ARmy Rumour SErvice

Remind me, why isn't he defence secretary anymore?

Something to do with unlawful access to industry whilst employed in a public office?

Is this the "Thatcherite" right wing of the Tories coming out against the Lib Dems?

Sort of reinforces the "posh boys who don't know the pint of milk", and as a former GP what would he know about wider job market? Pure "New Right" 1980s drivel.

New Right ideas were developed in the early eighties and took a distinctive view of elements of society such as family, education, crime and deviance. In the United Kingdom, the term New Right more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan influenced. Thatcher's style of New Right ideology, known as Thatcherism, was heavily influenced by the work of Friedrich Hayek (in particular the book The Road to Serfdom). They were ideologically committed to neo-liberalism as well as being socially conservative. Key policies included deregulation of business, a dismantling of the welfare state, privatization of nationalized industries and restructuring of the national workforce in order to increase industrial and economic flexibility in an increasingly global market. Similar policies were continued by the subsequent Conservative government under John Major and the mark of the New Right is evident in the New Labour government, first under Tony Blair, then Gordon Brown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Right#United_Kingdom

Thank you for that detailed explanation of the political climate in the 1980s as I missed much of it.

[QUOTE=Boumer;4368095]
Sort of reinforces the "posh boys who don't know the pint of milk", and as a former GP what would he know about wider job market? [/QUOTE]

Probably about as much as a tom or former tom.

Conservative policies have no intellectual content. It is a blind faith in privatisation, dismantling of employment protections and (sadly) dismantling of the justice system.

Whilst, of course, the other options are flawless.

The way I look at it Harriet Harman, Ed Balls and his rancid wife are exactly the kind of people I hate.

The "detached Tories"? Labour is led by the Oxbridge educated son of a Marxist intellectual. And who here isn't an Oxbridge educated son of a Marxist intellectual? What could be more normal?

Or the lovely Diane Abbot. Apparently she loathes privately educated Oxbridge graduates. Bar her son, of course.

[QUOTE=Pyianno;4368117]Conservative policies have no intellectual content. It is a blind faith in privatisation, dismantling of employment protections and (sadly) dismantling of the justice system.[/QUOTE]

Out of interest how do you define 'intellectual content' and what would you site a the single most appropriate antonym for 'faith' in this regard?

Originally Posted by Mr_Tigger

Thank you for that detailed explanation of the political climate in the 1980s as I missed much of it.

Probably about as much as a tom or former tom.

Just for younger members who may not have got it, no offence was intended!

Anyway, I was cheating and reference from wiki.

Originally Posted by Pyianno

Conservative policies have no intellectual content. It is a blind faith in privatisation, dismantling of employment protections and (sadly) dismantling of the justice system.

I'm sure they would have the time for some intellectual content if they weren't too busy sorting out the last governments epic fuck up - which I suppose was based on intellectual content. Remind me again who spent all the money?

LiveLeak.com - Dear Tories, sorry we spent all the money: Labour's farewell letter exposed as coalition sets out £6billion in cuts

Originally Posted by BedIn

Whilst, of course, the other options are flawless.

The way I look at it Harriet Harman, Ed Balls and his rancid wife are exactly the kind of people I hate.

The "detached Tories"? Labour is led by the Oxbridge educated son of a Marxist intellectual. And who here isn't an Oxbridge educated son of a Marxist intellectual? What could be more normal?

Or the lovely Diane Abbot. Apparently she loathes privately educated Oxbridge graduates. Bar her son, of course.

Abbott being a grammar school educated Oxbridge graduate herself. All political leaders in the United Kingdom are out of touch.

Originally Posted by Mr_Tigger

Out of interest how do you define 'intellectual content' and what would you site a the single most appropriate antonym for 'faith' in this regard?

With the notable exception of Iain Dunan Smith, no Conservative members of Cabinet have presented a robust empricial basis for any of their social, economic or legal reforms.

I exclude the deficit-reduction strategy from this, since the necessity of this to me seems fairly obvious. However the "belief" - and it is nothing more than that - that the private sector will step in to take up the drop in demand created by substantial public sector cuts is being steadily undermined by experience.

Similarly the "make it easier to sack people" argument, which suggests an erosion of employment protections will improve economic prosperity, is a normative rather than an empirical doctrine. If you care to study the statistics relating to employment tribunals - which is presumably the only means by which firing people becomes 'costly' - unfair dismissal represents a minority of claims. The bulk of claims relate to the European Working Time Directive.