Ironically the two I can think of would be considered by the right as very "nanny state", the minimum plastic bag charge and now the smoking ban for future generations.
Allowing Hong Kong residents to move here? (Probably motivated also by the desire to see an influx of capital--not sure how that has actually been panning out)
I’m not having the age staggered emailing ban shite, I’d vote that down
A lot of their reform of the administrative end of government has been absolute w**k. Abolishing PCTs in favour of GP jerk circles, abolishing regional development agencies, abolishing strategic health authorities. I was going to say abolishing the DTI, which was also stupid, but that was Labour. All these things re-established on the first day in office or a Laz government along with the mandating of every yard of track torn up by Beeching to be relaid. Yes yes blah blah built over track beds, theee would be an omnibus compulsory purchase prorgramme overriding all appeals passed in Day 1.
Credit where it’s due- the Covid vaccination program gave us I) back our freedom, and ii) hilariously made edgelords furious- see Matt le tissier’s career arc.
I think universal credit is a good idea - simplifying the benefit system is a valuable thing. Obviously hopelessly implemented and set at a level that's way too low.
Most people supported the massive spending on furlough and energy subsidies at the time. I didn’t but they did get cross party support of sorts - I think Labour said the energy subsidies were too stingy
furlough was the right thing to do but probably went on too long and should have been tailed off earlier in retrospect, although I do not claim Labour would have done this. The business loans/grants were shyte from the start however and way too easy to abuse.
i wouldn't be surprised if that's a half truth from the today programme. ie probably includes some Con Mps that voted against at an early stage to try and get some change in the drafting
yes RR, massive unprecedented state spending on furlough and energy subsidies is "right wing". in other news red is green, pigs fly concordes and bears have sophisticated toilet etiquette
diceman some form of furlough and energy subsidies were necessary, they were in themselves neither right of left wing, any more than providing roads or a fire service they just had to be done.
diceman you are missing the point, probably deliberately. Rishi is right wing and he was in charge of furlough. If you find that triggers some cognitive dissonance then take it up with your chums in government.
johnson was a raging populist - economically probably a bit big state but culturally right. current iteration of the tory party is a mix of UKIP and small state zealots with a small rump of one nation types that didnt get purged by brexit.
the subsidies were the highest because of privatised provision of energy diceman, where provision was by the state prices could be kept lower more cheaply.
the smoking thing is a policy so dogshit that the country we copied it from abandoned it after 18 months. the total death of the liberal impulse in the uk is bleak, both sides honking like seals to central government micromanaging people lives in the name of are nhs.
genuinely hard to think of a single way they've improved the country in their entire time in office. some of gove's education stuff seems pretty good, at least based on test scores.
gay marriage is good but would have happened whoever was in power, and most tories voted against it
the idea that the tories since 2019 have been right wing is the ultimate example of how people's definitions of left/right are defined by vibes and essentially nothing else
in terms of actual things they've done (not telegraph opinion columns written) the coalition was massively more right-wing than the post-brexit tories
Gove's education stuff is a fooking shambles that put cash into the hands of the utterly clueless. There is a free school near us that must have received at least £5m+ that is now the worst school in the area by some distance. Meantime the govt has reduced funding per pupil so it remains below 2010 levels, and headteachers have to sack non-teaching staff to cover the unfunded pay increases for teachers they were forced to make.
These fookers are clueless w**kers that have been in power for longer than Thatcher, that have pulled us out of the world's premier free trade area, had us in a per capita recession for 2 years, killed 20k plus care home residents, left school children underskilled and vulnerable children dead, crashed our currency by 20%, channelled billions into housebuilder shareholder and manager's pockets while doing zero for the shortfall in decent homes, given billions to PPE and BBL crooks, and left us with poverty levels not that par removed from the third world. I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, and people still supporting them must be the most deluded selfish aunts on the planet.
"in terms of actual things they've done (not telegraph opinion columns written) the coalition was massively more right-wing than the post-brexit tories"
The grandstanding of sending people to Africa is hugely rightwing intended to excite right wing voters. This is regardless of the actual numbers allowed to come in.
So you agree that vibes are much more important than reality.
They're pretending to do something to "excite right wing voters" (no-one has actually been sent to Rwanda), and this apparently outweighs allowing 1.2m people to arrive in the country last year.
What does left/right possible mean in this framework? Nothing.
"So you agree that vibes are much more important than reality. "
The Tory government certainly seems to think so.
