UK Coalition Government: Your thoughts?
It's difficult to truly gauge public political opinion these days, so I thought I might consult my erudite fellows
I'll start with a short disclaimer: I do not support any of the political parties in the UK system, and so speak (I hope) without due bias.
However, I don't think it can be argued that the New Labour government under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown was an absoloute farce. Beauracracy, unemployment and crime shot up, whilst half our gold reserves were sold off and the economy went to hell in a hand-basket. Not to mention a crappy international standing and two unwinnable guerilla wars. Whatever you might say about the Coalition; there are more favourable positions with which to start a political term.
The coalition agreement was always a shady one, and personally I have lost all respect for the Liberal Democrats since Charles Kennedy left the scence. Since then they have exclaimed nothing but political infighting and a series of weak or scandalous leadership campaigns. Not being in power since the first world war, the Liberal Democrats were clearly desperate to get into office, and it would appear that the Conservatives used this to their advantadge and used the Liberal Democrats as the political fall guy as they started brutallising the public sector.
But sadly brutallising was needed. The global economic crisis hit everywhere hard, and our over-extended beauracacy was in desperate need of being cut back. This resulted in job losses and pay cuts, and public opinion began to turn sour. Nonetheless, a nesscacerry evil, as there never was a viable alternative, and with the National Debt interest reaching insane levels, changes had to be made.
My first major criticism of the Coalition government was their handling of the student fees. Perhaps it was pre-arranged, but the Liberals handled the political fallout very poorly, and the subsequent civil disorder was inexcusable. Greater care was needed to smooth out the ruffled feathers of a disilussioned youth. I take a risk by using the adjective, but the increase in student university fees was sorely needed, in my opinion, and also advantadgeous to the students themselves, if only they realised it. Post-graduate unemployment is at a record high, and the value of degrees is now utterly worthless. This is partly caused by ineffective testing standards, and foreign students clogging up the system. The increased fees will stop a lot of people going to University, which means less people graduating with degrees. Less degrees means less post-graduate unemployment, and so on. Outcries that the fees are too expensive and that it restricts the working class going to university is false, as everyone is entitled to a student loan, of which not a penny will be paid until the student is in a job earning over £25,000. However, if you can see through the media grandstanding, and have the courage to take a risk, going to University now and graduating in a few years once the economy begins to pick back up, could pay out huge dividends. The government legislation just creates increased risk for increased reward.
The Coalition has kept to their word on immagration, and according to a report published by the office of National Statistics, the number of people being given asylum is dropping sharply.
Whilst the "Big Society" campaign was percieved as a weak policy, the legislation has helped to minimise beauracracy and given more discretionary powers to local councils and administrations, which can only be a good thing.
The Ministry of Defence did not escape the budget strikes, but MOD job losses and the scrapping of iconic naval warships and the Harrier jump-jet certainly plucked at the heartstrings of a nation. Nonetheless, the government seems focussed on modernising the Armed Forces from Cold War models and tactics into a newer, more flexible one, with projects into new equipment and anti-IED vehicles, such as the Mastiff armoured car. Upgrading our Nuclear weapons is also a firm commitment to maintaining the global nuclear deterrant.
My second major criticisim of the government however, was the policy of giving 50% sentences to criminals who plead guilty in advance. This would have been flaunted by criminals and a further cut in a deeply wounded criminal justice system and prison service. However the policy has recently been scrapped, thankfully.
That's all that I can think of off the top of my head right now, but all in all I think the government haven't been doing too badly... so far.
Thoughts?
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Ojf
ing hated the coalition the day it was formed by those scummy Lib Dems smelling power and jumping into bed with Chummy Dave.
