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Originally Posted by Gogogo
1. The Labour Party has always fought for the middle ground,
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That's a matter of (political) opinion, but I'll pass on that.
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5. Why on earth do you worry about who calls the other liars, it's all part of the fun of political life.
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"Fun"??? It's that "fun" and the farce that is PMQs etc which is what IMO is turning people *off* politics. When you see the leaders and major figures of the main parties squabbling like children in the playground, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence!
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We have noticed the Liberals are just the same, spend their time negatively criticising the other parties and avoiding debates on the real issues.
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Except that the "real issues" are the ones that the other two parties want to talk about, which aren't necessarily what people are interested in!
To me it looks like the Lib Dems are the only ones making an effort to have a reasonable discussion instead of just saying "This is the party line, deal with it".
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6. Charles K a great leader - pull the other one! Are you trying to convince yourself?
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Err, what? Try reading it again: "Whilst I don't think Charles Kennedy is a great leader..."
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7. Party right or wrong, never said or implied, fact is the war is hardly ever mentioned on the doorstep or during 'phone canvassing. Most voters are concerned about bread & butter issues.
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But is that because people don't care, or because the government is trying to bury it and the Tories (who went along with it) are complicit in this?
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8. On public services generally: nothing is perfect nothing or can ever be perfect, of course there are going to be problems, organisations as large as the NHS or on a smaller scale schools are going to have problems.
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This sounds like more "government speak". These aren't *minor* problems, they're *major* failings. Try asking staff in the medical professions whether they'd prefer to treat patients or worry about waiting list figures.
When patients are treated according to how quickly they can be got off the lists rather than medical need, something has gone very wrong. And it's *not* the staff's fault because they're being forced into it by ill thought out policies designed to make the government look good.
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Your references to the independent school sector, I'm sure those schools involved will be or have addressed issues mentioned. You quote a report two years old, please try harder.
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Oh, I see, because it's two years old, it's no longer valid? Get real! Education is something that happens for at least *SIXTEEN* years of a child's life. Our governments have raised a *generation* whose skills are nothing like what they should be.
And petty sniping comments like "please try harder" don't make your arguments any more credible.
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9. Actually, bold new iniatives are needed. One example, I'm willing to let city academies perform let's wait and see the results.
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"A teachers' leader says his union has hardened its opposition to government plans for 200 city academies"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4348931.stm
This is a *union* (you know, the people who the Labour Party was formed to represent!) disagreeing with government policy. These are *teachers* who don't think these "city academies" are a good idea.
"Bold new initiatives" like this are great for getting headlines, but they allow any problems to be shunted years into the future when someone else will have to deal with them.
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You are as a citizen free to believe what you wish, I like to be positive about life and the universe, I have nothing further to add: too busy.
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Oh, and *I* don't like to be positive about life and the universe? Nope, I think you're wrong there.
However I also don't wear rose tinted spectacles or think that the sun shines out of a certain political leader's fundamental orifice. I look at *all* the evidence, not just that which agrees with what I think.