were attacking Brown the moment he began to overspend during the boom phase of the cycle, but nobody listened because his 'miracle economy' was enough to paper over the cracks and effectively quash dissent.

[creak]

(Original post by chefdave)
This is an unfair question because the Tories wouldn't have spent the preceeding years racking up debt and inflating the housing market to such a degree. Conservatives such as Ken Clarke were attacking Brown the moment he began to overspend during the boom phase of the cycle, but nobody listened because his 'miracle economy' was enough to paper over the cracks and effectively quash dissent.

But national debt as a proportion of GDP was lower in 2007 than when Labour took power in 1997. Not quite sure what the Tories have ever done to restrain the boom in house prices either, given that the rise began after right to buy was introduced and the building of new social housing curtailed.

[chefdave]

(Original post by creak)
But national debt as a proportion of GDP was lower in 2007 than when Labour took power in 1997. Not quite sure what the Tories have ever done to restrain the boom in house prices either, given that the rise began after right to buy was introduced and the building of new social housing curtailed.

In 2000 (i.e when Labour finally ridded themselves of those eeeevil Tory spending commitments) the national debt stood at 30% of GDP, by the time Labour left office that figure was 60%, and that doesn't account for the bank bailout, Brown's dodgy off balance sheet PFI deals and the additional public sector pension liabilities.

What the Tories would or wouldn't have done is pure navel gazing, all we know is that Labour ruined the economy and if we'd let them back in for a forth term they'd have finished the job off. The public cannot afford to subsidise their incompetence any longer.

[Will Lucky]

(Original post by Bornblue)
This isn't about Labour nor what they would do better.

The conservatives claimed they'd fix the country. Yet all they've done is drove unemployment through the roof.

Wasn't Cameron saying the private sector would start employing more people to make up for public sector cuts? Yet all that's happened is there have been cuts and no jobs.

Tories didn't account for the Euro Crisis, not to mention it isn't 2015 yet when they should be judged when we go to the balletbox.

[Maker]

The think the economy if the Tories had been in power would have been worse since they would have got rid of even more bank regulation because thats what they did in the 1980s.

[SnoochToTheBooch]

(Original post by Bornblue)
So the jobless total is at it's highest point in 17 years. Coincidentally since the last time Conservatives were in power.

They're really saving the country.

things were a mess before they got into power.

[Quady]

(Original post by chefdave)
In 2000 (i.e when Labour finally ridded themselves of those eeeevil Tory spending commitments) the national debt stood at 30% of GDP, by the time Labour left office that figure was 60%, and that doesn't account for the bank bailout, Brown's dodgy off balance sheet PFI deals and the additional public sector pension liabilities.

What the Tories would or wouldn't have done is pure navel gazing, all we know is that Labour ruined the economy and if we'd let them back in for a forth term they'd have finished the job off. The public cannot afford to subsidise their incompetence any longer.

Which is fine and correct, but the Govt isn't bringing down the deficit much (approx £10bn over the last 12 months, is allowing the BoE to invent another £75bn yet we'll probably still be seeing an economic contraction for the last quarter of 2011.

But I suppose they have managed to negotiate a 44ths scheme for civil servants so at least the future pension liabilities are really being tackled...

EDIT: and there wasn't any snow/weddings to blame this time round

[Bornblue]

(Original post by SnoochToTheBooch)
things were a mess before they got into power.

and all they've done is worsened the problem.
But oh no, the tory boys refuse to accept any fault with their party.

[chrisawhitmore]

(Original post by Bornblue)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16608394

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate also rose to 8.4% from 8.3%, the highest since January 1996.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in December rose by 1,200 to 1.6 million.

The number of young people looking for work hit a new record of 1.043m, taking the rate for 16-24 year-olds to 22.3%.
The figures support the picture of a flat UK economy, with other data released on Wednesday showing average weekly earnings, including bonuses, grew at just 1.9%.



So the jobless total is at it's highest point in 17 years. Coincidentally since the last time Conservatives were in power.

They're really saving the country.

One of the first things they did was to sort out the way government statistics are calculated, so that people in government schemes but still claiming jobseekers allowance are counted as unemployed.

[prog2djent]

A huge part of our ongoing recession is Brown's monumental spending, the Tories have spent a lot too, infact, the are actually making any NET cuts at the moment (I put the emphasis on net because cuts are taking place in certain areas but there is higher spending in others, though expendature has never gone negative in the areas been cut, they are always spending ... just less) spending has increased overall.

I do not think the tories would have inflated the bubble back since the 2nd term of Blain and Brown all together. they would have bailed out the banks, though the bailout would have been less severe and there would have been less of them under the tories inflation and interest conservatism (in relation to labour)

They are largely similar on the issue though.

Any country that practaces fraction banking and has a government to guarrantee socialised losses and create conditions for sub-prime or sub-standard mortgages will have collapsed.

Im reading into the theories of what would have happened if we hadn't bailed them out.

The situation we would have been in now would have been much better.

8 or so months of catastrophe though. By bailing them out we have just spread the crises over a number of years.

I prefer to take my pungent medication in one gulp, instead of sipping the spoon for 5 years.

[Bornblue]

(Original post by prog2djent)
A huge part of our ongoing recession is Brown's monumental spending, the Tories have spent a lot too, infact, the are actually making any NET cuts at the moment (I put the emphasis on net because cuts are taking place in certain areas but there is higher spending in others, though expendature has never gone negative in the areas been cut, they are always spending ... just less) spending has increased overall.

I do not think the tories would have inflated the bubble back since the 2nd term of Blain and Brown all together. they would have bailed out the banks, though the bailout would have been less severe and there would have been less of them under the tories inflation and interest conservatism (in relation to labour)

They are largely similar on the issue though.

Any country that practaces fraction banking and has a government to guarrantee socialised losses and create conditions for sub-prime or sub-standard mortgages will have collapsed.

Im reading into the theories of what would have happened if we hadn't bailed them out.

The situation we would have been in now would have been much better.

8 or so months of catastrophe though. By bailing them out we have just spread the crises over a number of years.

I prefer to take my pungent medication in one gulp, instead of sipping the spoon for 5 years.

You're really happy for other people to lose all their money, go bankrupt and possibly homeless? How noble of you.