Posted by Matt Ball (twitter.com/thisismattball)
On Tuesday Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister and David Cameron took over.
In a speech outside 10 Downing Street Cameron said he aimed to form “a proper and full coalition” between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. He later appointed William Hague foreign secretary and George Osborne chancellor.
Nick Clegg was then confirmed as deputy PM.
Details of other cabinet posts emerged over the course of the evening and shortly after midnight the Liberal Democrats emerged from their meeting to announce they approved the coalition deal.
The Labour party will become the opposition party. One of its first tasks will be to elect a new leader.
Here is how the web is reacting to the news:
MSN: Tributes to Brown at ‘sad’ moment
MSN: Business chiefs hail Cameron’s deal
Sky News: Cameron Is Great Britain’s New Prime Minister
BBC: Tory-Lib Dem coalition: Now for the difficult part
BBC: Harman made acting Labour leader
Guardian: David Cameron faces toughest hand of cards ever dealt a new prime minister
Guardian: The better Brown said goodbye
Guardian: The coalition government – sweetening the pill
Guardian: Tory-Lib Dem coalition – the verdict
Times Online: Our democracy has emerged intact
Times Online: Labour infighting killed coalition hopes
Times Online: Cameron pledges to work for ‘common good’
Mirror: Brown says emotional goodbye
Telegraph: Gordon Brown’s resignation is his final defeat
Telegraph: The political infighting won’t be over until we have another election
Independent: The Brown paradox
Mail Online: Clegg becomes Deputy PM, another four Lib Dems confirmed for Cameron’s Cabinet
The Sun: Cameron is new PM
Scotsman: Tough times ahead
Belfast Telegraph: Taoiseach leads tributes as Gordon Brown quits
..Yeah Mr. NO NAME…then the Tories will be voted in properly.
i wish these labour suporters would dry thier eyes ,you had your turn and you cocked it upGIVE IT A REST FOR GODS SAKE.
I just hope there will be another election. I and many others did not vote Conservative in order to have the Liberals rule us too! No pacts please just one properly elected government otherwise it is a complete waste of time. To haggle deals and give up so much ie the reason one voted Conservative in the first place is appalling. Clegg will mess about with the electoral system (in their own favour); continue to be soft on immigration and Cameron will now allow him to do so just to obtain a majority. This is not what we voted for!
As for Tories "weaselling" their way into power….Labours offer to the Lib Dems…was that not their way of weaselling in on the Tory single party majority vote….Even if Labour had joined forces with Lib Dem, there still would have been more people that didn\’t vote for either of them……AND NONE OF US VOTED FOR BROWN in the first place….AND we wouldn\’t have had the chance to have a referendum on this PR that would have been pushed through with a LIB/LAB coellition
If cameron was a man of principal he would not have taken any compromises, and settled for a minority \’Tory-only\’ government.Conclusion = Power hungry, self-satifying, slimey, 2-faced shirt lifter.The same applies to the Lib Dems.
I don\’t remember anyone voting for John Major, when Thatcher was knifed in the back and booted out of No. 10, by her own party.
It takes a greater man to back down and compromise for the good of the country than to bulldoze ahead in the blinkered belief that "I\’M RIGHT" Just wish MR. NO NAME would also learn when it\’s time to back down and not drag the name of the mis-guided SUN READER down any more than he has already.
I would have gladly done a JOB on thatcher (the children\’s milk snatcher).I would have given the blade an extra twist, just for fun.Who did she think she was anyway, the f******* Queen.
Cameron, for the good of the counrtry, do you actually believe that scott?Do you believe in fairies as well.Anyone who reads the SUN is pretty sad, it is just one sad part of the tory propaganda machine.
I suppose if you are on the payroll of the right-wing Murdoch empire, you have to tow the party line.There is a serious problem with the media in the UK. It is not good for democracy.
Cameron has no authority, he did not get a majority, he will fall on his own sword.HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
lets put it into perspective , this is what the people voted for . everyone who wants to complain and flame about it – dry your eyes and get over it , if it works out great . if not another election
Klegg has betrayed his Scottish Supporters for personal gain. Cameron, the puppet of the same old Tories clowns. Tuesday the 11th May 2010, The Day the country Died.
Gordon moves out of number 10 and the gopher moves in!!! Bad times ahead……
The country is screwed over yet again. come the next election we should all just bend over and think of England
At the end of the day Labour are the party of the people on benefits and as a working man we are better off under the tories everytime.
The Liberals have betrayed their voters and entered this odd coalition not for the good of the country but for personal gain. The Conservative are a xenophobic, homophobic, racist and classist party, aiming to protect the interest of the rich rather than the many. The Labour party has always helped working families and the average person. First of all, the country will soon realise what a mistake has been to reject Labour and vote the CON (as you call them!) back into power as they will ruin the country and block the economical recovery. Secondly, the coalition will be short lived.
awwww i wanted Gordon brown 2 win his my favourite and the only 1 i no but not any more now i have 2 no conservertives
It is bad enough haveing a tory gov. but having, as was described by Winton conservative club member this morning, the second hand car salesman as Dept PM. is just sickening. The Lib Dems got just over 50 seats. they should not be there. I am not confidant with what is to come. I believe I have heard that the Gov in now will not stand a chance at being elected next time, not sure where I got this from but I hope its true.
It was a sad day yesterday! We have all been CON-DEM-ed The worst thing is I voted Lib Dem to keep the Tories out and Nick Clegg decided to stab all of his voters in the back and turn them blue! Cameron really does not have a clue and Nick Clegg WILL regret joining them. He will go down on Cameron\’s vessel of hope and change and wreck his future prospects of being trusted again! Lets see if they\’re all man another to resign WHEN it all goes wrong! Labour have not destroyed this country, if you want to see who\’s good at that search the internet from 1979-1997 then you\’ll realise! People with Mortgages good luck and at least I can say that I didn\’t vote them in, I was just used!
I totally agree with Marc,s comments, also, Nick Clegg has found himself in a position of power, something a week ago was beyond his wildest dreams.Now he feels important, Conservative and Lib Dem alliance it will never work, Cameron will put up with him for a while, but Clegg must never forget Camerons just waiting to stab him in the back, he is probably planning it as we speak.As for Cameron did you know Maggie thatcher brought him up, so you know exactly what your in for, and GOD HELP US.
