What did the Conservatives ever do for us ? AKA lets apportion blame where it is due [smile]

[Dymaxion]

After 14 long years of Conservative government, we now have another Party at the helm. I can't help feeling that a lot of what has occurred under the Conservatives will be quickly blamed on the Labour party, who have only been in power for a week, so thought it might be wise to start a thread summarising the Conservatives legacy ?

To start,

1. Brexit is a fairly obvious one, the way in which this was handled by senior Conservative's was absolutely shocking.
2. Liz Truss's mini budget, what was your interest rate pre September 2022 and what is it now ?
3. The NHS, and social care in crisis.
4. Prison and court systems/probabtion in absolute tatters and fit to burst.

Feel free to add your own

When Rishi Sunak was doing the eat-out-to-help-out-nice-bloke-smiling-at-folk-in-cafes-photo-opportunity do you think that was his very own personal idea or do you think it was Tory advisors' idea. "Rishi, we need some good publicity. We've got an idea for you."

I blame no-one for eat out to help out. I got a half-cost scone and tea in Cromer in return for going out with a mask on and up to my eyes in that nasty stuff we all kept having to anoint ourselves with.

When I do a tiny wee at the supermarket Ladies I now wash my hands in every direction and sing 'Happy Birthday' 10 times while I do it, with the Govey Gove in mind. The Tories have made us more attentive to our hand hygiene.

The Conservative government promised to build 9 new prisons in 2015

Bit like the 40 new hospitals they promised

We know Sunak didn't consult the Government's scientific advisers

He did more than eat out to help out and you know it. What about furlow for example? Without that many businesses would have gone under and people would have lost everything. But that fact is conveniently lost on people like you. If you think Labour will do better then take a look at what is currently happening in France - that’s what we now have to look forward to. It’s a mess. Give it a few years and people will be embarrassed to admit they voted Labour back into government.

Oh dear, you're a bit behind the times with this one. Helpful link up thread from @DuncinToffee about when the Tories announced this.

Unlawfully prorogued parliament. Awarded contracts to ferry compamny with no ships because of lack of due diligence... I wonder how many things like this we don't know about.

Does it matter? People have been posting non stop about how amaaaazinggggg things will be one labour are in. Ok. They're in. Let's look out for these great things to come and stfu about a party who isn't in power anymore?
Every other thread has to be about this- get over it, they're out. Can't change the past. But as usual, people are posting what they DID do and being shot down 😂 why ask?!

Cameron should have never held that stupid referendum in the first place. The fact that he wanted to Remain makes it even more idiotic that he's accidentally bumbled us out of the single market. All on the Tory watch

The problem is that the tories have left the country and public services in a terrible state with low growth and outside the single market. Labour now has to clear up the terrible mess and will be blamed for not being able to wave a magic wand and instantly fix everything.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed today that Labour are indeed reducing prison sentences to 40%. What an absolute joke. What sort of message does that send out? The population is increasing. Build more prisons. But no, just let them out earlier and earlier and hey presto no more over crowding but at the expense of more crime and people feeling even less safe than they did before. Wonder what they have in store for us next?

I take it that reading is not one of your particular set of skills...

The last time Labour left power, the finances were a mess which is the whole reason why the Conservatives had to introduce austerity measures in the first place. Why should future generations be saddled with our debt? Now all the years of austerity will be for nothing as Labour blows the finances yet again.

Well, no, they didn't have to introduce austerity, they could invested in infrastructure and jailed the bankers, as Iceland did, and then they wouldn't have left us in the shit as they did.

It was a choice. Because they don't care about anyone other than themselves and their mates...

I'm in my 60s but my son who doesn't live in the UK got his way before me. They got one out a few days before other countries who rapidly overtook us with the roll out. Then they shouted a lot about how well they'd done.

@Iffx

"I blame Bojo for brexit - a high profile, charismatic campaign from him. To a lesser extent, I also blame Corbyn"

Actually I don't blame either- Boris, Farage, Cummings and to a lesser extent Corbyn placed the loaded gun on the table. 17 million voters chose to pick it up, put it to their heads and pull the trigger.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd1jxmrk11yo

And

Rishi Sunak’s government released more than 10,000 prisoners up to 70 days early, figures reveal, as the new justice secretary prepares to announce further emergency measures to ease another overcrowding crisis in jails.

Ministry of Justice figures show that 10,083 prisoners were allowed to walk free under the end of custody supervised licence (ECSL) scheme between October 2023 and June 2024 in England and Wales.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/12/over-10000-prisoners-freed-70-days-early-sunak-government

Have you read my 23.02 post of yesterday evening? The fact of furlough is very much not lost on me. When he came out with his first proposals they were generally well met, I think. I wrote 4 or so posts then - 23.02. The tenor of them is definitely not 'Tories all wicked, Labour all wonderful'. I'm the one who hasn't jumped on an illiterate band-wagon of 'All Tories are twats'.

I am old. I couldn't get work in my chosen job in the later 1970s because of a number of reasons which included the financial mess that the Labour government was making and I got on my bike and went to do a job way lower than my academic abilities would suggest, way before Mr. Tebbit told us to get on our bikes, so I'm not forecasting anything for this new government. I'm waiting to see.

What I was wondering about Rishi Sunak, in the post which led to this one of yours, was whether he is by nature longing to be a personality star of the show or whether he would just have soon had the eat-out-to-help-out announced and stayed in the office and not gone to get publicity shots for the party. If you felt that I was being a bit mocking and flippant, I most likely was, but of the 'PR machine' rather than of RS himself.

Somewhere on Mumsnet I have agreed with others that his leaving speech outside no.10 was good, and that he and Keir Starmer said respectful things about one another. I said they set a good example by that.

I don't think there is/was an intention by either party to let out rapists and murderers before their time but Rory Stewart, this morning, said that some people who are in prison are there because they haven't paid their Council Tax. They are not exactly a danger to society. Surely they could be punished in some way without taking up a prison cell.

Edit to say I have considered withholding Council Tax and getting sent to prison for a little while to see how nasty it is, but now THEY have been to see to the potholes - for the time being at least - I have no reason not to pay it.

Yet another nauseating MN Labour boosting thread.

We all know the Tories failed and have been kicked out. Now, live on Labour’s record - too early to say, obviously, but FFS be sensible. It’s like being inside an Islington Labour branch meeting on here.

@FinalCeleryScheme no one is forcing you to read it 🤷‍♀️

Huge cuts to legal aid meaning hardly anybody qualifies anymore. Underfunding so there are very few lawyers who will do legal aid work even if you do qualify.
No dentists in most of the country.
An NHS which is itself in need of cpr.
Rivers and seas full of sewage.
Wasted £310 million on rwanda scheme
Roads so full of potholes they are dangerous to drive on
Made us an international joke with brexit and revolving door at number 10
Lost billions of trade with brexit
Lost people their homes with the mini budget
Normalised lying in public office and cronyism to a degree never known before
Incited hatred of disabled people
Incited racism
Had to be forced to feed desperate children by a footballer
Shame after shame after shame really.

I think it's a bit Tory-defending as well as Labour-boosting.

There was a man called Abu Hamza something. Well, weren't several Home Secretaries keen to see the back of him or do I misremember? Who was Home Sec went he eventually buggered off from these shores? Tory Theresa May. Yes, no doubt someone will pounce on me and say really it was Jeremy Corbyn on the quiet who got rid of him but I shall choose not to believe it.