To ask what the country was like under a Labour government?

[user6776]

I'm too young to remember a proper Labour government. I was 12 when the Tories got voted in back in 2010 so that's all I've ever really known.

How much better was it than it is now? Why did Labour lose the election back then anyway?

Interested to hear people's opinions.

Anecdotal Twitter post, but anyway-

If anyone is wondering about how transformative a Labour government can be. Just ask a teacher from the Blair era.

I today spoke to a friend who qualified as a teacher in 1998. What they just told me about their first 4 years in post has blown my mind.

They went from a job where they had no resources, class sizes of 35+ and were relying on old acetate projectors and literal chalk and talk in 98…

To class sizes of low 20s, a national workload agreement, and a huge investment in technology and individualised training.

Their pay was also improved, and their pay structure was modified to reward experience and recognise progression.

Within 4 years…

And most of all. As he told me: ‘we felt respected’

Let’s fucking do this.

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I taught from 1977 to 2019. Without doubt the best years were those under the Labour governments. Then Gove came along like a wrecking ball.

Surestart
Every Child Matters
Connexions
AimHigher
The EMA for 6th formers
National Workload Agreement
Funded G+T programme

All of this made a huge difference.

Yep.

Then there was the “schools for the future” programme which constructed/modernised hundreds of school buildings, bringing in 21st century infrastructure (solar, heat pumps, insulation) that sees their heating/maintenance bills tracking 20-30% lower than non renovated ones.

That’s absolutely right. My sister is a teacher and by 2016 she had enough of the wreck that the cons were making of education and left to teach overseas

Toires always have and always will hate and revile state education and especially state teachers as Tories don't use it and hate that the teachers are one of only a small number of occupations where being in a Union still makes a difference and so far most of the Tories attempts to crush teaching unions have failed.

Same with the NHS and Nurses, mostly unionised and last year finally went on strike.
They opposed its formation and would like to see it gone, even now, its just that like state education, they know the public wont accept this.

Sunak doesn't even use an Nhs contracted GP, he has no understanding of most peoples battles to get decent healthcare and education.

14 years to improve nhs dentistry, yet they ve done nothing, same with maternity care or AE, all worse.

Completely agree.

Social media has poisoned society.

Yes social media has poisoned society

its really sad I’m thankful I grew up in an age before social media

I think Social Media is a factor not to be underestimated made in a pp comment about how the country feels divided since the last labour administration. The rise of bots , deepfakes, AI etc is a gift to any hostile nation wanting to sway the electorate - and its effects are both pervasive and immediate. To anyone commenting on how the RW press swayed previous elections, their influence (daily mail aside) is now hugely reduced because their content is behind a paywall - so the electorate (particularly the younger demographic) is served content (which may or may not be genuine) according to algorithmic decisions which in turn are based upon what the viewer has engaged with - even accidentally.

On the upside, I don’t see that Labour would get away with taking us to war again on a flimsy premise without the nation being able to scrutinise obviously flawed intel far more easily - And Keir doesn’t seem like he has ambitions to be a world politician either.

Unless you or family attended state school, used the NHS at all or needed sure start centres.

I was taught to breastfeed at our local sure start centre. It was amazing. I didn't need a toy library or nutrition or esol classes but plenty did. There was something there for people from all walks of life.

@BarneyAteMyHomework why was life worse? In what way?

No definitely the Penfolds Shiraz

Labour had the advantage initially that they came into power as the economy was growing so they could afford to throw money at different initiatives

You made that up.

Labour had to stick to the Tories spending plans for the first 2 years of their administration because the Tories (just like they have done with the NI cuts now, funded by public spending cuts) limited what labour could do.

GDP growth was actually slowing, picking up with the Blair "Bounce in 1997 before dropping back again in 98.

If the economy was so good in 96/97, Blair wouldn't have won with a landslide.

And so it begins… if anyone is in any doubt as to what Labour will do to get into power, you only have to look at today. Natalie Elphicke is welcomed with open arms by Sir Keir. To recap on this particular MP, she is a fully-paid up member of the pro-brexit anti-immigration, anti-asylum seeker right faction of the Conservative Party. Whilst I am sure it was a moment of embarrassment for the PM during PMQ’s today, if Labour (and Sir Keir) had any principles, they would have surely refused her entry? No Labour church could be this broad that someone with those views Labour claims are so abhorrent is now suddenly welcome? And to cap it all off, Sir Kier’s spokesperson then refused to deny that if he was to offer his support and join Labour that Nigel bloody Farage could be welcome too?

I’m not sure where the Labour Party heads from here, but I know that if Sir Keir suddenly claims he has remembered what the definition of a Woman is before an election, he most certainly is heading for Amnesia post-election. If this was a reality tv show we would all be saying ‘ Gosh, So many red flags here (and not the party political ones). Utterly shameless.

Both Tory defectors to Labour are standing down at the election, leaving the way clear for existing Labour candidates in their seats.

It's a bit of PR to hurt the Tories, and they would do EXACTLY the same.

Absolutely they would. Can you image the crowing if a Labour MP defected to the Tories?

I’m not saying they wouldn’t but labour can’t have it both ways - try and claim the moral high ground for the asylum question then take on a fully-paid rabid member of the faction they claim to despise so much. And I don’t actually think it does clear the way for a Labour candidate in the seats - and for Dover In particular you still need people to vote for them and this sort of stunt assumes that the local electorate are not smart enough to see through it.

they should never have allowed a Brexit vote, leaving the EU should have been put in a manifesto at a GE...

The conservatives stood on honouring a referendum in their manifesto at the time. They did. I don’t think even Boris expected the outcome. It is to Labour’s shame they could not put aside party politics for the good of the nation.

they should never have allowed a Brexit vote, leaving the EU should have been put in a manifesto at a GE...

I don't know how that happened!

I meant to add - a referendum vote was included in the 2015 Conservative manifesto - to be held by the end of 2017.

Apologies - I obviously pressed post without realising. I was quoting a previous poster.

Labour will F up England just like Liz Truss did but worse, trust me

I get that people are fed up and would be with any gov that's been in office for so long. Sadly, if you are working hard or worked hard and not trashed your money on cabs, drinks, smoks and holidays rather than pay off your mortgage and buy everything for cash, and you have savings and private pensions - then you will be seriously shafted by Labour - don't take my word for it, just look at the history of Labour

Hang on, are you seriously blaming Labour for the Brexit referendum?

I've heard it all now!

From my memory, lots of money was spent so it looked like the good times but not enough was put away in the kitty incase the world economy went into a recession which it did , then then the country hit an economic crisis and their was a minister in the exchequers office who left a note for his conservative replacement saying “ sorry, no money left! “ which hit the headlines then we went into years of austerity and I can’t help feeling Labour didn’t help the situation. That and the spice girls go figure!

AhNowTed
Hang on, are you seriously blaming Labour for the Brexit referendum?

I can if you like.

Therichgetricher
Natalie Elphicke is welcomed with open arms by Sir Keir

She's one of those MPs you think; 'I wish she wasn't in the Conservative Party' - and now she isn't.

This is spot on! People have very short memories about why we are in austerity!

Let me just refresh your short term memory.

14 years of Tory:

UK debt highest level since the 60s

Growth historically weak over past 14 years

Investment behind the G7

Trade fallen 15% since Brexit

Taxes a post-war high

Wages below their 2008 peak

Food bank parcels from practically zero under Labour to 3M under the Tories

Net migration an all time record

But yeah Labour eh, what do they know.