tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post3682002824784766212..comments2024-03-28T07:14:01.343+00:00Comments on donpaskini: Three things every Guardian writer and reader needs to know about the Toriesdonpaskinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05963534291677598324noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-76584449544098148862008-08-06T11:56:00.000+00:002008-08-06T11:56:00.000+00:00Spot on. I am always struck between the similarit...Spot on. I am always struck between the similarities between the Conservative stance now and Dubya in is "social conservatism" phase when he was trying to get elected. I wouldn't be surprised in the Australian Tories used the same tactic, topped up with the "dog whistle" racism that is their hallmark. <BR/><BR/>Need to keep a very close eye on what the Tories are saying about tax credits - given the silence this is what I'm sure the Tories will be targetting in order to provide tax cuts to their core support. In addition, there is no sign whatsoever of the Cameron even looking at trying to engage constructively with the EU - only when I see this starting to happen might I start to think that the Tories were starting to become a modern right of centre political party in the European mold. <BR/><BR/>The other thing that should be noted is the closeness of Cameron and Osborne to the free market hedge fund types. Surely given the trouble caused by their recent speculative bubble which is just starting to deflate (perhaps due to some well targetted action by the Regulators) the argument for well regulated markets is now stronger than ever and should be vigourously pursued.tory boys never grow uphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172736984147732661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-13377162291738133652008-08-06T09:17:00.000+00:002008-08-06T09:17:00.000+00:00You make an interesting point (in 3) about how we ...You make an interesting point (in 3) about how we should get a decent idea how a national Conservative government would behave by looking at how the Conservatives run local government when they gain power. <BR/><BR/>Yes, I think we should, and it would be a powerful argument, but the problem is that the Labour party/movement appears to have done little systematic ‘looking’, and is not in the position it should be to dispel any Guardian reader myth that there is really little difference between Labour and Conservative Councils.<BR/><BR/>In my own small patch I have reviewed in some detail what happened to leisure services when our new-ish Conservative administration ‘outsourced’ them in 2005. The data I’ve been able to get hold of shows quite clearly that in the subsequent three years leisure uses plummeted in more deprived areas and rose in wealthier areas, as a result of the pricing and operational processes put in place by the new private contractor. It’s quite clear from the evidence that local Conservatives simply do not have the concept of social justice being touted at national level, and that their faith in the operation of the market overrides all consideration. As a result they have failed to put in place any methods of overseeing the performance-as-it-effects-people, of the private company and are limited to assessing the profit levels under the new regime. The full report’s at my January 14th post for those who are REALLY interested.<BR/><BR/>Of course, this is not the kind of study that makes either national or local press headlines, because it’s both too parochial and too out-of-keeping with accepted doctrine. It’s too isolated, and not set comparative to Labour Councils’ ways of doing things, to have any real impact. <BR/><BR/>I’m not sure what the answer is in respect of getting such ‘news’ out to the Guardian readership, but I’m sure it involves, as you suggest, focusing on fact and detail rather than bowing to the processes of myth propagation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-24758919517708263852008-08-05T15:36:00.000+00:002008-08-05T15:36:00.000+00:00Your point on the minimum wage is spot on. They wi...Your point on the minimum wage is spot on. They will keep it, but won't increase it.<BR/><BR/>This is what happened in the USA. Minimum wage introduced there in 1938 by Roosevelt. It had it's highest purchasing value under Lyndon Johnson. Then it was frozen by Reagan-Bush from 1980 to 1990. Clinton managed to increase it again in his early years, but when Congress went virulently Republican, it got frozen from 1997 to 2007. It was unfrozen by the newly elected Dem Congress (it was their manifesto promise).<BR/><BR/>So Labour should be saying "will you pledge to increase the minimum wage in line with inflation", not "will you keep the minimum wage", as the latter is an easy promise to keep and won't help the poor at all.snowflake5https://www.blogger.com/profile/14700425293614182769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-30339201292258265532008-08-05T12:56:00.000+00:002008-08-05T12:56:00.000+00:00Interesting. The intriguing thing is having this s...Interesting. The intriguing thing is having this same conversation on right-wing blogs. There its all 'you don't <I>really</I> believe that the Conservative party will be any different to Labour, do you? You're not <I>that</I> naive?'!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-64803201586693604242008-08-05T03:59:00.000+00:002008-08-05T03:59:00.000+00:00Started a rebuttal Don and it turned into a post o...Started a rebuttal Don and it turned into <A HREF="http://www.cassilis.co.uk/2008/08/more-denial-about-camerons-tories.html" REL="nofollow">a post of its own....</A>Liam Murrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16493956117016119698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33451096.post-80962289890645307462008-08-04T21:43:00.000+00:002008-08-04T21:43:00.000+00:00I think number 2 is the most toxic. Fortunately it...I think number 2 is the most toxic. Fortunately it's also the easiest to deconstruct.<BR/><BR/>I'm not convinced that it's possible to argue against number 1. The Tories tried to argue that Tony Blair hadn't really shifted Labour to the centre ground in 1997 with their devil-eyes campaign, and it didn't work. I don't think they could have won that election anyway. But it didn't even slightly work. <BR/><BR/>Similarly people genuinely believe that Cameron has made a real attempt to move his party to the centre. We can show that he hasn't taken the whole of the Tory party with him and divided them, but if we want that attack to hit home, we need to show that the right are the majority of the party at a local and parliamentary level, and that's a difficult claim to verify.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps more productively we can show that the attempt is just about political positioning, something that the electorate are more likely to reject now than in 1997. But we can't claim that there has been no movement - even if it's true - because no-one will believe it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com