Michael Howard makes my BLOOD BOIL

[Enid]

It makes my blood boil to hear Michael Howard talking about Labour 'diluting British values' - eg giving some asylum seekers special treatment.

How dare he presume that British values aren't ones of tolerance, understanding and caring.



I hate the Tory party and I especially hate Michael Howard.

Thanks, I feel better now.

[Caligula]

It's particularly unpleasant language isn't it. I seem to remember lots of anti-semites used this language in the past, about Jews "diluting" good English/ German/ insert white European race here blood/ language/ society.

Ghastly little man.

[Flossam]

I don't like him either. I live in an area with many many illegal immigrants, and I'm not always happy with the situation. But I don't want him of their party in. Seeing him arguing that immigrants posed a threat to our security when John Snow questioned him made me certain not to ever touch him with a barge poll. JS asked him what evidence he had to back up these claims, MH was just like 'it just is', JS asked again, MH went 'but, but.....I WONT take questions from the stands thank you!' Arsehole. I seem to be in angry mode today

[katierocket]

He's vile and repugnant. And I'm petrified about what kind of a leader he'll be and what he'll do to the country if he gets in.

[docket]

The man is a complete tosser (and a gift to impressionists everywhere!).

[Gobbledigook]

Whereas Tony Blair is what?

Now there's an arsehole if ever there was one.

[Enid]

I still have an old Private Eye cover pinned on my kitchen noticeboard - a big pic of Michael Howard with the headline 'Lunatic'.

God you dont really think they will get in do you

[JanH]

And yet his family were immigrants - he seems to think that makes it OK to say what he does, and that being Jewish prevents his stance from being called racist.

[docket]

not a prayer.

[katierocket]

I don't know Enid...it's a frightening thought. Yes Blair has A LOT of faults but he doesn scare me the way Howard does.

[NotQuiteCockney]

The Independent had some great fake Tory posters the other day: "It's not racist to have a special tax on Black people for being Black" and "How would you feel if a Gypsy, convicted of Gypsyness, abducted your daughter and boiled her head, without planning permission?", among others.

I hate Blair too, but not quite as much.

[Enid]

Well I happen to rather like Tony Blair (every politician gets a kicking eventually) and believe Labour have done a lot of good for this country (not everything, but I think they have done a bloody good job on the whole).

Whereas I think Michael Howard is a mean-spirited, unpleasant, racist, chippy tosser who is deliberately playing on people's fears to shoehorn his way into power.

But I understand life would be boring if we all agreed

[JanH]

Of course you're entitled to your opinion, GDG

[Enid]

NQC pmsl

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[Enid]

Let em all in!

(no really I do think that)

[Gobbledigook]

do you? eek.

[Gobbledigook]

I don't think even Tony Blair thinks that!

[Caligula]

He was on a phone in today and when some bloke accused him of pandering to racism, his defence was basically, my grandparents died in the holocaust therefore I'm not racist.

It reminded me of that episode of Father Ted. ("I hear you're a racist now, Father")

Having said that, I'm sure he's not a racist, but he doesn't mind playing to the racist crowd. I'm not sure what is morally worse - being one and believing it, or cynically playing to racist fears when you should know better.

[Flossam]

Just out of interest Enid, where do you live?

[Enid]

Please don't tell me anything else, I might implode.

I'm sure its not good for my karma to hate someone so much

[Enid]

Dorset

[NotQuiteCockney]

Canada takes way more immigrants than the UK, both people moving for better jobs and life, and asylum seekers, at least proportionately to their population. Immigrants are generally a net gain to the country they move to.

I remember a big follow-up article on a boatload of Vietnamese "boat people". Ten years on, a few of them had been on the dole for a few weeks. All of them were now working hard. If you can muster the energy and organisation to move to another country, you're hardly likely to sit about goofing off when you get there, are you!

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[Flossam]

I'm not racist. Definately not, it goes way against all my values. But where I live there is such an influx of people who are completely unprepared to integrate into our society. And by that I mean by not learning the language. Brits do it abroad too, and I feel exactly the same about that too. It is ignorant.

[NotQuiteCockney]

I'm not sure I believe in "let them all in", but I certainly think immigration is a good thing, and Britain could do with more of it. (Then again, I'm an immigrant myself, so I would think that, wouldn't I!)