Admittedly, many of us who voted Labour, or who were in the Party, didn't expect such a big majority (the wounds of 1992 put paid to that), at best we thought we would get a majority of about thirty, so what a pleasant surprise the result was.
Itwas the one general election I stayed up all night to watch (apart from being at the count at North East Herts in 2005)and it was probably the best ever.
I remember going back home (I was at a friend's house) at about 5:30 in the morning, seein a glorious sunrise (in fact, looking out of the window, we have some lovely weather now) and it felt like a new dawn.
And what a wonderful ten years it has been. Admittedly there have been some awful moments, but like any marriage it has it's ups and downs. Hopefully we have instituted a pace of quiet reform that, should the Tories ever get back in, they will find difficult to dislodge. Among our achivements we have had:
1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s
2. Low mortgage rates
3. Introduced the National Minimum Wage and raised it to £5.35
4. Employment is at its highest level ever
5. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries
6. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time
7. Restored city-wide government to London
8. Record number of students in higher education
9. Child benefit up 25 per cent since 1997
10. Created Sure Start to help children from low income households
11. Introduced the Disability Rights Commission
12. £200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & extra £100 for over-80s
13. On course to exceed the Kyoto target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2010
14. Negotiated the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
15. Over 30,000 more teachers in England schools
16. A million pensioners lifted out of relative poverty
17. 800,000 children lifted out of relative poverty
18. Introduced child tax credit giving more money to parents
19. Free TV licences for over-75s
20. New Deal - helped over a million people into work
And much more, and what did the Tories offer to combat these policies at the last general election? Negative, simplistic poster campaigns which bordered on what was acceptable and insulted the intelligence of the average voter. I myself rather preferred Unisons response
Here's to working for better things :)
13 comments:
Well Paul, since you've been gracious enough to admit that there were some awful moments too, perhaps I should take the opportunity on such an auspicious anniversary to admit that I've always had a sneaking admiration for Blair as a political operator - actually, I still think that in this respect alone he is head and shoulders above any of them on the scene now, of any party. However, disappointment with words and deeds and opportunitues missed soon set in.
There are downsides to some of the things in your list, too. Record numbers in higher education and record drop-out rates because some of them ought not to be there and - it was Labour wot done it, don't forget - record student debt.
We should also add, perhaps, record growth of the scope, reach, depth and involvement of the state.
However, that apart, happy anniversary.
Paul, this is a great piece and in the interests of fairness, it goes into the Blogfocus right now. Hope you don't mind my treatment of it there.
"Employment is at its highest level ever"
That is not true.
Icedink, as a corporatist and centerist, I have no problems with state intervention so long as it is beneficial. With regards to education I have never been comfortable with the Tuition fees policy.
James I don't mind at all.
Anon, can you back that up at all! Plus unemployment is certainly lower than it was under the eighteen years of Tory government
1. Inflation currently at 3.1% and in danger of rising further.
2. Excessive house prices meaning nobody can afford a mortgage.
3. I'll give you that one
4. Lie
5. But gone no further and poorest countries are still ridiculously poor.
6. But if they do get divorced thosse two weeks will be the only two weeks they will ever see their children.
7. With the most incompetant and despised Labour mayor
8. Record low number of plumbers and tradesmen because every Tom, Dick and Harry has a degree in media studies.
9. But a tired and abused welfare system manages that.
10. Which is an absolute failure even Blair admits that it hasn't gone well.
11. But as for the NHS caring for disabled, I won't go there.
12. But screwed their pensions over so they can't afford anything else.
13. Again, I'll give you that one.
14. In which all the ground work had been laid by John Major
15. Over 30,000 more out of control ASBO kids in ENGLISH schools.
16. See point 12.
18. Which is one of the most complicated systems and many people have had to pay back money they can ill afford.
19. See point 12.
20. Helped over a million people into work, but not sustainable jobs and being moved from various employers like employment tarts.
What a wonderful 10 years it has been.
