Interesting article by John Harris in Friday's Guardian, initially about the student protests. I'll recap some of his points, and add a few. Obviously it attracted it's fair share of criticism from the people that leave comments on webpages. Y'know bloggers and the like.
The Con-Dem government have been in power for six months.
They have no real mandate (about 1 in 5 of the population voted Tory).
The Dem part of the government have reneged on various manifesto pledges (Clegg signed a pledge against increasing university tuition fees. Tuition fees increased this week).
Higher education is to become the preserve of the wealthy again.
EMA (up to £30 for poorer 16-18 year olds staying on at college) is to be axed.
This week Ian Duncan Smith refered to avoidance of work as a 'sin'.
But there are currently 5 unemployed people going for each available job.
Child care credit is to be cut to 'force' young mothers back to work.
The cuts the government are bringing in in benefit reform and welfare will, according to many independent commentators including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, hit poorer families and women the hardest.
Plans to restructure housing benefit could lead to a dramatic increase in evictions, DHS B&B, and homelessness.
Libraries, care for the elderly and other public facilities are going to be closed.
Arts budgets will be cut by up to 100% by some councils.
The bankers will be left to do what they do, and be paid enormous bonuses, despite them being partly responsible for some of the mess. Barclays has announced a bonus pot of £1.6 billion.
The cabinet contains 18 millionaires.
David Cameron (ex-Eton and Oxford) describes himself and his wife as 'middle-class'.
His personal fortune is estimated at somewhere between £3.4 million.
Cameron's helper Nick Clegg is sitting on £1.8 million.
Middle-class or old-school, rich, ruling elite?
We're all in this together.
In other news Pulp have reformed.
17 Last Day of the Miners' Strike.wma
The Con-Dem government have been in power for six months.
They have no real mandate (about 1 in 5 of the population voted Tory).
The Dem part of the government have reneged on various manifesto pledges (Clegg signed a pledge against increasing university tuition fees. Tuition fees increased this week).
Higher education is to become the preserve of the wealthy again.
EMA (up to £30 for poorer 16-18 year olds staying on at college) is to be axed.
This week Ian Duncan Smith refered to avoidance of work as a 'sin'.
But there are currently 5 unemployed people going for each available job.
Child care credit is to be cut to 'force' young mothers back to work.
The cuts the government are bringing in in benefit reform and welfare will, according to many independent commentators including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, hit poorer families and women the hardest.
Plans to restructure housing benefit could lead to a dramatic increase in evictions, DHS B&B, and homelessness.
Libraries, care for the elderly and other public facilities are going to be closed.
Arts budgets will be cut by up to 100% by some councils.
The bankers will be left to do what they do, and be paid enormous bonuses, despite them being partly responsible for some of the mess. Barclays has announced a bonus pot of £1.6 billion.
The cabinet contains 18 millionaires.
David Cameron (ex-Eton and Oxford) describes himself and his wife as 'middle-class'.
His personal fortune is estimated at somewhere between £3.4 million.
Cameron's helper Nick Clegg is sitting on £1.8 million.
Middle-class or old-school, rich, ruling elite?
We're all in this together.
In other news Pulp have reformed.
17 Last Day of the Miners' Strike.wma
I was just talking about all this with the missus. Vote-wise I don't have a problem with the Tories and the Lib Dems forming a government but I agree, I think that what they're doing is bad for the country. Probably they're doing it because they genuinely believe it'll lead to a better society, but the atavistic Labour supporter in me can't help thinking that they're doing it because, in the words of Paul O'Grady, they're bastards.
ReplyDeleteI'm just hoping that the unprecedented scale of their assault on the fabric of society will, at the next election, see them consigned to electoral oblivion for similarly an unprecedented length of time (like, forever).
My underlying feeling is that there are members of the govt, Tories, who have always wanted to cut services, funding and the like, and now have the perfect excuse to do it. The public repeat the mantra 'cuts must be made', which justifies everything, and the Lib Dems take half the flak/credit. Meanwhile George Osborne does what he likes.
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ReplyDeleteI love Clegg's comment, that maybe he should not have said what he did on tuition fees before the election and in the manifesto. Which really means "I lied but I'm comfortable about that and what is all the fuss about", cunt.
ReplyDeleteIn true Orwellian style, We Are All In This Together (But Some Of Us Are More In This Together Than Others.)
ReplyDeletethank god pulp have reformed. Jarvis will know what to do :-)
ReplyDeleteIn this part of the world, our right wing National government are doing the same thing, cuts to child care, getting rid of state houses for life etc. We had 9 years of a Labour government and these National bastards had been waiting for their chance to screw the poor and helpless.....our prime minister was a merchant banker before he entered politics..the same c#nts are ruling the world.
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