Just a simple point of order to everyone saying Cameron doesn\’t belong in 10 Downing street, Or that they feel cheated because the Tory\’s have won and it\’s not what the majority of the Country wanted. The Conservative Government have the Majority of seats of one single party. Therefore they are the winners of the Election, However they do not have an over-all majority in the house of commons. It would however take more than Labour and the Liberal Democrats voting against them to out vote them. So of the three main parties they have a commanding vote. This gives more power to the independents, and minor political parties (PC and SNP), but not much. What the Coalition between the Lib-Dems and Tories means is that rather than having to chase votes at each turn the two parties will work together on a join manifesto, There has been no glory chasing as I can see and Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron should be commended for actually bridging the gap rather than remaining dogmatic and refusing to yield, Like a certain Mr Brown, who will in my mind be remembered as the unelected leader who lost his first election and still tried to keep grasp of power. I\’d also like to add two personal comments.1. I voted for the person in my constituency who I believed would do the most for my area and local community.2. I personally feel that the issue is not the parties (I.e 80\’s Tories or 2000\’s Labour) But the length of time in power, any party in power that long becomes corrupt and backward, and that\’s what happened to Labour, as with the Tories by the 90\’s they\’d run out of motivation and simply didn\’t care about the electorate any more….I don\’t care who runs the country as long as it isn\’t Brown…an unelected man who (take note Jessica) set about the Financial Crisis 10 years ago when he refused the FSA control over the Banking regulations and tied the hands of his government offices by stopping the harsher banking regulations…I have a long memory, unlike some tabloids and their readers
@Pauline Hardy. When was he "raised" by Margaret Thatcher? She was never a nanny, she\’s never taught at Eaton or Oxford….I think you might be confusing what a Thatcherite is.
@&£* http://www.angerland.co.uk
Do you have a point "Angerman" or are you just advertising your own sad little part of the Internet?
At LAst …a decent man-the labour government of the last 13 years has been a disaster-they changed the FSA rules which led to the financial meltdown,took us into an illegal war,virtually bankrupted this country-and are morally corrupt ! As for Brown he will go down(of course unelected -like his new mate Mandy) as the worrt PM this century-he is a total hypocrite, a false man,bully and worst of all a Sociopath-who always thinks he is right!He was the wrong man,in the wrong place at the wrong time !!Cameron has one hell of a mess to sort out and I think a coalition will be the best way-we are not at war I hear some pundits say(oh yes we are of course) we therefore need this to sort this country out. Once again Labour have been a disaster-last time we were in the hands of the IMF and now we are nearly bankrupt. Come on DAVE(conservatives) save us once again !
I\’d disagree slightly M.L.F the Labour Government did well for the first 7 years, after that it was a downward spiral
That was smoke and mirrors-remember \’I have ended the boom and bust\’ speech-we overheated in those first 7 years which just added to the strength of the volcano when it exploded ! I am sorry but I cannot agree ! They have been disaster and two of their main missions-Education,Education,Education and end child poverty -have frankly just not been achived-do not get sucked into their proganda !! Come on DAVE !!!
All I gotta say to be honest is that whoever is in charge they will never get it right they have taken things to far in anything to reverse any process of anything! and what it all boils down to is greed and money, the parliment is a load of bullshit and I wish someone would just blow it up! The End
Yes Guy Fawkes ! Unfortunately its here to stay-but we can change the way they behave and it is back to basics-THEY Work for us !iIHOPE dAVE REALLY GETS THAT SORTED OUT-COME ON LETS BE POSITIVE IN 1979 we were in the hands of the IMF-we got out of that-we can do it again !The only thing that happened for me was winning the 2012 Olympics-let\’s use that as the springboard and from now till then-well DAVE + Co make the hard decisions for the benefit of the country-COME ON !!
There must NEVER EVER be another Scot running our country! We must have an ENGLISH PARLIAMENT so we can govern ourselves. Brown sold us out to scotland, sold half of our gold -for pittance -for his own grandiose social projects which came to nothing. And now he tries to portray himself as a great politician?? What a scum.
Yes classic sign of a SOCIOPATH !-He loves himself !!Yes NO MORE SCOT\’s —what an absolute $£%$&^$ Brown was-and of course he is now a quitter and runs off somewhere in a back water place(probably in Scotland !) -how did we ever have a system that got him to be PM-it is the worst thing that has ever happened in my LIfETIME-what a complete JERK !
Don\’t let\’s get maudlin about Brown and Labour now they\’ve gone – they made a real mess of the British economy and it will take two political parties to sort it out. I hope Labour spend a good few decades in the political wilderness and people remember in the austere times ahead, it was Labour\’s fault. Glad to see the back of Scotsmen running the English parliament (into the ground) too.
its about time we got rid of the euro Gove and whent back to being our self good old GB The gov that will run the country right will be the ones to say No to the euro gove and fight for GB turn parliment upside down and sort it out and then sort the income support out ( no work no pay ) or do work for the country and then you get your income support till you get a job The hospitals people who take up beds because they are drunk charge them for it nursing homes that don\’t want the elderly back and make them stop in the hospitals charge the nurseing home for the beds the gov that do this is the gov that will one day run GB right
I am highly delighted someone chose to ask me a question regarding Thatcherism/Cameron, in my democratic opinion, there is no difference, Maggie Thatcher in her time caused misery among ordinary working and non working people, we had all those years of her policies, she had more money in the coffers than even she imagined, so at the end of it this country should have been rich, so what happened?.Now its David Camerons turn, I am in no doubt Thatcherism is still alive and living in the body of David Cameron, sorry but thatcherism marked me for life, i was a young working mother trying to bring up 2 small children, so forgive me if i think conservative is a dirty word.But not all is lost in my part of the country, we got are city back, so we will live to fight another day, THIS IS FAR FROM OVER.
