Current govt not great but better than what we had before AIBU?

[smoggii]

Labour -
Introduced university fees
Encouraged reliance on benefits
Didn't put in measures to prevent the wealthy making multiple housing purchasers, allowing them to make buckets of money without appropriate tax thus inflating the housing market so average Joe couldn't buy a house without stupidly high mortgages
Did nothing to prevent the banking crisis
Went to war because of a crazed dictator (Bush - not Hussain) costing us millions even though there was no intelligence to support said war
Abolished embarkation controls so that the Country could no longer measure when people left rendering time based visa's useless and allowing freedom of movement for fugitives
Eroded public services including the Police

AIBU to want to allow the new government, which will never be perfect, no government is, some time to make the changes, I don't agree that 1 year is enough time to put right the damage done in the previous 13 years.

Before anyone starts sneering, I do not read the Daily Mail - my parents do and I regularly give them my opinion on why they shouldn't - this is just how I see it from my experience of becoming an adult as Labour came into power.

I am happy to be told that I am wrong and be given the reasons why.

[choclatelickurs]

ive supported the govt up to this point and really hoped they could undo some of the looney labour values

but when they tried to do over the police last week by blaming them for poor tactics (while they were all on holiday and didnt return for several days) they lost my support, and I emailed my MP and told her so

they must be grateful, ed millibandwagon is the only alternative

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

YANBU. Btw you've forgotten some of the truly scary stuff like their plans for DNA databases, 90 day detention without trial, compulsory ID cards.....

[OpinionatedPlusSprogs]

Well they have not been in as long. Give them time they will catch up. Doesn't look promising so far...

[EricNorthmansMistressOfPotions]

YABU
Labour were shit at plenty
Tories are shit at everything

[pommedechocolat]

YANBU

[reallytired]

the previous govenant frittered money without thinking. Was it really necessary for every pregnant woman to recieve £190 to spend on as she pleased? Surestart was a waste of money as it failed to help the children intended. Govenant money should not be spent on entertaining the middle classes at the expense of a decent health visiting service.

I feel the cuts are aimed at the most vuneralbe. The rich need to shoulder their fair share of pain.

[smoggii]

The Health in pregnancy grant was ridiculous I would be interested to know how many of them were spent on vegetables

I'd forgotten about the ID card fiasco, that cost the govt millions in 'research' and start up costs then, when they realised most Brits were opposed they rolled them out to certain catagories of immigrants only but made them non compulsory and in addition to their registration card completely impossible to control

There's more of course unenforceable 'Anti Social Behaviour Contracts' because ASBOs are virtually impossible to get (except in very high profile cases).

I too wasn't impressed that various people including Mr Cameron didn't recognise that it might be appropriate to cut short holiday's, not the first leader to have done this mind, and I'm willing to bet a couple of advisors have lost their jobs over that.

[Strix]

My health in pregnancy grant (slid in last December) went towards my Bugaboo.

This government is not perfect, but it is a damned sight better than the last one.

The ONLY smart thing Gordon Brown ever did was resist the Euro.

Let's not forget the overpriced NHS computer system which few GPs and Hosiptals are now using. Nation records... ha ha ha ha What a waste of money.

And ID cards... that was an atrocious idea. I know it's been mentioned already but the plan was shockingly bad it worth a few more mentions.

Selling off the gold at it's low, anyone?

Oh, the list goes on. There are so many ways to hate labour I just can't decide which one to type next...

[InfestationofLannisters]

I wasn't impressed when Labour got rid of the 10% tax band but I despise the current government for their constant and blatant attacks on lone parents and the disabled (I am neither)

[Jodianna]

Hmm,
Not supportive of either government. Would however say, Thatcher's government started the reliance on benefits by decimating communities.
This government have increased university fees, hounded disabled people, and are considering bringing the higher tax rate down at the moment, the rich continue to get rich, the poor continue to be quoshed.
The last Labour government cost us a fortune in an illegal war, id cards etc.
Twas the banks that brought them down though, not their spending. The whole kit and caboodle is a bloody mess, and I'm political, used to be a councillor, haven't got a clue who I'd vote for now!