Lucan, being facetious! ;)
I am not sure if I should respond to points on this blog from individuals who are on the run from the Police but here goes:
1. But nowhere near the danger zone that the Tories put us in
2. House prices should be going down within the next three years
3.Well it's nice to be proved right, although both the Conservatives and Lib Dems opposed it at the time
4. Prove it
5. It has and will continue to be an ongoing problem, but doing something to alleviate that is better than doing nothing
6. So of course, taking your argument, we should scrap the Paternity leave and inconvenience those who are married. It is a problem as you point out, but again it is something to be worked at
7.Like it or not, the majority of Londoners did vote for Ken (twice)
8. Not necessarily, vocational jobs have a large net and not every University graduate gets beyond a vocational job because the competition levels automatically get higher. But there are other ways to take advantage of using a degree, such as volunteer work
9. Which is subject to possible reform, but don't knock the fact that child benefit is available!
10. We tried and will try again
11. The NHS has many problems, but there is still much to be said for it, and it is better than it was under such Tory luminaries as Virginia Bottomley
12. That's not true. If you are referring to the slanderous comments about Grodon Brown made recently, I suggest you read this http://paulburgin.blogspot.com/2007/04/tories-are-still-nasty-party.html
13. Fair enough
14. We have never said otherwise. We owe a debt to John Major, but both the Conservatives and Labour worked concurrently and therefore together on this one and both should be congratulated
15. Which we are trying to deal with, hence the ASBO policy. Again, what is the point here? Is it wrong to encourage and succeed in getting more teachers for schools?
16. Likewise, see Point 12
17. Oh, you missed that one
18. In what way is it complicated?
19. See point 12
20. I was one of those who benefitted from New Deal several years ago, and who was landed in a sustainable job. Again, we have done something wonderful, in this case to help give people a positive start out of unemployment, and you knock it!
"What a wonderful 10 years it has been."
Yes it has. Much better than under the Tories.
"Prove it"
You are the one that made the claim - you are the one that needs to back it up.
For the record unemployment in the 1950s and 1960s was often much lower than it is today - about one million.
Do you still stand by your statement or are you going to take it back?
Unemployment is still lower than it was under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. I am more than happy to stick by my claim. As for the 1950s and 1960s, those were the days when the country existed under Kensyian economics, which worked wonders in the short term but not, sadly, in the long term.
But your statement did not say: "Unemployment is still lower than it was under Margaret Thatcher and John Major."
In your original post you said:
"Employment is at its highest level ever"
Which is obviously not true and which is the statement you need to take back.
As for Keynsian economics - remind me again which goverment had the strength to switch systems even though they were told by economists worldwide that the short term effects would be awful?
Anon. If you can give figures to contradict my claim then of course I will withdraw my remark. As for Kensyian economics, Labour recognised in the 1970s under Callaghan that a move needed making, but did not know quite how to proceed and to praise Thatcherism as a result is to say that it's better to take poison for treating an illness as opposed to chalk "pleabo" tablets
I quote from the Labour Manifesto of 1959.
"-these people have indeed 'never had it so good'.
It is not so good for the widowed mother with children, the chronic sick, the 400,000 unemployed, and the millions of Old Age Pensioners...."
400,000 unemployed in 1959 compared to 1.69 Million today. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6566809.stm)
So i ask you again, is employment really "at its highest level ever"?
"Labour recognised in the 1970s under Callaghan that a move needed making, but did not know quite how to proceed"
That is laughable. Pathetic really. You yourself realise we had to move away from Kensian economics - what viable alternative was their aside from Thatcherite economics?
Just look at countries such as France/Portugal who never had a 'Thatcherite Revolution' and compare their economies with ours.
Fair dues, but you have to ask yourself why unemployment in 1959 was under a million and why it is over a million now. Many of the British people wanted an alternative from Thatcherite economics, why else did the Tories progressively lose seats after 1983, failed to win by-elections for an eight year period after 1989, leading to the catastropic defeat of the Tories in 1997. In turn leading to years in the political widerness. What is laudable about saying that 3 million unemployed is a price worth paying? That if "It isn't hurting it isn't working!". What is laudable about boom and bust economics, about house prices and morgages going through the roof in the late 1980s, about 3bn of national sterling wiped in one afternoon in 1992. What is proper about selling water and fuel, about making a botch of privatising the rail networks!
I would rather look for any viable alternative to that
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