Why have the Tories mismanaged the country so badly? (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

[HebburnPokemon]

Genuinely interested in views on this: why have the Conservatives made choices to preside over the virtual demolition of this country? - to the point where they are facing the biggest defeat of their existence. They have not only damaged the country, they have destroyed themselves! This level of self-harm is unheard of.

I'm trying to make sense of it. Even Covid & Ukraine cannot explain the sheer degree of this implosion. This is not your bog-standard "political cycle" of ruling party enjoying a decade of power then inevitably falling out of favour. Lib Dem are on course to become the opposition ffs!

@cupcaske123

"The banking failure in the UK would not have been prevented if Labour had adopted a different policy as the risks were not understood at the time and were as a result, systemic and not national."

Woah woah there!

The risks were absolutely fully understood at the time and pointed out repeatedly by the likes of Vince Cable.

positivemoney.org/2015/11/vince-cable-rising-debt-and-cheap-money-risk-an-economic-storm/

However Labour ride the debt bubble because it made them popular and to try and shut it down would have been very unpopular.

It was a bit like the party is getting out of hand so closing the bar is what's needed before it gets any worse. However closing the bar is not going to be popular so they leave it open and then there is an almighty bust up (far worse than if they had closed the bar).

You can't blame Labour for a financial crisis that began in the States. The crisis affected a whole host of countries, not just the UK. You can't look at the recession in isolation.

The banks were deregulated in the 80s and Brown was under pressure from the financial sector and the opposition, not to over regulate.

In hindsight, the FSA was not up to the job. It was set up in the belief that failure would come from a single institution. At the time, the global implications, shadow banking and entanglements of other institutions, weren't fully understood.

The Tories always try to win elections with scare tactics and fear mongering saying you cannot vote Labour remember what they did 20 odd years ago.

The funny thing is they seem to have amnesia over what has happened in last 14 years and hope we have too. I might not know what Starmer will do, but i know what the Tories will do as i have seen it with my own eyes, and that is enough for me to want them out and it cannot come quick enough!

It backfired badly! But that was the plan - they destroyed the country but they're now looking at being destroyed by farage anyway instead of getting rid of him as a threat.

I also think Liz Truss's actions with the budget showed the country that they really don't care how what they do affects ordinary people - as long as they can have their crazy USA vision of a free market.

This, and C - It was him and his gang that came up with the rule dictating that people were not allowed to do what he did, or we’d face charges.

Incompetence and cronyism Just looking after their donors and each other rather than the country. Also only interested in power for power sake rather than having any vision.

Much of the media cheering them on no matter what they do (in previous elections). Labour choosing Ed Milliband and Corbyn compounded it. Labour only win with a moderate/centrist leader.

I agree though that they've been awful since day 1 in 2010. That's the difference. Ultimately the public voted them in for 14 years so we reap what we sew.

Basically this.

One of the best things about this election is it will clear out most of the old guard. Regardless of the result, I think we will have 300-400 new MPs in July, who will bring fresh ideas and fresh thinking,

A good thing regardless of your politics.

All of this. I also think it's a combination of two things:

1. the legacy of Margaret Thatcher with her 'this lady is not for turning' routine that unaccountably got her so many plaudits. Unfortunately it's turned being implacable even in the face of evidence of harm into their main political strategy.

2. the educational background of many of the Government. I know someone from Eton and they are taught how to become a member of the ruling elite with even a debating chamber that simulates the House of Commons to practise running the country while still at school. Imagine having that level of entitlement at such a young age. No-one from that ilk - Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees Mogg, David Cameron - ever even questions their right to tell us what to do. They don't care if it does the rest of us harm as long as it benefits them - hence Rees Mogg and Johnson cheerleading for Brexit even while knowing it will do the rest of us harm. Jacob Rees-Mogg Says It Could Take 50 Years To Reap The Benefits Of Brexit | HuffPost UK Politics (huffingtonpost.co.uk)

The Tories have tore themselves apart over Europe since the demise of Thatcher. Brexit was meant to end that but it's finished them instead. Because Brexit won the remain Tories have all gone and that just leaves headbangers and spivs because most of parliament (in 2016) knew Brexit was economic suicide.

