Comments on: A speech can impress party members but doesn’t mend the economy

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:53:53 +0000

So now we are in the Brown Bust we are to have free computers, free theatre tickets, free swimming, free nurseries, and a whole lot more I've probably forgotten… why not throw in free petrol and free booze as well, and not just for us but for the whole world.

By: APL

APL — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:45:05 +0000

Simon_C: "To browse the web, help kids to their homework and interact with government sites a simple £200 or less net-PC would be more than enough."

This really REALLY infuriates me! My son now thinks it is imperitive to have internet access to do his homework. The school supplies him with photocopied pages, not a text book in sight. I often suggest he trots of down to the library where he will find, you know, books.

I swear, he has never used an index to find a topic in a book. The resistance displayed when I suggest he does is enough to make my blood boil.

God help this next generation when due to Labour dithering we have power cuts and energy rationing.

I have seen what the state school system has done, I hate it.

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:09:59 +0000

Maybe you are blessed with children?
Maybe you hope for a pension when you retire?
Maybe you want the pound in your pocket to be able to buy foreign goods (like oil?)
Maybe you would like the armed forces loved and cherished?
Finally, how about some attempt at getting the Police back onto the streets?
Perhaps, as you say, things can only get better?

By: Watervole

Watervole — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:12:05 +0000

I estimate that I now spend about 65% of each day working just to pay my personal level of tax – and I am not one of the mythical rich. Brown's "novice" mismanagement of the economy and the raising of the national debt – which figure he seems unable to accurately reproduce – means that I will now have to spend nearly 70% of my day just trying to get to break even.

Eventually, if he flogs this horse for long enough, it will fall over with a gasp and expire and he won't be able to flog it any more.

I hope he sleeps well at night, tucked up tight with his puerile presbyterian philosophies.

He aspired to high office, an office to which he is unsuited and incapable of fulfilling with any success. Were he a CEO, the board would have kicked him out long ago. Why does UK Plc suffer such fools?

His conference speech was all about "me, me me!" It was a mini budget speech with no care about the country or the people. His every announcement is a piece of PR spin with no actual deliverables. He is worse than Blair and without the ability to even make it entertaining. I still don't know from the vacuous hot air he came up with in his conference speech, what he is going to do to sort this country out apart from speed up the process of installing the ID card scheme so he can monitor our every thought and deed.

If I wanted to live in a Stalinist country with a bust economy then I could go somewhere in the eastern block.

He is hopeless at everything, even PR, and should crawl back in to the hole he came out of before – and I agree wholeheartedly with George Osborne – he bankrupts the country. No wonder the US didn't want him anywhere near their economy and Paulsen refused to see him. They've heard of the curse of Jonah and probably want nothing to do with his half-baked schemes.

You're absolutely right and it is about time we kicked out this apology for a government and its empty-headed stooge. Even George Bush sounds like a towering intellect by comparison.

By: Johnny Norfolk

Johnny Norfolk — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:15:59 +0000

Problem is there are alot of lemmings.

By: Socrates

Socrates — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:51:03 +0000

Many years ago I attended my last Conservative Party Conference after nearly twenty consecutive years. John Major was wrecking the Party's reputation and selling the Country out to Europe whilst pretending to be a Conservative. I was very amused to observe the magical effect of TV cameras on the behaviour of the assembled representatives. Those familiar with the Winter Gardens will remember that there was an overflow area in the ballroom adjacent to the main hall. During the wait for the leader's address those who happened to be sitting there did so merely by chance based on their position in the queue rather than some political selection. In the overflow area was a giant screen showing the picture being broadcast from the conference hall. In the overflow area, we were treated to a truly surreal scene. With no watching cameras, it was possible to see the real feelings of the audience as various cabinet ministers were introduced. Whilst the screen in front of us relayed apparently enthusiastic applause in the main hall for the likes of Heseltine, Clarke and Dorrell, this normally polite, refined and random sample of the Party workers greeted them with an overwhelming barrage of boos, catcalls, hisses and slow handclapping.

Had there been a similar overflow area at Manchester yesterday perhaps we might have experienced what the Labour Party workers really felt.

By: Bazman

Bazman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:33:46 +0000

Politics is a bit like religion John. When Labour got into power I was down. Now a few years later things are sweet. I firmly believe the Labour party are responsible for this. How is a Tory government going to help me?

By: David morris

David morris — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:27:51 +0000

John,

what is needed is for every senior member of your party to be repeating the context of your excellent post again, and again. I hope this starts to happen at conference next week,, I cannot believe how many blatant mistruths (national debt, 18% inflation under the Tories etc) Brown is allowed to repeat, without any challenge from your party, even in PMQs.

meanwhile you can bet your life that Cameron will not be given the easy ride by media that Brown enjoyed, especially by the "completely unbiased" BBC. Let's hope that he nails his speech, with some meat on the bone about real policy direction, even if we all know any detailed policy will be copied, and ultimately ruined, by Brown and his bunch of halfwits.

By: DennisA

DennisA — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:51:03 +0000

He said he mended the roof whilst the sun shone, trouble is he ran off with the lead….

By: GeoffH

GeoffH — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:39:36 +0000

Yes, the BoE should regain its powers to regulate the banking and financials systems.

The FSA has been too focused on consumer protection and taken its eye of the ball in that area.

In fact, I suspect the regulatory needs in the consumer area would be better allocated to the Office of Fair Trading and the FSA simply wound up altogether.