So, since May 2010, Britain has had a Tory government once again. Having observed them for a couple of months now I have come to the conclusion that it looks like we are seeing a repeat of recent history.
The set up is familiar- the story goes that in the late 1970's, Britain was a wreck. Strikes and unions had brought the country to its knees, unemployment was an outrage, the economy was in tatters- we were the sick man of Europe. And then Margaret Thatcher got in, administered her "tough medicine" and saved the day, making Britain Great again.
Now, the story goes, that our countrys economy is in crisis. There has been the global recession. We are saddled with huge national debt. Labour got in and wrecked the economy again, and now its the Tories to the rescue, again.
But are the Tories really so great at running the country? Back in the late 70's when unemployment was at around 1.4 million, Thatcher campaigned with the famous poster "Labour isn't working". What happened? Did Thatchers oh so brilliant economic policies lead to a fall in unemployment? No, the fact is, unemployment shot up to well over 3 million. All she ever did was blame others for this.
Child poverty rose rapidly under Margaret Thatcher. The economy went from boom to bust. There were fewer opportunities and support available for the average person to move forward in life.
Even the idea that taxes were made much lower for the majority of people under the Conservative governments of the 80's and 90's is a myth.
What about quality of life? It can hardly be claimed that Thatcher created a nation more at ease and with fewer strikes.
Thatcher pioneered the Privatisations of the 80's. Now our energy prices are going through the roof, and many people struggle to pay the bills, hitting elderly people especially hard.
As for public services, the NHS and education suffered. The Tories present themselves as being "tough on crime". What really happened under the Tories? Between 1979 and 1997, crime DOUBLED.
The myth goes that the Tories are the Eurosceptic party- and yet it was a Conservative government that took this country into the common market and sold away more and more powers to the EU.
The myth is also that Tories are against mass immigration- when in fact under Thatcher, the numbers of immigrants coming into Britain continued to rise.
On virtually every major issue, the Tories failed. And now the past is repeating itself.
David Cameron is an eton educated snob. He is an arrogant PR man. So far his "coalition" government with the Lib Dems are showing ALL the classic signs of yet more "Thatcherism".
100,000 NHS frontline staff predicted to go due to NHS cuts, which the Tories promised they wouldn't do.
The increased threat of crime due to cuts in police budgets and police numbers.
Increased university tuition fees.
Broken promises on Europe and Immigration.
The Tory attitude is and always has been that when everything is falling apart- the government should just step back and do nothing.
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