Labour's time was up in 2010 because you can't have one party in all the time and after 10 years rot sets in.

He wouldn't have been brilliant but had Ed Milliband got in in 2015 then things wouldn't have gone so bad since. Brexit just for starters. He did have good policies that election.

The greatest Labour leader we never had of course was John Smith.

How very true that is.

There is some positivity. Have a look at this report in The Guardian yesterday:

The UK economy grew at a faster rate than previously thought in the first quarter of 2024, handing the next prime minister an improved economic backdrop.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.7% in the first three months of 2024, revised upwards by the Office for National Statistics from a first estimate of 0.6%.

The first-quarter figures were lifted by growth in the services sector, up by 0.8%, as well as the production sector, which expanded by 0.6%, although that was revised down from 0.8% in the initial estimate. Other areas of the economy fared less well, with bad weather hampering the construction sector, where output fell by 0.6%.

The data confirmed that the UK was the fastest-growing economy in the G7 during the first quarter after a short recession in the second half of last year.

Real household disposable income – how much each home is left with after tax, adjusted for inflation – is estimated to have increased by 0.7% in the first quarter of this year, matching the growth in the final quarter of 2023, according to the ONS.
The strength of the economy has been a big issue in the general election campaign after voters suffered a squeeze from higher inflation and increased mortgage rates over the past three years.
Rishi Sunak has insisted that the UK economy has turned a corner but the latest encouraging data comes less than a week before polling day.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/28/next-pm-likely-to-inherit-improved-economic-backdrop-after-uk-growth-revised-up

@cupcaske123 the rating agencies played a huge part in causing the financial crash, not doing enough due diligence & rating bonds as AAA when the underlying assets were effectively junk.

How was Brown solely responsible for the American subprime mortgage crisis?

@cupcaske123 I didn't say he was! The rating agencies I am referring to weren't UK ones...
From a UK perspective, Alistair Darling put together a rescue bail out package in very short order to stave off absolute financial Armageddon.

You're right, the banks could not have done what they did without the complicity of the rating agencies. They were central to the crisis.

Part of the reason is they have spent last 5 years in a selfish internal civil war where the moderate Tories have been pushed aside to appease the right wingers and the likes of Farage.

They have pursued the hardest of Brexit's which has caused economic damage, lost £Billions in PPE COVID contract scandal, Let Liz Truss loose for 7 weeks and she caused economic meltdown & have failed abysmally in promise to level up as the poor have just fallen further behind.

They are also to blame for the rise of Farage/Reform, as the Tory party, including PM, have spent last 5 years demonizing immigrants which has emboldened some very nasty right wing elements so it is little wonder that Reform are doing so well in polls. It is he Tories own making, as they failed to deliver a Brexit that their right wing wanted, and also have empowered likes of Farage!

blown in the 00s by Labour

Labour caused worldwide collapse 🙄Wow they are powerful!

left wing infantilism

You do realise the covid rules were put in place by the Tories right? 🤔Or are you saying they weren't strong enough to stand up to the left?

Not to mention the rules were actually put in place to protect the core Tory voter.

family who could care for their child whilst both parents were too sick to

Too sick to care for their child but well enough to travel the UK? OKAAAAAY

Tbh the Covid rules were nonsensical

i worked throughout Covid and there was no social distancing at work. Not possible to

Yet as soon as work was over we all had to spring apart and not even stop for a 5 minute chat because of “Covid rules”

There were other stuff that didn’t make sense like why you couldn’t buy toothpaste etc

As for SAGE who got completely carried away with the power they were given.

I think they thought they were scaring us into submission but their claims were so outlandish
Did anyone not look at them and do the maths. According to one of their predictions which said that the number of deaths from Covid would double each week. Working this out meant that the UK population should have been wiped out by April 2021

When people try to scare you by making outlandish claims all it does is make people not listen to the nonsense

The lies, the cronyism, the belief that rules are for the little people, the lack of investment in the public realm - stopping Building Schools for the Future on their first day, the massive rise in foodbanks, the huge rise in homelessness.....Michelle Mone, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss....