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Put away your white flag Matthew!
Thanks for leaving your comments - I read them all last night in my hotel room in Strasbourg with my McDonalds.
To the conservative bloggers, thanks for posting. I don't care if you're a 'troll' - as long as your polite I'm prepared to listen and engage with everyone.
Terry Pomroy rightly pointed out that we should have a concise list of Labour achievements. It's a long list Terry, but you're absolutelty right so read on because someone called Katabasis - who seems to have left a lot of comments - asked me to give him/her one reason why they should vote Labour.
OK, I'll give you 50:
1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
2. Low mortgage rates
3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to £5.35
4. Record police numbers in England, Scotland and Wales
5. Cut overall crime by 35 per cent
6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools
7. Best-ever primary school results
8. Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008
9. Employment went to its highest level ever
10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
11. 85,000 more nurses
12. 32,000 more doctors
13. Brought back matrons to hospital wards
14. Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament
15. Devolved power to Welsh Assembly
16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice
18. Gift aid was worth £625 million to charities last year
19. Restored city-wide government to London
20. Record number of students in higher education
21. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
22. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
23. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
24. £200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra £100 for over-80s
25. On course to exceed Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2010
26. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
27. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
28. All workers now have a right to 4 weeks’ paid holiday
29. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
30. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
31. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
32. Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships
33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard
34. Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales
35. Banned fox hunting
36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the industrial revolution
37. Free TV licences for over-75s
38. Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals
39. Waiting times for operations halved
40. Free local bus travel for over-60s
41. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
42. Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started
43. Free eye test for over 60s
44. Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less
45. Free entry to national museums and galleries
46. Overseas aid budget more than doubled
47. Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives
48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent
49. Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England, Scotland and Wales
50. Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school
To the person who keeps Facebooking me about foxhunting and why they'd like to see it back - let me say this. I deplore hunting and the culture that surrounds around it.
How anyone can get pleasure from seeing animals been torn apart is beyond me. I also note one of the few Tory Party policy committments is to bring it back.
As it happens, I've got four foxes in my back garden and they don't bother me one bit. So at least I've got four votes in the bag at the next election!
And finally, let me tell you what's made me furious.
You may or may not have heard of Matthew Taylor - he was in charge of strategy at Number 10 in Tony's time. He was a typical pointy head - a serial policy wonk, the type of person I would describe as a Mekon.
He's since become the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts (answers on a postcard if you know what that is) but is setting himself up as something of a political commentator. Last year he wrote that David Cameron had showed 'political courage' for tackling the Government on policy.
Matthew - that's their job!
But now he's gone even further. Writing in the Independent has says Labour should stop attacking the Tories and give up.
He adds:
"How about declaring a unilateral political ceasefire? Brown's implicit message could be 'we are reconciled to the possibility of losing the next election, what matters now is not the political skirmish but the battle against the economic crisis'.
'Not only is this a more seemly and inspiring posture for the times – and one which might tap into the Dunkirk spirit the nation needs right now – it encourages an electorate, for whom politics is far from a priority, to suspend judgement until next year.
'The strategy would only work if it was authentic. Ministers would need to put point scoring to one side. And even if it failed, at least this would be an honourable path to defeat.'
And this man was in charge of strategy at No10. I've a good feeling we won't be taking your advice on this one Matthew. Imagining turning around to the families we've lifted out of poverty, the teachers and nurses on better pay and conditions and the once exploited workers who now have a minimum wage and saying: 'sorry guys, but we're sitting the next term out. We're letting the Tories have a go. Honourable thing to do and all that.'
You can hoist your white flag if you like Matthew, but there are tens of thousands of people in this party who will fight with every last ounce of their breath to make sure the Red Flag flies high and proud over Britain.
Back in London tomorrow when I'll reveal a new Labour donor!
Keep the comments coming.
JP
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Thats why we are in such a mess. You need to earn before you spend.
Leson never learned by Labour
Welcome to the world of blogging!
You've got a good online 'voice' - a lot of us are going to disagree with a lot of what you write over the coming months (always in civil terms of course), but at least there is some character and individuality to your blog, and that goes a long way.
Hope to see you in the comments sections of other sites - fighting on home turf is good, but taking on the away games as well is something I'd like to see you do as well. I imagine Tim would be more than happy to have you join in the debate on ConHome!
Good luck.
Morus
1. "sustained low inflation" Wrong. Low CPI and fairly low RPI, but the supply of money was increasing drastically, that is true inflation. Also reducing prices for Chinese consumer goods, but all essentials apart from clothing going through the roof.
2. "Low mortgage rates" Hence the housing bubble. Now most people just can't get a mortgage.
3. "Minimum Wage" Nice way to reduce employment. Government should stay out of contracts as far as possible.