I have voted labour since my days at university over 20 years ago. This has been the first election where I seriously considered either not voting or voting for the Lib Dems. This was mainly due to Gordon brown. Not because he is an evil man, not because he is a bully, control freak etc. He is just not a leader of men, he is not a leader. Even his resignation speech spoke volumes. He had to look at his carefully prepared A4 sheets for everything, even when paying tributes to his wife and sons. These are things that should supposedly come from the heart. Everything about him comes across as manufactured. He indicated in one of the debates that he has limited talents dealing with the media and presenting himself. Unfortunately, this is one of the key aspects of the job. My confidence in the man has been eroded not by the results of his administration, but by his own performance in front of the public, his performance at PM\’s question time etc. To thine own self be true, Gordon. You knew your time had come to an end as the results flowed in. You knew that your position as head of the party cost your party dear and yet you tried to cling on to power. You should have resigned as leader of the party immediately. It must have then become apparent even to the \’yes-men\’ you surround yourself with, that you really had to go. You then talked of staying on until the Labour party conference later in the year. Of course, you had to stay at No. 10 until an administration was formed, but to try and forge a coalition with the Lib Dems without canvassing the opinion of your own MPs was unforgivable. The Lib Dems will be tarred for a generation by prostituting themselves for a brief glimmer of power. The Labour party was saved that reputation, Gordon, despite your best efforts. We should thank the numerous voices within the party, people such as Straw, Reid, Blunkett etc, who warned against this unholy marriage of convenience. Gordon, you have not covered yourself in glory. You are not fully deserving of the plaudits and the praise coming in your direction.
@Pauline Hardy. I\’m glad you are "highly delighted" by my question, now perhaps if you could answer the actual question rather than spewing more Labour spin.
I also note the Xenophobes and Racists have woken up….Hello uneducated tabloid readers
Well it seems that many people seem to have forgotten that this is a WORLD wide econmoic problem and not just in the UK! It is not down to the Labour party. People seem to have forgotten that is was Conservatives that lead the country into the EU, got rid of the \’good old British\’ industries rail for instance! A coalition government was unable to work in the 70\’s and in my opinion I can see a general election in the next year as lets face it, the Conservative did not get the full support of Britain. With there enmpty policy\’s it will be interesting to see what people will say after the have messed up yet AGAIN.
@Damien Harrris a couple of points,The WORLD wide economic problem hit the UK because of regulations and a loosening of the rules by Gordon Brown himself (As chancellor of the Exchequer) when the FSA warned himto be tight, he was weak.There was no Coalition in the 70\’s please read upon you political history.The Tories of the 80\’s can be blamed for a lot of things but they didn\’t get rid of the industry of rail, because it\’s not an industry it was a public service which has become a private sector buisness.In the history of this democracy no one political party has had the full support of the country, you are thinking of a Dictatorship, where an unelected individual comes along and makes decision based on their personal gains rather than what\’s good for the country – tell me I\’m wrong…sounds more like Brown than Cameron.
@Richard Wark – see ,my comment about xenophobes and Racists
Oh Dear-those poor labour people who have been hypnotised by their leaders-\’we work for the people\’-what a load of rubbish !-have a good look at their record for the poor in this country and of course half of them were not even elected!-it is a disgrace and BROWN-my word yes he cannot even give a goodbye speech with reading it-what an idiot ! I am so so so happy that he made a fool of himself even at the end-he should be sent to Scotland(one of their tiny islands) and stay there for 13 years of penance for the misery he laid into our country !!!!
Here we go again, with the conservative cuts. I can see it affecting even the school rebuilding projests begun by labour. I am old enough to remember when the last conservative government sold of schools playing fields and the money never went to repairing crumbling schools. Where I live, children were being educated in mould ridden portacabins on school sites for over 20 years. Labour came along and invested in new modern buildings. I also remember the last recession under the conservatives, which was small compared to this one, many people lost their jobs which cost the government twice as much by paying benifits as well as lost in taxes. A whole generation was stuck on benifits with only cleaning jobs at £2/hour on offer. Though I am not a labour member, I can see that they have helped the poorer members of our country with the minimum wage and tax credits. You see the conservatives will always look out for the rich first since most of the conservative cabinet have never had to live on benifits or on the minimum wage. The wealthy will always fight to keep their status thought they are well off enought to look after themselves no matter what happens. They just like the tories as they give them tax breaks.
Harris-have a good look at Labour\’s record when they have been in power at periods during the last 110 years-NOTICE ANY TRENDS !-Yes they leave the country always virtually bankrupt !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ian thomas-the only reason cuts will have to made -is the negligent overspending of the last 13 years!!!! you\’ll like this——–\’GET REAL \’ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ian Thomas…get a grip…if you are old enough to remember the last Conservative Government, then try acting like it.Name one member of the last Labour Government whose had to live on benefits. Live mind, not be helped by, but lived because they or their parents didn\’t have a job…you are living in a bubble sir.The people you are talking about are all but retired, or sitting in the house of lords….Grow up sir, you are making a fool of yourself
