DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived Cleggeron era

What did he actually say? This story talks a lot about the outrage at his comments, but doesn't actually say what his comments were beyond He praised the England fans at the 2010 World Cup saying the "terrible problems" of "Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us".

Ah, The Guardian's a bit clearer on this:
Hunt made his remark in an interview in which he was answering questions about England's poor performance in the World Cup.

He said he was "incredibly encouraged by the example set by the England fans. I mean, not a single arrest for a football-related offence, and the terrible problems that we had in Heysel and Hillsborough in the 1980s seem now to be behind us".

January 2009:

Tory MP Robert Goodwill, the shadow minister for Leeds, said: ‘While it is important for Cabinet ministers to visit Yorkshire and find out about particular issues, holding the Cabinet meeting here was a bit of a gimmick.

‘I can understand them wanting to show their presence in Yorkshire for political reasons. But the cost of hosting it, given the increased security, is something that should be borne by Labour rather than taxpayers.’

The Cabinet is expected in Yorkshire today for the first meeting of the new coalition outside of London. Prime Minister David Cameron and his cabinet will later tour the region which was chosen because of its industrial heartlands. Local Government Minister Eric Pickles, a former Bradford Council leader, said too much wealth and prosperity has been focused on the south and other parts of the country have been neglected and left behind.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/survey-puts-liberal-democrats-popularity-at-postelection-low-2013052.html

Tories up, LibDems down. It's all going to plan.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Liberal-Democrat-Principles-/110552679620?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item19bd7404c4#ht_500wt_1154

The party now has 49 per cent support among the over-65s and is ahead of Labour in every age group apart from 18 to 24 year olds. It has achieved a marked increase in support among 25 to 34 year olds, chiefly at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.

shaking my head at my age group - hello, being halfway through this age range, I know at least half of you remember Thatcher
(and surely all remember the types of people who were still Tory in the late 90s - do you really want to be those people?)

though it is pleasing that 18-24y/os who presumably do not remember the 1980s (the hair was crap / the claithes were crap) are still less Tory, had expected the last decade of nulab + little to no memory of anything previous to have the opposite effect

Pretty sure that it's an age-old rule that owning more stuff as you hit mid-30's will have a negative affect on yr left wing ideology.

Only if you're a tosser iirc

yeah, i got nothing but contempt for the idea myself. i was born a right wing hardnut tbh

Money is shit to me.

shaking my head at my age group - hello, being halfway through this age range, I know at least half of you remember Thatcher

nah, im thirty-ish too, and i don't think most ppl my age can properly remember the thatcher era. not in a meaningful way. she got the old heave-ho when i was 10. can remember the major era p well.

money can't buy you hate

i have a visceral anti-thatcher thing, but it's much much more to do with where i'm from than remembering it, which i can't.

spent the 80s drunk you see

^ growing up working class, see the vices ingrained?

i am drinking as i write this

you sot oik get yoer filthy hands off my shoes

now you're reminding me of the time i met nrq at oxford

Suppose I remember my parents being angry at various of Thatcher's news appearances more than anything she did. Fuck a Falklands War and privatisation tho but guess the Iraq/PFI generation doesn't get to say much on that

sadly, youthful CJB ire aside, can't remember any bullet points I could get particularly coherently angry abt from the Major era, despite actively following the news throughout it

Fuck a Falklands War and privatisation tho but guess the Iraq/PFI generation doesn't get to say much on that

yeah. i kind of feel the intense cult of thatcher-hatred blinds people to present iniquities. iraq war a hell of a lot worse than the falklands war.

not sure what the narrative of the major era was. "let's all disagree with each other over europe." policy over ex-yugoslavia was pretty amenable to the present anti-war left i guess.

Black Wednesday or Monday or whatever day it was + spiralling interest rates + home repossessions + cash for questions I guess.

