General Chat

Labour took control, Post Offices are going, we do not deport terrorists and illegals but do not look after our own, MP s (all of them) are busy with their feet in the trough - they will be OK always vote themselves good pay rises and pensions whilst the rest of us pay for it.

Ms. Jowell say very few people have complained to her about the loss of the 10% tax band. I want her email address.

Well, I can understand the loss of primary school places as the birth rate in the UK is dropping off drastically. Post Offices have been going for ages. I remember campaining for my local one back in 1993 and onwards.

As for the rest, well its the same everywhere. Politicians are exempt from real life.

love Theresa

Chris, this is a subject close to my heart,

The school my youngest two children attend is a village primary, it was established in 1883, it is perfect for them as they are both dyslexic and benefit from small class sizes. There are children at that school that have 4 generations of one family that have attended.


Nearby, 2 post offices are being threatened with closure.

This is not being sentimental, it is waking up to what our country is becoming, a politically correct parody that is destroying what has made us great, ie indivdualism and community spirit,


It makes me furious, thank God, i never voted labour,


Caz xx

I really dont get why its any political party in particular who is at fault. Like i said, our post office was threatend with closure back in 1993 (Conservatives) and its the general population who despite the immgration have failed to produce enough children to fill the schools.

Its hardly viable nor fair to the rest of the tax paying public to keep schools open if the classes are not big enough to be viable. I heard an argument (which I am not personally in favour of) that you should pay for a service if you use it. The persons in question were childless and were incensed that their taxes paid for children education and health care when they had to pay for prescriptions.

The system is different here but the archaic system that was born of the Conservative years took away much of the whole idea of working as a community. It was during those years that skilled 'immigration' was encouraged and the news about the 'wonderful' UK system was passed on.

Anyway, to be really controversial, it was the Empire who invaded these countries and took them over aons ago. Its only right now their countries are poor for them to come here and reap some of the rewards of their past losses.

NB Before I get eaten for tea, these are ideas I have heard voiced and not neccessarily my opinions. Food for thought!

love Theresa

Chris ....Tessa Jowell's email is.....................in the pm I just sent you.

xx

Teresa i respect your views, as i do everyones,


Where I live, in Rural Cumbria, the village schools and post offices have only closed since labour have been in power, thats maybe why the conservatives have had a landslide victory in local elections. Not my opinion, just factual!!

Caz x

Caz,

Not neccessarily my opinion either. I am often on the wrong end of defending something because I can usually see the flip side.

My experience in the UK was that our local Post Offices were all threatend with closure in the early 1990's in fact my Dad stood for Local Councillor on the back of our successful campaigning to save our PO. The Police Service was centralised during the early 90's too something I petitioned long and hard against. I was often lookat strangely as I was only about 19/20 when I first started doing this and most politicians at the time couldnt understand why a single young mum was interested!!! LOL

love Theresa

When I was at school the population was 36,000,000 now it's over 56,000,000 err 20,000,000 more people, there's got to be kids in there, they can't all be OAPs, I really can't believe there are less pupils.

The UK has one of the oldest populations in Europe with the bulk of the population being over 50 it is and has been one of the least sustainable (social) economies in a long while.

Ireland has only recently started to follow this trend since the birth rate has dropped off. However as things currently stand Ireland has the most (socially) sustainable economy in Europe.

love Theresa

Dee, doesn't it depend upon when you were at school? I thought schools tend to open and shut and then open again depending on the population of the time?

Also, I think one political party is as bad as another these days. In some respects (usually when it involves cost cutting in certain services) Labour continued with some of the policies that the conservatives had started and when there is a change in power, the conservatives will do the same.

Maybe we need to thin down mps? Do we really need so many?

Squirrel,

Thinking of MP's doing through a meat slicer... to thin them down!

love T.x

ooooh

**shudders***

It's not the thing to say to a vegetarian lol

34 years ago our local village primary school had 20 pupils, now it has over 60

Dee,

Its much the same here in Ireland. Our primary school is bursting at the seams but the system here doesnt work that well and any new school will be built by looking at the current roll call. They will not take into account the 600-1000 houses that are either being built or will be built over the next 5-6 years!

Where I used to live in Kent they shut down 3 secondary schools between 1979 and 1988.

Like Squirrel said theres not much between any of the parties, they have all done some damage in the past.

love Theresa

We have 1 MP, Conservative, 2 County Councillors 1 Conservative and 1 Lib Dem, 2 District Councillors both Lib Dem. I have to say that I find all of them work very hard for our community. I have never voted Lib Dem but I am really impressed with our County & District Councillors.

It is a well known fact Theresa that the economy of Southern Ireland took a huge upswing when they joined the Common Market.

Dee I must admit the Lib Dems work hard in our area too at a council level.

Our local councillors (Lib-Dem do work hard and always have done - unfortunately they do not appear to have the same commitment from their colleagues in Westminster. Over I suppose about 40 years there have not been that many of them but quite a few of them appear in sex scandals. We have one in Hampshire who is standing down at the next election - rent boys will serve as a reminder.

Without a doubt Chris the investment and 'donations' made through the EU have supported the building of the infrastructure in Ireland as they will in the newer EU states. This has inturn increased private sector investment. However what I am talking about is the issue that the more people any 'state' has working and payinto the economy the more money that 'state' has and is better able to deal with those less fortunate. For years the tax rates in Ireland were phenomenal, now they are not too bad. The welfare state is more supportive of families but that is in part because of the Constituion which is based on the patriarchal ideologies of Catholcism.

However Ireland joined the 'Common Market the same year as the UK, 1973. No-one who visited Ireland up until the early 1990's could say that Ireland benefitted until that point and I would argue it was the EU. In fact it is more likely that Ireland jumped the 'bandwagon' that was at that time. The post 'bust' time of the very late 80's and early 1990's.

love Theresa

What gets me about the closing of schools is that EVERY political party approves of public schools - average class size 8. Why can't the government fund State schools with smaller class sizes?

They are proposing to close Midhurst Grammar school in Sussex and open an Academy. One of the selling points is that it will be 'affiliated' with Winchester College. What will this mean to the Academy? Absolutley nothing!! What will this mean to Winchester College? More money in it's 'charity status' coffers!! Will the Academy have nice cosy single figure class sizes - of course not!!

We all know the smaller the class size the more children learn. Perhaps politicians should be forced to send their children to local schools then, perhaps they may get some idea of reality!!

maggie