I feel ashamed that our country wants this racist, homophobic nazi twat to run our country, atleast in the next 4 years everyone will hate him again, people are so fickle. I\’d like to see as many reason\’s not to have voted for Labour as there were for this plonker!David Cameron\’s Conservatives are a party that acts in the interests of the wealthy, and against the interests of everyone else.-David Cameron has pledged to make savage cuts to public spending as soon as he comes to power, of exactly the scale and type that Thatcher made in the early 1980s, which resulted in mass unemployment and civil unrest.-Despite Cameron\’s warnings that we will have to suffer an "age of austerity" in public service cuts, pay freezes for public sector workers and benefit cuts to the poorest in the country, he still finds the money to give the wealthiest 3000 families in the country a tax cut worth £2 billion on their country estates. Coincidentally, one of the beneficiaries of this tax cut would be David Cameron himself, who would get a tax cut of around £520,000 on his £650,000 country estate (which he claims maximum expenses on, by the way, despite being extremely rich, valued at around £30,000,000, and could easily pay for it himself). William Hague, the millionaire Shadow Foreign Secretary and former Tory leader, and George Osborne, the millionaire Shadow Chancellor, would also benefit to around half a million pounds each. In fact, all 18 millionaires in Cameron\’s Shadow Cabinet would benefit from the tax cut, at a combined cost to the taxpayer of £7.1 million. 94% of the public would not benefit from this tax cut. But 56% of the Tory Shadow Cabinet would. And George Osborne has the audacity to say "we\’re all in this together" as he announces plans to cut incapacity benefit by £25 a week and give a huge tax cut to himself.-David Cameron opposed the Minimum Wage introduced in 1998, describing it as a "burden on business" (incidentally, Cameron is a multi-millionaire from an extremely wealthy family, and so has never had to work in the kind of job that pays the Minimum Wage). Before the Minimum Wage, people were often paid as little as £1 or less. Every Tory MP, including William Hague (Cameron\’s "deputy in all but name") and Ken Clarke, his Shadow Business Secretary, voted against the Minimum Wage. William Hague was the leader of the Tory party at the time, when they unanimously opposed the Minimum Wage.In 2008, a bill was put forward in the Commons by Tory backbenchers proposing the effective abolition of the Minimum Wage, giving employers the option of refusing to hire those who refused to work below the Minimum Wage. One of the Tory MPs proposing this was Peter Bone, who once boasted in a speech to the Tory Conference that he only paid his employees 88p per hour.-David Cameron also opposed the abolition of homophobic Section 28, along with every other Tory MP (except Shaun Woodward, who was promptly expelled from the Conservative Party by leader William Hague for his disobedience). Cameron described gay rights as a "fringe agenda" and said "Blair has moved heaven and earth to allow the promotion of homosexuality in schools".-Cameron claims the Tory Party is no longer homophobic, but William Hague was the leader of the Tories when they viciously opposed the abolition of Section 28, and civil partnerships. Every one of his MPs who was there at the time voted to keep Section 28, and his Business Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, was actually in the Cabinet when it was first implemented.In 2009, Cameron allied his party with an extremist grouping of far-right politicians in the European parliament. Some of these new-found friends have described homosexuality as a "pathology", and the leader of the group, Michal Kaminski, whilst giving an interview supporting the banning of a gay pride parade, referred to homosexuals to "fags". Twice. He was also previously a member of the neo-Nazi National Revival of Poland movement. The Tories invited him to speak at their 2009 conference, causing Ben Summerskill, head of gay rights group Stonewall, to cancel his scheduled talk at the conference in protest. A variety of high-profile figures, such as Stephen Fry, Jo Brand and Patrick Stewart, called on the Tories to distance themselves from Mr Kaminski. They didn\’t.-Since David Cameron entered the Commons, he has opposed all additional spending on the NHS, schools and the police.- Cameron wants to take Britain out of the Social Chapter, the document in European law which guarantees certain working rights to workers. It was also one of the main problems Mrs Thatcher had about the European Union.-Cameron voted against raising maternity pay, extending maternity leave, introducing two weeks\’ paid leave for fathers as well as leave for adoptive parents.-Despite Cameron\’s claims that his party is "the party of the NHS" (despite the fact that his party viciously fought the establishment of the NHS in the first place and cut vast amounts of money from frontline services the last time they were in power) he recently met an extreme pressure group calling for the full privatisation of the health service, and which advocates a more American-style healthcare system. He invited the group, Nurses For Reform, which describes the NHS as a "dystopian, Soviet-style calamity", to meet him, and talked with them for an hour. Cameron also has a record of consistently opposing all extra spending on the health service.One of his leading MEPs, Dan Hannan, described the NHS as a "60 year mistake" on Fox News last year, and warned America not to "go down the road of socialism".It was also revealed that Andrew Lansley, Cameron\’s Shadow Health Secretary, is on the payroll of a private healthcare company.Margaret Thatcher said the NHS was "safe in her hands", and, like Cameron, promised to increase spending on it. She increased spending year on year, but most funds were diverted to creating a beaurocracy of highly-paid managers in the NHS (the same beaurocracy that Tories now decry as wasteful, and proof that the health service is inefficient) whilst cutting spending on frontline services-closing hundreds of hospitals. Which is why it is reasonable to be suspicious and skeptical of the Tories\’ new-found love for the NHS.
Brown wrecked the economy – starting with the sale of our gold at knock down prices and then by removing £5 billion per annnum from the pensions industry by withdrawing the tax relief given to the pension funds. This meant that less was available for investment in productive wealth earning industries. He spent the money on creating a bloated public sector which produces nothing and has not shown any improvement in public services. The public sector has become an unsustainable burden on all taxpayers. Every labour government in history has left the country in an economic mess – this time it has been compounded by the worldwide recession – but he never put money aside in the good times so now we will all be paying the price for his profligate ways.
