Why are the Tories allowing this to happen to the country?

Oh, I know Kendodd, I've been watching it happen for 40+ years like a slow motion car crash. It's so depressing.

I keep hoping for a revival of real politicians, almost started hoping that the populace was maybe learning about quality when I heard recently that Country Music was experiencing a revival - the quality of musician and musicianship is beginning to be found wanting in other genres and dh tells me that when he goes to any gig within 50 miles all the youngsters know all the old songs now and sing along and request others etc. I am hoping that the greater discrimination occurring in music might cross the borders into other cultural categories....

Except, the fact is those three word slogans work. Political parties do really detailed research into what sells these days, basically, how best to manipulate the electorate.

Greensleves I hope you're right, but I've heard that they're out at theext GE before and they weren't.

I remember so fondly the days of the old-style politician. The ones who had proper jobs for years, careers, and then went into politics. Somewhere they learnt about argument instead ig shouting slogans, where they learnt to think around problems, where they came into daily contact with people not quite (or even remotely) like them. Civil debate was normal, no scoring points.

Rather more real than the televisualised plastic avatars we jave these days.

The Tory's are these days self centred arses- (virtually everyone who wasn't - defected or got out of politics or lost the whip) they are like a bunch of bad apprentice candidates , but they aren't fools when it comes to elections - they knew what pulled masses of 'ordinary folks' bells- be it greed or immigration or not quite trusting foreigners. They saw the votes ukip were getting and thought 'we will have some of that' - so they brought along the utter where's there's muck there's brass ' bores like Lee Anderson and Big Bren for Bassetlaw to appeal to the 'he's just like us' brigade. Get people to think the only reason their area was struggling was because of the EU, not lack of investment or upskilling people etc or lack of good quality social housing or transport options and bobs your uncle - it worked. Helped of course by a labour leader and cabinet at the time who were utter marmite- loved by students, not so much by Worcesterxwoman. They they are all about campaigning and not governing- they know the way the wind is blowing , know that Brexit as it is was a huge mistake economically , so no longer care and are out to now put themselves in a good position to sail off into the sunset and leave a monumental headache for an incoming government .

My feeling is that anyone in politics now gets such a lot of abuse from the public that no one truly good/competent would want to be a politician.
So all we are left with those who are willing to put up with the abuse because they are abusing the power for their own gain. Or people who are useful idiots for those pulling the strings behind them 🤷

Many of the issues we are facing now are not just the result of this government but also previous ones. The sale of council housing without ring fencing the proceeds for building new ones has massively contributed to the housing crisis we now have.

Introducing very high university tuition fee for all courses has caused major issues, particular in relation to areas such as health and education Nurses now have student loans to pay off.

There are solutions to many of the problems we face but they won't happen immediately even if Labour get into power.

No party has the guts to really try and improve the NHS. Throwing more money at it is not going to solve the problem. I understand that procurement wastes a fortune. (That won't solve the problem by itself but is one issue that needs looking at - PPE contracts being a prime example)

As other pps have said institutions such as local councils, the police and the civil service have lost sight of the fact that they are there to serve the people not just to push forward their own political agendas and line their own pockets.

All the above issues are not helped by the generally poor quality of those in positions of authority these days.

I think this government has to be the most incompetent I've ever seen and I'm old so I've seen a few.

Until we have a government in power that recognises that it is there to represent everyone and not just those who have voted for it and who put the country's interests before their own nothing will improve. I hope that Labour can do a better job than the current lot but I am not convinced that the quality of politicians in the Labour party is any better although they should have more of a concern for the ordinary working people in this country.

I also think that refusal to listen to anyone who doesn't agree 100% with your views has gone some way to taking us where we are now. We need more listening instead of constant shouting at each other.

They know they're out at the next election, so they're doing what they always do. Draining as much money out of the system as they possibly can, ripping out the wiring, smashing the windows and smearing shit on the walls, like squatters on eviction day.

What's really depressing is that the great British public never seems to learn from it, so they won't see it coming next time either.

But Labour could say it? It wasn’t their idea yet they back away from big reverses like SM

It's simple: they don't care and as the new Brexit party they can't admit it was a monumental blunder. Just look at Williamson and Hancock's conversation about the teachers being workshy - casual, idle and disgraceful thinking (if thinking be the right word). Sunak will not be able to save them from outer darkness.

