Who was PM during the best of times for you?

[verdantverdure]

Me?

Blair. Brown, first bit of Cameron.

On paper I earn more money now but everything's tits up isn't it? From the economy to shit on beaches to being able to get access to the NHS when needed.

Blair. Lots of public spending and private money, London was not a corporate shithole it is today and it was easy to live well.

Most UK government is really bad at actually helping people in the UK. Blair actually did that. I can't think of a PM since who actually had policy to invest properly in the country. Lots of blather, but actually doing it? No.

Blair & Brown.

Obama in the states.

I don't think we'll see their likes for a long time. Can't see anyone in the pipeline, within any of the parties, that comes close.

I used to spoil my paper as I know they are counted, so was registering my objection, but I agree that it didn't help. This lot have to go. However wet Starmer appears to be, I can't believe that anyone could do a worse job than the current shower.

I looked up the circus thing too, and it does indeed look tough. As you say though, one would imagine going into a related field.

Completely agree about tax levels. I am always amazed by how often I hear complaints about tax levels being too high and almost in the same sentence, complaints about public service levels being too low 🤦‍♂️ There is an argument about whether the money the government do collect is administered efficiently, but that takes us back to the beginning of the thread.

Blair / Brown for me. Their Working Families Tax Credit meant I could keep my house and still pay the mortgage when ex DP left us.
I could even reduce my hours slightly to pick DC up from school and nursery without losing money.
Under the Tory government before that, despite both working FT we were always struggling.
I was called selfish for voting for Labour again though for those reasons, and not considering the effect the Gulf war had on so many, in a conversation with a friend I have never forgotten.

@HappiestSleeping I fancy Starmer a little bit. It's the "dad" arms and the football I think. And I trust him somehow, even though he's a politician now.

Let's hope that you fancying him a bit is a good barometer of him being able to run the country. Quite frankly, it's as good a measure as any other at the moment. 🤣🤣

Ha ha @HappiestSleeping

I probably wont vote Labour as I expect the Lib Dems will be best placed to unseat our Tory MP, but I'll feel better with Starmer in Number 10 than I have with any of the last few PMs. At least he'll be the head of the party when he's elected so we know who we're getting. Who expected Sunak or Truss to be PM when they voted for a Boris Johnson led Tory Party?

That sounds like a decent plan. Strategic voting is as good as any.

Definitely true about the expectation of unelected leaders, however nobody who voted for the clown could have seriously expected anything other than chaos surely? After all, this is the man who 18 months before the Brexit referendum was quoted as saying "the EU is such a good thing that if we didn't have it, we'd have to invent it". 🤦‍♂️

HappiestSleeping
After all, this is the man who 18 months before the Brexit referendum was quoted as saying "the EU is such a good thing that if we didn't have it, we'd have to invent it".

Appears to be a quote (or loose quote) from a House of Commons debate in 2003

European Union (Accessions) Bill 21 May 2003

Boris Johnson
... I am not by any means an ultra-Eurosceptic. In some ways, I am a bit of a fan of the European Union. If we did not have one, we would invent something like it - some means of association between the sovereign states of Europe, perhaps an organisation in Brussels ...

... There are benefits to membership of the European Union. My only contention is that, in order to reap the benefits, it is not necessary to build a single European polity, as we appear to be trying to do—"e pluribus unum". I do not believe that we need to make, out of 15 different and disparate states, one state with a centre in Brussels. I believe that that is a mistake and I see no reason why we should agree to the constitution as currently proposed. The Minister has been involved in discussing the detail in Brussels, but there are several respects in which this is a constitution and a treaty too far...

The incorporation of the European convention on human rights is another trigger, and will have a huge impact on our judicial system. My right hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) spoke eloquently about the Criminal Justice Bill and handing over a lot of crucial decision making to institutions in Brussels.

The constitution goes too far. If we had a referendum on it and the people rejected it, it would not be a disaster. People who are in favour of the constitution cannot assert that it is in any way essential, as it has no function and does not advance enlargement one bit. It is intended purely to centralise more power in Brussels, and it would be a great thing if it were revisited and more of an effort made to turn it into a proper vehicle for subsidiarity. I therefore hope that there will be a referendum. The Minister must realise that, if the Government fail to call one, there will be an independent referendum. It is likely that, out of the great mass of popular wrath at not being consulted on the issue for so long, there will arise a referendum. I very much hope that the Labour Government will have the guts to abide by the verdict of that referendum when it happens...

Johnson famously wrote two columns about Brexit, just before the referendum. One for and one against. He came down on the side of leave because it would help him become Prime Minister. I don't believe he was ever fundamentally a Brexiteer, or believes in anything strongly except himself.
'These are my principles, and if you don't like them, I have others'

beguilingeyes
Johnson famously wrote two columns about Brexit, just before the referendum. One for and one against.

As far as I can see - Boris Johnson had the same doubts about the EU machine in 2003 as he did in 2016 (he saw positives of EU membership as well). I had not come across the 2003 debate before - you have to wonder why certain media sources took his quote out of context.

'[Those] are my principles, and if you don't like them, I have others'

Theresa May used that Groucho Marx quote ('Groucho not Karl') to point out, amongst other things, that Jeremy Corbyn had been Eurosceptic all his [political] life, and yet backed Remain.

What are Keir Starmer's principles?

The Telegraph yesterday;
Keir Starmer is now the least trustworthy man in British politics.
There is seemingly no issue the Labour leader can’t find a way to flip-flop on.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/19/keir-starmer-is-now-the-least-trustworthy-man-in-british-po/

The Independent yesterday;
Labour has been castigated for a series of U-turns under Sir Keir, who has abandoned large parts of the programme on which he won the leadership.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-workers-rights-u-turn-starmer-b2395249.html

@Clavinova

You may as well ask where are Sunaks principals? He came in promising honesty and accountability mmmmmm.

Read your last link..... still want to ban ZHC, reduce probation period and ban fire rehire, Labour can't support FOM.... we ain't in the EU now.

Being business friendly is essential if Labour want to get into power & many businesses want better employee relations too, boosts productivity.

TBH i could see you supporting Labour.... you never seem tooo happy with the far right tories.

If Jeremy Corbyn backed Remain you could've fooled me. He went missing

Truss - was an entertaining few weeks

Now, but only because I'm in a fortunate position now and the cost of living hasn't had an impact. I know many aren't as lucky and I'd never vote tory.

The price of that entertainment was too high though eh?

And Kwasi Kwarteng chatting and giggling (on his phone?) at the Queen's funeral was horrid to see.

As an outsider, with no skin in the game, she was fooking gas. An absolute car crash in motion. Which really, i shouldn't enjoy looking at. But i did a bit.

Living in it is no fun @Chickenkeev I assure you.

Thatcher. Never voted for her but a particular initiative of hers meant that I and my family survived. And you can have a go all you bloody like.

Blair.
His foreign policy was pants, but his home policy was excellent. I was fortunate to be growing up in the late 90s and early 00s.
Brown was good too, I’d rank them:

Blair
Brown
Cameron
May
Major
Sunak
Johnson
Thatcher

(Truss doesn’t count).

Please tell our mortgage companies that Truss doesn't count.

Absolutely, I agree with you.

Blair/Brown.

Great time to live. So much help and support. I worked in a school, there was money for equipment and support staff everywhere.

I left teaching 4 years ago. It was dire by then.

Blair. I managed to get into Oxbridge and didn’t have to pay tuition fees (means tested). Could never afford to do it now. Miss those times..

It was the Labour Government under Blair that introduced tuition fees ...