-One of Cameron\’s key policies is "recognising marriage in the tax system"-namely, giving a tax cut to married couples, which disproportionately benefits the middle and upper-class, and would cost billions, in a time when Cameron wants to cut spending. It would also effectively give a tax rise to those who committed the sin of divorce, and would lead to ludicrous situations such as women being punished in the tax system for divorcing their violent and abusive husband, and rewarding a man who leaves his long-term partner with children and marries his secretary who he\’s been having an affair with-all to appease the Tories\’ demented obsession with creating a 1950s style society where marriage is the only tolerable option.-Cameron named Conservative council of Hammersmith and Fulham as an example of how he would govern. They have started charging disabled people who need home help £12.40 per hour, raising the price of meals on wheels for poor pensioners by 60% and closing down 12 homeless hostels-all to pay for tax cuts, needless to say. Stephen Greenhalgh, the council\’s leader, wants to abolish council housing and let rent rise to market levels. He describes council estates as "barracks for the poor", complaining that the poor residents are "hard to get rid of".If this is how Cameron would govern, he has no justification for accusing others of "class war".-David Cameron has said he would be "very happy" to further restrict trade union law to prevent workers having their wages and working conditions attacked from going on strike.-Despite the fact that Cameron is enormously wealthy (valued at £30,000,000 of mostly inherited wealth), he claims the maximum amount he possibly can in second home allowances on his expenses on his Oxfordshire country home, which cost over half a million pounds. Why is the taxpayer paying for a multi-millionaire\’s huge country house, when he could easily pay for it himself?-The Institute of Fiscal Studies says that had the Tories been in power since 1997, following Tory benefit and tax plans, would by 2008 have propelled 2.1 million more children into poverty.-One of David Cameron\’s super-rich Etonian parliamentary candidates, Zac Goldsmith, recently admitted that he had "non-dom" status, meaning that he didn\’t pay full tax in the UK, instead holding his money in offshore accounts to avoid paying tax (a practice that banks and large corporations are also prone to, costing the taxpayer billions).-Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative Party\’s billionaire deputy chairman and largest financial donor, has also refused to answer questions about his tax status.-Almost half of all financial donations to the Tory Party come from bankers in the City of London-including Tory Party co-treasurer and "godfather" of hedge funds, Stanley Fink and investment banker Ken Costa.The last time the Conservative Party was in power (1979-1997):-They slashed government spending on public services such as the NHS, schools, the police and welfare. They sacked cleaners, teachers and nurses, cut wages, and closed hundreds of hospitals and schools in order to fund their huge tax cuts for the wealthy. -They tripled unemployment in their first two years of office, pushing it over well over 3 million, the highest levels since the 1930s Depression. They also doubled inflation to over 20% in the same period.-They destroyed the mining industry, arguing that it was unprofitable and had to be subjected to "market forces", whilst they gave huge taxpayer-funded subsidies to British farmers to not produce food. It seems that a traditional base of Labour,socialist and trade union support, the mining industry, had to be subjected to "market forces" and decimated, but a traditional base of Tory support, the farms, should not be subject to "market forces" and instead should be bailed-out by the taxpayer, according to Tory logic.Destroying the mining industry left us totally reliant on foreign oil, and electricity produced by Chinese coal, while destroying whole working-class communities that relied on the mines, and condemning people to a lifetime of unemployment and poverty from which many still suffer.-They pandered to the racism of the National Front and demonised immigrants. Thatcher claimed that British people were being "swamped by people of people of a different culture", complained privately that too many Asian immigrants were being allowed into Britain, but said she had "less objection to refugees such as Rhodesians, Poles and Hungarians, [white people] since they could more easily be assimilated into British society". She also wanted to make Northern Irish people subject to standard immigration procedures, whilst refusing to devolve any power to Northern Ireland.-They decimated manufacturing industry in Britain, causing widespread unemployment and poverty, and destroying the strong elements of our economy, making us totally reliant on the dubious antics of the City of London\’s bankers, debt and the boom in the housing market.-They legalised and encouraged the selling of council houses to their tenants, generally people who couldn\’t afford to buy houses (hence why they were living in council houses), by deregulating the housing market and allowing people to take out excessive loans and mortgages. This meant that many who had bought their council houses had the houses repossessed a few years later, as they inevitably couldn\’t keep up the payments. The house would then be sold on, and the council housing wouldn\’t be replaced, resulting in a skyrocketing in homelessness. This practice was the start of the housing bubble which collapsed in 2008, and Thatcher\’s obsession with creating a "property-owning democracy", and her tearing up of housing market and banking regulation, and her destruction of many other sound industries, was the start of the unsustainable housing boom on which our economy is totally reliant.-They supported the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, with Thatcher describing Nelson Mandela and the ANC as "terrorists", and refusing to support sanctions against the regime.-They supported Saddam Hussein, selling him billions of pounds worth of weapons illegally.-They supported war criminal and murderer General Pinochet, who they also sold weapons to. Thatcher was a personal friend of his, and actually stood by his side, defending him, as he was arrested for war crimes, torture and murder in 1998.-In the late 1980s,then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher introduced the Community Charge, or Poll Tax (the predecessor to Council Tax), which charged everyone, rich or poor, millionaire or unemployed, the exact same amount. This was, obviously, effectively a huge tax cut for the rich and a crippling tax rise for the poor, driving many into severe poverty or homelessness. It resulted in widespread rioting, particularly in London in 1990, causing Thatcher to fall as Prime Minister.-They privatised, or sold off, a huge number of public utilities and services such as British Gas, British Airways, British Petroleum, the railways and the electricity companies, effectively handing over services which had been built-up with taxpayers\’ money to private companies to take the profits of this taxpayer investment, and to use as a money-spinning operation.-They introduced the homophobic and bigoted Section 28, which stated that schools should not "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". This effectively meant that teachers could not imply that homosexuality was acceptable or normal. Thatcher justified this by saying that children "are being taught that it is OK to be gay."- Pensions decreased enormously, due to the Tories breaking the link between pensions and earnings.-Child benefit was cut by 21% in real terms.-Child poverty tripled. By 1997 we had the highest child poverty rate in Europe, and one of the highest in the developed world.-VAT, a tax that hits the poor hardest, rose from 8% to 15%, then again to 17.5%.-Income tax on the wealthiest was cut by 40%. Many more tax loopholes were opened and there were huge cuts on corporation tax, funded by cuts in spending on public services.-The pound fell to its lowest level ever, before or since, in 1985 under Thatcher.-Millions of homes were repossessed in the early 1990s recession, as a result of the government entering into the Exchange Rate Mechanism and the government raising interest rates to 17% on Black Monday, when the UK had to pull out of the ERM. The Tory government\’s policy towards repossession, as well as to the accompanying unemployment, was to allow people to "sink or swim", and do nothing to help.-Millions of people lost their jobs in the 1992 recession, and the then-Chancellor, Norman Lamont, responded to this by saying "unemployment is a price worth paying" to combat inflation. Standing by his side was his Chief Advisor-David Cameron.
@Claire, it must kill you that they\’ve got in…don\’t cry too hard your old lines of rhetoric won\’t change the result.Also, careful who you call Racist, homophobic or a Nazi, as untrue comments like that can lead to court cases
Also, one small point, Scargill killed the Mining industry
@John b
Clearly you cannot stand people having opinions…although that\’s probably why your a Tory fan. I\’m not stupid enough to think this will change a result, It\’s about being interested and able to have a debate which you are ruining for people with your idiotic sarcasm, it\’s a shame your only response is to threaten me with a court case oh and let\’s not forget your one small point. Come back with something worth reading next time babe.
