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• Greg. Tingey commented on The unavoidable discussion
  That is one of the most stupid remarks I've seen here for some time. (That can be read clearly, at any rate) Lets see: Manchester: Got a good transport budget & TRAMS! Brummagem: Finally realising that trams are a good idea Liverpool: Do very well with what they've got - IIRC their rial system is on a "concession" model rather than franchises & works well. Nottingham TRAMS again Leeds - got royally screwed by the Treasury about 8-10 years back Bristol - couldn't make up tiny mind what they wanted & got nothing as a result Newcastle - is pondering...
• Neil Jamieson-Williams commented on The unavoidable discussion
  Just some brief comments on this, as an outsider (Canada). During my lifetime I have watched the EEC transform into the European Union and, let me state again I am an outsider, from the UK news I have read and watched over the years it would seem that most of the time the UK Conservative Party has either been very critical of or has wanted out of the EEC/EU. The fact that this upcoming referendum was orchestrated as part of a power struggle within the UK Conservative Party indeed makes the entire purpose of the referendum to be self-serving (for...
• guthrie commented on The unavoidable discussion
  It's useful to remember that the Conservative party has several wings, and the base is a bit different from the actual politicians. The latter tend to be more socially modern, and also fully believe the neo-liberal economic consensus re. markets etc, and can generally be thought of as being in the pockets of big business and finance and with a more international outlook. The base tended to be more homophobic, nationalistic and can't understand why the local small businesses are shutting down. Careful management of this has been the core aim of the Tories for years; I understand there has...
• Neil Jamieson-Williams commented on The unavoidable discussion
  My comments on the UK Conservative party are the perceptions of an outsider looking in and based on multiple snapshots of the party over three decades. That said, there are some similarities between our (Canada) Conservative party and yours -- and some key differences. Most of our Conservative politicians are not as "socially modern" as yours are -- but they all are true believers of the neo-liberal economic consensus. We have had major centralisation over the past 15 years in the Conservative party and no real party wings remain (the previous party leader was very autocratic and engaged in "purges"...
• Steve commented on The unavoidable discussion
  Greg @566. Did you know that the Named Person scheme has been running for five years already?...