[Archived] Quality Of Life In Britain Is The Best It Has Ever Been

[Bazzanotsogreat]

The Economist explodes the Britain is broken myth.

Gap between rich and poor 'widest in 40 years'

Gap between rich and poor grows to record levels, official figures show

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8159687.stm

[tony gale's mic]

Good job the Tories will be getting in next, what with their party founded on the very basis of narrowing the gap between the rich and poor.

[JAL]

Good job the Tories will be getting in next, what with their party founded on the very basis of narrowing the gap between the rich and poor.

Ha ha ....living under the illusion of democracy.

Tory, New Labour, Lib Dems all doing the same things, except they just say it differently !

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Good job the Tories will be getting in next, what with their party founded on the very basis of narrowing the gap between the rich and poor.

The problem is TGM- Labour’s policy towards eradicating social deprivation has actually increased the gap between the rich and poor. Labour vanquished its socialist past ( clause four and all) as it was unelectable, instead courting the middle-classes.

To be fair to New Labour , I am unsure of any model or Nation that has managed to close the gap between rich and poor with comparable population, demographics, natural resources, culture etc. It is my view that unfortunately, their will always be an underclass in a nation with a population of over 60 million, the problem for me is that the underclass has grown at record levels during New Labour’s tenure.

[Amo]

I know people are disillusioned with Labour, but who seriously wants to vote Conservative? I cringe at the thought of David Cameron controlling this country...

[RibbleValleyRover]

I know people are disillusioned with Labour, but who seriously wants to vote Conservative? I cringe at the thought of David Cameron controlling this country...

So your happy to stick with the man who has brought this country to its knees?

[mellison24]

The tories were the ones who brought us out of the last recession. THAT's why I'll vote for them. It's against my every instinct to do so, however. I favour Labour, but they are really buggering us up.

[JAL]

I know people are disillusioned with Labour, but who seriously wants to vote Conservative? I cringe at the thought of David Cameron controlling this country...

They are both the same, only a fool or sucker would swap one for the other.

[Amo]

They are both the same, only a fool or sucker would swap one for the other.

Better the devil you know.

I'll be voting Lib Dem next time anyway, even if it is considered a waste.

[jim mk2]

The tories were the ones who brought us out of the last recession.

Err, no.

In the 18 years of Tory misrule from 1979 to 1997 we had two severe recessions in the early 1980s and early 1990s, both brought about by Conservative mismanagement of the economy.

So your happy to stick with the man who has brought this country to its knees?

The greed and stupidity of big business in the City of London, plus the greed and stupidity of consumers who borrowed too much, is responsible for this recession.

[JAL]

Err, no.

In the 18 years of Tory misrule from 1979 to 1997 we had two severe recessions in the early 1980s and early 1990s, both brought about by Conservative mismanagement of the economy.

The greed and stupidity of big business in the City of London, plus the greed and stupidity of consumers who borrowed too much, is responsible for this recession.

What about professional pay and bonuses going through the roof ?

[philipl]

It seems most people in Britain like it here and we are a pretty content lot. Don't move to Hungary or Russia if you want happy neighbours!

[JAL]

Just heard some regional development guy on the local rardio complaining about the lack of firms investing in Blackburn and Burnley whilst Preston attracts lots of new jobs and new interest.

One reason he cited was that 20% of Blackburns workforce do not posses one qualification, now this is grim.

[Drummer Boy]

There are a whole pile of socio-economic and health indicators for Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire that make for grim reading - these centre around:

Educational attainment

Quality of housing

Full-time employment

Teenage pregnancy

Cardiovascular disease

Cancer levels

Drug misuse

Poverty levels

These are fundamental symptoms that desparately need a co-ordinated response across the whole region rather than an individual Blackburn/Burnley/Accrington/Rossendale/Nelson/Colne approach and sensible investment channelled into programmes that will kick-start the local economy rather than shore up what we have.

