Current Affairs The General Election

[Mr. White]

Pete you cannot seriously be suggesting that the Tories do more for people that live in council estates and struggle on little or no private income.

How about lower taxes? The lowest paid workers get to keep more of their hard earned money. The personal income tax allowance has almost doubled since 2010. It's not just the rich that pay less income tax.

 

[scratchnsurf]

It was also Labour who got rid of the 11+......

I'm not sure what your point is Pete. You asked for an example, so I gave one.

 

[Tubey]

The Tories try to provide the basis for the worse off to better themselves and gain employment. Labour just wants to spoon feed it’s voter base....

There is truth to this. In theory.

In practice the Tories don't do it; they by and large punish and scapegoat instead.

Neither party do well for the poor, in terms of helping their aspirations anyway. Labour provide the comfier 'safety net' but that's all.

 

[peteblue]

er - no

er- yes.....

 

[tsubaki]

er- yes.....

no, pete

for a start, that was not a Conservative government

 

[peteblue]

no, pete

for a start, that was not a Conservative government

It was a Conservative government in 1890 that introduced the housing of the Working Classes Act that encouraged Local Councils to improve housing. In 1893 London County Council built the first council estate, I’ll grant you that by now the Liberals held national office. This doesn’t alter the fact that the Labour Party were not even in existence at the time, nor does it alter the fact that it was Conservative governments from 1951 to 1963 that actually built most of the social housing stock....

 

[tsubaki]

It was a Conservative government in 1890 that introduced the housing of the Working Classes Act that encouraged Local Councils to improve housing. In 1893 London County Council built the first council estate, I’ll grant you that by now the Liberals held national office. This doesn’t alter the fact that the Labour Party were not even in existence at the time, nor does it alter the fact that it was Conservative governments from 1951 to 1963 that actually built most of the social housing stock....

Ah, the most positive possible spin that can be put on things.

For a start, the reason why the various Acts aimed at improving the standard of living of the working class were brought in was because decades of neglect by Tory governments had led to a situation where poverty and crime were very high and sanitation was low. Engels had literally written the book on the conditions that many of our ancestors were exposed to.

Secondly, the burst in council housing provision after the 1951 election was impressive but noone should pretend that the Tories had been anything other than bounced into it - Attlee's government had been building nearly 200000 a year. Let us not forget that the Tories sold most of them off within thirty or forty years too.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Peter Reid tells us how it now it is...

Peter Reid: ‘I told Boris Johnson he was a fat, lying disgrace’

Peter Reid, the former Everton midfielder, talks to Andy Hunter about champagne socialism, his toughest opponents and party time under Howard Kendall

amp.theguardian.com

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Ah, the most positive possible spin that can be put on things.

For a start, the reason why the various Acts aimed at improving the standard of living of the working class were brought in was because decades of neglect by Tory governments had led to a situation where poverty and crime were very high and sanitation was low. Engels had literally written the book on the conditions that many of our ancestors were exposed to.

Secondly, the burst in council housing provision after the 1951 election was impressive but noone should pretend that the Tories had been anything other than bounced into it - Attlee's government had been building nearly 200000 a year. Let us not forget that the Tories sold most of them off within thirty or forty years too.

I'm sure you have the answer, but why was it bad for government to allow council house tenants to buy their homes at a discounted rate, yet a good thing for a government to allegedly want to allow private tenants to buy their homes at a discounted rate?

 

[tsubaki]

I'm sure you have the answer, but why was it bad for government to allow council house tenants to buy their homes at a discounted rate, yet a good thing for a government to allegedly want to allow private tenants to buy their homes at a discounted rate?

I don't think it was a bad thing to allow council house tenants to buy their homes. The bad thing was not investing that money in building more of them, because of all the problems it has led to.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I don't think it was a bad thing to allow council house tenants to buy their homes. The bad thing was not investing that money in building more of them, because of all the problems it has led to.

So selling them wasn't a problem really, it was not building more homes?

 

[roydo]

Let us not forget that the Tories sold most of them off within thirty or forty years too.

I don't think it was a bad thing to allow council house tenants to buy their homes

 

[Tubey]

Right to Buy is a fantastic policy.

Not replenishing the housing stock with the money generated isn't a fantastic policy.

They go hand in hand.

 

[tsubaki]

So selling them wasn't a problem really, it was not building more homes?

No, and I think Labour should come out with a better version of it. I've said that on here more than once.

 

[tsubaki]

It helps if you include all of both posts