Coalition vs New Labour

If we ignore the Blair first term which would even have been good enough to get my vote in 01 then the Tories have been a bit better than the second and third terms.

Regarding the economy they made a mistake in cutting capital spending which delayed the recovery however they have made sufficient spending cuts to impress me (i considered the state quite bloated). On education they have been very good as they have also being in foreign policy and international trade. On taxation they have made the right moves raising the tax allowance and scrapping the 50% rate. On employment they have been extremely impressive with near a million jobs created once you deduct their work programmes, unemployment only rising due to public sector redundancies (the private sector never stopped creating jobs).

On health i think they have been average to poor as the reform was over-complicated and botched. On defense they have been far too severe in spending cuts and the delay in the carriers. On the environment they have been abysmal (badger cull, insufficient incentives for GM crops). On welfare they have been the worst government i have ever heard of, they have not means tested pensioner benefits, they have watered down the cut in child benefit, they did no planning or research regarding the bedroom tax and they contracted the disability review to ATOS who don't do their job properly.

In conclusion they get 6/10 from me and the Tories will likely retain my vote in 2015 (the Liberals have won it for the Euro's in 2014). To improve they should immediately sack Owen Patterson and Ian Duncan Smith. Laws and Alexander are welcome to defect anytime they like (very impressive) and Pickles and Willets are somewhat the unsung heroes working extremely well in the background.

I am sad to think about what might have happened to you to make you so lacking in empathy and unable to differentiate between what serves your personally and what is good for a country, the world or people in general.

the government is still spending way more than it receives it tax revenues. what your trying to advocate would mean the government would go bankrupt. people are worse off due to policies from way in the past, things take a lot of time to have an effect so past labour policies mean the economy is uncompetitive now.

That`s a bit harsh. The guy is just trying to look after himself and his family. If more people did this instead of expecting to get things handed to them on a plate and paid for by "the rich" the world would be a far,far better place.

Nice to see a good all-round assessment trying to be objective at least. If I remember correctly, you are a Conservative voter? They had my backing in 2010 and yet have disappointed on so many levels. The amount of blind partisanship on here, defending all their failings no matter what because hey at least they're better than Labour, is worrying for our democracy as a whole.

Some men just want to watch the world burn. And capitalism often rewards these men.

What exactly do you think this person is 'trying to advocate'? Why do you believe that the 'government' would go bankrupt? Please clarify your vague statements, so I can critically analyse your logic rather than wondering if you are simply repeating something you've heard somewhere.

Also do you really think politicians are living within their means? Considering they are paid from the public purse, if things are that bad, surely it would make sense for them to cut back themselves, not be asking for pay increases whilst claiming ridiculous expenses on top of their already high salaries? If anything will make us bankrupt it is this sort of behaviour, bailing out banks and holding no one accountable, cultivating a culture where corporations are above the law, or relying on an economic system that requires constant exponential growth to function whilst we live on a planet with finite resources.

How should we hold bankers accountable? We can`t put them on trial as being crap at your job is not a criminal offence. Many have had their reputations trashed and won`t work again, indeed a few are barred from working in finance (Jonny Cameron ex RBS for example). Again, the politicans that oversaw the whole episode were just crap at their jobs - quite a few lost their jobs in the last election. I`m not sure what else you can do to them.

Which corporations are above the law?

I don`t know of any economic system less-worse than capitalism. Communisms already proved to be an epic fail. I don`t know what else there is.

The very fact that your first thought when considering alternatives, is about communism and how it is apparently self-evident (based on what you have been taught) that this always fails, shows just how much the current supposed 'democracy' has dictated to you the terms of your own engagement with the subject.

I am sure you have more imagination than this. Great minds don't accept the status quo, or what they are told - they question everything, think outside the box and find a new path.

Also just because someone claims something is communism does not mean it actually is - I thought that most examples held up as evidence were in fact state capitalism gone mad. Just because a few crazies get in power does not mean the entire concept has nothing of value to offer.

To be fair, a lot of that legislation is enforced on us through Europe. Legislation that Labour signed up to. Sadly in the world of Big boy international politics, if a previous government has signed up to something, you have to agree to it when you come into power.

Thersa May is already trying to get out of the ECHR legislation.

Well, I would argue that you don't have to. On a national level you can pull out of any contract you want to, as there is nothing any one can do about it. However with the cowardly leaders we have, there is little chance of that happening.

Sadly though you can't just pull out. If you are treaty bound, you need to renegotiate. Otherwise you end up becoming the nation that nobody wants to deal with as you get a reputation for not following your word if you just pull out.

