news and comment
politics uk

site map
C O L O U R K E 'Y

british prime ministers since 1979 - their legacies, and the new mission statement

For the first time in decades, a PM leaves the government in good order.

Margaret Thatcher left a bunch of sycophants and inferiors squabbling over the remains.

Socialist Johnny Major bottled out, letting socialists in.

Tony Bliar was more interested in his press headlines and, of cours,e left a bunch of yes persons, and a deteriorating economy.

Then we had Brown the Clown, desperately trying to bribe doleys and expand make work 'jobs' as he tried to cling to power.

In great contrast, David Cameron has left a highly competent government of meritocrats, and the country in far better order.

It is for reasons like this that convince me that David Cameron is the best PM since Winston Churchill.

And now here's the new prime minister's mission statement:

"I have just been to Buckingham Palace, where Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government, and I accepted.

"In David Cameron , I follow in the footsteps of a great, modern Prime Minister. Under David's leadership, the Government stabilised the economy, reduced the budget deficit, and helped more people into work than ever before.

"But David's true legacy is not about the economy, but about social justice. From the introduction of same sex marriage , to taking people on low wages out of income tax altogether, David Cameron has led a 'one nation' government, and it is in that spirit that I also plan to lead.

"Because not everybody knows this, but the full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist Party. And that word unionist is very important to me.

"It means we believe in the union, the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But it means something else that is just as important, it means we believe in a union not just between the nations of the United Kingdom, but between all of our citizens, every one of us, whoever we are and wherever we are from.

"That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you're born poor you will die on average nine years earlier than others. If you're black, you're treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you're white. If you're a white working class boy, you're less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university. If you're at a state school, you're less likely to reach the top professions than if you're educated privately. If you're a woman, you will earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there's not enough help to hand. If you're young, you'll find it harder than ever before to own your own home.

"But the mission to make Britain a country that works for everyone means more than fighting these injustices. If you're from an ordinary working class family, life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise.

"You have a job but you don't always have job security. You have your own home but you worry about paying the mortgage. You can just about manage, but you worry about the cost of living and getting your kids into a good school. If you're one of those families, if you're just managing, I want to address you directly. I know you're working around the clock,

"I know you're doing your best and I know that sometimes life can be a struggle. The Government I lead will be driven, not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives. When we take the big calls, we'll think not of the powerful, but you. When we pass new laws, we'll listen not to the mighty, but to you.

"When it comes to taxes, we'll prioritise not the wealthy, but you. When it comes to opportunity, we won't entrench the advantages of the fortunate few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you.

"We are living through an important moment in our country's history. Following the referendum, we face a time of great national change. And I know because we're Great Britain that we will rise to the challenge. As we leave the European Union, we will forge a bold, new, positive role for ourselves in the world, and we will make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us.

"That will be the mission of the Government I lead. And together, we will build a better Britain."
Theresa May, 13 July, 2016

the web address for the article above is https://www.abelard.org/news2/politics_uk_062016.php#pm-thatcher-to-cameron-130716

advertising
disclaimer

advertising
disclaimer

advertising
disclaimer

the toff's party

Conservative Party leadership candidates

• Liam Fox - council house
• Stephen Crabb - single mother
• Michael Gove - adopted
• Andrea Leadsom - state grammar school
• Theresa May - state grammar/comprehensive school

Former Conservative Party leaders
[Those with non-toff backgrounds]

• Edward Heath [1965-1975] - son of a carpenter-builder and a maid.
• Magaret Thatcher [1975-1990] - grocer's daughter.
• John Major [1990-1997] - left school at 16.

The People's Party

Jeremy Corbyn - Castle House prep. school, Adams' Grammar School; raised in seven-bedroomed Yew Tree Manor, Reading; now on his third (millionaire) wife.

Former Labour Party leaders
[those with backgrounds not usual in the working/Labour classes]

• Harriet Harman [2010; 2015] - independent school (Saint Paul's Girls' School), Oxford University; born in Harley Street, London; related to Countess of Longford (Lord Longford's wife) and Joseph Camberlain.
• Ed Miliband [2010-2015] - raised in Primrose Hill, London, with visits to the USA; mother is daughter of a Polish steel manufacturer, father was Marxist academic and author, his parents later lived in Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, London. David Miliband (Ed's brother) still owns the family house in Primrose Hill. Went to Oxford University and LSE.
• Tony Blair [1994-2007] - choristers' school and then independent school; Oxford University; reported now to have assets of at least £37 million, and maybe as much as £100 million.
• John Smith [1992-1994] - son of headmaster; grammar school.
• Michael Foot [1980-1983] - independent primary and secondary schools; President of the Oxford Union.
• Hugh Gaitskell [1955-1963] - primary (Dragon) and secondary (Winchester) independent schools; Oxford University.
• Clement Attlee [1935-1955] - Oxford University; army Major (WW1); lecturer at LSE.

on the recent elections in the uk

I haven't followed the London mayoral election. My vague impression is Zack Goldsmith was wet.
And a Muslim in a big job gives us time and opportunity to watch how he behaves.

