Next coalition shit policy predictathon

Esqui · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:03 pm

As @peterdeveson put on Twitter: ""There will be no tolls on existing roads" sounds a lot like "We don't anticipate many institutions charging the full £9,000" to me."

new puritan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:06 pm

Even the Tory tabloids aren't buying it. But then, they keep corralling their readers into voting for the cunts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17425646

Quote:

Plans to let private companies run major roads and motorways are the focus of several stories in Monday's papers.

The Daily Mail calls it a "New Age of Pay-To-Drive" and the Daily Express predicts a backlash from motorists.

The Daily Mirror raises the prospect of "fast lanes for the rich", while the Sun says the policy "will drive car owners to tears".

crabcakes_windermere · **Joined:** Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:56 pm **Posts:** 2089

So to summarise:

private roads on the way
private healthcare/dismantling of the NHS on the way
public sector workers in poor areas to get less money for the same job, taking yet more money out of the economy in those areas
massive cuts to welfare
massive cuts to services for the elderly, disabled and poor
reform to schools that essentially promote elitism
private schools that manufacture worker drones or the religiously brainwashed
the unemployed to work for free for major corporations and that scheme to be subsidised by the taxpayer
higher education now effectively off-limits for the poor unless they are willing to take on the burden of a lifetime of debt
a tax cut that exclusively benefits the very well off
little to no action on closing tax loopholes for businesses

Seriously, what else can they do? Reopen mines and then shut them again? It's appaling.

Literally the only reason I can see that Labour aren't trouncing the coalition left, right and centre is that, nice chap as he appears to be, Ed Miliband is as charismatic as a wet jumper. He should be tearing their arses off. The list above should be on posters EVERYWHERE with the slogan "Did you vote for this?".

Clegg has got an increasingly shrinking window to pull out and effectively save his party (and indeed the country) from complete obliteration. If he doesn't, as well as this batch of Tories being remembered as incredibly cruel and self-serving even for Tories, the LDs will be remembered as the people who could have stopped it but didn't.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2889

The comments on the Express article are largely negative too (though as reliably batshit as ever):

Quote:

HIGHWAYMAN CAMERON TO TOLL ROADS
for years we have been paying road tax and for years it has been spent else were ,**** turpin dave is adamant to get his hands on our hard earned cash and we know we will fund those who wont pay ,want to ease congestion and shorten drive times ,get rid of all the immigrants in this country and send them back .send the 3 main partys with them because they are traitors to the british people ,and are living high life styles on our misery and taxes.
• Posted by: crazyhorse

Quote:

TOLL ROADS TO COVER BRITAIN
Yet another looney idea from a lunatic Tory PM.Isn't road tax meant to pay for the building of new roads?Or is road tax going to be abolished? hopefully this lunatic government will be thrown out of office before it happens,as the roads, like the utilities and water will be sold to foreign companies.How long are the people going to put up with this homosexual perverted government?This idea is supposed to boost the economy?What can they sell next? The hospitals?Labour had lost the plot with immigration,But this lot is there's no end to what idiotic thing they might do.The Biggest Risk to Britain.Is it's own government.THere's no strong unions to throw them out.It has to be the Armed Forces.Things are getting that bad.A general election ASAP.
• Posted by: Zebb

visage · **Joined:** Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:05 pm **Posts:** 318

Why not just make roads truly PAYG by abolishing road tax and redistributing the revenue to fuel duty in a revenue neurtal manner?

Althea · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:17 pm

I'm unemployed and in need of psych appointments (and who knows what else after). On top of this, the country is getting parcelled off and/or shut down.

I am royally fucked under this government, and I'm starting to get worried.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2889

crabcakes_windermere wrote:

Clegg has got an increasingly shrinking window to pull out and effectively save his party (and indeed the country) from complete obliteration. If he doesn't, as well as this batch of Tories being remembered as incredibly cruel and self-serving even for Tories, the LDs will be remembered as the people who could have stopped it but didn't.

I know the Lib Dems look to have done little to hold back the Tories, but I dread to think what would've happened had the Conservatives won a large enough majority to govern alone.

mattomac · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:20 pm

new puritan wrote:

Even the Tory tabloids aren't buying it. But then, they keep corralling their readers into voting for the cunts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17425646

Quote:

Plans to let private companies run major roads and motorways are the focus of several stories in Monday's papers.

The Daily Mail calls it a "New Age of Pay-To-Drive" and the Daily Express predicts a backlash from motorists.

The Daily Mirror raises the prospect of "fast lanes for the rich", while the Sun says the policy "will drive car owners to tears".

They will do what they always do blame the Lib Dems "influence"

new puritan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:46 pm

crabcakes_windermere wrote:

Literally the only reason I can see that Labour aren't trouncing the coalition left, right and centre is that, nice chap as he appears to be, Ed Miliband is as charismatic as a wet jumper. He should be tearing their arses off. The list above should be on posters EVERYWHERE with the slogan "Did you vote for this?".

