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Conservatives Future

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
do the conservatives have a chance of regaining power in this country?

do we even want them to?

discuss please!!! ...

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I really do fear the Conservatives will get in in the next election. I mean New Labour are shite too but they are preferable to Cameron and his Tories, just because he's supposedly touchy feely and loving towards everyone that doesnt make the rest of the party so. They're still the same in the core.
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    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    I hope not!

    But with the failiure of New "Tory" Labour, I daresay people are wanting a change. Oh, dear.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Cameron and the Conservative party have the best chance since Blair became Labour party leader to win the election. Go for it i say! Hope they win!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    do the conservatives have a chance of regaining power in this country?

    Yes. But it's too early to say whether they will win the next election. At the moment a lot of people would bet on a hung parliament following the next election.
    do we even want them to?

    discuss please!!! ...

    Some people want them to regain power, others don't.

    If you want high taxes accompanied by NHS cuts, unparalleled government interference in your life (such as fines for not sorting your rubbish out for recycling properly, ID cards and the government telling you how to feed your children) then you probably won't want the Conservatives to regain power. Is it fair that NHS cuts rarely affect Labour areas disproportionately affecting Conservative and LibDem areas? Is it coincidental? :rolleyes:

    Is it fair that Scotland and Wales - Labour strongholds, are overrepresented in Parliament? How can that be democratic? Is it fair that Prescott gets paid £134,000 a year for doing god knows what whilst pocketing a £1.5 million pension? (Whilst also disgracing his office by not paying his council tax and sleeping around).

    The LibDems and Menzies Campbell are a bad joke; they can't be trusted with security, crime or anything really. The Conservatives are the only credible opposition and they should win the next election but it's too early to say for sure.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I really don't see what the fear is, New Labour is just basically the Tories with a smily face. Blair is a standard Thatcherite and everyone know's it.

    The Tories will get back in power, it's inevitable people will get sick of Labour so it's not a matter of if, but when.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you want high taxes accompanied by NHS cuts

    Define NHS Cuts.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Define NHS Cuts.

    You're as bad as Blagsta sometimes.

    Anyway, the Conservatives here seem to define NHS cuts pretty well.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I never thought I would vote for the conservatives, however Labour are really making a fucking mess of things!

    Saying that I would never vote conservative aslong as the agree to legalise fox hunting :no:

    :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Calvin wrote:
    Saying that I would never vote conservative aslong as the agree to legalise fox hunting :no:

    :thumb:

    Er since the 'ban' on fox hunting was passed in 2004 hunts have continued to meet. The Hunting Act 2004 has a few loopholes and the police have more important things to do anyway than patrol acres of countryside. The Conservative leadership has not pledged to repeal the Hunting Act 2004. It has been hinted that they would allow a free vote in Parliament which would allow MPs to vote according to their conscience on whether to retain or repeal the act. (Previously, some Conservative MPs voted for a ban while many others opposed it). Regardless, surely there are more important things for you to base your vote on than foxes...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Anyway, the Conservatives here seem to define NHS cuts pretty well.

    Yes. let's look at those cuts shall we [emphasis is mine]
    • "The Royal College of Nursing estimated in August that 18,000 jobs have been cut " - Although the NHS claims that only 900 people have actually been made redundant, which is right the estimate or the figure which is simple maths (i.e. what was there on day X less what was there on day B). Next you have to ask yourself why. Should the NHS continue to employ people who are not needed in those jobs? Should we look at other ways of providing a service, which might actually be cheaper?
    • "Despite Labour's much-vaunted claim that its primary care White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, published on 30 January, would spell a reprieve for community hospitals, 81 are still threatened by of cutbacks or closure, according to the Community Hospitals Association" - So not actual closure yet then, no mention of the £700m worth of new building happening. Again ask yourself why these hospitals may be under threat at all, are they fit for use still, are they being replced by something else? Do we actually need all of them?
    • "2,036 bed losses have already occurred since April" - Why is this a bad thing? Should the NHS be measured by the number of beds it has, considering that the number had reduced every year for the last 40?
    • "Trainee doctors and nurses fece [sic] unemployment" - Does training to be a doctor or nurse automatically entitle you to a job then? For life?
    • "The number of managers in the NHS is increasing almost three times as fast as the number of doctors and nurses. There are now 264,012 administrators in the NHS, compared to 175,646 beds." - I don't manage a single bed. Does that mean that I am a waste of NHS resources? If it was a 1:1 ratio would that be correct, if so, why?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Regardless, surely there are more important things for you to base your vote on than foxes...
    Gotta agree with that. I couldn't give a shit about foxes, frankly. But considering this seems to be the only way in which the parties seem to differ, I can see why it might come down to that. The Lib Dems seem to be the only mainstream party that actually offer any sort of alternative to what's already in place, even if you don't agree with their policies, but they're not gonna come close to winning anyway, so what's the point? At this rate if I was planning on voting, I'd just throw all principle out of the window and vote for whoever made me personally better off.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote is quite right about the Tories and Labour being one and the same. Tony Blair is more right wing than many in the Tory Party.

