When will there be a time when we can pick out the achievements of the last Labour Government ?
This list was removed from the Labour Party’s website after Gordon Brown created the credit-crunch when, in his spare time, when he sold sub-prime mortgages to people on welfare in US’s Mid-West… apparently.
- Longest period of sustained low inflation since ’60s
- Introduced National Minimum Wage. Raised to £5.52
- Restored devolved government to Northern Ireland
- Wrote off 100% of debt owed by poorest countries
- Restored city-wide government to London
- Devolved power to Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly
- All full time workers entitled to 24 days paid holiday
- Scrapped Section 28. Introduced Civil Partnerships
- 85,000 more nurses and 32,000 more doctors
- Brought back matrons to hospital wards
- Inpatient waiting lists down half a million+ since ’97
- NHS Direct introduced, offering free patient advice
- Free breast cancer screening for all 50-70 yr old women
- 36,000 more teachers in England. 274,000 more support staff and teaching assistants
- Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since before the industrial revolution
- 14,000 more police in England and Wales
- Saved car industry with Car Scrappage Scheme
- Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75%
- Child benefit up 26 per cent since 1997
- Doubled funding for every school pupil in England
- Free nursery places for all 3 and 4-year-olds
- Free fruit for most four to six-year-olds at school
- Introduced £200 winter fuel payment to pensioners. £300 for over-80s
- Free TV licences for over-75s
- A million pensioners lifted out of poverty
- Free off peak local bus travel for over-60s
- Free eye test for over 60s
- Banned fox hunting
- Banned fur farming & animal testing for cosmetics
Lies, Damn Lies and Ignorance
People are lazy and quite happy to live their life in total ignorance. On saying that, they are good at reciting stuff, if it’s repeated often enough. It does not matter whether its true or not as long as it’s easy to remember.
Rewriting History
Thatcher’s era gets symbolised with Champagne Wine Bars and massive mobile phones. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen that same clip of the guy in the wine bar tugging at the notes in his top pocket.
From someone who was Actually There
In 1986, I was working at a record shop on £50 per week being told I was lucky to have a job because there was over 3 million unemployed.
’97-’08: Lowest unemployment since ’79
I know. Fantastic eh. So need to go back to the previous Labour Government for a lower figure. For an insight into the recorded unemployment figures, click on the graph to view the figures, from the Office of National Statistics.