Clegg has got an increasingly shrinking window to pull out and effectively save his party (and indeed the country) from complete obliteration. If he doesn't, as well as this batch of Tories being remembered as incredibly cruel and self-serving even for Tories, the LDs will be remembered as the people who could have stopped it but didn't.

It really is amazing that back-of-a-fag-packet stuff like privatising the roads and the police can be taken seriously by any apparently rational individual. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to believe that Labour will reverse this shit if they win the next election, in my heart of hearts I seriously doubt it. They wouldn't be as regressive as the current shower, but they're yet to put forward a compelling alternative. And to be honest, there's still a sizeable faction in the Labour party that isn't too uncomfortable with what the coalition are doing.

I think a big part of the problem is that the current generation of politicians (which has to be the weakest in living memory, seriously lamentably bad) can't conceive of an alternative system to neoliberalism. Most of the government and opposition benches are in their early-mid 40s, so they came to political awareness in the Thatcher era - and since then, neoliberal ideology has been normalised to such an extent that it now just appears to be common sense. However, unlike in the '80s and '90s, neoliberalism itself can no longer offer a vision of the future other than growing penury and continuing stagnation.

As for Clegg, I genuinely think he believes in all this shit. He's nailed his colours to the Tory mast so publicly that he couldn't turn back even if he wanted to, and the Orange Bookers dominate the upper echelons of the party in any case. It doesn't really matter what happens to the economy from here on in - if there is a miraculous turnaround Osborne will take the credit, and if there isn't much of the Lib Dems' remaining base will desert them. The pragmatic option for Clegg would have been to back a Tory minority government on a confidence-and-supply deal, but the lure of the ministerial limo was too great. They're going to get fucked good and proper in 2015, and hopefully they're also in for a roasting in the locals in May. There won't be much of a party for Clegg's successor to inherit.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2889

Tubby Isaacs wrote:

I'll go for extra runway at Heathrow. Wait for the mayoral election to pass first, of course so that Johnson can stand on his island airport nonsense. But everything else in place- vociferous business lobby, and political cover that it'll help exports to China. Won't cost many seats- if anything, they'll regain some of those SW London Lib Dem places, with perhaps the exception of Twickenham, if Cable walks from the Coalition at some point.

That greens shit did its job. Why bother with it any more?

Not quite there yet:

Quote:

12.08pm: Cameron turns to airports.

I'm not blind to the need to increase airport capacity, particularly in the south-east.

We are acting now to make the best use of existing capacity ...

... Gatwick is emerging as a business airport for London, under a new owner competing with Heathrow.

But we need to retain our status as a key global hub for air travel.

Not just a feeder route to bigger airports elsewhere, in Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Dubai.

Yes, this will be controversial.

We will need to take decisions for the long-term – and we will be bringing forward options in our aviation strategy …

… which will include an examination of the pros and cons of a new airport in the Thames estuary.

smod · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 1:14 pm

Althea wrote:

I'm unemployed and in need of psych appointments (and who knows what else after). On top of this, the country is getting parcelled off and/or shut down.

I am royally fucked under this government, and I'm starting to get worried.

Lost generation. But don't worry, we've raised the minimum wage by 11p for the jobs you're overqualified to work and probably won't get.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2889

Quote:

12.16pm: Cameron says he accepts that some of his proposals will be unpopular.

Quote:

But rather than give in we should ask instead: what is it that people want for the future?

Reasonable things. A decent home. A clean environment. Jobs for their children, the ability to get around without hassle, huge costs or endless jams.

He says he would like to follow the Victorians and leave a legacy.

visage · **Joined:** Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:05 pm **Posts:** 318

He'll leave a legacy, of that we can be certain.

Messianic Trees · **Joined:** Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:50 pm **Posts:** 2889

Tubby Isaacs wrote:

I'll go for extra runway at Heathrow. Wait for the mayoral election to pass first, of course so that Johnson can stand on his island airport nonsense. But everything else in place- vociferous business lobby, and political cover that it'll help exports to China. Won't cost many seats- if anything, they'll regain some of those SW London Lib Dem places, with perhaps the exception of Twickenham, if Cable walks from the Coalition at some point.

That greens shit did its job. Why bother with it any more?

Given this evasive answer, I think your prediction is probably accurate:

Quote:

Q: Why won't you let Heathrow expand?

Cameron says the government will produce an avaition paper in the next few months. It will look at the case for an estuary airport and see whether the case "stacks up".

new puritan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 19, 2012 1:32 pm

Oh my fucking god. This utter plank really has no idea.

Quote:

11.58am: Cameron says our plannning system is partly to blame.

Quote:

Our planning system for infrastructure is much too expensive and unbelievably slow.

It took almost twenty years – twenty years - to get Terminal Five at Heathrow.

It will take at least fourteen years for the first section of High Speed Two to open.

Compare that to Stephenson's London to Birmingham railway in 1838.

It was the world's first major inter-city railway, built in just five amazing years from the application to parliament to the first through train.

The kind of things we did almost 200 years ago, China does today.

And that matters.

Because we're not just up against old world economies with old world infrastructure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_ ... er_Railway

Quote:

The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North West England in the United Kingdom.

Next coalition shit policy predictathon

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