Interesting contrasts in this article.(Although the writer has the figures of Servicemen killed wrong at 35(see end stats)
What do you think? Is the article right?Are we worse or better off?
Regards,
spike
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Britain under Blair: 1997 to 2007
[Published: Thursday 28, June 2007 - 07:24]
It was a very different day, when Tony Blair made his triumphal entry into Downing Street, on 1 May 1997. The main sports news was of a late goal by Alan Shearer against Georgia, which in effect secured England's place in the following year's World Cup.
The commentators were still at a loss to understand why the England coach, Glenn Hoddle, insisted on keeping the talented young David Beckham tight on the right wing instead of letting him loose in the middle.
As to the future Mrs Beckham, not many people could have accurately recalled her full name then. But most people had heard of "Posh Spice", part of the five-girl singing group whose single "Wannabe" had taken the music world by storm 10 months earlier. Their only rivals in popularity were Oasis, whose third album, released that summer, became the fastest-selling album in chart history.
It was into this world of glamorous Britpop and "Cool Britannia" that the young new Prime Minister and his untested team would fit so easily.
That morning, of course, it was the Blairs themselves making the news. As he and Cherie made their slow progress on foot to their new home, in brilliant sunshine past the cheering, flag-waving crowd, many believed that "things can only get better".
Everything about Labour seemed new and fresh. At 43, Tony Blair was the youngest Prime Minister for more than a century. He brought the unfamiliar sound of young children running about in the flat above No 11. He had never previously held any government post. The same was true of almost his entire new administration, except for a few old-timers such as the indestructible Margaret Beckett, who had held junior posts in the 1970s.
Of course, there were patches of the UK that were not basking in the general sense of goodwill. At the Maze prison, in Northern Ireland, loyalist terrorists were holding a rooftop protest over changes to the prison regime introduced after the discovery of an IRA escape tunnel. The violence in the province dragged on without remission - the ghastly Omagh bombing lay ahead - and yet the outgoing Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, said he believed peace was a real prospect quite soon. That day, the province learnt that, for the first time, a woman - Mo Mowlam - had been appointed Northern Ireland Secretary. Some political leaders were appalled at the thought.
But the main thing on people's minds was what would happen to the economy under its new masters. Previously, each time a Labour government had taken office, there had been an almost immediate run on the pound, triggering an economic crisis. However, the City was less nervous about Mr Blair and his Chancellor, Gordon Brown, than it had been about previous Labour leaders, because of their cast-iron promise not to raise public spending for two years above the level set by the Tories. Homeowners were warned that if the Governor of the Bank of England, Eddie George, went into Gordon Brown's office and asked for a rise in interest rates Mr Brown would almost certainly comply, as a demonstration of his toughness. The Daily Mail forecast that his next move would be to sack Mr George, to get the Bank firmly under government control. No one guessed that the new Chancellor would do the opposite and give the bank independence, surrendering all control over the setting of interest rates.
One of the main causes of inflation was the boom in house prices. That day, it was reported that London prices had risen more than 20 per cent in one year, overtaking the 1989 peak. The average London house now cost a staggering £85,378.
In 1997, office staff were trying to get to grips with mobile phones that were cheap to buy and small enough to be held in the hand - though you needed to take care the aerial did not snap off. On that morning in May, Barclays and Cellnet announced that they had come together to organise a service under which people could use their phones to check their bank balances.
Another puzzling new phenomenon was the World Wide Web. That day, a Scandinavian oil company offered all its thousands of employees free computers at home, but only on condition that they all agreed to learn how to log on to the internet.
There was one other significant talking point: the burgeoning relationship between Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. It was obvious that Dodi's rich, ambitious father, Mohamed Al Fayed, was looking forward to being father-in-law of a superstar.
The way we lived then...
