Quinlad Come now, that's no way to hold a civilised debate. I don't say the NHS is on the slide because my husband had a bad experience - I was simply giving an example of the poor management and the false economy of the NHS. The fact is that, whether you like to admit or not, the NHS is badly managed, and hospital-acquired infections are rife - and for the reasons I've given. Additionally, I don't have a fixation with home ownership. You're putting words into my mouth. If you look a few posts back and actually have the courtesy to read and digest what I've said before you jump the gun, you will see that I was against the sale of social housing. If you think I sound like Norman Tebbitt in a dress, you clearly haven't read what I've written at all. I could most definitely be described as middle class now, but you really ought to be careful in what you assume, so just a bit of background to enlighten you. I was born, brought up and educated in London's East End, lived two families in one two bedroom flat on the ground floor of an old Victorian house, with no heating, no hot water, an outside loo, and no bathroom. My brother and I slept on a sofa bed in our living room, we wore nothing but second-hand clothes, and I can remember having to put cardboard in my shoes to stop the rain coming in through holes in the soles, so I think I know about being poor. Yes, I am very well educated, since my parents, although hard-up, didn't allow us to roam the streets, but encouraged education, and I was lucky enough to pass the 11 plus, and to gain a place at an excellent Grammar School - something that I will be eternally grateful for. Sadly children from backgrounds like mine don't have that opportunity any more, do they?
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