Allowing immigration to boost the economy is economically neither a right or left strategy, many economically right wing governments would be in favour of this and a trade union influenced left wing government may be against it but in the culture wars, being anti immigration is right wing. So in fact the government are being right wing in their cultural offer "fook off back to africa" to get the xenophobes and racists (whose votes they are losing to Reform) rubbing their knees in excitement while being economically neither particularly right nor left wing in actually allowing lots of immigration.
post 2019, apart from brexit and the Truss budget, what have they actually done?
liberalised immigration to an extent never before seen in british history
raised taxes
created multiple new regulators for private industries and handed existing ones massive new powers
passed a bunch of incoherent, unworkable laws banning what people can say online
passed a bunch of truly awful building regulations that make new construction in the uk significantly harder and uglier in the name of carbon neutrality
created two legal classes of adult in the UK - one with the right to smoke, the other without
pancakes - i think thats the difference between economically right and culturally right - i think the current bunch are culturally right which seems to be the direction of travel as a result of US culture wars permeating abroad.
Things i view as culturally right "fook off back to africa" (as set out above) "weve had enough of experts" "snowflakes" "the blob" the civil service bashing - the fixation on brexit.
I agree with your view that they arent hugely economically right at the moment because we have a very large state, but combined with the general ineptitude that means that large state is basically being deployed via corruption and inefficiencies i view that as right wing in any event (culturally speaking).
Apart from morons and the "I'm alright Jack" crowd, and the mums and dads of Tory MPs, who would vote for cretins who have been over promoted, have no scruples and are just in it for themselves?
In five years the Tories will bee back in power, so those is an urgent question.
I’d say gay marriage and I disagree any government would have done it - it was a proper push at the time and fair play to Cameron for making it happen.
NICs reductions - belatedly they have realised what a catastrophe the Triple Lock bribe is. They cannot change it (I mean who would have thought an unfunded, unnaffordable increase in welfare affecting a significant large voting group would become completely entrenched?) - but reducing NICs is a clever way to mitigate it a bit.
If only we could go back to the sort of infrastructure development that was possible in the Roman Empire with the tools and resources available a mere 2000 years ago...
1
7
Didn't they bring in gay marriage?
1
5
yeah they can have that too
0
5
but that was inevitable and any government would have eventually done that.
0
6
Osbourne reforming 'slab' effect on stamp duty to a more progressive tax?
2
6
Mobilisation of the covid vaccination programme
2
6
Support for Ukraine?
Allowing Hong Kong residents to move here? (Probably motivated also by the desire to see an influx of capital--not sure how that has actually been panning out)
1
6
Increase in personal allowance to £10k
Free school lunches for KS1
Both Lib Dem policies but CMD pushed them through
0
6
Ending Home Information Packs.
4
3
For some roffers this was the worst thing to ever happen and literal violence
0
2
ha most of this stuff is coalition era points - other than Ukraine there isnt much of worth from the post-brexit brigade.
0
5
gah marriage
the covid vaccination programme
I’m not having the age staggered emailing ban shite, I’d vote that down
A lot of their reform of the administrative end of government has been absolute w**k. Abolishing PCTs in favour of GP jerk circles, abolishing regional development agencies, abolishing strategic health authorities. I was going to say abolishing the DTI, which was also stupid, but that was Labour. All these things re-established on the first day in office or a Laz government along with the mandating of every yard of track torn up by Beeching to be relaid. Yes yes blah blah built over track beds, theee would be an omnibus compulsory purchase prorgramme overriding all appeals passed in Day 1.
3
2
Credit where it’s due- the Covid vaccination program gave us I) back our freedom, and ii) hilariously made edgelords furious- see Matt le tissier’s career arc.
0
10
It's amazing how many fook nuggets still believe COVID was going to kill us all if not for the not very effective vaccines
4
5
There will never be a vaccine
1
5
I think universal credit is a good idea - simplifying the benefit system is a valuable thing. Obviously hopelessly implemented and set at a level that's way too low.
5
2
Rumour has it that Maidstone is still in lockdown.
0
5
Most people supported the massive spending on furlough and energy subsidies at the time. I didn’t but they did get cross party support of sorts - I think Labour said the energy subsidies were too stingy
0
2
"Increase in personal allowance to £10k "
Inflation has rapidly undone this in the last couple of years.
0
4
Free schools are great imo
0
5
furlough was the right thing to do but probably went on too long and should have been tailed off earlier in retrospect, although I do not claim Labour would have done this. The business loans/grants were shyte from the start however and way too easy to abuse.
1
6
I think free schools, I think Toby Young. they are not great.
0
2
A lot of people on the right said furlough went on too long at the time
0
5
I know, and they were probably correct, stopped clock and all that.
