With the crushing defeat in the by-election by the Tories can Labour do anything to alter public opinion? By tinkering at the edges of policy is hardly likely to entice the voters back. So what could they do? The major obstacles concern immigration, our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, fuel prices and the increase in food prices.
1. It was our intention to withdraw troops from Iraq which never happened. Why?
2. Our immigration laws are not tough enough. Is it because the law courts frustrate our attempts to deport them. Then why not change the law?
3. Fuel prices are mostly made up of taxation. Why not reduce fuel taxation and put this onto something else like the higher rate of tax?
4. Food prices are going through the roof because of the shortage of it. Why not return our fields to agriculture which currently are lying idle because of the set aside scheme. Will Labour have the courage to tackle any of these?
2. Business leaders do not want us to curb immigration. It is a source of cheap labour, and to stop it would harm the economy and raise prices.
3. The government want us to use our cars less. High fuel costs might help to achieve this objective.
4. There is no shortage of food in the UK. It is true that changing land use from growing food to growing fuel is a problem in poorer countries, but not in the UK.
I don't think owt can save the shower of sh1t now. The public have had enough of the Labour experiment, I predict a long time in the wilderness. They may dump Brown because there are a lot of frightened Labour MP's wondering if they'll have to get a proper job pretty soon but I don't think it matters who's the Leader, they're dooooomed, Dooomed!
I predict a Conservative Government next time round who with no experience and no answers facing the same global issues will enjoy a short honeymoon and loose an election in 2014.
Interesting comments from Tory activists at Natntwich
"I've convinced waverers by reminding them they can vote Labour at a General election"
"When we're asked what we're goint to do to help people on lower pay we have no answers"
The tories still have a lot to do in the next 2 years - a set of policies for a start !
what gromit says. What I've said elsewhere is that cheap immigrant labour doesn't just benefit employers, it benefits everyone who wants prices to be lower, which seems to be most people. Lose the immigrants and prices will go up (and the NHS will have to run itself).
Oh, and if you return land to agriculture you might have to get immigrants to farm it; Brits have mostly left the land these days - because they've been squeezed by supermarkets catering for the British reluctance to pay anthing but the lowest price. See Above.
I remember being on the Trafalgar square poll tax demo/riot & meeting Tony Benn , I asked him "where's the rest of them? " He just shrugged . With that & their non-support of the miners they stopped being 'The Labour Party' a long time ago as far as I'm concerned .
Has anyone noticed less traffic on the roads now even though the price of fuel has gone through the roof? I haven't! There are still the same number of vehicles causing holdups everywhere.
Immigration is a big problem. Why do we need to build 3 million new homes? By the time they are built excess immigration will just cater for this.
Britain is quite capable of producing its own food. So why has bread gone up by 50% and chicken by 50%. Its either a rip off or their is a shortage in the UK.
I would almost agree totally with Gromit/ jake-the-peg, but I do think it is possible for them to be re elected - highly unlikely but just possible.
If the economy was to become more buoyant - or at least our economy and USA as ours is pretty dependant on what happens over there (don't think voters in the main are too concerned about what is happening elsewhere), then I think it could happen. Not primarily because of confidence in Labour but a lack of confidence in the Conservatives.
jno, what cheap labour are you talking about? it doesn't matter whether you are an immigrant or british the bottom line is �5.50 an hour, so how exactly are we better off by immigrants?