I'm not quite a frothing berserker but I am getting rather cross with our government messing with the good stuff.

[KateMiddIeton]

Just off the top of my head:

• Student fees
• Public sector workers terms and conditions (otherwise known as moving the goal posts after the match has started)
• Women (Report on Fawcett legal challenge result here)
• Sure Start
• NHS
• Erosion of employment rights
• Removal of EMA
• Removal of universal child benefit
• Unfair changes to DLA
• Unfair changes to ESA assessment

I am getting more and more fed up that these decisions are being made to take away some of the things we should be most proud of and that took years to be achieved.

This thread is a safe haven for some ranting as I know some of us are feeling sick and tired of it all.

My DH and I agreed some years ago that if the BNP ever got in power, we would emigrate, not sure why we didn't think the same for the Torires.

I just hope that all this crappyness means that people will vote for safe old labour again next time (even though i support lib dems).

You don't know what you've got till it's gone...

I did support the Lib Dems. But it feels rather like supporting the administrator who prepared the paperwork for your own execution.

Can I add another to the list

WorkFare (or the equivalent) schemes

I am all frothed out at the moment. Have spent virtually the last 24 hours ranting all over the boards about public sector pensions, Workfare and ridiculous "child care" for 2yo's which is a complete waste of money.

This seems like a good place though. I am going to languish here among like-minded angry people. I may get galvanised again later, but for now I need to rest my weary head somewhere. This' ll do nicely.

I feel woefully uneducated when it comes to this kind of thing. I have been seeing lots of threads like these recently and find myself sort of nodding along to you, OP, and AF and perhaps LisaD (sp?) there was one in particular this morning about free education for 2yo or something similar, but it frustrates me because I never feel as though I know enough. Are there any articles you can link to or other things that I can read? I want to know as much as I can because I am getting to the stage in my life (thinking about kids etc) where these things will really affect me and, of course, I am female. I have noticed from the little that I have picked up that they are definitely shagging women left right and centre, and not in the nice way.

So, anything you think I should read, please let me know!

Can I just shout this:

ALL OF IT IS BECAUSE THE TORIES ARE DETERMINED TO FINISH THE PROJECT STARTED TO LET THE MARKET RUN THE WORLD. EVERYTHING IS TO BE PRIVATISED AND THE STATE DISMANTLED. THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO CREATE BRITAIN PLC. IF PEOPLE DON'T WAKE UP TO THIS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, NO POSTWAR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS WILL BE LEFT.

Thank you.

Yes the bastard workfare. I would put that in with the erosion of employment rights (to keep the list nice) but I think it needs a whole bullet point of it's own.

• WorkFare (or the equivilent) schemes is in.

Yes please do shout Hully. It is a fucking disgrace.

BUT WE ARE LETTING THEM.

FREE SCHOOLS
PRIVATISATION OF THE NHS
DISMANTLING OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
DISMANTLING OF THE PLANNING SYSTEM
NO REGULATION OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

WAKE UP POLLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CLO, sorry love I don't have the energy to link anything for you just now...stick around though

I am woefully uneducated too, but I have gleaned loads from threads on here, talking to people in RL, reading news articles and learning to read "between the lines" (which is the important bit)

there are much more knowledgeable people than me

I am however, pretty clued up on NHS pensions and T+C, but not so much on other stuff except Workfare that I started a thread about a little while ago, that got inundated with people who looked more deeply into it than I could

in fact, this is my first ever posting in Politics

Agree with Hully

THEY AREN'T EVEN TRYING TO KEEP IT A SECRET.

ok will try to stop shouting now

You know the Big Society means Victorian Philanthropy with a couple of workhouses?

Christmas here's a few to be going on with...

For NHS cuts try www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/oct/17/nhs-cuts-impact-on-patients-revealed

Fawcett society judicial review background and campaign www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1165

EMA saveema.co.uk/

Sure Start (it's a Labour link) www.labour.org.uk/join-with-labour-to-save-our-sure-start

The Royal college of Nursing speak up about changes to employment rights www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/news/article/uk/rcn_comments_on_changes_to_employment_law

More on employment law changes from a think tank www.ier.org.uk/blog/osborne-and-cable-stack-tribunal-odds-against-workers

Polly? as in Toynbee?

Yes. Yes I do Hully. The Big Society is a crock of shit. It's like going back in time 150 years.

What next the work house? Oh no, that's contracted out to Work Fare.

Charities and churches educating the masses? Oh yes, free schools.

Read Whoops by John Lancaster
Boomerang by Michael Lewis

Will try to remember others

Charities and churches looking picking up where the state falls short on healthcare. !852? No TOMORROW if NHS reform goes through.

Bevan would turn in his grave.

I think you tend to take more note of what is currently affecting you the most, and then when you look around a bit, you realise that while we are all looking the other, our rights are being shafted left, right and centre

I nearly blew a gasket when I watched my local news bulletin yesterday.

Get this people

2 days before a widescale strike by health care workers a "report" was leaked that proved that more people die in hospitals at the weekend ie. when staffing is lower

Yes, that is a very serious statistic.

Awful and needs looking at, pronto.

But to "leak" it 48 hrs before the largest strike for several decades ? Really, just a coincidence ?

Malicious scamming by the Govt I say.

And another example of the underhand way this Govt is hell bent on pitting us all against each other while they fucking rob us blind

< puts tea cup on head >

I think you tend to take more note of what is currently affecting you the most, and then when you look around a bit, you realise that while we are all looking the other, our rights are being shafted left, right and centre

This. This is what's making me furious.

Too angry to contribute.

Save our NHS saveournhs.org/

looking the other way, I meant of course

we are meant to just get frothy about the little parts that affect us directly...look at the bigger picture though, and you get really frightened

we are at each others throats...strikers vs non strikers, public sector vs private, benefit bashing

blah blah blah

all fuelled by the media who look for the latest headline to sell a few rags

we are being sold down the river while we call each other names on the internet

Petition to save NHS here www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition

boycottworkfare here

I don't have a workplace AF or I'd have signed that.

I'll save it for later