Let's Get Political!

[RobertT]

In all fairness, you don;t need a report to judge the impact of withdrawing from a huge free trade block - it will have a negative economic impact, certainly for a few years.  I very much doubt saying that is going to change the mind of someone who voted to leave, because they will have known that and the (right or wrong) belief about control on immigration and National Sovereignty will have weighed more heavily on them.

[horlock07]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/07/cabinet-office-blocks-publication-of-obr-economic-forecast?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Cabinet Office have blocked an OBR report on the nation’s economic outlook. Now why would that be?

TBH I can sort of understand why such a report might fall foul of pre-election rules, although not commenting on whether its wrong or right.

I read that story yesterday and were surprised to see the Guardian trying to apply some sort of equivalence between this story and Sedwill cancelling the Tory’s impact assessment of the Labour party’s election promises using Civil Servants paid out of the public purse?

[horlock07]

If its such a great deal why can't we have it? https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1192694594892382208

[horlock07]

Looks like we haven't come very far in 130 years https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/more-people-using-food-banks-in-north-yorkshire-than-were-in-the-workhouse-130-years-ago-1-10086708

Although obviously this has nothing to do with Brexit https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-economy-slowest-oecd-general-election-tuc-a9188136.html

[pauld]

Looks like we haven't come very far in 130 years https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/more-people-using-food-banks-in-north-yorkshire-than-were-in-the-workhouse-130-years-ago-1-10086708

Although obviously this has nothing to do with Brexit https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-economy-slowest-oecd-general-election-tuc-a9188136.html

TBF it's probably not to do with Brexit, so much as Austerity. Pick your Tory disaster of choice.

[horlock07]

TBF it's probably not to do with Brexit, so much as Austerity. Pick your Tory disaster of choice.

Whilst it pains me to say this, but when talking austerity the cuts which were delivered post 2010 (£81bn) were less than those proposed before that election by either Tory (£96bn) or Labour (£82bn), so if a Labour administration had delivered on their manifesto the results would have been potentially similar, likewise both Tories and Labour were still noting a need for cuts in 2015.

[horlock07]

Just step back and ponder for a while how this would be presented by the Poppy police and in the media if it were Corbyn https://www.indy100.com/article/jacob-rees-mogg-poppy-remembrance-sunday-general-election-9194586

[REDBUCK]

We're beginning to scrape the barrel and there's five weeks to go

[Reg Smeeton]

Looks like we haven't come very far in 130 years https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/more-people-using-food-banks-in-north-yorkshire-than-were-in-the-workhouse-130-years-ago-1-10086708

I think that's a poor comparison, we've come a long way in social reforms even in my lifetime.  Much of the post war improvements were instigated by Clement Attlee's 45 government, and then built on by other Labour administrations.

Attlee for me is a great man, largely overlooked. He fought in WWI at Gallipoli, a disastrous campaign instigated by Churchill, and was penultimate man to leave on withdrawal.

[Ardiles]

Attlee is overlooked by many because his tenure as PM was both preceded and succeeded by Churchill.  Which is shame because, as you say, he was almost unrivalled as a reformer.  The contrast in his style/personality with Churchill's was very cleverly portrayed in the first series of The Crown.

[REDBUCK]

So who is the next Attlee, is it Corbyn?

[Ardiles]

Not sure.  But I've no doubt that had the press been as right wing in 1945 as it is now, it would have choked off Attlee's premiership - and with it, the NHS - before he got started.  It simply would never have happened.

[pauld]

Not sure.  But I've no doubt that had the press been as right wing in 1945 as it is now, it would have choked off Attlee's premiership - and with it, the NHS - before he got started.  It simply would never have happened.

Given the Daily Mail had been actively promoting Mosley's British Union of Fascists throughout the early 30s, and I'm not sure it would have reformed that much by 1945, I think it's safe to say the press was pretty right wing back then and certainly it widely predicted imminent doom if Labour won the election much as now. But people ignored it and voted for a better Britain anyway.

[Reg Smeeton]

Given the Daily Mail had been actively promoting Mosley's British Union of Fascists throughout the early 30s, and I'm not sure it would have reformed that much by 1945, I think it's safe to say the press was pretty right wing back then and certainly it widely predicted imminent doom if Labour won the election much as now. But people ignored it and voted for a better Britain anyway.

Both the owners of the Mail and Express were open admirers of Mussolini and Hitler. 

After 1918, Lloyd George, had promised a land fit for heroes to live in.... it never happened instead we got the Great Depression.

The working clases were not to be fooled this time, even though recovery from WW2 was slow, the post war Labour settlement largely held until Thatcher.

[theakston2k]

I’m just looking forward to all the menopause friendly offices if Labour get in. What a load of nonsense!