Elections (in Britain this time)
Well... bugger me. England sure does suck.
I can't believe so many people are gullible enough to fall for Cameron's party. I really dislike the man - he's just the kind of slimy, lying politician I particularly love to hate, along with Sarkozy.
I do dislike Labour a lot. They are a right-wing party, so this is natural. But at the same time, they are a right-wing party with leftist roots. Blair's legacy includes:
- Introducing the minimum wage
- 118 new hospitals
- 188 new GP clinics
- Waiting lists cut
- 20,000 more doctors and 70,000 more nurses
- Over 1,000,000 new jobs
- Fuel allowances, free TV licences and free travel for the elderly
- Free nursery places for all 3-4 year olds
- Gay rights in civil partnerships
- Devolution
- Peace in Northern Ireland.
Yes, he made mistakes and in many cases he betrayed the left - top up university fees, privatising the NHS, increasing the gap between rich and poor, cash-for-honours and of course Iraq, which was a calamity (but one that the Tories would also have led Britain into).
I can't claim to love Labour, but they are better than the Tories, and it took this thrashing and the risk of losing to the Tories for me to acknowledge it. The Tories say one thing and do another. Cameron says he supports gay rights and votes against them. He says he loves the environment, and his official car trails his bicycle everywhere. He says he's "compassionate" but his party are the same as ever; closet racists, closet homophobes and not-quite-closet classists.
So, yes, these elections were depressing. Democracy is a game of choosing the lesser of two evils, and that's what Labour are.
Locally, Labour won Luton council. The Lib Dems ran it with the Tories before, but Labour has won an outright majority. I'm not too happy about this; I'd prefer a Lib-Dem run council. Never mind.
When Scotland gains independence, I'm coming over. :)
I can't believe so many people are gullible enough to fall for Cameron's party. I really dislike the man - he's just the kind of slimy, lying politician I particularly love to hate, along with Sarkozy.
I do dislike Labour a lot. They are a right-wing party, so this is natural. But at the same time, they are a right-wing party with leftist roots. Blair's legacy includes:
- Introducing the minimum wage
- 118 new hospitals
- 188 new GP clinics
- Waiting lists cut
- 20,000 more doctors and 70,000 more nurses
- Over 1,000,000 new jobs
- Fuel allowances, free TV licences and free travel for the elderly
- Free nursery places for all 3-4 year olds
- Gay rights in civil partnerships
- Devolution
- Peace in Northern Ireland.
Yes, he made mistakes and in many cases he betrayed the left - top up university fees, privatising the NHS, increasing the gap between rich and poor, cash-for-honours and of course Iraq, which was a calamity (but one that the Tories would also have led Britain into).
I can't claim to love Labour, but they are better than the Tories, and it took this thrashing and the risk of losing to the Tories for me to acknowledge it. The Tories say one thing and do another. Cameron says he supports gay rights and votes against them. He says he loves the environment, and his official car trails his bicycle everywhere. He says he's "compassionate" but his party are the same as ever; closet racists, closet homophobes and not-quite-closet classists.
So, yes, these elections were depressing. Democracy is a game of choosing the lesser of two evils, and that's what Labour are.
Locally, Labour won Luton council. The Lib Dems ran it with the Tories before, but Labour has won an outright majority. I'm not too happy about this; I'd prefer a Lib-Dem run council. Never mind.
When Scotland gains independence, I'm coming over. :)