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

Blair. He did a lot to support families and redistribute wealth, and child poverty was significantly improved. He did kind of fuck it all up with the Iraq war though, granted.

Absolutely. DH worked in politics at the time and always said Brown was the best he had ever seen when addressing a large audience - no notes or prompts, just clearly a man who knew his stuff.

We can't all have been the same age and in the same circumstances when Tony Blair was Prime Minister though, can we?

But most people on this thread have chosen that time period.

No probably not, but there is a fairly common set of values shared by many on here (at least those active in the forums) which does seem to lean towards a slightly left of centre position, so therefore it's not a massive surprise to be that Blair came out well. It was a good time, though the old mantra of fixing the roof while the sun shone was obviously a phrase he'd never heard.

We had a good time under Blair, though as I said personally Cameron edged it for me but we were in a fortunate position that (partly by accident) that the financial crash was actually quite good for us financially and we continued to do very nicely while the world fell apart around us.

@Godnotthisagain With all the "So and so knows what a woman is" stuff plus the numerous school fees and high earners vote Tory threads and any renting threads always seemingly siding with landlords I was astonished that Blair is the top answer because I definitely DON'T think of Mumsnet as a left of centre place.

Tony Blair .We had such hope and I loved the priorities of reducing child poverty and improving the NHS

Yep Blair/Brown
i was an underprivileged young adult and was suppported into education and housing. My income was sufficient to feed my child and buy enough fresh fruit and veg with careful budgeting. My rent was fair.
God compared to now it makes me feel really sad

I think I have been unlucky with timings and what life stage I was at. Never been a good time. I grew up in 80s in poverty in a single parent family, then there was issues in the early 90s. I guess things picked up in the late 90s again, however I had left school by then, so my education was underfunded and crap. The school teachers seemed stressed and demoralised.

I was on a low income in late 90s and early 00s and struggled. I felt like I paid too much tax, but then I did still go out and food seemed cheaper, but I certainly wasn't flush! i managed though. Even managed a couple of nice holidays (albeit on cards). There was this feeling that I would have been better off if I had kids as the help felt more targeted towards families, and it did feel like that at the time. Rent was still expensive even then pre-GFC.

Whilst I have managed to go to uni in the late 00s, I have raised kids during the Tory years and it has been fucking exhausting. Both of us worked full time, I worked 14 hour shifts to condense hours on hardly any sleep because of the ridiculous cost of childcare. We haven't managed to buy our own home because of childcare, rent and the cost of homes spiralling. We got decent payrises after the pandemic which got swallowed up by COL crisis. My youngest has severe SEN and the battle to just get a diagnosis, EHCP and special school place has taken years. I think these last 14 years have been the worst. All of the PMs were terrible. We have worked hard, progressed into better jobs on more pay, but have fuck all to show for it because social mobility has gone to shit

I guess the Brown/Blair years were better because if I had my teen years again now we'd be destitute. I feel young people and families are not valued enough.

Blair/Brown

Blair/Brown for me as well. Also, respect to Major (and Blair and Mo Molan etc, it was cross party) for the GFA.
Although life was much better for ordinary people in the UK under Labour, there was then the Iraq war (wholeheartedly supported by the Tories) big, big mistake. I'm so, so glad my children were little under Labour than now, children and families were much better supported, even getting a dentist was easy.

Blair/ Brown

Blair and Brown the country felt alive unlike now

Yeah. There's such a difference in such a relatively short time really. It's a bit horrifying.

Well life was better when I was little so that would be John major 😂 Tony Blair with the pm when I turned 13 so I do associate him with all the 9/11 worry . I have only been an adult under Tory government so would be interesting to see what life would be like if another party were in charge.

Gladstone.

I'm in my forties so apart from the Blair Brown years the Tories have been in power my whole life.

I'm really looking forward to the change.

Not a Tory then