John b thinks Scargill killed the mining industry. I am not trying to defend Scargill,but we are now dependent on cheap chinese coal (market forces at work) that is being mined under inhuman conditions. Every year hundreds of poor chinese labours are being killed and injured (with out state support if unemployed) in order to provide us cheap fuel so that the investers/companies can make huge profits here. We wouldn\’t pay a fair wage here so we can afford to let some else do so with little or no risk to ourselves. Is this what you think is a progressive way forward. No different to British Imperlism in the past as long we can sustain our living standards. Again the wealthy of the world looking out for no 1.
@Claire. Clearly you cannot tell the difference between advice and a threat, at no point did I threaten to sue you, I simply pointed out you could be sued for calling someone a Nazi or Homophobe without actual evidence. Your points are interesting, you talk about the tax cuts to married couples and then suggest that it is unfair to the lower class, which is interesting as I see this as a incentive for people to get married, but you see this as a negative, which is interesting. You also talk about the dilemma of leaving a husband who is abusive, because of course women are never abusive…and there isn\’t already support for single parents, and victims of domestic violence. There is nothing wrong with Marriage Claire.Tax cuts must be made Claire, we will have to see how this goes, but certainly after the spend spend spend attitude of the previous government some hard choices will have to be made.I believe Trade Unions are still to powerful, they are not justified in their current form. There is a place for Unionisation, supporting one political party isn\’t it.One word, he\’s working the system, he\’s taking what he is allowed…Stop being jealous. With regards to projections by the Institute of fiscal studies….If I\’d been born a woman, I\’d have breasts, but I don\’t so lets not dwell on itZac Goldsmith has changed his Tax status.Lord Ashcroft will be changing his tax status in-line with new laws and regulations for Peers in the House of Lords.There have been lots of shames and scandals from Labour as well….your point is?The country was in a right financial mess thanks to the Trade Unions of the 70\’s holding us to ransom over things they had no right to meddle in.Then Arthur "idiot" Scargill decided to hold an illegal strike of the miners, then we were invaded….shall I go on? Or do you concede that in actual fact many of the cuts made were because of elements outside the cabinet interest? or perhaps you\’d like us to return to the hayday of Labour Government, Mr James Callaghan?You object to the Conservative support of Farming? One of this countries last surviving Industries? I\’d love to know why.
Lets see what comments you have before I decide if I want to write a part two to your long winded rant.
@Ian Thomas….Scargill played into the hands of Thatcher. Thatcher aimed for the miners because the Union previously victimised and chased down Edward Heath. (the previous Conservative Prime Minister)Arthur Scargill was told a number of times to hold a strike vote, but he refused….Thatcher Struck and the Mining industry died…So, Thatcher retaliated against the miners and Scargill fell for it….
Cameron as PM. Clegg his deputy, and Osborne as chancellor,a tripartite of slver spoon fed snobs,who appear to think that the U.K. is just a plaything for the wealthy.When did any of them live in the real world,actually working,and often struggling to payrent or a mortgage etc. The economy in the hands of OSBORNE, a man who has to remove his shoes and socks to count to twenty.
Out of interest Labour fans….How many illegal wars have the Conservatives dragged us into, at a cost of billions, simply because the USA told us to?
I notice that as we move into the Unemployment time of day….I.e When many are out working, the fans of Labour takes a shocking rise….What a surprise!
I also notice that Ian Thomas didn\’t actually dispute my comments about Scargill and his major part in the miners destruction
Claire – please wake up and smell the coffee. The policies you clearly want are not affordable. You have also ignored the fact that this country is in the worst financial state ever in its history and although that is in part caused by the global situation, it is a matter of fact that Brown\’s policies throughout his term as Chancellor and as PM have been the major cause of the huge problem. Quite simply by following the policies you appear to support this country has been living beyond its means for 13 years and now the bill has to be paid. Brown never put money aside for the proverbial rainy day. The money he poured into public services has not produced any significant or even noticable improvements and seems to have merely increased the number of non productive managers and many good people are in a situation where they are they have to "make work" in order to fill their week in order to justify their jobs.Your vent your spleen at the middle classes – they are not wealthy and in fact the tax burden (both direct and indirect) bears down on the middle classes as a higher percentage of total income/assets than on the other classes.I run a very small business and the bureaucratic burden and the costs of employing staff increased colossally under the last Labour administration to the extent that i can no longer afford to take on more staff. I see the same happening to my clients who are also small businesses.I agree that much of what you want is desirable but they way you express yourself is so immoderate that it appears you are unable to see the bigger picture and do not appear to understand the cost of desires in the context of what is affordable.
LOL, what guy? that\’s a stupid statement to make….was it Rupert Murdock?
Claire – how about thisBrown ruined the pensions industry by removing £5 billion a year in tax reliefs given to the pension providers. This meant less money available for investment in industry which in turn meant that stock market values fell which means that there are lower funds available to pay you pension (unless you are a public servant).The industries that were privatised were all inefficient and required constant funding by the tax payer – i.e a net outflow of funds from the public purse. Since they were privatised they are efficient and make a contribution to the public purse.It is not racist to be concerned about immigration – most people\’s concerns are the fact that immigrants seem to have special privileges – i.e they appear to be able to obtain benefits/housing without going through a qualifying period. They do not want to integrate into the country they are desperate to live in. In France they say "live in France , be French" in Denmark immigrants can not obtain benefits until thay have met certain qualifying criteria.- and other countries have similar restrictions.It has been proved that the income to the public purse from taxes increases if the tax rates are reduced. The poor do suffer by increases in VAT but the wealthy actually pay much more because they are the bigger consumers in society.Unemployment is higher now than it was when Labour took power. I could go on but I doubt whether you would soften you views and recognise the real world.
ClaireYou poor deluded person !-I cannot believe your rant-it is a bad as Brown making his pitiful speeches in the House of CommonsI know you are annoyed because you know Cameron et Al will get it right and sort out the absolute Shambles that Blair/Brown have done to this country-look at Blair now a tanned professional speaker(raking in millions) while he let down Labour root members and saddled them with mountains of debt-apparently Blair\’s expenses got \’accidently\’ shredded-does anybody really believe that-who knows what he got up to-but you know he had a second home !-now he has loads of property interests-all paid for by his after dinner speaking fees !!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS A DISGRACE-he should hand over all of his fees back into the country that he completely messed up !!!!!!