0
4
Has Reeves said whether she’s bringing back the lifetime allowance for pensions ?
0
5
The people on the right were in charge of furlough. Hth
1
1
Gay marriage is by far and way their best policy
I agree anyone would have done it but they did so deserve credit
Vaccines a net good policy
But there is little else is there? Just absolute shite
0
1
Rishi Sunak is not economically right wing. h2h
1
4
"Didn't they bring in gay marriage?"
It was mentioned on the Today programme this morning that more than half of Tory MPs voted against the bill.
But fine, seeing as we're in a generous mood, they can take that W.
1
1
Rishi is very right wing unless you happen to be fuhrer right than him.
0
4
Gay marriage is a very rare, almost unique, example of a recent Parliament creating a freedom, rather than taking one away.
0
4
i wouldn't be surprised if that's a half truth from the today programme. ie probably includes some Con Mps that voted against at an early stage to try and get some change in the drafting
0
2
yes RR, massive unprecedented state spending on furlough and energy subsidies is "right wing". in other news red is green, pigs fly concordes and bears have sophisticated toilet etiquette
0
5
Dux, parliament created plenty of freedoms in enacting various treaties with the EU, of course these have now been taken away
1
5
Didn't they also make it easier to get divorced? (I'm sure many will say that's not a good thing)
0
4
diceman some form of furlough and energy subsidies were necessary, they were in themselves neither right of left wing, any more than providing roads or a fire service they just had to be done.
0
1
There is no way the current Tozza government would introduce gay marriage now.
0
1
diceman you are missing the point, probably deliberately. Rishi is right wing and he was in charge of furlough. If you find that triggers some cognitive dissonance then take it up with your chums in government.
0
4
Our energy subsidies were the most generous in Europe according to the FT. Nothing inevitable about that
0
4
I judge people on what they do RR
0
1
So you do want the government to go fuhrer to the right?
1
4
johnson was a raging populist - economically probably a bit big state but culturally right. current iteration of the tory party is a mix of UKIP and small state zealots with a small rump of one nation types that didnt get purged by brexit.
0
4
I hate the gay marriage thing... all it did was increase the number of people who won't marry me.
0
1
the subsidies were the highest because of privatised provision of energy diceman, where provision was by the state prices could be kept lower more cheaply.
0
4
energy in fact remained more affordable than here in many countries, another reason why energy privatisation has proved so disastrous.
2
1
the smoking thing is a policy so dogshit that the country we copied it from abandoned it after 18 months. the total death of the liberal impulse in the uk is bleak, both sides honking like seals to central government micromanaging people lives in the name of are nhs.
genuinely hard to think of a single way they've improved the country in their entire time in office. some of gove's education stuff seems pretty good, at least based on test scores.
gay marriage is good but would have happened whoever was in power, and most tories voted against it
0
1
Massive net migration under Johnson bigbad. Not what most would categorise as culturally right wing.
Which Johnson policies do you categorise as culturally right wing ?
0
1
That’s only a partial explanation for the differential guy
2
1
Picaninnies, watermelon smiles, postboxes. Ho ho ho.
2
1
Auto enrolment for pensions.
Forcing people to save their own pmeny for retirement is a very good thing.
2
1
the idea that the tories since 2019 have been right wing is the ultimate example of how people's definitions of left/right are defined by vibes and essentially nothing else
in terms of actual things they've done (not telegraph opinion columns written) the coalition was massively more right-wing than the post-brexit tories
5
2
WHERE ARE ALL THE POSTS CELEBRATING THE GOOD HARD BREXITING THE TORIES GAVE THIS COUNTRY?!?
3
4
Gove's education stuff is a fooking shambles that put cash into the hands of the utterly clueless. There is a free school near us that must have received at least £5m+ that is now the worst school in the area by some distance. Meantime the govt has reduced funding per pupil so it remains below 2010 levels, and headteachers have to sack non-teaching staff to cover the unfunded pay increases for teachers they were forced to make.
These fookers are clueless w**kers that have been in power for longer than Thatcher, that have pulled us out of the world's premier free trade area, had us in a per capita recession for 2 years, killed 20k plus care home residents, left school children underskilled and vulnerable children dead, crashed our currency by 20%, channelled billions into housebuilder shareholder and manager's pockets while doing zero for the shortfall in decent homes, given billions to PPE and BBL crooks, and left us with poverty levels not that par removed from the third world. I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, and people still supporting them must be the most deluded selfish aunts on the planet.
3
1
Yeah, but aside from all that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?