Population: 58.314m
Male life expectancy: 74.5
Female life expectancy: 79.6
GDP per capita: £13,900
Inflation: 3.1%
Average house price: £68,504
Unemployment: 7.2%
Cars licensed: 26.974m
Prison population: 69,000
Adult smokers: c28%
A-level pass rate: 87.7%
Households with computer: c27%
Maximum NHS waiting time: 18 months
UK servicemen killed in action: none
Ten years later, what was new then is old and familiar now, perhaps too familiar. Gordon Brown's entry into 10 Downing Street could hardly have been less glamorous, with no flags, no cheering crowds, no boyish grin on the Prime Minister's face. Even the sun did not shine for Gordon.
The biggest political difference between then and now is where the troops are.
Earlier this week, the Army announced that it had finally closed the Bessbrook base, in South Armagh, Northern Ireland, where the last British soldier killed in the troubles, Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, was shot dead by a sniper while he was manning a checkpoint in February 1997.
British soldiers are dying in greater numbers than they did under the Tories because of two of the five wars in which Tony Blair involved the UK.
On Friday last week, Cpl John Rigby became the 153rd British soldier killed in Iraq since 2003. Two days later, Drummer Thomas Wright became the 61st to die in Afghanistan. Since 2003, one British soldier a week has died in "Blair's wars" - rather worse than the average of 42 a year who died in Northern Ireland's troubles.
At home, Mr Brown takes over a country that is wealthier, far more savvy about the internet and other innovations, and with better public services than in 1997, but more nervous about the future. The country has enjoyed 15 years of almost uninterrupted growth and steady interest rates, but rightly or wrongly, many fear that it cannot last. People feel markedly less secure in their jobs than they did 10 years ago.
Rising house prices, which used to underpin middle-class wealth and well-being, are now becoming a source of anxiety as parents wonder how their children will ever be able to afford a home of their own. The price of the average UK home has risen to £210,578, while the average London price is £341,321 - four times the 1997 level.
First-time buyers have to spend more than three times their annual income on a home, committing themselves to paying almost a fifth of their income on interest payments.
It is not surprising that Mr Brown has said that the minister of housing he appoints today will report directly to the Cabinet. The NHS is in a better state than it was 10 years ago, contrary to what many people think, mainly because of the money Labour has lavished on it.
The NHS has 32,000 more doctors, and 40,000 more nurses than 10 years ago, and carries out 500,000 more operations every year, according to official figures. But the fiasco that was the new job selection for junior doctors has exacerbated relations between the Government and the profession, leaving an air of crisis hanging over a service Mr Brown has said will be high on his agenda.
Standards in schools have also improved, according to a report last week from the education charity, the Sutton Trust, but it added that "this assessment is inconclusive as it is so hard to say with certainty what the extent of any progress has been". Many people find that to be an unsatisfactory return for the huge increase in spending.
But if children are less good at spelling and maths than they ought to be, they have become astonishingly literate in using computers to chatter to one another, or entertain each other, as has been shown in the meteoric rise of new internet services such as Facebook and YouTube. Tony Blair proved reasonably adept at keeping pace with youth culture, as he showed in his cameo with Catherine Tate for Red Nose Day. Gordon Brown has none of his predecessor's talent for riding the zeitgeist.
It is difficult to imagine Mr Brown comfortably doing a turn with a professional comedian, or reacting to an event such as the death of the Princess of Wales by coining the phrase the "People's Princess" - and anyway, he has dispensed with the spin doctors and image managers who could assist him. However, after all the furore over spin doctors, the Iraq dossiers, the death of David Kelly, and the Blairs' fondness for mingling with the rich, an older, more dour Prime Minister may be what the mood of the nation demands. It is goodbye, Cool Britannia - hello, Clunking Britannia.
... and the way we live now
Population: 60.78m
Male life expectancy: 76.2
Female life expectancy: 81.3
GDP per capita: £18,000
Inflation: 2.5%
Average house price: £210,578
Households with computer: c63%
Unemployment: 5.5%
Cars licensed: 30.9m
Prison population: 80,000
Adult smokers: c24.5%
A-level pass rate: 96.6%
Maximum NHS waiting time: six months
British servicemen killed in action: 35
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2717760.ece
What do you think? Is the article right?Are we worse or better off?