4. "Record police numbers" filling in record numbers of forms, doing less useful work
5. "Cut overall crime by 35 per cent" By dubious statistical methods, in a time when crime was naturally falling due to the economy
6. "Record levels of literacy and numeracy". A straight lie, unless you redefine literacy and numeracy.
7. "Best-ever primary school results" by dropping standards
8. "Funding for every pupil in England to double by 2008" with nothing to show for it. A terrible thing to admit, not a boast.
9. "Employment went to its highest level ever" by the government spending other people's money and borrowing against future wealth, and by loose fiscal policy. Unfortunately most of the jobs went to immigrants, so the number not working is also a record.
10. "Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries" so encouraging political practices that will condemn those countries to years more poverty. A terrible idea.
11. 12. and 13."85,000 more nurses, 32,000 more doctors, Brought back matrons" yet still no improvement in experience of the NHS, still thousands die of preventable infections.
14. & 15. "Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament, Devolved power to Welsh Assembly" increasing teh democratic unbalance, and making the 85% of UK citizens in England second-class citizens. An attempt to gerrymander.
16. "Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time" so? They could have had leave. Everyone has a right to 4 weeks leave a year. Why should someone get more by procreating?
17. "NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice" The only experience I have of this is awful, and very frustrating for a rather unwell friend.
18. "Gift aid was worth £625 million to charities last year" that's not a Labour boast. That is the generous people of the UK.
19. "Restored city-wide government to London" and allowed corruption in its heart. OF course originally it was an attempt at gerrymandering, it just didn't work.
20. "Record number of students in higher education" doing underwater basket weaving degrees, record numbers dropping out and no jobs for graduates mean the government now wants to bail them out. We don't need more graduates.
21. "Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997". So why is my money being given to someone else just because they have decided to reproduce?
22. "Created Sure Start to help children from low income households" all the while reducing the prospects of such children to the worst they have had in decades
23. "Introduced the Disability Rights Commission" another quango. More unelected "rights" mobs.
24. "£200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra £100 for over-80s" yet you opposed gas and electricity privatisation, which both drastically cut the price of energy. If you hadn't decimated pensions and savings then old people would be better off anyway.
25. "On course to exceed Kyoto target" So? For one that is only because manufacturing has moved to other countries, now using energy on our behalf. For another Kyoto is irrelevant. It is based on junk science. Climate change happens. Humans didn't start it, there is nothing we can do to stop it.
26. "Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland" due to the Conservatives having actually won the war, agains the wishes of some of your followers. You then gave a lot away so we now have terrorists and murederers in the NI Assembly. Nice.
27. "Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools" and worse education. Numbers are not everthing.
28. "All workers now have a right to 4 weeks’ paid holiday". That's EU law. It is also an undue interference with agreements between employers and employees. As a manager, that right is moot, because it would be impossible for me take that much. When self employed it was also moot, I didn't want to take it as I wouldn't earn.
29. & 30. "A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty, 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty" meaningless. You also put a million pensioners into relative poverty. It all depends on teh definition of "relative poverty", which is arbitary.
31. "Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents". Yes, more of my money. You took my money and gave it to someone else, with the threat of force if i did not. That is called robbery elsewhere. You have no good reason to do so. If people choose to have children they can look after them themselves.
32. "Scrapped Section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships" I'll give you civil partnerships. Clause 28 was pure identity politics, and irrelevant at best.
33. "Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard" don't know about this, can't comment.
34. "Free school milk for five, six and seven-year-olds in Wales" so increasing inequality in the UK.
35. "Banned fox hunting" a nasty, class attack, wiht no basis in rational reasoning, science or real animal welfare. However it has rejuvinated hunting, and will be easy to repeal, so I'll give you that.
36. "Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since the industrial revolution" continuing a trend from well before you had anyhting to do with it. You can't take credit for that!
37. "Free TV licences for over-75s" and damned expensive ones for everyone else, to pay for pro-Labour propaganda
38. "Banned fur farming and the testing of cosmetics on animals" in this country. Actually that harms animal welfare, as we had high standards, but you never let that get in the way of politics did you? Why not ban products that have been tested on animals after a certain date from sale? Why not regulate and improve fur farming?
39. "Waiting times for operations halved" but you have to wait before you get on the waiting list.
40. Will give you the free bus travel.
41. "New Deal - helped over a million people into work" briefly, except for those that would have found work anyway and those working in the New Deal office.
42. "Over 1.5 million child trust funds have been started" with more of my money given away for no aparent reason, except to buy you votes.
43. "Free eye test for over 60s" even if they are rich. Already had them if needed.
44. "Five, six and seven year olds in class sizes of 30 or less" like when I was a child. Only we got taught well, appropriately to our age and were not obsessively monitored and tested by bureaucracy, which was more important than class sizes.
