It's no good. I am trying to pretend it's find and I don't care.

[OrmRenewed]

But the truth is I am devestated. I don't want to be governed by tories.

I feel sad, betrayed and scared.

OrmRenewed that's not true, a study of figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that manufacturing's share of the economy declined almost three times faster under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown than it did when Thatcher was in power in the 1980s and early 1990s.

A man who got a laugh out of getting pissed and destroying someone's property and then throwing money at the proprietor to sort it out.

How funny!

Yep, I'm so pleased someone like that is representing the country. It's such a great image to portray to the world, who are already laughing.

Can i sign a petition somewhere to stop this bloody unholy shack-up from happening?

But the Tories started the rot with the passion to destroy the unions. Our whole country changed it's nature under their rule - New Labour decided it couldn't get back into power without looking like Thatcher-lite so didn't reverse the decline. But it was the tories that started it.

Britain is a more crass, materialistic, anti-intellectual place than it was - and it was the tory government that started it.

but Orm the unions were destroying this country

Sorry to butt in here, how were unions destroying the country?

I've heard that trotted out a few times but what did they actually do that was destructive?

TIA.

I remember that the unions were a PITA yes. But the remedy was worse than the disease.

the unions held so much power over the government, strikes, picketing, the country was on it's knees. The labour party were just puppets for the trade unions.

Who else actually remembers all this happening?

you can google it, it was called the Winter of Discontent 1979

I remember.
I remember the power strikes. Time after time.
But now we are without a manufacturing and engineering industry. How is that an improvement?

Normally, I agree with everything expat says. But here, the financial mess we as a country are in was not caused by the City.

It was caused by the Labour government running a huge budget deficit. It ran a budget deficit because it wanted to spend, spend spend. And all the stealth taxes in the world couldn't keep up.

The Labour party blames the global economic crisis. But that's not accurate.

lou - you get £220 a week in tax credits? So roughly £1000 a month? That can't be right can it? DP only earns £1200 a month and works 40+ hour weeks. Sorry not trying to stir up trouble, genuinely interested in how you get that much thats a whole person's wages.

but Orm Labour started the decline, the unions finished British Leyland off, and Thatcher did the only thing anyone could do, she took the power away from the unions. It couldnt have continued could it?

The labour government was warned last time that it needed to show financial restraint, and it didn't, that's the problem they just spend and borrow and that's exactly what they did this time too.

Manufacturing's share of the economy declined almost three times faster under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - these are not made up figures they're from the office of national statistics.

Orm, I wouldn't be worried. The Tories are on a suicide mission going into office now.

Well Fluffy, it's actually £880 a month.
DH earns £1200 a month and we get £700 TCs. We have 4 kids though.

DH works 40+ hours a week as well.

Judgey. Sick of the jealousy over TC and people who can't get them.

Stretch - errr, think you might want to direct your ire at those that are actually being judgey??

If you read what I said correctly:

"Sorry not trying to stir up trouble, genuinely interested in how you get that much thats a whole person's wages".

you can see it was a genuine question. I was interested because with DP's wages being what they are I wondered if it might be worth us applying. Perhaps you might want to take that chip off your shoulder, no? Why so defensive?

And I can add up actually, but thanks for that. There aren't usually exactly 28 days in a month, hence my rough estimate.

No wonder new people get upset when you can't even ask a simple question without being called 'judgey'.

Sorry Fluffy - just saw your question

DH earns £1200 per month gross.

We have 3 children (one was under 1 until April) and one of those is counted as 'severely disabled' because she gets the Higher Rate Care component of Disability Living allowance.

So, we get around £23 in Working Tax Credit, £150 in 'ordinary' CTC, and around £70 disability element.

In other words, if we didn't have DD1's disability, having 3 children would give us approx £170 per week in WTC/CTC.

Forgot to say, Fluffy, DH does work full-time. Only 34 hours per week, as he has a day off to help look after DD1, but still 'full-time'. Tax credits help working people on a low wage as well as those who can't/don't work.