Timber ! A bad week for the ConDems

[Dandyman]

Not just being forced to retreat on stealing our forests:

Government abandons forest sell-off - Telegraph

but getting their facts hopelessly wrong on Local Government pay:

Eric Pickles makes gaffe over town hall pay rises | Politics | The Guardian

The Tories and their Orange Book chums must now be dreading the May local elections:

http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html


The thoughts of NSC ?

 

[beorhthelm]

only thought is they should have dropped the woodland sell off weeks ago. not because its wrong, but because its a non-issue thats been allowed to become an embaressment. the cynical might think its only been carried this far to create a "we're listening" moment.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Terrible news. The government considered what many viewed to be a bad move, they listened to the people and altered their tactics. If only we had someone like Mubarak.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think we should get our minds round the fact that 13 years of Labour have f***ed our economy and the ConDems job is to try and sort it out. I don't want frilly "Big Society" bollocks - we're adults having to cope with this shit. I just want the government to take the decisions necessary to sort it out.

As for Labour, they haven't come up with any new ideas. The appointment of Balls as Shadow Chancellor merely reinforces this point.

 

[Superphil]

Terrible news. The government considered what many viewed to be a bad move, they listened to the people and altered their tactics. If only we had someone like Mubarak.

That's what I thought

 

[Dandyman]

Terrible news. The government considered what many viewed to be a bad move, they listened to the people and altered their tactics. If only we had someone like Mubarak.

They were forced to drop the plans by the scale of public opposition and the damage it would do them in political terms. If they thought they could get away with it, they still be handing our forests over to any passing spiv willing to line their pockets.

 

[strings]

Labour have gained a lot of popularilty simply by not having Gordon Brown as leader. Once Milliband has worked out his policies, we'll see how good/bad he really is...

 

[mwrpoole]

Luckily for them labour run Manchester council have given them plenty of ammunition to hit back with.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

They were forced to drop the plans by the scale of public opposition and the damage it would do them in political terms. If they thought they could get away with it, they still be handing our forests over to any passing spiv willing to line their pockets.

Maybe or maybe not. I am glad the potential sell off has been binned as it was a ludicrous idea.

 

[supaseagull]

I think we should get our minds round the fact that 13 years of Labour have f***ed our economy and the ConDems job is to try and sort it out. I don't want frilly "Big Society" bollocks - we're adults having to cope with this shit. .

oh my god do you believe everything that the Daily Mail tells you!?!?

We would be in this mess REGARDLESS of who was in power. Do you really think that if Michael Howard's Conservatives had won the 2005 election then things would have been different? no of course it wouldn't.

The reason why this country is in a mess is not because of government policy but because the last labour and tory governments failed to regulate the banks sufficiently and that's only because the banking industry cannot be regulated sufficiently by any government.

In case it's escaped your attention, this country isn't the only one who is going through an economic nightmare, but the rest of the western world - are the last government to blame for that? of course not!

What makes me laugh about this blame the last government thing is that Cameron, Osbourne & the Lib Dems all pretty much backed the last governments economic policy until the election so if you want to blame the last government for the mess created by OUR gluttony then you're as gullible as the next Tory voter!

 

[beorhthelm]

If they thought they could get away with it, they still be handing our forests over to any passing spiv willing to line their pockets.

ah, i see you've been reading the media hype on the issue. why should the government own and manage woodland in the first place? it was an archaic purpose and the previous government had been selling it off quite happily for years (no doubt the one before that too - its really not a partisan issue).

 

[JBizzle]

LABOUR HAD 14 YEARS AND FAILED MISERABLY!

I fail to see why people forget this?

 

[Simster]

The reason why this country is in a mess is not because of government policy but because the last labour and tory governments failed to regulate the banks sufficiently and that's only because the banking industry cannot be regulated sufficiently by any government.

I agree, although the fact that Labour completely disregarded our balance of payments deficit has now left the country at the mercy of a Tory led government being able to cut and sell off anything they want, then point at Labour and say "it's their fault, look at this debt they've left us".

If the debt left behind had been remotely manageable, we wouldn't be having to put up with this Tory public sell-off bollocks.

 

[Dandyman]

ah, i see you've been reading the media hype on the issue. why should the government own and manage woodland in the first place? it was an archaic purpose and the previous government had been selling it off quite happily for years (no doubt the one before that too - its really not a partisan issue).

Of course I've been reading the media hype, how on earth could a mere pleb have an opinion on anything wot you clever people discuss otherwise ?

I hold no brief for Neo-Labour and their right agenda but I do hold the view expressed by a whole variety of people (look at anything from the Enclosures Act, Kinder Scout through to today) that this is our land not just the property of a wealthy few.

 

[Napper]

LABOUR HAD 14 YEARS AND FAILED MISERABLY!

I fail to see why people forget this?

This is surely a joke post ?

 

[Biscuit]

I agree, although the fact that Labour completely disregarded our balance of payments deficit has now left the country at the mercy of a Tory led government being able to cut and sell off anything they want, then point at Labour and say "it's their fault, look at this debt they've left us".

If the debt left behind had been remotely manageable, we wouldn't be having to put up with this Tory public sell-off bollocks.

Yes but it's the ferocity of the cuts that doesn't make sense. They're too deep. If you're 16-25 the world is pretty f***ing scary right now. I should know, I fall within that age bracket (just) and I've just been made redundant. The number of unemployed 18-24-year-olds is nearly one million. That's enough to fill every single Premier League stadium and still have a cue of 200,000 outside. So what to do? Rule out education because unless your family can support you - you ain't going nowhere buddy. That's if you can even find a course that suits as university places has been reduced by 10,000.

The cuts we're seeing will harm those in society least equipped to suffer further harm. The continuing victory of short-sightedness and alarmism in our political process is to be lamented. We're effectively cutting jobs and cutting help for the unemployed. The Government have also scrapped recruitment subsidies for firms who are willing to take on anyone who has been out of work for six months or more as well as the youth guarantee, which promises work, training or an internship to 18-24-year-olds struggling to get a job. The hopes of an entire generation of young people are dying. That's the long term reality of these over zealous cuts.

 

[beorhthelm]

Of course I've been reading the media hype, how on earth could a mere pleb have an opinion on anything wot you clever people discuss otherwise ?

you dont need to be clever to take 10-20 minutes to familise with the whole picture, rather than absorb the united Telegraph/Guardian (never thought i'd see that ) slant that a bogey man (or "any passing spiv") is going to tear down every tree in the nation as a result of this.

 

[Biscuit]

This is surely a joke post ?

No. Some people actually think this.

 

[Simster]

Yes but it's the ferocity of the cuts that doesn't make sense. They're too deep.

You don't need to convince me, I already agree. However, the Labour administration left a situation where the debt was pretty much unmanageable, which sadly has given the Tories a carte blanche to cut what they like.

As for being in the 16-25 age bracket, you're deluded if you think they're the worst hit. Wait til you're a bit older with a family to support and a mortgage to pay. Everybody is getting hit hard.

 

[strings]

The number of unemployed 18-24-year-olds is nearly one million. That's enough to fill every single Premier League stadium and still have a cue of 200,000 outside. So what to do?

It sounds like we need a Premier League stadium expansion programme. That should sort the problem out.

In all seriousness, great post. I'm lucky - I'm 25 and have found my way into a good career. I feel sorry for my younger siblings, who are both about to graduate.