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cossie's brief political diatribe [message #46828]

Sat, 10 November 2007 22:18

Nigel

On fire!

Location: England
Registered: November 2003
Messages: 1756

Hi cossie

It is easily forgotten that when Mrs Thatcher’s government came to power it was at a time when the socialists had almost bankrupted the nation, we were in hock to the rest of the industrialised world, the dead were left unburied and uncremated and the rubbish was left uncollected on the streets. That’s why she was elected and she had a pretty tough job to do. Later the country was involved in a modern type of civil war involving who was going to run the country - the elected government or the trade unions. One side was going to lose and while the change in the north east was to be deprecated it was partially the effect of Arthur Scargill’s intransigence alongside the fact that coal was fast becoming a thing of the past and uneconomical to mine. That fact had to be faced sooner or later.

While income tax is lower these days I cannot agree that we are a low tax economy. 17.5% VAT is not low. Contrast GST in Canada at 7%. I think we would agree on the social things you list that should be free - sorry, not free, paid for by taxpayers’ money - but they do not require a socialist government.

Privatisation is a complex subject. I deplore the selling of our assets to foreign companies, but I see that as a result of our rigid adherence to EU law. Because of that it could not be prevented. Under privatisation the utilities have become more efficient. I forget how many months the GPO made me wait for a telephone.

Public transport is an interest of mine and I also deplore the state of the railways. Again the blame can be laid at the door of EU law even if our civil servants wrongly interpreted it. However, I only have praise for the way Stagecoach and National Express have improved the bus services in our area. No one in authority knows what an integrated transport policy is in this country. To find that out you need to go to Switzerland, probably the most right wing country in Europe where the trains are fast, clean, reliable, cheap and in profit, where the buses are timed to deliver to and collect from the trains, where the same ticket from A to B can be used on trains, trams, buses or boats. What have ten years of socialist government done for public transport, or even for private transport? Nothing. Finally a cross London rail link will be built in umpteen years’ time. The one highspeed railway we have was built by private initiative and initiated under the Conservative government. Where are the rest? Road building was stopped. No wonder our roads can’t cope.

You and I, cossie, obviously share the same ideals, but why should they be hijacked by the left?

Hugs
N

I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.

…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.

		cossie's brief political diatribe By: Nigel on Sat, 10 November 2007 22:18
		Re: cossie's brief political diatribe By: saben on Sun, 11 November 2007 06:24
		Terminology By: saben on Sun, 11 November 2007 06:42
		Re: Terminology By: Scott on Sun, 11 November 2007 15:56
		Re: Terminology By: JFR on Mon, 12 November 2007 13:03
		A response to Saben. By: cossie on Tue, 13 November 2007 06:17
		OK, so it's muskets at twenty paces! By: cossie on Sun, 11 November 2007 06:41
		Tax! By: saben on Sun, 11 November 2007 06:46
		Re: OK, so it's muskets at twenty paces! By: Nigel on Sun, 11 November 2007 08:58
		Umm. I think I'd better clarify a bit ... By: cossie on Mon, 12 November 2007 05:13
		Re: Umm. I think I'd better clarify a bit ... By: Nigel on Mon, 12 November 2007 09:30
		Hope you enjoyed your break! By: cossie on Tue, 13 November 2007 05:11
		Re: Hope you enjoyed your break! By: Nigel on Wed, 14 November 2007 23:09
		Exit lines! By: cossie on Thu, 15 November 2007 02:39
		Re: Exit lines! By: Nigel on Thu, 15 November 2007 09:12
		Re: Umm. I think I'd better clarify a bit ... By: acam on Thu, 15 November 2007 12:40
		This is a very brief reply ... By: cossie on Fri, 16 November 2007 06:31
		Re: cossie's brief political diatribe By: acam on Thu, 15 November 2007 12:15
		Hi, Anthony! By: cossie on Fri, 16 November 2007 06:40

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