Fuck a Falklands War and privatisation

Fuck the Falklands, in terms of her crimes, the Falklands is like bottom of the list, even if you include the Belgrano. Crappy TV drama on the Queen recently reminded me of Thatcher's support for the South African regime, which I'd forgotten about, and which the Queen was none too pleased about.

yeah. i kind of feel the intense cult of thatcher-hatred blinds people to present iniquities. iraq war a hell of a lot worse than the falklands war.

This is total bollocks. Who really criticises Thatcher for the Falklands? Who ever really did? Apart from Tam Dalyell?

PFI will never get the same visceral reaction as the privatisations did tho and yet in terms of public policy and the death of the welfare state I'm not sure which is worse.

Who really criticises Thatcher for the Falklands?

people do all the time

CRASS did for one thing

Eh Everybody criticises thatcher for the falklands?

CRASS did for one thing

Yes, that's the voice of the people right there. Believe me you are on the wrong track with that one.

I think there is a subset of people who will criticise her for conduct and manipulation of the Falklands War rather than pretending any other government would have acted much differently.

Eh Everybody criticises thatcher for the falklands?

No they don't. They didn't then much, OK Belgrano, a bit. Even less now.

Fuck the Falklands, in terms of her crimes, the Falklands is like bottom of the list, even if you include the Belgrano.

Oh I don't know, man. the Falklands is one thing that still really makes fucks me off bigstyle - our territory, inhabited by our fellow citizens gets invaded by a bunch of fascists, people who would dispose of their political enemies by disembowelling them and throwing them into the sea from helicopters, and that fucker was warned by US intelligence that it was going to happen, she did fuck all about it, then instead of doing the decent thing and resigning over her FAILURE, she fucking rode her military "victory" to a big, undeserved win in the following election, aided by the compliant, sycophantic tory press. I'm getting angry just typing this. Fucking hell.

really makes

OK yes, you're right about that, but is that what she usually gets criticised for "all the time"?

As we all know, another of her charming little peccadilloes was a fondness for, and friendship with, South American torturers and murderers

Yeah, her coziness with Pinochet is something that still disgust me now. inexcusable. (got v angry reading stuff relating to this in alan clarke's diaries back in the day)

yeah i was kind of joking about crass

here, though, is a more popular figure, ken livingstone, in 1998:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/piracy-has-always-driven-our-policy-in-the-falklands-1181057.html

What earthly reason possessed Britain to go to war over two remote islands, populated by just 2,000 people (half of whom were Ministry of Defence employees on general monitoring duties)? Although the rest of Europe looked on in bemused amazement at the gun-boat politics, here in Britain critics of the war were never in any doubt about just how small a minority of the British population we were representing.

that's pretty common currency imo

tho he says that during the 80s his anti-war position was uncommon so ehh i dunno

Ken Livingstone, Tam Dalyell, Tony Benn... uncommon currency I'd say. I'd forgotten the details of the preamble to the Falklands conflict and Thatcher's complacency, as outlined by Pash - but, I can't help but feel, that must say something because I'm, uh, not renowned for forgetting Thatcher's mistakes.

... commas all in the wrogn places there

The railways were privatised during the Major years iirc. multiple xposts

I opposed the Falklands war (I think I even went on a march about it, sooooo many marches back then...) and the Iraq war for much the same reason, both could have been avoided. It wasn't the majority view at the time but definitely a significant minority.

I'm not sure 'this war is unnecessary' was a minority view at any stage of the planned iraq invasion

that fucker was warned by US intelligence that it was going to happen, she did fuck all about it

i've never heard this line tbf, got a ref?

A million people did not march in opposition to the Falklands War. There's one difference.

No, I was talking about the Falklands, xp.

ah sorry ned i thought you were equating the level of opposition, misread your post.

our territory, inhabited by our fellow citizens gets invaded by a bunch of fascists

Note the difference between this from Pashmina and Ken Livingstone's criticism.

That's quite alright, xp.

Kinnock opposed the Falklands war as well iirc.

welsh don't like it up em

Think his argument was along the lines of 'who gives a fuck about a bunch of remote sheep farmers?'