To think that being Tory doesn't make you thick?

[RainbowSheep]

Ok, my family are all very liberal (I mean my parents, aunts & uncles, who incidently have all had lots of money & opportunities throughout their lives). Their parents (who were poor working class) were more conservative as are me and my brother, who are both pretty poor. We recently had a family get together where I was told by my uncle (university lecturer) that Tories were unitelligent and I was beginning to sound like an idiot for having conservative views... I don't think I am particularly right wing.

Erm, Pupil Premium was a Lib Dem policy and wasn't it Tory policy to scrap TC but the Lib Dems persuaded them to keep it for less well off people? I think. I now have to start googling when I should be cooking tea...

I still don't get the thinking behind the removal of the 10% tax rate. I was at the time, and I'm still thinking about it now.

I expect The Evil Tories hypnotised Gordy.

That can surely be the only explanation?

Yes me too BIWI.

However, if we're going to start bashing I think it's only fair to mention the introduction of some wonderful things Labour introduced (I am not a Labour supporter. I am one of those floating voters and self-identify as a socialist):

National Minimum Wage

Recognition and protection of trade unions

EMA

Sure Start

Great employment rights

DirectGov website is never mentioned but just brilliant.

But much of that is history or becoming history. I really don't care who was to blame. I just want to keep the good stuff and stop punishing those who are struggling. I don't care what labels people wear or who or what they self-identify with, I just want them to see what is happening and say stop to things that have gone too far. Before it's too late.

The welfare reform bill and Health & Social Care bills are fucking terrifying.

I think the Welfare Reform Bill is welcome and long overdue.
People in the Uk have it wonderfully good compared with most of the UK. And thousands have no appreciation of it, take it for granted and have a grasping sense of entitlement that they should be supported absolutely on the backs of others.

I can;t find out about the TC for the Tories but I have found out that both policies were Lib Dem ones pre-election. Pupil premium in particular was nowt to do with the Tories.

I guess that's one of the downsides of a coalition - the Tories can slightly hide their regressive nature behind the redistributive policies of their partner party!

I am a eurosceptic tory with an IQ of 140+ who works in IT so basically ignore the guardianista tendency. They are the thick ones.

duvetdayplease redistibution = theft really.

I LOVE YOU OLDMUMSY

Taxation = theft

Welfare reform is brilliant.

I worked on the writing of the Health and Social Care Bill. It is good. However, it was unnecessary because a few of the major shifts were legal anyway.

Do real people actually quote their IQ score????

Gosh I despair. I really do.

I've just paid out £1000 for just 2 months of private SALT treatment for my 2 year old because by the time he get's it on the current waiting list he'll be too old to get any real benefit and more damage will have been done. That works out at 2.4% of our net income.

The reality is that with the proposed reforms treatment like this will be inaccessible to many more than it is now. Just to show the reality, it's not a question of having one night less in Courchevel, it's the reality between going without because you just can't afford it.

That £1000 for people on the following annual incomes works out as follows:

£14,000 = 7.14%

£18,000 = 6.9%

£25,0000 = 5.2%

£30,000 = 3.3%

£99,000 = 1.6%

£250,000 = 0.7%

£500,000 = 0.4%

Only dickheads do duvetday.

Surely if a person is being accused of being thick - then mentioning their IQ is relevant isn't it?

There is a whole other debate about how/to what extent IQ scores relate to real-life intelligence/capability.

Also I think for every person with a high IQ on one side of a political row you could find someone equally scored on the opposite side.

I was thinking more about this as I plodded round B&Q today .

Obviously, many people both wealthy and badly off voted Conservative in the last election. I wonder whether the Tories offer a more inspiring dream to those who are currently badly off, by selling the idea that everyone has the chance to make it rich through hard work. I come from an immigrant family myself, and my grandad certainly reflected the Thatcherite values of the 1980s, despite being a manual worker on a low wage, while my grandma would see many state benefits as 'charity' and 'handouts' that she would feel ashamed to take.

Unfortunately Grendel, this 'dream' is the very opposite of what the current lot are creating.

Indeed, because the current Conservative party are so far removed from Thatcher's aspiration that Cameron really is the heir to Blair.

I am against the Pupil premium. ALL state school children should be given exactly the same resources, regardless of whether their parents work.
The pupil premium actively discriminates against poor working parents.

I quite often vote Tory because I think discussions about re-distribution etc are an academic wank unless you ensure that the cake you are sharing is as big as possible.
The Tories and Labour have a broad concensus that growth will be +/- 2% (the average since WW2) and that it's OK for the government to spend +/- 40% of GDP on "stuff". They then argue about what the "stuff" should be and how they collect the money.
Well growth is going to be less than 1% for a while which is a game-changer. I'll think long and hard about my next vote.

vote ukip

duvetday

Harry - your statement about pupil premium is laughable. And exactly what I was talking about when I said some people don't let facts get in the way of their knee jerk reaction. It is proven that targeting support to the most disadvantaged has benefits for all of us. Reduced crime, health problems, social unrest etc - all of which cost us directly thru taxation and indirectly in other costs and quality of life. If a parent is so disinterested in their own circumstances that they deliberately remain on benefits (as I accept some people do) then the money on additional school support will make no difference to their choices but will benefit a) their children who are innocent victims of unmotivated parents and b) the whole of society.

Pointy, thanks for volunteering!

i wonder why people think a political desire such as 'i want the country i live in to be solvent in 5 years time' is unintelligent, or lacking empathy....for instance...

or, to put it another way, imagine if you are a Greek dependent on state benefits right now....