There was this program I remember watching about immigration and migrant workers in Kent. This bloke came over from Croatia, moved in with his sister who already lived here and got a job ‘the next day’. Granted it was back-braking work picking butternut squash 8 hours a day but a job all the same.

There are plenty of jobs out there it’s just no-one wants to do them.

Both my daughters are doing their A-levels, both of them have part time jobs. Most of their friends have part time jobs.

Anyone (and I really do mean anyone) can get a job if they really want one.

Then as a matter of fairness you would also have to say that the Labour party (new and old) will always be the party of financial incompetence having played as big a part as the bankers in getting us all in this mess with no plan to sort it out other than higher taxes!

Back to the thread....

I always remembered Wilf Rosenberg as the "Flying Dentist" I suppose now he will be thought of as "the Flying Don"

The Tories were seeking an even lighter touch re-regulation of the city and backed Labour's spending plans right up to the global crash that started in the sub-prime market in the USA. The major difference then being that the Tories would have probably seen the likes of Northern Rock and the Halifax go under and their depositors left penniless, with unempolyment and home repossessions hitting the heights of previous recessions under Tory rule.

I think you will find the Tories did not agree with the flawed system of regulation introduced by the Labs which split responsibility three ways and totally failed to regulate the banks. "Oh I though you lot were going to check that!" "Ooo..No we thought that was your job"

The US sub-prime mortgage market may have been the start of the crash but the cause of the problem was the long period of low interest credit based overspending by both governments and consumers alike which ran up debts that we now have to pay back.

In the UK the New Labour Government after promising "an end to boom and bust" went along with a spending spree which as a country we simply couldn't afford and was gross financial mis-management. You can speculate all you like about what the Conservatives may or maynot have done had they been in power but you have to accept the fact that it was on the Labour government's watch and therefore their responsibility.

The UK as a very wealthy country had enjoyed a sustain period of growth based on a world boom, yet its Labour government failed to save anything for the rainy day that they never saw coming. Like Viv Nickolson, we went on a binge of "spend spend spend" but whereas she used her own pools winnings Labour borrowed the money for our binge.

With regard to the bank bail outs. Mr Brown showed us with his handling of the Lloyds episode why he is a politician and will never be professional manager.

I think we need a period of "nasty" government to fix the "nasty" problems left by that "nice" Mr Blair and that "naive" Mr Brown!

In Halifax or Dubai ?

In Halifax they still consider the electric kettle as witchcraft.

one of the best years i had was temping - the agency knew i wanted to work, so they kept me busy

flogging pop for Britvic
Security work for the council around some of the Leeds 'Ghettos' we hear of on here
Lugging calor gas bottles around for 12 hours per day in the snow
Picking & Packing (that was a bit kin boring tbf)

brilliant brilliant year - earned some reasonable cash - met some great people - and gave me an insight into some other jobs which helped me clarify what i wanted to do (and what i didn't), it probably didn't look bad on my CV either when i started appying for full time jobs.

And yet the Tories still advocated a lighter touch on regulation while in opposition. I expect they'll change their tune now in coalition government.



I speculate it would have been no different except the hospitals and schools would have been left to crumble.



Labour invested in the infrastructure and public servants effectively ignored over the previous 18 years of Tory rule where public services were deliberately starved of resources and left to wither and die before (oh so unfortunately - yeah right) having to be privatised.



He also led the world in the need to protect the individual investor and the need to re-capitalise the banks to prevent a recession becoming a depression.



We'll see who is being naive when Mr Cameron realises the voluntary sector isn't really there ready to fill the holes in his 'big society' idea as public services, the poor, the elderly and women in general pay the price for the bankers greed which likely as not will carry on regardless.

And to return to your earlier claim re-Labour's answer will always be to raise taxes the most regressive tax going has always been VAT and it's always the Tories tax of choice ever since they introduced it under Heath.

The only time I can recall it being reduced was by Labour on domestic fuel and last year as a stimulus to the economy, on the other hand I can recall it rising under Thatcher, Major and shortly Cameron.

this big society idea is not new, its something like in the 1926 general strike ,plenty of volunteers for the big society there .
They all the upper class types like cameron ,ex public school boys and girls manning the public transport while the miners were being hammered and starved into submission.
"i say spot of good fun old boy " "oh yes quite topping"