[somewherewest]

YANBU, not because the Tories are remotely good, but because Noo Labour were/are so bloody useless. Does anyone think that Labour wouldn't have also cut back massively if they were in office now? If I remember correctly Labour left the public finances in a mess and put forward no clear agenda for sorting them out during the last election. They are still aren't putting forward any clear agenda now, bar going on about how awful the cuts are (which is easy to do when you're in opposition and don't have to come up with an alternative).

And I'm a third generation Labour voter who is usually allergic to Tories, which shows how much Labour irritates the life out of me rigt now.

[redexpat]

YABU.

EMA. Updating domestic violence laws. New school buildings. Paternity leave BTW Cameron voted against that and then took it when he became a father. Increasing winter fuel allowance for OAPs from £10 to £200. Increased library opening hours. Good Friday Peace agreement. Removal of section 28. Citizenship on the curriculum. Changing NI contribution rules to stop women being punished in their old age for having children and not working. Many more good things. Obviously no one's perfect, but you cannot hold Gordon Brown responsible for the collapse of the subprime lending market in the USA which triggered the whole financial crisis.

[fifipink]

My health in pregnancy grant went towards a bump-covering winter coat

My DD was born about a week and a half too late to qualify for the child trust fund. And I'm totally unimpressed by current government plans to axe child benefit for some families in 2013

[EdithWeston]

There isn't really a viable alternative to the current Government, is there?

We will still need a massive scale of cuts, and small differences over the timelines aren't going to make that much difference. No other party has (yet) nailed its colours to the mast and said which of the current cuts it would keep, which reverse and what different ones out in place. It's easy to knock (and I do like the DC thread!) but until someone says what an alternative is, then YANBU.

[smoggii]

Sorry redexpat but the new school building thing made me laugh because many of the schools in my area were 'amalgamated' and the land sold for housing in the Noughties because the local council had no money to pay for anything.

I don't hold Gordon Brown responsible for the collapse of the market but he was the Chancellor then the Prime Minister I find it surprising that he didn't see any of it coming.

I'm not saying Labour did everything wrong, but from what I can see they did many many things wrong and I think the new Government should be given a chance to try and sort out the many messes made. I honestly believe that if Labour had stayed in power we would be in as big a mess as we are now and there would be no attempt to change it.

I think Gordon Brown was very guilty of not making any changes when he took over from Blair because he was too stubborn to change and knew it was a matter of time before he was out on his ear anyway.

[ShoutyHamster]

Labour were quite crap at quite a lot.

But the Tories are a different beast altogether. The party of bigots, of privilege, of inequality. The enemies of fair play. They sicken me, tbqh

[ScaredOfCows]

I agree. There isn't currently a viable alternative to this government. Labour have left this country in a mess, as they did previously when they were in power. This government have had no choice but to make massive cuts to public spending - long overdue cuts.

[grovel]

The fox-hunting ban.

[Jodianna]

Sorry, but every single economist states that the cuts are too deep. Osborn is reaping the benefits of his cuts with a lack of growth. Smaller cuts, higher taxes for some, over a longer period would have been more sensible.

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

How can people sneer at the Tories for being "priviliged" "out of touch" etc - while casually forgetting the hypocritical lives of Riley led by Labour politicians of the last governemnt?

"Send my child to the local comp? No thank you! We've had 13 years to improve schools but not to the extent where I'd send my own there."

[Flisspaps]

YABU.

[ShellyBoobs]

YANBU.

I'm definitely not in favour of everything the Tories are doing; far from it, but the labour government was just a joke. Especially Brown.

As an example, you've only got to look at the price of gold at the moment to realise what a monumental fuck up he made in selling 415 tonnes of the nation's reserves at the very bottom of the market. At today's prices that gold is worth about £12bn more than when it was sold. It's things like that that REALLY make me detest Labour.

The problem is joe public generally doesn't take any interest in something like the plundering of the nations's savings like that because it's just boring economics news. They sure as hell notice when someone else tries to repair the damage with spending cuts.

[DinahRod]

I have major concerns. However, was listening to a programme about the impact of the USA economic crisis that has sent the Far East also into a spin, and those interviewed (banking, business and union) uniformly said that they had doubts (union guy still v much did) about the stringent nature of the Coalition cuts, but they have in fact protected the UK from being hit too hard by what's happening across the pond which has worldwide ramifications, whereas in other countries the impact is much bigger.