The pathetic weakness of Liebour has been reconfirmed today with the first day of a two day strike by public sector workers and the Scottish Chancellor’s back-track over the 2p rise in fuel duty.
Council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the Unison and Unite unions went on strike today over a below inflation pay offer resulting in the closure of hundreds of schools and libraries and general disruption to council services. 1,500 employees at the Driving Standards Agency have been on a one day strike today. 2,500 Valuation Office Agency staff are working to rule today and tomorrow, 10,000 Home Office staff will be striking on Friday, 5,500 Land Registry workers will also strike on Friday and Costguard control room staff will be striking on Friday for 2 days.
Meanwhile, whilst the country is falling apart because El Gordo has pissed all out money up the wall for the last decade, Alistair Darling has backed down from the 2p/£ increase in fuel duty that has been planned for some time claiming to be doing it for the good of business and the electorate. This is bullshit, it’s because he knows that an increase in fuel duty will not only devastate Liebour’s chances in the by-election in Glasgow East (next door to El Gordo) but that it will likely bring about a repeat of the fuel price protests of a few years ago.
This is New Liebour in its death throes. Enjoy it while it lasts – the general election isn’t that far way.
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That council workers in Scotland have not had to take strike action will no doubt be of significance in the Glasgow East by-election… I’m sure Alex Salmond will be bringing it up, if he hasn’t already.
On the subject of a general election – New Liebore are scared for obvious reasons (losing Scotland to the SNP, Wales to Plaid Cymru, and England to the Tories and Liberals) but David Cameron is pretty worried about ‘prematurely’ becoming PM. He’s already talking about raising taxes and the CBI are angry that his party aren’t backing the undemocratic planning bill. What’s clear is that if elected, the Tories would ensure that working people pay the price for the crisis in global capitalism, just as Brown will if he isn’t ousted soon.
How real is figure of inflation?
I was noticing that there seem to be a whole pile of bizarre things that are included, most of which we only buy every few years, so is the figure accurate?
Also have they dicked about with the figures a lot. like they did with unemployment?
Or is it independently counted?
While I am enjoying the death-throes of Liebour, their deathly thrashes give me cause to worry: how much damage will they do before they are gone? How much of our country and way of life will they take down with them?
I can only hope that they don’t do enough damage to make it impossible for their successors to be given a reasonable chance to rebuild the country — I can quite easily see El Gordo demanding Scorched Earth policies in the final days: If Gordo and Liebour can’t have power, then no one else can either.
how bad was the recession of the early 90s?
could it be that the tories can manage a recession with less pain than labour?
the country was in a shit heap state in the late 70s and auntie maggie came and gave us all horrid tasting medicine for 10 years, now we have pervy uncle gordo putting barbiturates in our horlicks are we going to wake up with a sore bottom and 10 years of torie rule again?
Pretty bad but the difference is that there’s no motivation to stop it now – socialists love a recession.
Actually no. I’m a socialist and I do not like recessions.
In fact as far as I can see it’s the rich who enjoy a good recession. Nothing like a bit of poverty to but the poor in their place. I lived through the last one and would have thought that no one in their right mind wants to see all that misery again.
During the last one I watched my dad, who had worked hard all his life, lose his life savings because the new Tory employment and benefit rules meant he got nothing when he needed a heart bypass and had to give up work. I worked for the D(H)SS at the time and knew that the appeals proceedure we tried was a waste of time.
I’m proud to be a socialist but when the next election comes it means that I’ve got no one to vote for
Again…..
If you want to see how well the current tory party would run the country, just take a look at what Boris and his ever increasing army of deputy mayors is doing to London http://torytroll.blogspot.com/
Only, no motivation?
probably no ability either 🙁
I didn’t enjoy the last one, and I’m not enjoying this one.
Wonko, I’ve told you before, Brown is not a socialist. If he was, he wouldn’t be cutting the wages of teachers, nurses, refuse collectors, etc. and he wouldn’t be doubling the taxes of the poorest workers…
Glasgow Trades.
I dont think it can be any worse for them, it is currently the Glasgow Trades Holidays and nearly everyone is away in the east end, specificcally the solid labour heart land vote, of those who are left, either they are too poor or too stupid to go away, these people are not renowned for their voting and the asylum seekers, who dont vote much either.
It is seriously like a ghost town, almost as if everyone has been kidnapped by aliens.
I think this has been planned, an election during the trades, to get rid of fat boy
Charlie El Gordo is a socialist of sorts. He’s more socialist than anything else. Doubling taxes for the poorest workers can be socialist if you then drip feed some of that back to them via social security thereby ensuring that you control their ability to pay their wages. In fact, that’s going through socialism and out the other side. The next step, after having control over everyone’s income will be to start taking control of their ability to work. Remind you of anywhere?
Axel, if only the scutters are at home in Glasgow for the election then it’s going to be a vote for the socialists – SNP or Liebour. Could make it a tighter result.
\’scutters\’ dont vote, they are not on the electoral register and have\’nt been since the poll tax 🙁
What will make it tighter, will be the vast amount of traditional voters who are away for the Trades, they are seriously the bed rock of the glasgow labour machine.
As one wag put it, \’it is not quite Darfur in the drizzle\’ but most of the home correspondents are having the thrill of a dangerous posting among a seriously aggresive population, who are mostly at a behavioural tangent to what we refer to as normality\’
“Charlie El Gordo is a socialist of sorts. He’s more socialist than anything else”
Naw, he’s New Labour. There’s a BIG difference. He’s far too near the Tories to be a socialist, I’d say the Liberals are further left than him