Regards,
spike
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Britain under Blair: 1997 to 2007
[Published: Thursday 28, June 2007 - 07:24]
It was a very different day, when Tony Blair made his triumphal entry into Downing Street, on 1 May 1997. The main sports news was of a late goal by Alan Shearer against Georgia, which in effect secured England's place in the following year's World Cup.
The commentators were still at a loss to understand why the England coach, Glenn Hoddle, insisted on keeping the talented young David Beckham tight on the right wing instead of letting him loose in the middle.
As to the future Mrs Beckham, not many people could have accurately recalled her full name then. But most people had heard of "Posh Spice", part of the five-girl singing group whose single "Wannabe" had taken the music world by storm 10 months earlier. Their only rivals in popularity were Oasis, whose third album, released that summer, became the fastest-selling album in chart history.
It was into this world of glamorous Britpop and "Cool Britannia" that the young new Prime Minister and his untested team would fit so easily.
That morning, of course, it was the Blairs themselves making the news. As he and Cherie made their slow progress on foot to their new home, in brilliant sunshine past the cheering, flag-waving crowd, many believed that "things can only get better".
Everything about Labour seemed new and fresh. At 43, Tony Blair was the youngest Prime Minister for more than a century. He brought the unfamiliar sound of young children running about in the flat above No 11. He had never previously held any government post. The same was true of almost his entire new administration, except for a few old-timers such as the indestructible Margaret Beckett, who had held junior posts in the 1970s.
Of course, there were patches of the UK that were not basking in the general sense of goodwill. At the Maze prison, in Northern Ireland, loyalist terrorists were holding a rooftop protest over changes to the prison regime introduced after the discovery of an IRA escape tunnel. The violence in the province dragged on without remission - the ghastly Omagh bombing lay ahead - and yet the outgoing Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, said he believed peace was a real prospect quite soon. That day, the province learnt that, for the first time, a woman - Mo Mowlam - had been appointed Northern Ireland Secretary. Some political leaders were appalled at the thought.
But the main thing on people's minds was what would happen to the economy under its new masters. Previously, each time a Labour government had taken office, there had been an almost immediate run on the pound, triggering an economic crisis. However, the City was less nervous about Mr Blair and his Chancellor, Gordon Brown, than it had been about previous Labour leaders, because of their cast-iron promise not to raise public spending for two years above the level set by the Tories. Homeowners were warned that if the Governor of the Bank of England, Eddie George, went into Gordon Brown's office and asked for a rise in interest rates Mr Brown would almost certainly comply, as a demonstration of his toughness. The Daily Mail forecast that his next move would be to sack Mr George, to get the Bank firmly under government control. No one guessed that the new Chancellor would do the opposite and give the bank independence, surrendering all control over the setting of interest rates.
One of the main causes of inflation was the boom in house prices. That day, it was reported that London prices had risen more than 20 per cent in one year, overtaking the 1989 peak. The average London house now cost a staggering £85,378.
In 1997, office staff were trying to get to grips with mobile phones that were cheap to buy and small enough to be held in the hand - though you needed to take care the aerial did not snap off. On that morning in May, Barclays and Cellnet announced that they had come together to organise a service under which people could use their phones to check their bank balances.
Another puzzling new phenomenon was the World Wide Web. That day, a Scandinavian oil company offered all its thousands of employees free computers at home, but only on condition that they all agreed to learn how to log on to the internet.
There was one other significant talking point: the burgeoning relationship between Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. It was obvious that Dodi's rich, ambitious father, Mohamed Al Fayed, was looking forward to being father-in-law of a superstar.
The way we lived then...