45. Will give you the free entry to museums and galleries
46. "Overseas aid budget more than doubled" and very poorly-targetted, with money going to India and China as well as Middle-Eastern terrorists
47. "Cancer death rates down by 12 per cent, saving 43,000 lives" due primarily to improved medical science. Improvements have been quicker in the rest of Western Europe.
48. "Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent" because they have signed off the dole, or gone on incapacity benefit. They haven't actually got jobs.
49. "Free nursery places for three and four-year-olds in England, Scotland and Wales" more of my money spent on other people for no obvious reason.
50. "Free fruit for all four to six-year-olds at school" not bad, but my parents could afford fruit, because taxes were lower and they thought fruit was important. Why should I pay for kids of people who think cigarettes and Sky TV (neither of which could I afford even if I wanted them) are important?
So, it's civil union (or am I biased because I really enjoyed the one I went to?), free TV licence and bus travel for old folk, I'll give you improvement to the stock of social housing on benefit of the doubt and finally fruit for children. the ones that have got a lot fatter. Not realy a great record in nearly 12 years is it?
Set that against
1. Taxes rising every year in office, leding in one year to a drop in average take-home pay.
2. 3000+ new criminal offences
3. Economy in freefall, with Britain especially weak. This is proved by the drop in the pound.
4. Crisis in the armed forces due to under funding and overstretch
5. University entrants' poor educational standards, which lead to dreastic measures by many universities, including adding a whole year to degree courses. These people are to take the country forward,a dn they can barely write, have no historical perspective and often barely know their own subjects.
6. Police have lost the respect of the people they need to work with, those that obey the law through most of their life.
7. Obsessive surveillance of people, leading to data loss and snooping by people who have no business.
8. Loss of historic rights, property rights, rights to secure homes, right to go about our business without interference.
9. Destruction of the constitution, and corruption leading to abuse of power in government.
10. 3 million out of work (adding the increase in incapacity figures, assuming people haven't suddenly got more ill, over 1997's to the dole figures) at the start of the downturn. Labour used to complain about that in the most difficult times, even in the early 80s when they had caused it.
11. The rise in power of unaccountable quangos
12. Lies and news management taking the place of accountability in government
The list goes on, but it is clear that the last 12 years have had far more negative impact on Britain than positive. Labout is, as always, a failure.
It's just a shame it turns out we couldn't actually afford most of them
Still that's what our children are for: to pay for our profligacy
Oh and John I am not a troll but a (now) ex-Lab voter
Keep up the good work!
Will
'there are tens of thousands of people in this party who will fight with every last ounce of the breath to make sure the Red Flag flies high and proud over Britain'
FORWARD COMRADES!
I saw you on the Andrew Marr show and was intersted in your blog (even if you didn't reply to me about my Question of why we still have the House of Lords).
Was going to send a comment to 10 Downing Street, but like the House of Lords, their email is in the dark ages, as it says..."I can't email there because it has been taken down as they want to revamp it"
If Labour want to get like Obama they will need to be more switched on to technology...like me aged 55 and a half!!!
Best Regards
Look, the bottom line is that Labour have as much chance of winning a 4th term as Ronnie Biggs has of being made Governor of the Bank of England.
It is all over my friend. Even the once invincible labour heartlands of the north, like Rotherham and Wakefield, are turning blue. People don't want what you are selling any more
Brown is an incompetent and his ineptitude is slowly becoming more evident. From here on Labour only have civil war to look forward to.....and of course another 18 years of Conservative government.
The trouble with your 50 "achievements" is that far too many are made using other people's money.
Your lot have taken government so far away from its basic purposes, and invaded so many areas of individuals' lives, all at huge cost to the poor bloody "hard-working families" in their other manifestation of gouged tax-payers, that it is no longer funny - in fact we are more into Stalin's Russia that Great British liberty.
If you count that as a success, then I feel sorry for you, but not as sorry as for the people who have had to pay for your pipe-dreams.
Your blog title is excellently chosen, if incomplete ... and multiply"
Alan Douglas
Bring it on! Keep up the momentum John and together, Labour, as a champion of a fair and equal society, will win this election for the good of the county, its citizens, and the wider world.
I've looked at your top 50 list and there are some really goods things on it... However, there is a problem with it...it's called implementation. The current Labour government cannot get it right. They dither and they don't think things through properly.
Also, the current Labour government needs to show some humility. The public are angry with Gordon Brown. I mean REALLY angry.
I know you don't want to hear this but Matthew Taylor has a valid point. I really think it is time for you to LISTEN to what the public have to say...and try not to reflect your hopes and dreams onto them instead.
Labour need to learn to listen.
The only real chance Labour have of winning the next general election is if Gordon Brown steps down for the sake of the country and the sake of his party.
This might be hard for you to accept - but Gordon Brown cannot win Labour the next general election.
The sooner your party realise this fact the better.
Keep up the good work with this blog. You might be the only Labour politician who actually gets it.
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gomez
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