Quality of life the best it has ever been? Not in Pennine Lancashire it would seem

[JAL]

There are a whole pile of socio-economic and health indicators for Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire that make for grim reading - these centre around:

Educational attainment

Quality of housing

Full-time employment

Teenage pregnancy

Cardiovascular disease

Cancer levels

Drug misuse

Poverty levels

These are fundamental symptoms that desparately need a co-ordinated response across the whole region rather than an individual Blackburn/Burnley/Accrington/Rossendale/Nelson/Colne approach and sensible investment channelled into programmes that will kick-start the local economy rather than shore up what we have.

Quality of life the best it has ever been? Not in Pennine Lancashire it would seem

Why, do I feel, that this would have read pretty much the same of this area, say one hundred years ago.

[Drummer Boy]

Why, do I feel, that this would have read pretty much the same of this area, say one hundred years ago.

Because, regrettably, the area seems to have stood still whilst others have progressed. In fact this was a relatively prosperous area 100 years ago - the same certainly cannot be said today with the decline of our industrial base and the consistent failure by successive governments over the long-term to treat the area with the same priority as other so-called more deserving cases.

To my mind, it is a damning indictment of the manner in which the area has been treated after 200 years of creating wealth for the nation and being at the very heart of the revolution that created the economy that has now dismally failed us. Would it have been the same were we more fashionable like Toxteth or Brixton for example?

[philipl]

I don't agree with all the conclusions but by and large life is improving for all of us.

[jim mk2]

I don't agree with all the conclusions but by and large life is improving for all of us.

Good article and a book well worth reading because despite some badly informed comments to the contrary this country is much better place after 13 years of Labour government. With regards to false prophets unfortunately we now have two prime examples in Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street currently softening up the country for swingeing cuts in the forthcoming Budget that are wholly unnecessary, are ideologically driven in the Tories' rabid desire to cut the size of the state and risk tipping the economy back into a double-dip recession from which it had started to recover under Labour. Cameron and Osborne's much quoted latest figure for the size of the national deficit is in fact £11bn less than the Alastair Darling's prediction in one of his last speeches as chancellor, refuting their claims that they have uncovered "black holes" in the public finances left by the previous government. Helped by a right wing press this is classic scaremongering by the Tories into bullying the electorate in accepting that cuts in public services are necessary when they are more likely to harm to the economy by damaging growth. False prophets indeed. Life has been improving in Britain but in a re-run of the 1980s cuts in public services and rises in taxes (but not for the super-wealthy of course) for most people it will go backwards under the Tories.

With regards to Drummer Boy's post, the simple answer is that the deprivation and neglect to be found in East Lancs and alot of other areas of the north do not exist in London and the south. The north - south divide is real and is continuing all the time - in the past 10 days the new transport secretary Phillip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in nice soft Surrey, has axed some modest improvements to railway stations in the North west, including Manchester Victoria and Preston, axed the Leeds trolleybus scheme and axed the Mersey Gateway project. Other vital northern schemes such electrification of the Manchester / Liverpool / Bolton / Preston lines are also seen as vulnerable to the next round of Tory cuts. Multi-billion pound investment in the London Crossrail and Thameslink projects meanwhile go ahead as planned.

[thenodrog]

Good article and a book well worth reading because despite some badly informed comments to the contrary this country is much better place after 13 years of Labour government. With regards to false prophets unfortunately we now have two prime examples in Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street currently softening up the country for swingeing cuts in the forthcoming Budget that are wholly unnecessary, are ideologically driven in the Tories' rabid desire to cut the size of the state and risk tipping the economy back into a double-dip recession from which it had started to recover under Labour. Cameron and Osborne's much quoted latest figure for the size of the national deficit is in fact £11bn less than the Alastair Darling's prediction in one of his last speeches as chancellor, refuting their claims that they have uncovered "black holes" in the public finances left by the previous government. Helped by a right wing press this is classic scaremongering by the Tories into bullying the electorate in accepting that cuts in public services are necessary when they are more likely to harm to the economy by damaging growth. False prophets indeed. Life has been improving in Britain but in a re-run of the 1980s cuts in public services and rises in taxes (but not for the super-wealthy of course) for most people it will go backwards under the Tories.