0
1
"in terms of actual things they've done (not telegraph opinion columns written) the coalition was massively more right-wing than the post-brexit tories"
You including Truss in that pancakes?
0
1
and sending immigrants to Africa is massively right wing ffs
0
1
This ^
1
1
Auto-enrolment was introduced by the 2008 Pensions Act.
The plastic bag charge was in Wales for 4 years courtesy of Labour before Dickhead & Co had the bravery to introduce it.
0
1
and sending immigrants to Africa is massively right wing ffs
they've admitted vastly, vastly more people as both asylum seekers and legal immigrants than either the coalition or the labour government before them
surely those governments were far more right wing for not enabling the astonishing level of inward migration that the post-2019 Tories have welcomed?
0
4
The grandstanding of sending people to Africa is hugely rightwing intended to excite right wing voters. This is regardless of the actual numbers allowed to come in.
0
1
So you agree that vibes are much more important than reality.
They're pretending to do something to "excite right wing voters" (no-one has actually been sent to Rwanda), and this apparently outweighs allowing 1.2m people to arrive in the country last year.
What does left/right possible mean in this framework? Nothing.
0
1
"So you agree that vibes are much more important than reality. "
The Tory government certainly seems to think so.
Allowing immigration to boost the economy is economically neither a right or left strategy, many economically right wing governments would be in favour of this and a trade union influenced left wing government may be against it but in the culture wars, being anti immigration is right wing. So in fact the government are being right wing in their cultural offer "fook off back to africa" to get the xenophobes and racists (whose votes they are losing to Reform) rubbing their knees in excitement while being economically neither particularly right nor left wing in actually allowing lots of immigration.
0
4
Didn't they significantly raise the minimum wage?
0
1
I dont know, what is the minimum wage compared to cost of living now compared to 2010?
0
1
Aqueducts
0
1
post 2019, apart from brexit and the Truss budget, what have they actually done?
0
1
the succession to the crown act was good - Cameron again. Limited impact on the general population, admitttedly.
1
1
Yes but apart from the aqueducts
0
1
post 2019, apart from brexit and the Truss budget, what have they actually done?
liberalised immigration to an extent never before seen in british history
raised taxes
created multiple new regulators for private industries and handed existing ones massive new powers
passed a bunch of incoherent, unworkable laws banning what people can say online
passed a bunch of truly awful building regulations that make new construction in the uk significantly harder and uglier in the name of carbon neutrality
created two legal classes of adult in the UK - one with the right to smoke, the other without
all the classic right wing stuff
0
1
pancakes - i think thats the difference between economically right and culturally right - i think the current bunch are culturally right which seems to be the direction of travel as a result of US culture wars permeating abroad.
Things i view as culturally right "fook off back to africa" (as set out above) "weve had enough of experts" "snowflakes" "the blob" the civil service bashing - the fixation on brexit.
I agree with your view that they arent hugely economically right at the moment because we have a very large state, but combined with the general ineptitude that means that large state is basically being deployed via corruption and inefficiencies i view that as right wing in any event (culturally speaking).
0
1
Apart from morons and the "I'm alright Jack" crowd, and the mums and dads of Tory MPs, who would vote for cretins who have been over promoted, have no scruples and are just in it for themselves?
In five years the Tories will bee back in power, so those is an urgent question.
0
1
Sandeels. They brought in more protection for sandeels.
0
2
Steadfast longstanding support for Ukraine.
Vaccine success.
Got Brexit done.
Equal marriage.
0
1
I’d say gay marriage and I disagree any government would have done it - it was a proper push at the time and fair play to Cameron for making it happen.
0
1
Overseen unprecedented levels of shit in the waterways
0
1
Killing DAC6 in the UK?
QAHC?
(Sorry for being a bit too tax-geeky)
0
0
Getting Brexit started (after a few years churning the ignition)
Good PR campaign for lettuces
0
0
Do you even RoF?
0
0
TBH even the carrier bags thing was shit in my view.
And now we have this. Compliance Britain in a nutshell.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/articles/cw07nep0ek4o#:~:text=An%20employee%20who….
0
0
TBF
Gay Marriage
NICs reductions - belatedly they have realised what a catastrophe the Triple Lock bribe is. They cannot change it (I mean who would have thought an unfunded, unnaffordable increase in welfare affecting a significant large voting group would become completely entrenched?) - but reducing NICs is a clever way to mitigate it a bit.
0
0
Hollow laugh at "Aqueducts".
If only we could go back to the sort of infrastructure development that was possible in the Roman Empire with the tools and resources available a mere 2000 years ago...
We can but dream of such wonders.
Join the discussion