Politics in the UK
A number of my colleagues assume I am a Tory. I'm not. Not to say that I fit in with any of the parties totally but there are policies from each of the main ones that I favour. Not UKIP though; I am too much of a believer in Europe to favour them.
But one thing I have been a little irritated by in recent times was the indistinguishable nature between the Tories and Labour on a range of issues. They were much of a muchness in many ways. Things have changed. If Labour are going to go the way Jeremy Corbyn is talking then there will be a definite choice for people.
I'm not saying I think people will vote for a more left wing party when they didn't vote for the centrist version in the last election but at least there is a choice.
And Jeremy Corbyn has done one thing already in PMQs that I approve of. He's vowed to put issues ahead of theatre in this tradition of the British Parliament. That can only be a good thing.
I find myself in agreement with some of the things he says too. I do think that Britain has become a little more of an unfair society over the last few years. There was a major recession and some of the people perceived to have caused some of the problems did a lot better out of it than the workers in the factories and shops at the bottom end of the scale.
Would the government have reacted so quickly to bail out businesses? Well, no. They wouldn't. I did get some of the arguments made but others were spurious, just like the general idea of trickle-down economics in general. It sounds plausible until you involve people.
I think that austerity to the level being proposed by the Tories is too much when they give tax cuts and breaks to the more wealthy. When the top tax rate was cut from 50% to 45% (over £150,000 income) at a time when the government was talking about severe cuts to public spending it was frankly appalling. Talking that everyone was in it together and then rewarding the most wealthy was wrong.
And then it was made all the worse when last year top Tories said it actually helped raise Tax Revenue. Well it didn't. Okay, that over the time from before the cut to after it the Tax Revenue did rise is true, but to say the tax cut helped raise the extra amount was poppycock. The improving UK economy did that.
So if Labour picking a left leaning leader means that debate in politics will focus on things that matter to everyday people in the UK then I am in favour.
But one thing I have been a little irritated by in recent times was the indistinguishable nature between the Tories and Labour on a range of issues. They were much of a muchness in many ways. Things have changed. If Labour are going to go the way Jeremy Corbyn is talking then there will be a definite choice for people.
I'm not saying I think people will vote for a more left wing party when they didn't vote for the centrist version in the last election but at least there is a choice.
And Jeremy Corbyn has done one thing already in PMQs that I approve of. He's vowed to put issues ahead of theatre in this tradition of the British Parliament. That can only be a good thing.
I find myself in agreement with some of the things he says too. I do think that Britain has become a little more of an unfair society over the last few years. There was a major recession and some of the people perceived to have caused some of the problems did a lot better out of it than the workers in the factories and shops at the bottom end of the scale.
Would the government have reacted so quickly to bail out businesses? Well, no. They wouldn't. I did get some of the arguments made but others were spurious, just like the general idea of trickle-down economics in general. It sounds plausible until you involve people.
I think that austerity to the level being proposed by the Tories is too much when they give tax cuts and breaks to the more wealthy. When the top tax rate was cut from 50% to 45% (over £150,000 income) at a time when the government was talking about severe cuts to public spending it was frankly appalling. Talking that everyone was in it together and then rewarding the most wealthy was wrong.
And then it was made all the worse when last year top Tories said it actually helped raise Tax Revenue. Well it didn't. Okay, that over the time from before the cut to after it the Tax Revenue did rise is true, but to say the tax cut helped raise the extra amount was poppycock. The improving UK economy did that.
So if Labour picking a left leaning leader means that debate in politics will focus on things that matter to everyday people in the UK then I am in favour.
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