The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Bruce Wayne]

Who with a little cannot be content
Endures an everlasting punishment

Robert Herrick (Hesperides 1648)

Give me a bowl of porridge and I'm set

 

[roydo]

Who with a little cannot be content
Endures an everlasting punishment

Robert Herrick (Hesperides 1648)

I havnt got much, and I am pretty content. Mostly.

 

[The Esk]

I havnt got much, and I am pretty content. Mostly.

You have us mate, what more do you need?

 

[roydo]

You have us mate, what more do you need?

Quite. Well nearly.

Lob in Mrs R and Mert and Brambers, (my cats), and I am mostly fine.

As long as I have a radio that can get TMS as well. Oh, and a Rebus novel or two. Plus my electronic ciggie thing.

Topped off with a new football shirt and a match ticket is pretty much job done for little old me!

 

[The Esk]

Every child in the country gets a place in a nursery school. Every child in the country gets around about 2,000 hours of schooling by highly qualified professionals, with more available should they stay on into sixth form.

As an aside how do you arrive at 2,000 hours?

Let's say a child gets 30 hours of schooling a week for 35 weeks a year. That's 1050 hours. A child is educated for a minimum of 11 years. That's a minimum of 11,550 hours.

 

[Eggs]

It can't budge when life chances are inextricably linked to the financial fortunes of your parents. The lengthy post I made earlier today is all about that. Society has to find a way of breaking this link. We have to find a way of educating the poorest children in society to the point where they can compete with others more fortunate. It will take several generations to complete, but it can be done.

....I have often thought about 'breaking the link' myself, it's a massive challenge and a very difficult fix but it would make such a difference. Unfortunately the support mechanisms for success are not in place outside the classroom for many kids and this void also needs addressing if we are to halt the cycle.

 

[roydo]

As an aside how do you arrive at 2,000 hours?

Let's say a child gets 30 hours of schooling a week for 35 weeks a year. That's 1050 hours. A child is educated for a minimum of 11 years. That's a minimum of 11,550 hours.

Ooops!

 

[The Esk]

Ooops!

You can't break the link Roydo, @Bruce Wayne is proof of that lol

 

[roydo]

Tell you what would be a fascinating study, if totally unscientific, would be how the kids of PL footballers get on in life. Taking the steryotype that most players are from a working class background, now have all the cash anyone would need, and then have kids, it would be interesting to see how their kids get on.

 

[lightingman]

Improving for who?


The Tory narrative on "the economic recovery" is generally a long way from the truth. They seem intent on talking up the fact that the UK has recovered to the pre-crisis economic peak, despite the fact that the UK was the last major western economy to do so. This so called recovery equates to growth of an aggregate of 0% over the last seven years!

The reality is that the GDP of the UK is now pretty much exactly the same as it was just before the economic crisis, however the economy has been massively rebalanced, with a huge increase in the share of the wealth in the hands of the top 0.5%, and a large reduction in the living standards of the majority due to wage repression, severe cuts to in work benefits, rampant inflation in the costs of food, housing, transport, and energy, and Gideon's hike in VAT.

Do you simply deny anything remotely positive the Tory's have done whilst making no comment about the many failures laid at Labours door?

I'm afraid I'm old enough and ugly enough to form my own, balanced political opinion and decide that neither Labour, nor the Tory's are worthy of my vote.

Do you know where Labour will make their public spending cuts and how much they will be? If you dont't, make I ask how you can vote for Labour?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As an aside how do you arrive at 2,000 hours?

Let's say a child gets 30 hours of schooling a week for 35 weeks a year. That's 1050 hours. A child is educated for a minimum of 11 years. That's a minimum of 11,550 hours.

Indeed, state education for you It's even more attractive though, even if you can't do simple mental arithmetic when you leave

 

[Pienaar's gloves]

I think this happens very rarely. One of the biggest myths going that the poor don't put their kids first. Evidence would suggest that parents will sacrifice their own health & well-being to provide basic essentials for their children. Unfortunately for some, that's often still not enough.

I suspect a lot of folk might be forgetting that the poorest in this country don't just have nothing, they are generally in debt. Servicing those debts just to keep a roof over their heads means whole families missing meals or living without heating and light.

Less rare than you might think. I came out of school not so long ago - 2010 - in one of the more affluent parts of Merseyside.

I still knew lads who didn't get breakfast because it wasn't there, yet went on foreign holidays. The adults at home made that more of a priority.

My flatmates Mum has always gone out on the town yet couldn't afford to keep a roof over her head when she was a kid.

My girlfriend went through most of her teenage years hungry yet her parents had income that they donated to their place of worship. In the end, my Mum started feeding her.

I know this is all anecdotal but I've certainly witnessed young people experiencing it.

 

[Deggo]

I don't consider keeping people dependent on the state as valuing society. I want everybody to be well off, Labour exists by having a class division driven by envy. There is no doubt that the Tories have been portrayed by Labour as the party of the rich, even though more people vote Tory than Labour ( does that mean that most people are rich), but the reality is that Labour have no ambition for the poor, just sympathy and money, rather than helping them to stand up on their own two feet............

I think this is way off,I earn a very very good wage,in some circles it would be considered that I am rich,well all my mates think I am anyway,however I'm not but then those who earn similar wages may consider the Tory party as their representative to keeping themselves in the life they've become accustomed,the south of England and indeed eastern parts have a natural feeling that they are a cut above the north and earn more or have more(it's grim up north you know......)hence the Tory vote but I do and always will vote labour

 

[Deggo]

I think the answer is obvious really. The youngest child can go out to work cleaning chimneys, the second youngest can walk dogs, all the way up to the oldest who will go down the mine. You've got to be entrepreneurial with these things

Not far wrong I think in the minds of David and George

 

[Deggo]

When the Cameron Prime Ministership is looked back upon (hopefully from May 8th onward) it'll be seen as THE most divisive holding of that office since Thatcher haunted the corridors of power. He's divided the haves from the have nots, the public sector from the private sector, the able bodied from the disabled, the British born from the immigrant, the Scots from the English. It's a true divide and conquer term in office.

Unbelievably (or maybe all too believable given the number of thick people there are) they may well be rewarded for this in two weeks time. I notice in the polls the much touted "crossover" appears to be occurring as the Tories have some traction with their SNP 'threat'. It's early days on that but if that does occur and that shower get anything like enough seats to return to power then this country will be even more polarised than it's been thus far. That's the real threat to this country. The social fabric torn to shreds more than it is right now. I dread to think what the labour market, welfare system and health service would look like after another 5 years of their misrule.

Excellent post!!!