Milliband

[Ardiles]

I just thank god we still have schools like eton and harrow and universities like Oxford and Cambridge to produce the Tory elite to run the Country for us and make sure no plebs like milliband from comprehensive schools  get in power and start redistributing the wealth of the Country. It would be terrible if people started getting on through hard work and talent rather than because of the schools they went to or who they know.

Some of the more recent Labour leaders and where they went to university...

Ed Miliband - Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Tony Blair - St John's College, Oxford
Michael Foot - Wadham College, Oxford
Harold Wilson - Jesus College, Oxford
Hugh Gaitskell - New College, Oxford
Clement Attlee - University College, Oxford

I see the point you're trying to make.  Just a bad example.  

[Bewster]

I prefer Steve Miller Band

[Shaw Rosso]

I would guess the above got to Oxford on merit rather than wealth?

Not sure Cameron got to Eton on merit but I get your point

[ghanimah]

I just thank god we still have schools like eton and harrow and universities like Oxford and Cambridge to produce the Tory elite to run the Country for us and make sure no plebs like milliband from comprehensive schools  get in power and start redistributing the wealth of the Country. It would be terrible if people started getting on through hard work and talent rather than because of the schools they went to or who they know.

You do know that Miliband went to Oxford don't you? And that a large proportion of the last Labour Govt as well as the current shadow cabinet are privately educated and/or went to Oxbridge

[Shaw Rosso]

The hypocritical point is that it seems okay to be 'anti-toff' like Billy Bragg and Coogan are quite openly, yet if one of those 'toffs' were equally as anti-working class they'd be uproar. That's the hypocritical point, wasn't meaning you personally. Although 'outing' George as a Gideon is a little 2009.

Also think it's strange that there's an anti-privately educated agenda, by the likes of Bragg and co. Don't see it as an issue myself.

I wouldn't go quite as far as outing, I wonder how many TEF contributors were aware of it? With this being a political discussion I thought I would add it in.

Take your point on Bragg and Coogan, the former being something of a die-hard socialist, so it is no suprise that private education doesn't agree with his agenda. He always seems to come on the radio moaning in the early hours, could be one of his records though.

For what its worth, I have no issue with private education, each to their own, what i do struggle with is disgustingly wealthy millionaires telling me they understand the hardship many of us face. How can they possibly understand what it is like to go down to Asda to change all your coppers up in one of those change machines so the kids have got something to eat in the evening or shame yourself by taking your few possesions to the likes of cash converters who prey on the hard up? They are fucking over students, pensioners, working class, even the disabled, as Osborne found out at the Paralympics, he is not a popular chap. Regardless of educational background, I don't want these people telling me they feel my pain when they quite clearly dont, and never will.

[jonny72]

The Tories are writing a cheque for £40'000 to every millionaire in The UK, himself and Gideon included.

Wow. You actually believed Miliband when he said that.

Not every millionaire in the country will benefit to the tune of £40k, only those with an annual income of £1m - of which there are a total of 6,000. Plus if you take in to account the other tax changes the rich will actually be paying more.

[leefer]

I prefer Steve Miller Band

Or his Grandad Glen.

[leefer]

It's always amused me that some view fascism as right wing - it's almost like no-one remembers what 'Nazi' was short for, or that the majority of dictatorships that existed in 20th Century usually contained the words (in various forms) 'the People's Republic of...'

Just a shame you couldn't have had a word in Hitlers ear.......he obviously didn't get it either.

[jonny72]

How can they possibly understand what it is like to go down to Asda to change all your coppers up in one of those change machines so the kids have got something to eat in the evening.

Don't know why anyone uses those machines in a supermarket. I just stand there and feed all my change in to the self service tills. It's a bit of a pain in Asda but a piece of piss in Sainsbury's as they've got chutes to chuck it in.

[deltaincline]

Wow. You actually believed Miliband when he said that.

Not every millionaire in the country will benefit to the tune of £40k, only those with an annual income of £1m - of which there are a total of 6,000. Plus if you take in to account the other tax changes the rich will actually be paying more.

Where did the statistic of 6000 people with an annual income exceeding £1m come from??

Not having a pop at you, jonny - just interested where the stat came from as you were quick to ridicule someone for believing what cunty Milliband had said.

[Shaw Rosso]

Wow. You actually believed Miliband when he said that.

Not every millionaire in the country will benefit to the tune of £40k, only those with an annual income of £1m - of which there are a total of 6,000. Plus if you take in to account the other tax changes the rich will actually be paying more.

Just the 6000? Oh, that's alright then, although I could think of better ways of spending a couple of million quid.

The rich will never pay more under Cameron, he will publicly take from them with one hand and give it back to them, privately, with both hands

[Shaw Rosso]

Where did the statistic of 6000 people with an annual income exceeding £1m come from??

Not having a pop at you, jonny - just interested where the stat came from as you were quick to ridicule someone for believing what cunty Milliband had said.

According to the Office of National Statistics there were 13'000 people earning over £1m per year in 2011

[jonny72]

Where did the statistic of 6000 people with an annual income exceeding £1m come from??

Not having a pop at you, jonny - just interested where the stat came from as you were quick to ridicule someone for believing what cunty Milliband had said.

It came from an article I found, the figure is for 2010/11 and the original source is this;

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/liabilities-april2012.pdf

The figure varies quite a bit, I chose 2010/11 as I presumed it the most accurate - the figures for later years must be estimates given the date on the publication. The four years covered by the report....

- 2009/10 16,000
- 2010/11 6,000
- 2011/12 10,000
- 2012/13 8,000

My point though is that Miliband carefully used the phrase "millionaire" to give the impression that a lot more people will benefit from it than actually will, whilst at the same time not technically lying. The same for not mentioning the additional tax burdens on the rich that will more than offset this - HMRC have said the change was tax neutral and wouldn't actually cost anything.

Just the 6000? Oh, that's alright then, although I could think of better ways of spending a couple of million quid.

Again, check the actual facts. There has been no money spent nor lost with this tax change.

[RedRag]

So some people were privileged to receive a private education, fair play to them.

Think you're probably saying life's unfair, stop whinging and get on with your own life?  In which case, fair play.

However, receiving a private education is something you have no part in.  It is chosen for you, not by you.  It is paid, usually, by parents or grandparents who are very wealthy or a bit wealthy and who sacrifice for you. 

The reason for paying is, surprise surprise, because your child or grandchild will receive a better education (and sometimes better contacts) than the state educated children.  Freedom of choice?  Fair play, yes.

Can't myself see how "fair play" can be ascribed to passively receiving a better education and often more influential contacts than most other children.

[ghanimah]

Just a shame you couldn't have had a word in Hitlers ear.......he obviously didn't get it either.

The same chap that said this?

"We are socialists, we are enemies of today's capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions."