Maggie Thatcher is a 'conviction politician'

[EffiePerine]

Eh?

This puzzles me on many, many levels

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6993269.stm

At least politics was interesting back in the 80's. God it is so boring now, it is not about ideology but who can capture the most popular thought. It is embarassing watching the Labour and Conservative parties today, David Cameron trying to be a clone of Tony Blair. That is why people are disillusioned with politics as there is no passion in it any more, no senes of belief or ideology.

it might have been interesting, but wasn't nice to live through. i remember my dad going on strike.

she was agressive and ruthless

When you do get a politician of conviction - Frank Field and Kate Hoey spring to mind - their own parties turn on them.

TB has a lot to answer for.

I think politics is more interesting now than it has been for the past 15 years. The next election will be the first since '92 which will be to close for the pundits to call accurately. Maybe even the first hung parliament since '74.

The thing is, 10 yrs of Labour rule hasn't improved things. There is more poverty, unemployment looks good partly b/c of the way the figures are fixed and the North/South divide is worse than when Labour came to power, to the extent that whilst hundreds of thousands of new homes are being built in the South East they pulled down whole communities in Liverpool.

It's not UQD as you have a bunch of politicians saying what they think the public want to hear. It is all about the middle ground. I actually respect a politician who says what they believe but they are thin on the ground now, party whips hold the line.

there is alot to put right starttt. ten years isn't a long time.

some things will never be put right again.

I agree that politics isn't interesting, but the election itself will be, unless someone screws up massively beforehand.

Hmmm, strangely, I find myself disagreeing with UQD.

It will be a very narrow fight for the middle ground ie those voters with not much sense of identity beyond me-ism. I do think Blair has narrowed a divide even further, and it ia almost 'dancing on heads of pins' now.

And Pan's crystal ball says an election in October, or early November. You heard it here first. >

I agree that there is a lot to put right.

But it would be nice to think that someone was trying. Things shouldn't have got worse. Instead it looks like the North is being written off, outside of the fashionable remodelled city centres - which are full of apartments for singles and couples but nothing for the families needed to make a cohesive community.

politicians never come across as very logical minded to me.

I'm tempted to agree with you, startouched, but it's not really fair. We still have an NHS, for a start. Far from perfect, as most healthcare systems are, but it is functioning. And we've got a minimum wage. The govt. has invested in schools - not put enough money in the right places, but at least most schools actually have books these days as far as I'm aware. Was one between four in my local comp in the 80s. We also have the Freedom of Information Act, however much the politicians are trying to whittle away at it.

I am worried about the way the relationship between state and citizen is going, though, and that's a trend she started, the old hag. She used the police as her private f*cking henchmen during the miners' strike, twisting the law beyond all recognition.

Wasn't it Maggie who put the gates in at Downing Street? I do think that's a huge symbolic 'fuck off' to all of us. Our dear leaders, far too important to share the same fucking street as us mere serfs. When I was little, my dad took me for a walk along Downing Street, and pointed out that democracy meant we could throw at rotten tomato at the PM's residence if we liked.

I would laugh if Cameron lost as where would he lead the conservative party to then?

Politicians have always said what they think will win them votes, though. I don't think that has changed much, apart from "spin" being more obvious and more conscious. Agree that the middle ground is being fought over, which will leave the Lib Dems in an interesting position. Some boundary changes too which could squeeze one or two high-profile people.

I can't even vote for the party I support. In our so-called democracy they can't afford to field a candidate in our true-blue contituency. And I support the Green Party, generally regarded as this country's fourth party.

i think they should ban public schoolboys from running the country for a bit, see what happens..

Well, the last state-educated PM was John Major.

No STT, I can't vote for my party any more. It doesn't put candidtates up. It was The Labour Party.

Dh's mate who is a student doctor told him that the better your grades, the closer to London you get to work. Flunk them and you get Grimsby or Hull.

However you cut it the north gets a rough deal. And given the amount of money poured into the NHS it shoud be state of the art, not barely functioning.

oh that reminds me

when i lived in north london there was some graffitti on a road sign that said 'ranking john major' haha wonder if it's still there

What if you don't want to work near London?

Where was GB educated? Son of the manse, I can't believe he went to public school?

Who knows, UQD.

I would have like to see Thatcher as a 'convicted' politician. The iron lady with her 'monkey shit brown' hair and handbag at the ready - she was my childhood bogeyman....

One of my fondest memories is of hearing she had been ousted by her own party on a transistor radio in 6th form college canteen

Now I will read the thread to find out who made the convicted quip first