jasey

Yes but the Tories wouldn't have thousands of dentists going private AND pour in extra billions into the NHS.

Are you saying the NHS should be privatised ?

Sounds good to me - then all the scroungers would die

pslewis

Labour is trying to encourage value for money dentistry ..... the fact is though, that many dentists are now private and they wouldn't want to go back.

The simple answer is to recruit from the poorer areas of the world and set-up the NHS Dentists in NHS accomodation (a wing of a hospital maybe?).

Pete

Leslie

Paulr,

Why do you say that I read the Mail and the Sun when you have no idea what papers I read, or even what my politics are?

Very dangerous to make assumptions without any evidence.

Les

Leslie

Why did Billy make a firm promise that NHS dentistry would be availbale to all PSL. Its 50 miles + to my nearest one and he is fully booked!

Les

jasey

In Scotland they're importing Polish Dentists to work for the NHS and "tieing" them to 3 year contracts. I guess we'll have a load of Private Polish dentists in 2009 !

So aswell as throwing in billions they're throwing in a few plasters too !

As for that useless **** that has just retired from the NHS to become a Lord - What's wrong with sacking the inept tosser - I know - I'll set up a private NHS - Tony cangive me and extra 20 Billion and I can overspend by 800 million and get knighted for my trouble !

Chip

Billys said lots of things since being in power. Trouble is he never backs them up.

Chip

unclebuck

Agreed - except for the last sentence.

douglasb

Les, as Pete hasn't answered this I'll supply a bit of information. Inflation peaked at 23.7% in 1976 when Denis Healy was probably the most inept Chancellor we have ever seen.

I can't remember what interest rates were at the time, but I do remember having to work out mortgage payments in 1978 (with a Labour government). It was quite easy as the mortgage interest rate was 12%, therefore the monthly interest on a £10,000 interest-only mortgage was £100. (Didn't have a calculator at the time )

Pete, I remember this as well. However I also remember the Labour Party having been rather more keen on joining the ERM than the Tories were. Had there been a Labour government at the time and they had joined the ERM, then when the exchange rate dropped out of the range that it needed to be at to remain in the ERM, precisely what would Kinnock have done? The only choices were to raise interest rates or get out of the ERM.

We can debate whether or not the UK was in the ERM at the right exchange rate or whether we should have got out earlier, but we can't get away from the fact that had Labour been in power at the time, Kinnock would have had exactly the same problems and only the same solutions open to him.

However, Labour were in their unelectable phase and weren't in power so the the argument is futile. I'd still like to hear your suggestions though as to how Kinnock would have kept the UK in the ERM without raising interest rates for a few days.

Leslie

Thanks for that douglasb, I actually meant to say inflation rates but typed interest by mistake. I wanted to see it from PSL himself of course.

Can't see PSL cooking up a reply to that one anyway-he'll run away again.

Les

paulr

Do you know the difference Leslie,wow you do surprise me...................

Suresh

Is that all? Mortgage rates hit 15% under Thatcher. Thought I'd remind you in case you'd conveniently forgotten


Suresh

Dracoro

Didn't they only 'hit' 15% for a short while. They didn't stay at that rate for any prologned amount of time as I remember. The 12% was, however, prologned wasn't it???

jasey

They hit 15% when the Government were trying to support the Pound in the ERM - Which Labour would have also done - The difference is that Labour would have left it because it would have only affected the better off (Tax payers to you and me) !

Suresh

Are you sure about that? AFAIK interest rates hit 15% in 1988 and the ERM crisis happened in 1992. Not really cause and effect, then - but hey when did the facts ever matter to a Tory boy circle jerk?

Suresh

douglasb

I've just found some paperwork for a mortgage I took out in August 1988. The Halifax standard variable rate at the time was 9.8%. Fact.

pslewis

The Tories sat on MASSIVE interest rates ... 12% for ages!!

Yeah, the Tories are good for the economy!!

Pete

douglasb

Hi Pete.

You haven't answered post 158.

Can you explain why 20%+ inflation was a good thing?

pslewis

GOD, would I LOVE 20% Inflation now ..... with the TORIES 12% Interest rates I could really improve my portfolio

Inflation IS a good thing!!

20% = 20% Pay Rises = Debts are wiped out very fast - SUPERB POLICY!!