    However there are still a few core Labour values that have managed to survive the arrival of New Labour: the NHS is one of them. And although there's already too much private interference, there is little doubt than the Tories would take it a lot further.

    The Tories cannot be trusted with public services. Or with welfare. Or with taxes (that is to say, that they won't lower them simply to benefit the rich while fucking up the country and everyone else in it).

    That's the bottom line. Until they do, they remain as likely an option for me as the Natural Law Party.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    [*]"Trainee doctors and nurses fece [sic] unemployment" - Does training to be a doctor or nurse automatically entitle you to a job then? For life?

    I thought we needed more doctors and nurses. We've robbed the third world of doctors and nurses so it seems bizarre for some nurses and doctors trained in the UK to struggle to find a job...(And er given that the State subsidised their education if these people bugger off to America or Australia that's a lot of wasted money).
    [*]"The number of managers in the NHS is increasing almost three times as fast as the number of doctors and nurses. There are now 264,012 administrators in the NHS, compared to 175,646 beds." - I don't manage a single bed. Does that mean that I am a waste of NHS resources? If it was a 1:1 ratio would that be correct, if so, why?

    I'm sure you're not a waste of NHS resources. I've only heard nurses side of the story but the two I know don't speak highly of NHS managers and administrators and the extra bureaucracy they bring. But, tbh having never worked in a hospital it's not something I'm familiar with...Although, I will say that successful companies in the private sector manage with a fraction of the administrators and different layers of bureaucracy that the NHS has. And well, why should the number of managers be increasing almost three times as fast as the number of doctors and nurses?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But considering this seems to be the only way in which the parties seem to differ, I can see why it might come down to that.

    Not at all. The main three parties did not whip their MPs on legislation concerning fox hunting, it's considered an issue of conscience.

    Most Conservatives opposed a ban but a few like Ann Widdecombe strongly supported a ban. There were some Labour MPs that voted against a ban, Kate Hoey being one of them – she is now chairwoman of the Countryside Alliance, the main opposition group to the ban. Most other Labour MPs of course supported a ban. In the Lords there was opposition to the ban from Labour, Conservative and LibDem peers, as well as support for it from others. Fox hunting does not divide along partisan lines - as it goes down to the individual MP/peer. For those concerned with fox hunting it would make more sense to examine the voting record of their particular MP rather than attempt to make generalisations regarding political parties when there are many exceptions.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I thought we needed more doctors and nurses. We've robbed the third world of doctors and nurses so it seems bizarre for some nurses and doctors trained in the UK to struggle to find a job...(And er given that the State subsidised their education if these people bugger off to America or Australia that's a lot of wasted money).

    You didn't answer the question though. Should a doctor/nurse automatically have a job for life?

    Oh, and yes we have employed several doctors from overseas.
    And well, why should the number of managers be increasing almost three times as fast as the number of doctors and nurses?

    Who are these "managers" though? Do you realise that many are actually nurses - such as "Ward manager" - someone who used to be called the Ward Sister. The change of title means that they now get counted in that figure but no new person has been employed... Still, why would the Tories let the "truth" get in the way of opportunistic smearing of the NHS. Of course they will look for things to use to criticise the running of the NHS, they aren't any votes in saying that things are getting better.

    The NHS in Tory hands had 3 year waits for outpatient appointments, 18 months for surgery, 36 hours on a trolly in A&E. Compare that with maximum waits of 13 weeks, 26 weeks and 4 hours now.

    Seriously, does anyone really trust the Tories with the NHS?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You didn't answer the question though. Should a doctor/nurse automatically have a job for life?

    Well if the ideals of the NHS are supported and it's accepted that we need more doctors and nurses - and also acknowledged that the population is increasing, then in practicality doctors and nurses should have a guaranteed job for life.
    Oh, and yes we have employed several doctors from overseas.

    Er it's more than a few.
    Who are these "managers" though? Do you realise that many are actually nurses - such as "Ward manager" - someone who used to be called the Ward Sister. The change of title means that they now get counted in that figure but no new person has been employed... Still, why would the Tories let the "truth" get in the way of opportunistic smearing of the NHS. Of course they will look for things to use to criticise the running of the NHS, they aren't any votes in saying that things are getting better.

    Pick up the Guardian jobs section. You know perfectly well that there are thousands of administrators and managers with no medical expertise and not Ward Sisters or whatever with a change of title. And the NHS is pretty unique (even within the public sector) in needing so many layers of bureaucracy and so many managers and administrators to function.
    The NHS in Tory hands had 3 year waits for outpatient appointments, 18 months for surgery, 36 hours on a trolly in A&E. Compare that with maximum waits of 13 weeks, 26 weeks and 4 hours now.

    Seriously, does anyone really trust the Tories with the NHS?

    Nobody can plausibly deny that the NHS has improved under this government. And that's unsurprising, billions and billions of extra funding has gone into the NHS. Are people getting value for money for all the extra billions they're paying in tax? Probably not. Would the Conservatives do a better job? I think they would manage the NHS better. As for their previous record, well it's not as if they did not increase funding too. And MRSA has been around for decades but seems to have become a lot more widespread in recent years...under Labour.
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