.we know how the Tories have reclaimed power again, not outright, but by what they do best, appealing to the vanity of the few and double-dealing behind closed doors…we remember what the Conservatives did and will do again, just like we know what the Republicans did under Bush…this will all end very badly, but hopefully for those living in their high towered estates this time…
Claire-and yes I have not even mentioned the pensions-Good God woman-just look what that idiot Brown has done there -to every man and woman in this country—-years ago he would not just be allowed to quit and run awayHE WOULD HAVE BEEN HANGED FOR THAT !!!!
I am in a dillemma,I run my own business employing twenty people, which I have run for ten years, should I sell out now or wait for Camerons polcies to kick in and go bust?
Oh and Claire-what about Mugabe you did not mention him——-that tryant who keeps 99.9 % of \’his \’ population in dire poverty so he can be a dictator and have all the wealth-in 13 years what has Blair/Brown done about him-NOTHING ! so do not start trying to take the high ground on South AFRICA -when in fact behind the scenes we worked hard on helping abolish apartheid(do a little more research and you\’ll find out how)
…the best weapon the Tories wielded in the election was Brown\’s ego, an ego that refused to give in when his own party realized he himself was the obstacle to a Labour victory…so thanks a lot Gordy for ensuring the Conservative Millionaires\’s Club would win the day…a toast to the biggest Tory of day, Gordon Brownsworthington.
Hear Hear -in fact WELL DONE FOR SOMETHING BROWN !!!!!!!!!!!!!
…in fact this is the only way a degenerate Tory could get elected again in this country, a party that is universally hated by virtually every class of people, by standing in a stooge that offerred no viable alternative to governance than a return to elitist politics
No name10,808,749 voters disagree with you.
I personally think we now have the best outcome from the options available following the election results. It was initially a disappointing result for the Liberal Democrats, but then I didn\’t expect any different to be honest, people chicken out of voting for them when it comes to polling day because they want to prevent the major opposition from gaining (In this case the Conservatives). It\’s interesting now though. The Conservatives have power, which I honestly think is the right outcome since they got the most seats, but the Liberals have a place at the table. Having voted Liberal Democrat myself this time around, it was a change to the voting system that stuck out as my major reason for voting for them and I have a great deal of respect for the new prime minister to even agree to a referendum as I understand the majority of his party is totally against PR, I also understand it is their right to vote against it when the time comes as we live in a democracy. All in all I think we now have the best possible result from the options available. We now have a Conservative leader with Liberal input that may curb some of the more radical proposals by the Torys. While I\’m generally very wary of the Conservatives having all the power I\’m totally accepting of the coalition we now have as it\’s in the best interest of the country to set up a stable government with enough of a majority to allow for laws to be passed in a far more straight-forward manner than we may have seen had the Conservatives gone it alone in a minority.If you voted Labour, by all means you can shoot down the decisions of the Coalition for the next 3 or 4 years, that\’s entirely your right, but you have to understand that the country voted in favour of the Conservatives this time around and it\’s only fair (based on the number of seats) that we now have David Cameron in charge as Prime Minister. I totally oppose the voting system we have by the way, it was set up to avoid a hung parliament and favour the big parties. As we now have a multi party system we need an alternative voting system that makes every vote count in the bigger picture as well as at the level of a single constituency and seat. A proportional representation system would be far more democratic.
yES dAVE agreed AND 10 MILLIONS VOTES -DON\’T YOU JUST LOVE BAITING THESE lABOUR IDIOTS-YOU WILL NEVER LED OUR COUNTRY AGAIN AND WE SHOULD ALL BE GLAD OF THAT- !!!!!!!!
Thatcherites rejoice whilst you can, your reign will be short-lived
lol well im glad i\’ve got you all talking. and M.L.F Evans – why would I be annoyed if Cameron and co. do get it right and sort us out then fair play to them. I just have strong beliefs about equality for all different minorities and people with certain sexual preferences…I don\’t believe the Tories/Cameron share these beliefs. You can all prove me wrong and probably will on all the economy bollox I\’m more concerned about the sort of PERSON we have ruling our country and what his real honest ethical thoughts are on these things if he couldnt be a Tory he would be BNP and I am just more left wing that right. Perfectly entitled to my opinion, at only 20 years old and quite new to all this enjoy the fact that young people have taken such an interest don\’t insult them. constructive critisism works best and I enjoy listening to other people\’s thoughts but only if they are polite. I am not poor, deluded or an idiot thankyou just growing up and learning about my country.
@Claire. As someone a little older than you, a Christian, Heterosexual….If Cameron Brings back Section 28 I\’ll shoot him myself, We the general public are not going back to the clandestine world of Homophobia… Migration is a different issue, We are in danger of losing what social identity we have left, I\’m not talking about race or ethnicity, but as a people the English are being fractured by people who do not participate in our local communities, be it because they are opposed on religious grounds (My personal business has been protested by Somali Muslims, because I serve other Muslims!) or because they do not speak the language….something needs to change, we are a generally welcome country but we must hold on to our identity…that identity is made up of post WW2 Polish and Jewish Immigrants, Afro-Caribbean who were born here or moved in the 60\’s Asian families who came here in the 60\’s when we begged them too….this is our Identity, formed from many brothers and sisters who became part of a family, Not people here to earn money send it home and refuse to integrate… The British Nation is made up of many colours and ethnicities, but the true British make this there home, not their place of work..
Claire when you refer to immigrants who in particular are you talking about ? Because as far as i know and i have done research, Most non EU immigrants are not allowed any public funds and this is stated on their visas when they enter this country. I know its not racist to be concerned about immigration, but most immigrants are from the EU not from other parts of the world. If you only knew the amount of money non EU citizens need to come to this country. EU citizens claim the benefits you seem to be talking about.M.L.F. Evans, if you do some proper research you will know that the Mugabe situation started because the British government did not deliver what they promised they would, which was for British farmers in Zimbabwe to give land back to the Zimbabwean people who owned that land way before. Blair/Brown and even Bush did nothing about it because firstly they knew who was in the wrong and secondly Zimbabwe has no oil or diamonds so they wouldn\’t gain anything from trying to resolve the issue. I highly doubt the new government will do anything either seeing as Tories really support the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer so what will they gain?I would also like to know come next election who will the lib dems be? will they become one party with the Tories? Aren\’t the Lib dems loosing their identity?