Population: 58.314m
Male life expectancy: 74.5
Female life expectancy: 79.6
GDP per capita: £13,900
Inflation: 3.1%
Average house price: £68,504
Unemployment: 7.2%
Cars licensed: 26.974m
Prison population: 69,000
Adult smokers: c28%
A-level pass rate: 87.7%
Households with computer: c27%
Maximum NHS waiting time: 18 months
UK servicemen killed in action: none
Ten years later, what was new then is old and familiar now, perhaps too familiar. Gordon Brown's entry into 10 Downing Street could hardly have been less glamorous, with no flags, no cheering crowds, no boyish grin on the Prime Minister's face. Even the sun did not shine for Gordon.
The biggest political difference between then and now is where the troops are.
Earlier this week, the Army announced that it had finally closed the Bessbrook base, in South Armagh, Northern Ireland, where the last British soldier killed in the troubles, Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, was shot dead by a sniper while he was manning a checkpoint in February 1997.
British soldiers are dying in greater numbers than they did under the Tories because of two of the five wars in which Tony Blair involved the UK.
On Friday last week, Cpl John Rigby became the 153rd British soldier killed in Iraq since 2003. Two days later, Drummer Thomas Wright became the 61st to die in Afghanistan. Since 2003, one British soldier a week has died in "Blair's wars" - rather worse than the average of 42 a year who died in Northern Ireland's troubles.
At home, Mr Brown takes over a country that is wealthier, far more savvy about the internet and other innovations, and with better public services than in 1997, but more nervous about the future. The country has enjoyed 15 years of almost uninterrupted growth and steady interest rates, but rightly or wrongly, many fear that it cannot last. People feel markedly less secure in their jobs than they did 10 years ago.
Rising house prices, which used to underpin middle-class wealth and well-being, are now becoming a source of anxiety as parents wonder how their children will ever be able to afford a home of their own. The price of the average UK home has risen to £210,578, while the average London price is £341,321 - four times the 1997 level.
First-time buyers have to spend more than three times their annual income on a home, committing themselves to paying almost a fifth of their income on interest payments.
It is not surprising that Mr Brown has said that the minister of housing he appoints today will report directly to the Cabinet. The NHS is in a better state than it was 10 years ago, contrary to what many people think, mainly because of the money Labour has lavished on it.
The NHS has 32,000 more doctors, and 40,000 more nurses than 10 years ago, and carries out 500,000 more operations every year, according to official figures. But the fiasco that was the new job selection for junior doctors has exacerbated relations between the Government and the profession, leaving an air of crisis hanging over a service Mr Brown has said will be high on his agenda.
Standards in schools have also improved, according to a report last week from the education charity, the Sutton Trust, but it added that "this assessment is inconclusive as it is so hard to say with certainty what the extent of any progress has been". Many people find that to be an unsatisfactory return for the huge increase in spending.
But if children are less good at spelling and maths than they ought to be, they have become astonishingly literate in using computers to chatter to one another, or entertain each other, as has been shown in the meteoric rise of new internet services such as Facebook and YouTube. Tony Blair proved reasonably adept at keeping pace with youth culture, as he showed in his cameo with Catherine Tate for Red Nose Day. Gordon Brown has none of his predecessor's talent for riding the zeitgeist.
It is difficult to imagine Mr Brown comfortably doing a turn with a professional comedian, or reacting to an event such as the death of the Princess of Wales by coining the phrase the "People's Princess" - and anyway, he has dispensed with the spin doctors and image managers who could assist him. However, after all the furore over spin doctors, the Iraq dossiers, the death of David Kelly, and the Blairs' fondness for mingling with the rich, an older, more dour Prime Minister may be what the mood of the nation demands. It is goodbye, Cool Britannia - hello, Clunking Britannia.
... and the way we live now
Population: 60.78m
Male life expectancy: 76.2
Female life expectancy: 81.3
GDP per capita: £18,000
Inflation: 2.5%
Average house price: £210,578
Households with computer: c63%
Unemployment: 5.5%
Cars licensed: 30.9m
Prison population: 80,000
Adult smokers: c24.5%
A-level pass rate: 96.6%
Maximum NHS waiting time: six months
British servicemen killed in action: 35
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2717760.ece
