This page is to discuss comments etc… made by the Labour MP Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown Biography (from the Labour Party website) Gordon Brown was born in 1951 and went to school in Kirkcaldy. He studied at Edinburgh University, where he gained a PhD and was elected the youngest ever Rector. In 1983 Gordon Brown […]
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“You have to grow not cut your way out of a recession”
Having lived through a Conservative created recession I remember how hard it was for poor people (like my family, single mother, council estate….) with the Tory slash and burn policies on public spending last recession.
I don’t know if what Labour did/doing was the absolute best way to deal with the credit crunch/recession, but I’m reasonably confident it’s better than what we’d have got under David Cameron. If we had cut public services that would have meant even more unemployed, more businesses going under etc… so short term we’d have been much worse off. Long term I don’t know, would it be better to suffer now (cut public spending so less debt) and slowly grow the economy back (would have been a much deeper recession) or go in to massive debt and spread the suffering over a longer period of time and possibly hurt less people?
From my perspective as a business owner I have to state the credit crunch/recession has not hurt myself or my family in any obvious way, we lost some clients, but also made money in other ways (so what was lost on clients was made up in other areas). Probably lost some money on the house we bought at the peak of house prices, but as we don’t have to sell that will recover long term. So either way we’d be alright, but I think I’d rather pay more taxes etc… long term so my neighbors can keep their jobs until things pickup than hurt more people now.
David
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I too lived through the recession referred to. I also recall the years leading up to it with massive strikes, Unions holding the country to ransom, power cuts and Britain the laughing stock of Europe.
I too came from a single parent family and we did not have the luxury of living in a council house – we had to survive in a caravan for over five years. The 1980’s were difficult for many, but it was a reforming period and one where I, and many others were able to benefit by the greater opportunities it afforded. Yes, a fully funded grant enabled me to attend University. Yes, I was able to get a solid job in public service. And yes, I had a succesful career.
What I now see is that the recession has affected people in one of two ways: 1. Unemployment, loss of house, lowered income, or 2. Still in employment, far lower mortage costs so actually the recession has put MORE money in the pocket. However, this is only temporary and the total failure of Gordon Brown to acknowledge the depth of the financial hole UK PLC is in, and worst of all any suggestion of what he is going to do about it for fear of making his popularity and that of this government worse is lamentable. He is preoccupied with staying in power. Had he made the tough choices now, he would have been viewed far more positively by me, but he simply has avoided the discussing the obvious massive hole in public expenditure. In fact, he quotes some figures that make it appear UK is far better off than the rest of the world. Unfortunately for him, he is the only one to believe it.
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I am 57 – almost as old as Brown – came from a poor family myself but we always found ourselves better off with a Conservative Government. Every Labour government since i was small has ended up in a recession. Education under Labour 1964-68 destroyed any hope for the ‘bright’ poor to excel when they started closing down grammar schools. Look at what Labour has given us – anything goes: their morals suck – single girls getting pregnant just to get a home and money in their pockets. The young men taking no responsibility for their children. Young mothers who do not even stand a chance to get a job because they think “oh well the state will pay”. It is a slippery slope to doom and another thing, the children of these young men and women are doomed to failure in the future. Fact is if you don’t earn anything you are not contributing to the society from which you are taking. All my family have worked hard all their lives and in jobs a lot of this generation wouldn’t even look at. They have paid their dues and the Labour party has failed them time and time again. Brown (like Blair) are only interested in staying at the top. Labour has lied and lied and lied. They are a complete sham and I now hope they are voted out for EVER. Democracy – what democracy.
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Politicians of all colours have let the electorate down,with catastrophic blunders,because they are so short sighted with a total lack of governance,as they are too busy feathering thier own nests.
The system has been bolstered up with vast borrowings, which will take more than one generation to repay, mainly to prevent a break down in society, which would have sent us on a slippery slope into an economic dark age oblivion, and the possible situation similar to the rise of dictatorships in Europe, (Germany, Italy, and Spain) together with Russia during the 20s and 30s,where populations had to toe the Party line or face a very uncertain future.
This time they would have long fingers on atomic bomb buttons!
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Prime Minister and Labour Leader, Gordon Brown’s speech at the 2009 Labour Party Annual Conference:
And so today, in the midst of events that are transforming our world, we meet united and determined to fight for the future.
Our country confronts the biggest choice for a generation. It’s a choice between two parties, yes. But more importantly a choice between two directions for our country.
In the last eighteen months we have had to confront the biggest economic choices the world has faced since the 1930s.
It was only a year ago that the world was looking over a precipice and Britain was in danger. I knew that unless I acted decisively and immediately, the recession could descend into a great depression with millions of people’s jobs and homes and savings at risk.
And times of great challenge mean choices of great consequence, so let me share with you a little about the choices we are making.
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Forgive me for intruding into private grief, but I am 66 years old and personally remember a great many governments, from Wilson, Eden, MacMillan, all the way through to Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown.
I lived through them all.
I can tell you that nothing much changes. A rise in tax here, a drop in interest there, privatisation, strikes and spin, spin, spin.