There is so much wealth in this country (and in the world) and we need a government that finally makes them pay the same proportion of their earnings in tax as we do, and not allow them to send their money to offshore accounts, etc. Fair taxation is the way forward, taxing the super rich like they did after WW2. If you’re worth hundreds of millions or billions, you don’t need all that money.

This is an interesting speech by a historian, about tax avoidance, Davos 2019.
Tax avoidance - Davos 2019

What do you mean “allowing”?
They’re not “allowing” the country to go to shit, they are the prime instigators and movers of all that is shit, including the disaster that is Brexit. They have been asset stripping the country and feathering their own nests since 2010. Criminals.

@borntobequiet nailed it on the first page.

My view isn't quite the same as yours

but I do have the same basic question.

there is a limit to what people will put up with...so the endgame of the current crop must be actually factoring in that they will be out of power for a very long time?

something I've learned over the last few years is that the megalomaniacs have planned for their 80s when they are 20.

but there is no way they can be expecting to win the next election. So, ergo, must be part of the plan?

Birds of a feather flock together, the wealthy and Powerful only care about people who are like them, in their eyes normal people are an undifferentiated mass whose purpose is to create wealth for those at the top
The reason we have a health service and education service etc is that rich and Powerful people need healthy educated people to create wealth for them
But these days they need people to be very educated in order to do the sophisticated things that are necessary to keep them wealthy, and educated people who can think for themselves are a danger to those in power

The answer is simple. The Tories in power don't care about ordinary folk. All they care about is getting elected. Look at the state of the NHS after 12 years of Tory underfunding as revealed on Question Time last night. See

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bbc-question-time-health-spending-graph_uk_63c9cf22e4b0c2b49ad437a3

It's a national disgrace. What happened to the Brexit bus money? Just another lie.

The Princess Grace in Marylebone has a drop-in urgent care centre. Minor injuries rather than a full-service A&E (so no good for serious illnesses) but I'm sure it's not the only option in London.

The Clementine Churchill in Harrow used to have something similar (I was due to go there with appendicitis but didn't in the end) but I think it shut in the pandemic and didn't reopen.

Yes there is. Mainly in London but one has recently opening in Manchester too.

You can get private emergency care, you get seen by a doctor and they ring the relevant person who does it privately. There is no A&E department, but for most things you would just been seen by a doctor and sent away. I guess if you have a full on car crash you end up in A&E but you can still get transferred to a private hospital rather than wait on a trolley with the plebs.

There is no private A&E in most of the UK. I am no even sure it exists in London.

oh how could you, she insists she's done nothing wrong and besides, she's important....she should have millions, and those children....well the little urchins should be out in the fields digging up potatoes, that'll keem em warm this winter

I don't think anyone has anything to worry about with Labour and women's rights. We won't have any rights by the time the Tories are done.

Moving on from the bonfire of our rights that's happened since PM Theresa May announced the Tory policy of Self ID in 2017, we now have a Pro-Life activist Mp as Women's Minister, a pro Materinity cuts MP as Welfare Officer and Britain's first trans MP (he knows what a woman is because he's going to be one) on the Women and Equalities Committee.🤯

The Tories have wrecked the health, economy and rights of the UK and its citizens. They're a fucking disgrace.😡😡😡

@Alexandra2001 not only did Brexit take all their time, it took all the cash they mysteriously found down the back of a sofa- no austerity there strangely -£300 billion and counting- All just to win over that ukip vote to the Tory's. There are no particularly great gains in this apart from rich people avoiding tax scrutiny by new EU regulation and there never was.

@BirmaBrite with this lot lying is as natural as breathing. They've learnt that vast amounts of the public will indeed believe any old shit if you say it often enough and particularly if it panders to their fears and prejudices- and mainstream TV or radio rarely challenges their lies either.

Spot on @carefulcalculator - and countless other ways they could have saved billions too. Mostly by not giving it away to their mates. Hope that helps, @pilates - it's really quite straightforward.

It isn't an impossible job. For example, they could have NOT given £29 million to Lady Mone, and spent that on free school dinners instead. I think that is really, really simple.