andrew wrote:
She will get a crash course by Gordon Brown.

HeHeHe

Is Dennis Healey still alive?

He could advice how to borrow more money from the IMF (he was the Loony Chancellor when they went cap-in-hand) and the IMF ordered stringent cuts, and massive price increases to bail us out !

In The Know wrote:
andrew wrote:
She will get a crash course by Gordon Brown.

HeHeHe

Is Dennis Healey still alive?

He could advice how to borrow more money from the IMF (he was the Loony Chancellor when they went cap-in-hand) and the IMF ordered stringent cuts, and massive price increases to bail us out !

Perhaps sell our silver or what's left of our gold reserves. Perhaps she do something with lead from church roofs.

the inane belief that everyone labelled a "socialist" or "conservative" acts and believes everything single thing in a sort ritualized way is a sure sign of stupidity but people can't help but demonstrate their gormlessness time and time again.

The Neo-liberal 'free market' mantras that have now dominated especially the USA & UK since the Reagan / Thatcher years have been shown time & time again to be a scam and a sham yet still the "trickle down" mantra (never ever YET shown to work) is trotted out..and that's basically what the current brand of politicians (apart from the popular Corbyn Labour faction) are on about.

The pathetic claim that Corbyn is some raving communist is idiotic: his brand of socialism is (with huge does of capitalism) is no different to FDR's New Deal policies which catapulted the USA into the greatest wealth creating nation with a burgeoning Middle Class.

Most of Europe has similar policies. Corbyn's are basically the same as Germany's which has rivaled the USA from the 40s to 80s wealth creation under every government (left or right). And Germany still forges ahead while Britain builds imaginary wealth in the City of London where is remains.

What Europe doesn't have is a media dominated by the far-right (the BBC falls into line out of some perceived fear) which is owned by tax avoiding billionaires who are determined to maintain the status quo - their own country (Britain) to be used as a sort of bank and repository of wealth and screw the masses.

Small examples like the inflated artificial property market...propped up by the most ludicrous aspect of business welfare and socialism for the masses but never commented on by so-called Tories (locked into 1980s thinking)...the transfer of taxes into private landlord hands via rent subsidies now in the multi £Billions each year..a situation so out of control and which if stopped would bring about the collapse of Britain.

But it will collapse because it cannot go anywhere but down. And it will be catastrophic unless...a simple Corbyn policy of directing those subsidies back to local councils for home building happens.

That's just one (let's not talk about trains while ALL of Europe operates Government owned sensible, clean, reliable trains throughout the continent unlike the UK's ramshackle privatised mess that has simply out a million more cars on the ailing roads)

A legacy of Margaret Thatcher's insane (never ever tested) beliefs that she knew better than others and who was determined to mold the country into what she believed was the ideal.

You can love or hate her but the adoration of Thatcher was exactly the same as the adoration of the Perons..where Eva Peron (after she and her Nazi loving husband had stolen the countries wealth) would stand on a balcony in front of 10,000s of adoring, weeping peasants and proclaim "I am here for you the great unwashed !!" flinging her arms towards them as gold and diamonds bracelets cascaded around her wrists.

This thread about Corbyn and The Spy is just another sign of fear from the far -right Carpet Baggers..it's backfired as the polls have shown.

andrew wrote:
Perhaps sell our silver or what's left of our gold reserves. Perhaps she do something with lead from church roofs.

... and what happens when thats all gone?

We'd still be left with the debt - as we were in 2010.

There would still be interest to pay.

We would STILL be paying out more each month than was coming in - so would have to borrow more just to pay the bills.
... even MORE interest ... higher national debt ... no end in sight to the cycle.

In The Know wrote:
We'd still be left with the debt - as we were in 2010

Lectures now from a bloke who has no idea what the 2010 figure was!

And is incapable of Googling it.



Hint - it rose more since a Tory government came back, than when Labour was in power; soon to exceed £2 trillion...

www.nationaldebtclock.co.uk

hedda wrote:
A legacy of Margaret Thatcher's beliefs that she knew better than others and who was determined to mold the country into what she believed was the ideal.

... which in fact turned out to be the ideal !

Highest ever home ownership (and thus having a stake in their future prosperity)

Highest ever employment

As you both know, I was a great fan of Maggie personally (a bright, attractive, successful lady). I liked her economic and financial approach and disagreed totally with her social approach - but she was a good leader. Far better than useless May. So I back Corbyn with Cable as a strong Deputy. This requires a huge boost in LibDem voting next time around (which might be sooner than you think ITK).

In The Know wrote:
hedda wrote:
A legacy of Margaret Thatcher's beliefs that she knew better than others and who was determined to mold the country into what she believed was the ideal.

... which in fact turned out to be the ideal !

Highest ever home ownership (and thus having a stake in their future prosperity)

Highest ever employment


Highest ever employment NO not the case as mainly since the oil crisis 73/74 and certainly since the industrial revolution and now for many decades the world produces year on year more services and goods with less labour. An obvious situation not faced honestly at all. (e.g. retirement age should be going down not up!!! To reduce the available labour thus more available jobs less unemployment)

see www.economicshelp.org/blog/780/unemploym...yment-rates-history/
excerpts
1950's and 1960s "... The golden age of the 1950s and 1960s. The one prolonged period of full employment was the 1950s and 1960s. This was helped by the global post-war economic boom and also the commitment to full employment which was an important feature of the post-war consensus.

After the 1980-81 recession, unemployment rose even further. This rise in unemployment proved more persistent because it caused structural unemployment – resulting from the decline in the manufacturing sector.
Factors not noted in the article would be for one the measurement criteria changes. The lack of use of economically inactive figure which gives a constant figure as records % in work against available.

in the 1980s was that even during the boom period 1985-89, unemployment was relatively high.

But yes to homes "a good thing" - regrettably local government had their hands tied and were unable to replace much needed housing sold to council tenants. I agree about the sales, I agree with you ITK it was a good thing that gave many a chance. It was a socialist action by a non socialist government!!!! But a job half done not considering the full problem by not maintaining much needed levels of housing for those desperate UK citizens unable to rent at high rental level or buy a home.

It beats me how someone who was commonly regarded as a crude, unoriginal and outdated thinker in the late 1970s, and who hasn't changed that much in all this time, suddenly excites so much emotion, either way. It's like shiny objects dangled before a newly discovered tribe.

Thatcher's 17% interest rates (B+3% really; 20%!) were an absolute disaster.

Businesses had to pay this extortionate rate on borrowings - to allow them develop and expand.

Currently base rate is .5%, although the National Debt is spiralling towards £2 trillion.

At an unprecedented level of growth. We simply are borrowing to pay our mortgage - and the Brexit uncertainty is becoming a serious problem.


The Tories just don't know what to do. And the DUP who are propping them up, have to be consulted...

Pru wrote:
It beats me how someone who was commonly regarded as a crude, unoriginal and outdated thinker in the late 1970s, and who hasn't changed that much in all this time, suddenly excites so much emotion, either way. It's like shiny objects dangled before a newly discovered tribe.

Its fear, simple as

People are terrified that all the good work done will be destroyed by a further bout of mismanagement.

wjlmarsh wrote:
I agree with you ITK it was a good thing that gave many a chance. It was a socialist action by a non socialist government!!!!

the first time that a Capitalist venture - encouraging people to home ownership and having a real stake in their future - is described as Socialist .... lol !