That can be nothing but good - a big job but a job that cannot cause national harm. I also hear Sadiq Khan worked to distance himself from LabourJeremy Corbyn.

The Labour Party is dead in Scotland, which means there is no possible chance of the Socialist cult gaining enough power to destroy the economy and nation. Labour is also slipping in Wales, while UKIP is eating their votes just about everywhere.

It's Fascist New Labour that endangers the nation. The rest are more or less sane, if often shallow, politicians.

The idiocracy in the media keep whining on about the EUSSR vot - the EU referendum. That will be over in two months, with 4 more years to go before the next General Election.

David Cameron is a real statesman. He will either leave the Conservative Party in a brilliant situation, or the Party will beg him to stay on. Even the gerrymandered constituencies will be gone by 2020. The Labour Party could well sink into oblivion, to the great gain of the nation.

For me, this is a wonderful day for everyone sane, and a wonderful result.

related material


EMU (European Monetary Union) and inflation – a civil liberty issue
franchise by examination, education and intelligence

on foolish articles about david cameron - 'there is nothing so well said that it cannot be twisted'

"Liber Sententiarum is thought to be derived from Abelard's teachings but Abelard disclaimed authorship. I tend to wonder if the Liber Sententiarum was forged to assist the purpose of convicting Abelard. To quote Abelard, "the devil even if he does interpret scripture badly at least gives the actual words of scripture which he misinterprets. But you are so far from both my words and my meaning and you labour over arguments taken from your inventions rather than from my sayings".(p.109)

"Abelard [1097-1142] also wrote, 'There is a well-known proverb: nothing is so well said that it cannot be twisted'. He claimed that the charges made at the council of Sens were 'framed in malice and ignorance'." [source: the logic of ethics]

"Whatever the explanation for this week's shambles [arising from the publication of the so-called Panama Papers - ed.], it left a vacuum for the Tory party's opponents and into that vacuum in recent days has flowed misunderstanding, envy and idiocy on an epic scale. Some Labour MPs – particularly on the Corbynite flat earth left, but a few others who should know better too – have in their attacks displayed an extraordinary and terrifying ignorance of law and economics. The Cameron family trust (which doesn't seem to have performed very well anyway) is entirely legal.
—
"It is hard then to avoid the conclusion that the only reason the Camerons (who have handled the media response poorly) are under attack is because they are very wealthy and by most people's definitions rich. Add in the hilarious spectacle of moralising by certain newspaper groups that have used off-shore vehicles themselves in their dealings, and you are left with a week in the UK that might have been scripted by Victorian genius Anthony Trollope. It has been sanctimonious, envious Britain at its worst." [Quoted from capx.co]

The thesis is that David Cameron should pay some dishonest spinner like Campbell, instead of answering straight the questions that are asked by audiences and by the reptiles.

My view is that he should continue to do exactly what he does and continue to be open and genuine. The great mass of the British people respond with their guts and will trust him, despite all the slime being thrown by the slugs of the Left.

The normal British people vote by their instincts, which are far more trustworthy than most people's intellectualisms, and will increasingly see through the spin industry.

I do not like elections, but it is in my many elections that I have learnt to know and honour the people of this island. They are good through and through.
[Winston Churchill, Thoughts and Adventures, published 1932]

a suitably cynical article on boris and the eu outers

Recommended reading (and it's short!).

The article veers between almost well-written and amusing.

"In early February, Johnson wrote a piece in the Telegraph, which was everything his supporters could have wanted. He was measured as he weighed the pros and cons of leaving the EU and torn as he confessed that he could not make up his mind.

"Yet on 22 February, when our Home Counties' Hamlet finally resolved his doubts, his announcement that he was backing leave was accompanied by Trumpian lies that would have embarrassed a tabloid. It is not true, as Johnson said, that the EU stops children under eight blowing up balloons or prevents the rest of us recycling teabags. Nor is it the case, as he has said on other occasions, that EU regulations cost us £600 million a day or that even in death the EU will dictate the size of our coffins.

"The fact that he descended to the level of a mobbish demagogue tells you all you need to know about his character and tactics. This is not an honest man with honest doubts. This is a chancer, who has seen his main chance, and will delight his core vote with fantasies, if mendacity will bring him power."

related material
EMU (European Monetary Union) and inflation – a civil liberty issue

email email_abelard [at] abelard.org

© abelard, 2016, 2 april
all rights reserved

variable words
prints as increasing A4 pages (on my printer and set-up)