All the time, like a creeping illness, we have been in decline as a nation. We have been craftily tricked into surrendering our sovereignty to Europe, and slowly, little by little, we are swamped with immigrants.
Like the majority of voters, who appear to limit their political awareness to the same old trivial tampering with percentages, our moderator is clearly only concerned with the wellbeing of himself and his immediate family.
Do people give no thought to wider matters, like the thousands who have lost their homes and jobs to immigrants?
Voting Labour is to vote for more lies, more deception, more spin, and more abdication from responsibility.
Voting Tory would be no different, just more expensive.
But, alas, many take the view “I’m alright Jack” and vote for more of the same.
Isn’t BRITAIN important any more??
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The only discussion we should be having on this artical is, who voted Gordon Brown in anyway? (apart from liebore mps)
Response to Britishbred
You don’t vote for leaders, you vote for parties. Who voted Griffin in, who voted Cameron in, Who voted Clegg in and yes Who voted Brown in?
You don’t vote for leaders over here
Gordon Brown – expenses are brilliant
Come on getting desperate now arn’t you, this does’t prove anything at all does it, unlike the video I posted with real BNP Supporters and organisers clearly saying what they said.
This is a Paul Whitehouse sketch, dot really evidence is it.
Althougb its is pretty funny though, but it does raise a question for me,
How does the BNP intend to pay back the debt?
They don’t explain it anywhere on their website or policies (I know I’ve looked) so we have a party with NO IDEA or plan to get the debt paid back?
The other main parties even UKIP have a plan to pay back the debt, but the BNP has NOTHING.
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You, Gordon Brown and Labour created this through your “multicultural” experiment. Our people are only protesting on the streets defending our freedom and values.
Expect More!
Time to VOTE BNP.
Time to vote BNP? Why on earth is being ignorant and wanting to beat up anyone “not one of us” (that’s the people with typical inbreeding traits, Nick Griffin is a good example, his parents must be cousins)in anyway going to solve the economy (that’s money and jobs for you BNP voters, I know economy is a big word)
Your entire economic belief is ignorance and racism will solve our issues? Genius, where did you learn that Combat 18’s multicultural lectures? Can you go back to throwing chairs at people at Millwall and leave the world for people with brains?
Oh and for the Tory voters out there hating the BNP (though justified) is still just another band wagon for Cameron to jump on.
Go on Wikipedia and have a look at Thatchers Policies and explain how they are not obvious causes of the problems of today’s society (even though she didn’t believe in society).
You retards might think voting Cameron (the one-man band-wagon!) is the answer cos he looks shiny and like he knows what he’s on about, but it was his damn party that sold off all our industry in the 80’s, and guess what? He was advisor to Norman LaMont at the time, so if you want someone to blame try looking there and not pointing fingers at Brown. If may have escaped your *short* attention that Brown inherited the economy which we have, it was more a case of “bad timing” for him to get into power when he did. You honestly think if Tories where in at the time the banks collapsed we’d be better off??? No we f&&king wouldn’t cos the bankers are all chummy with the Tories and are pretty much the same people, you morons!!! You think given the chance Cameron or Thacher or anyone from the Tory party wouldn’t do a Fred Goodwin on us?? Most of the Toffs don’t even contribute to our system cos they don’t use British banks.
And as for BNP, “letz get rid of the forinerz cuz dey all be steelin r jobz like, and we dont like immigruntz cumin ova here and puttin’ uz out of work…blah blah blah….” ….Nonsense!!
Statistically they would create more jobs by getting rid of the immigrants, yes this is a true statement. But had it never occurred to you that a large number of doctors and other professionals with skills are from ethnic backgrounds and most of our population lacks the common sense to fill in the form to apply for these jobs let alone do them. Seriously, would you let Nick Griffin near your organs as a surgeon?? Would you let a shop assistant/call centre worker from Burnley give you a filling?
Wake up you bloody retards!!!
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Looking at the above YouTube footage with the BNP protesters it begs the question has any of those idiot ever had a f&&cking job???
Seriously?? I wouldn’t employ them to polish a turd let alone anything of a higher calibre!!! The term “knuckle draggers” springs to mind, its like watching the opening to 2001: A space odyssey, except the monkeys were smarter.
If you want to protest about losing jobs to foreigners don’t you need one first? Also there values appear to be tattooed on the knuckles and arms: “Hate, Millwall and Mum”
And if these protest voters are against extreme Islamic fundamentalism, why don’t they go to Afghanistan and fight the war??? thus, giving them a job and fighting extremism? Too obvious a solution??
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Brown will probably go down in history as the WORST chancellor of the exchequer this country has ever had! His total mismanagement of the economy by allowing banks & building societies to encourage unrealistic borrowing to try & maintain growth has resulted in huge debts & bankruptcies!
By allowing banks to be totally negligent in their affairs whilst paying themseves obscene bonuses, has resulted it astronomic debts neccessitating billions of pounds being poured into them to prevent a total collapse of the banking system! This will leave our grandchildren paying for HIS negligence!
His complicity in the criminal lies & deceit over immigration, illegal wars & political corruption, put him alongside blair as the worst prime minister ever!
He should stand together with blair & other fellow travellers in the dock for TREASON!
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