With regards to Drummer Boy's post, the simple answer is that the deprivation and neglect to be found in East Lancs and alot of other areas of the north do not exist in London and the south. The north - south divide is real and is continuing all the time - in the past 10 days the new transport secretary Phillip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in nice soft Surrey, has axed some modest improvements to railway stations in the North west, including Manchester Victoria and Preston, axed the Leeds trolleybus scheme and axed the Mersey Gateway project. Other vital northern schemes such electrification of the Manchester / Liverpool / Bolton / Preston lines are also seen as vulnerable to the next round of Tory cuts. Multi-billion pound investment in the London Crossrail and Thameslink projects meanwhile go ahead as planned.

blah, blah, boring bloody blah. Give it a break about Tories and trains ffs! You are becoming more of an irittant than those bloody vuvuzela's!

[den]

blah, blah, boring bloody blah. Give it a break about Tories and trains ffs! You are becoming more of an irittant than those bloody vuvuzela's!

Says the champion of free speech on these forums.

[thenodrog]

Says the champion of free speech on these forums.

Sorry but he is getting more than a bit repetetive. Don't you agree Den?

[Sandiway Blue]

Good article and a book well worth reading because despite some badly informed comments to the contrary this country is much better place after 13 years of Labour government. With regards to false prophets unfortunately we now have two prime examples in Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street currently softening up the country for swingeing cuts in the forthcoming Budget that are wholly unnecessary, are ideologically driven in the Tories' rabid desire to cut the size of the state and risk tipping the economy back into a double-dip recession from which it had started to recover under Labour. Cameron and Osborne's much quoted latest figure for the size of the national deficit is in fact £11bn less than the Alastair Darling's prediction in one of his last speeches as chancellor, refuting their claims that they have uncovered "black holes" in the public finances left by the previous government. Helped by a right wing press this is classic scaremongering by the Tories into bullying the electorate in accepting that cuts in public services are necessary when they are more likely to harm to the economy by damaging growth. False prophets indeed. Life has been improving in Britain but in a re-run of the 1980s cuts in public services and rises in taxes (but not for the super-wealthy of course) for most people it will go backwards under the Tories.

Are you serious? its because of the previous incompetent buffoon spending money like it`s going out of fashion that these cuts are going to be needed.If you think that bringing in just enough money to pay off the interest and hardly any of the debt is enough then you seriously need your head looking at.

Btw the new independent watchdog for the uk`s public finances has said that Labour`s last growth estimates were too optimistic.The office for budget responsibility has forecast growth of 2.6% for 2011.Quite a difference from Labours forecast of 3.25% set by Thunderbird Darling in March.

[SouthAussieRover]

Sorry but he is getting more than a bit repetetive. Don't you agree Den?

Says the repetitive drain on anything he doesn't agree with.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

[jim mk2]

Btw the new independent watchdog for the uk`s public finances has said that Labour`s last growth estimates were too optimistic.The office for budget responsibility has forecast growth of 2.6% for 2011.Quite a difference from Labours forecast of 3.25% set by Thunderbird Darling in March.

An "Office for Budget Responsibility" set up by the new Con - Dems government with Osborne pulling its strings would say that, wouldn't it ? With the forthcoming cuts likely to reduce economic activity, it's almost certain those growth forecasts will have to be reduced further downwards towards the end of this year. The Tories are leading this country into another recession and Osborne is exacerbating a worsening economic outlook by cajoling finance ministers around Europe into fiscal tightening that is destined to lead to further losses of jobs. The Tories are about to live up to their name as the party of unemployment.

[Sandiway Blue]

An "Office for Budget Responsibility" set up by the new Con - Dems government with Osborne pulling its strings would say that, wouldn't it ? With the forthcoming cuts likely to reduce economic activity, it's almost certain those growth forecasts will have to be reduced further downwards towards the end of this year. The Tories are leading this country into another recession and Osborne is exacerbating a worsening economic outlook by cajoling finance ministers around Europe into fiscal tightening that is destined to lead to further losses of jobs. The Tories are about to live up to their name as the party of unemployment.

As opposed to the direction we were heading in before Brown was booted out?