Pete

Suresh

Yeah, you're probably right. I stand corrected. Mortgage rates actually hit 15%+ in 1989/1990 not 1988. Bet you got a shock when you took out a variable contract at the Tory rate of 10% and saw your monthly interest outgoings explode by 50% as mis-management of the economy moved you to the super-Tory rate of 15%.

From Google -
http://www.moneyworld.co.uk/dictiona...ry-003455.html

If you check the history you'll find variable mortgage rates have stayed well below the level they were at when the Tories lost power.

pslewis

You are quite right there ..... the Tories are TOSSERS when it comes to economic stability!!

Look at how fantastic Labour have run the Economy since 1997 - TOP MARKS!!!

What a party, what a leader, what a superb legacy

Pete

r32

What the British NHS is doing to the health care in poorer countries is a disgrace. Due to lack of training and decent wages the NHS has been struggling to appeal as a career to British people, they are also guilty of not realising that this would lead to huge staff shortages. However in poorer countries it costs them a fortune to train health professionals of which they have few. Then the NHS comes along and poaches them, leaving them in a tragic situation. It shouldnt happen.

jasey

I see you've corrected yourself later - unlike you I had a ******* mortgage through the 80's and 90's so I KNOW what happened.

If you want to slag off the Tories get your facts right.

ps I hate all politicians - they're all out to help themselves.

At least the Tories say they couldn't give a **** about the scroungers (or at least they used to). Tony claims to defend the Working Classes when all he seems interested in is his book deal when he retires !

Suresh

You're wrong there actually.
I was unfortunate to have a mortgage through the late 80's, so I actually experienced the disasterous interest rates that the Tories delivered. The thrills of negative equity brought about by Tory boom and bust economics shouln't be under-rated either. If I couple these joys with the happy event of being made redundant when unemployment was at the 10% level, maybe you might appreciate why I think the Tories did such a **** job and are never to be trusted again.

That I was one year out on something that happened 18 years ago is really not a big deal, is it now?

If you want to slag me off, get your facts right! I await your gracious apology for your wrong assumption.

Suresh

BTW, I sold my property under Labour for a big fat capital gain.

jasey

So you lived through the 15% and negative equity (like I did) and you still peddle lies on here. The 15% was because of the ERM - the fact you were simply blindly blaming the Tories isn't my problem !

You're the one with two apologies to make !

ps I had moved out of my house - was paying £1,400 mortgage - getting £600 in rent from the tenants and had to move to Scotland to find work. Just cos you decided to sit on your **** and milk the rest of society when you lost your job isn't my fault

Suresh

What lies 15% mortgage rates happened because of the Tories. Fact. Blaming external factors for policy incompetence is quite disingenious. Even more hilarious is that the numpty who was advising chancellor Lawson to lose a fortune on Black Friday was noneother than the current leader of the Tory party! Good work David Blair!!

So you got big time fcuked over by the Tories and still vote for them. What an idiot! Ha ha ha.

Still waiting for your apology.

Suresh

P.S. I was unemployed for only one week before I started a temp job in the City. You must have been desparate to have to move to Scotland!

jasey

Sorry for assuming you didn't have a mortgage.

My reason for making this assumption was your altzeihmers

Moving to Scotland was the best thing I ever did. There's only one Tory MP up here .

Just need to get the SNP in so we can get the English to **** off out of our business and leave our oil to us so we can be as rich as Norway

Suresh

Thank you for your genuine and obviously hert-felt apology

I can go one better - there are no Tory MP's at all where I live! Unfortunately we have the PvDA who make NL look right-wing.

If you look at International convention concerning maritime borders, I'm sure you'd be disappointed to find that all of the oil actually belongs to England and the Orkney's *only just* fall within Scottish waters. It's grossly unfair, but also completely true.

Suresh

jasey

David Cameron makes NL look right wing .

Anyway - we agree that the Tories made an **** of it. It was (imho) because they were in power too long and got cocky / corrupt etc etc !

Sounds familiar .

jasey

Is that why Iraq's oil belongs to the USA ?

mattstant

any one watch this last night
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/whatso..._4224_38908_40

fantastic how labour have reduced waiting times errrrrrrrrrr or is it ?????