@Sali.Claire is pro immigration….Mugabe throwing out the White farmers *they were white, not British) has nothing to do with his continual rape of his countries resources in order to sustain his luxury at the cost of his peoples survival.The comment about the Lib-dems is contemptible and I shall not answer
@no name… Surrey Cameronits…Thatchers gone mate
"…the best weapon the Tories wielded in the election was Brown\’s ego, an ego that refused to give in when his own party realized he himself was the obstacle to a Labour victory…so thanks a lot Gordy for ensuring the Conservative Millionaires\’s Club would win the day…a toast to the biggest Tory of day, Gordon Brownsworthington."With all of Brown\’s ranting and raving. Biggoted attitude towards English people, and his attempt at a dictatorship, I would say he had all the hall marks of Adolf Hitler.
@Andy Balmbra, and now you are being silly…How dare you compare any man to Adolf Hilter….you sad cretin. PS. Don\’ tell anyone…but that woman did hold a somewhat bigoted view of the Eastern Europeans….I won\’t tell anyone if you don\’t!PPS. You\’re still a cretin
ANDY BALMBRA…Stupid name, Stupid person…Doesn\’t understand that Governmental mismanagement and general cloddishness does not actually equate to the Third Reich and the rather well planned out (As in technique still a God awful thing to do) Extermination (or attempted) of one race of people…..I\’ll Say it again…ANDY BALMBRA…CRETIN
I am very happy that the Conservatives are back in control of this country. Common sense will prevail once more and once all the wrongs have been sensibly put right we will reign supreme.Good luck Mr Cameron
Nick Clegg, if he had any honesty, would have campaigned in a basque with stockings and suspenders, if he was going to whore the liberal party around Westminster. We could not feel more betrayed. He will now forever be known as the liberal who sold the jobs of a generation for a title and a fancy motor. Nice one (Old) Nick.
Another No Name with another sensational point of view….ps, "we could not feel more betrayed" Exactly who do you represent other than yourself?oh and Susan…Do calm down, the Conservatives are not the chosen race and David Cameron is not the Messiah…I\’m glad Labour are gone, but I\’m aware the Tories now have a lot of work, and a past to wipe clean
John b – so a name like b is ok but not a moniker, strange world you live in – if you think I am the only person who voted Lib Dem AGAINST a tory candidate (and therefore feels both betrayed and not alone) then it really is a small world you live in.
So all the muppet Lib Dems are now waking up to the dream of a hung parliament and consensus politics actually being a nightmare. You wanted PR and in effect you have it – wake up and smell the coffee. This is real world politics, trade offs so that Government can run properly. At least Labour are out for a few years – what have they given us since 1997 – a war in Afghanistan, a war in Iraq, a war in Kosovo, a war in Sierra Leone and debt, debt, debt. Good riddance to the party that continually ruins this nation and welcome to the party that always has to put it back together.
Watching the two of them in the garden of No10 giving a press conference was like watching some kind of schizophrenic prime minister.
Oh sure Neil, and the wars in the Falklands and in Iraq under Thatcher and Major were in some way different? Wake up and smell the coffee, there will always be wars because we need them financially and there will be no change to the political landscape in the UK under the two party system, propped up once again by our self-serving Liberal Leaders. s\’why I\’m angry.
Are you actualy saying the falklands is the same as the wars we have been involved in under labour? I think when you get invaded its slightly more justified to go to war don\’t you? And are you deluded? "we need them financially" how many full blown conflicts have germany been involved in lately? or italy? or the whole of scandinavia? or pretty much the whole of europe, have not seem them invading large regions of the middle east in order to maintain their ecconomy. don\’t understand how anybody can feel cheated, lib voters if you hate cons s omuch why are you unhappy that for once you have a voice inside number 10? why are you unhappy there is someone at the top fighting your corner? would you prefer not to be able to put any grand ideas out there and just to get the swing vote when cons and lab are argueing in parliment. cons got the most votes what ever bored strung out stereotypical veiws you have of cons or david cameron they are what the people of this country wanted, get used to it.
Mojo – I\’m almost willing to concede the point other than Thatcher/Major war in Iraq was backed by the UN and stopped when Kuwait was liberated. It was more a pitch at New Labour\’s \’ethical\’ foreign policy that soon got shelved when they realised you can\’t be ethical when up against mass murderers which kind of leads onto the Lib Dems having to shelve some of their ideals and ethics to get a chance at having some others put into Government policy. Lib Dem voters voted for Lib Dem policies and have got partial success. No reason at all to whinge.
Sorry I\’ve been away celebrating my birthday, I\’m in a bit less gumpy frame of mind now. Sonny James, sorry the idea that we were \’invaded\’ is giving me a stitch from laughing so much. I am not deluded, One of the biggest companies in the UK is bae – a company that build warships on the Clyde – etc. there\’s a huge arms industry here that needs to make money… and needs wars – right or wrong! Neil, I spent weeks peruading people to vote LibDem in order to stop the cuts proposed by Cameron to then see my \’leader\’ walk into no.10 and agree to them. You call it whingeing, I call it justifiable anger about being betrayed by my own party/leader.
Susanwrote:I am very happy that the Conservatives are back in control of this country.Common sense will prevail once more and once all the wrongs have been sensibly put right we will reign supreme.Good luck Mr Cameron+1 totally agree
Mojo – Happy Birthday. We\’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I still think that the Lib Dems being on the inside with the ability to influence Government policy is better then being on the outside or tied in with one or more other parties. I also think it is David Cameron who has more to be worried about because even now the blue rinse brigade out in the shires are sharpening their knitting needles ready to stab him in the back now they have found out how Liberal (deliberate use of the capital L) the man really is.
Thanks for the kind wishes Neil, and I\’m happy to agree to disagree – we Liberals have had years of practice after all – now, where\’s John b to complain about these last two post by another \’no name\’. . .