Another New Year resolution gone. Having said that I would no reply here I am again. However I see crab has got there first but here goes anyway in reply to Bword
Para 1. Lies and deception a reason for going to war. Agreed, but we were always going to go to war with the Americans. Does anyone seriously think that a ‘blue’ government at the time would not have followed the Americans?
Para 2. Not firing a shot. Agreed, but we were driving around in snatch land rovers wearing soft hats. We have believed this hearts and minds rubbish since it worked in Malaya in 1950 because it is perceived to be ‘policing and on the cheap’. I am in the ‘grab them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow’ camp.
Para. 3 Totally agree with you, a chronic failure to appreciate the consequences. We needed the labour, but not at the subsequent reduction in pay rates and conditions of our own people, for example care home staff.
Para. 4. The myth that the Brown treasury spent all the money, that it maxed out the credit card. Any Google search will show that Brown actually reduced the debt to GDP ratio until the banks went bust in early 2008, and Brown was forced to pump £400 billion into the system. One could say that it was a ‘light touch’ regulation that caused this collapse, but the Tories were crying out for even less regulation to allow the City to compete with New York. Then Osborne and austerity. Don’t believe this until you Google ‘Expansionary Fiscal Contraction’. Read about it and then wonder if Austerity was not just some huge experiment by someone with an O level in economics, or at worst an ideological con trick.
Para 5. Yeah we got to close to China, but China at the time had a very different philosophy before Xi. What was a government to do, when all almost 2 decades of blue governments had allowed our industry to be sent there by company bean counters to keep their share price going up. And lets not forget call me Dave buying Xi a pint, and Osborne getting into bed with the Chinese development bank, and this after it became obvious Xi was going to be a problem.
And Mrs Staircase has just walked in to tell me to ‘get a life’, so this definitely my last word.
Last edited by staircase; 6th Jan 2022 at 11:03.