Thanks. Yeah, i'm a member probably until the next leadership elections. What have they failed you on in particular? For me although they have failed in several areas they have fortunately been secondary issues (i tend to vote on the economy, education and foreign policy/defense unless they were to go nuts and outright take a 'we'll leave the eu if we have a majority' for example). Indeed, you should watch the documentary 'Tory Boy' if you want to see blind political ignorance.

Education and Welfare have been the greatest failings. I was all for Gove when I heard of his ideas for the education system. Unfortunately he has proven time after time that he is an incompetent egotist. He doesn't want to fix the education system at all: he wants to create a legacy and/or pander to imbeciles who haven't had any contact with a school since they left between age 15 and 18 and think they know how to fix the system. Welfare is also grimly depressing. I was naive in 2010 when I believed the scrounger could be smashed, but I've come to terms with the idea of the 'scrounger' largely being overblown and a scapegoating device to shield whoever is in government from any real criticism. Focus on Jobseeker's Allowance is a complete waste of public resources as it is other benefits that siphon money from the state. JSA is just a red herring really. They need to tackle Working Tax Credits and the like, which is basically the government admitting businesses are not paying their workers enough. And of course non means-tested benefits for pensioners, but no government is going to touch that. I also find it difficult to believe that they are the party of the working man (and before you idiot partisans jump in, I don't believe Labour is either) when they sell **** off to their mates in backroom deals, dressed up with the convenient rhetoric of consumer choice and freeing the masses.

Foreign policy/defence has been good, as is trying to mix Britain's economy further towards manufacturing and the like. Although part of me thinks those areas would be the same no matter what party was in power.

The Tories have many excellent ideas, it's just a shame they **** them up at every possible opportunity while shouting 'WELL IT WAS ALL LABOUR'S FAULT THEY DID IT WRONG NOT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'. If a business hired a new employee, and they then worked there for years, ****ing up every task given to them whilst blaming their predecessor for all their problems, they'd be sacked. Yet our government seems to be getting away with it as far as popular opinion is concerned. I guess we have the tides of history to thank for that.

The 50% rate kicked in April '10. So what do you mean the Tories have risen top end tax to 45%?

Yeah, Cameron has tried to keep quiet what hes done to the higher rate threshold...

It's widely acknowledged that Labour raised that tax rate from the 40% that it had been under their tenure to 50% as by that time they knew they were going to loose. It's a nice little political trap they set. Keep it at 40% for ages, raise it to 50% towards the end klnowing that whoever takes over has to lower it and then claim that they've done it to look after rich supporters.

Like it or not, top end earners have been paying more in tax under the coalition than they did under Labour.

I doubt they'll be cutting taxes to the wealthier. If you actually look at what this government has done whilst in power, they've actually done what labour claims they will do. Under labour, top end tax rate was 40%, and its now 45%. So labour supporters keep banging on that the Tories give the rich tax cuts. They've actually increased taxation for the rich.

The present government has increased tax breaks for the poor. So in the tipsy turvey world the coalition have made the poorer in society better off and made up the shortfall by taxing the rich. We also have a conservative PM who is leading the charge with G8 to try and close tax avoidance loopholes down.

So basically what you are saying is you like the Coalition government's work on
- reducing red tape
- SME policy
- SME access to government contracts
- flexible labour market

which is all BIS policy

and you are extremely disappointed and unhappy with Vince Cable

I suppose maybe all these things you have done were down to BIS civil servants IN SPITE of the government policy and Secretary of State.

Maybe if people were paid enough to afford a basic standard of living (a situation massively exacerbated by property bubbles supported by policies that encourage endless property 'investing' that you are also profiting from) then they would find it worthwhile to work. Even Henry Ford understood that you have to ensure your workers can afford your product, otherwise the whole thing falls apart. To think otherwise is very short-termist and demonstrates a complete lack of empathy for your fellow human.

Sums things up really. I actually thought your callous, self-serving, shallow viewpoint was a tongue in cheek satirical post, designed to subtly illustrate the foolish and cruel nature of policies that favour those who wish to 'farm' people like cattle, but then I read your follow up post and realised you are completely serious.

I am sad to think about what might have happened to you to make you so lacking in empathy and unable to differentiate between what serves your personally and what is good for a country, the world or people in general.

the only rail company making profit in Britain is state owned (Which they'll still be selling)

Scotrail and Virgin don't? Thats a suprise