Ex Lion Tamer

"Tories 'to match Labour spending'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6975536.stm The situation would have been better if we had been running a surplus. The main issue though was deregulating the banks. Unfortunately both the major parties were caught up in international neo-liberal groupthink.

Whether we should cut foreign aid and whether a portion of what we spend should go to India are separate questions. My answers would be no and no. Aid to India is being phased out by next year anyway

You realise the lib dems support an elected House of Lords right?

That's really not the problem. The problem for the NHS isn't people at death's door but an ageing population that is more likely to have treatable illnesses. Labour has some interesting plans to save the NHS from its unsustainable funding needs, and health professionals are all behind it, but of course the public doesn't know about it

The problem is they've spent years developing a wide ranging policy programme. Any new leader would need to accept miliband's policy platform or work VERY quickly to get their new ideas in place

They realised that the economy would never start growing if they didn't ease up on austerity

I'm depressed about Miliband's performance but you also have to bear in mind it is massively difficult to return to government after one term. The public still blames Labour for the global financial crisis

To be fair, Cortese supposedly wanted to sack Poch

He always underestimated how important the manager role was. I would rather we sold a player and paid for a quality manager than got some cheap nobody in (Wigley, Gray, the Dutch duo). Of course, Schneiderlin has been a great signing for us in the very long run, but that was a lot of money to spend at a time when we apparently couldn't afford a decent manager. Then we cashed in on Gareth Bale's sell on clause the same year!

I presume you were campaigning against banking deregulation back in 1986 Whitey?

Perhaps the real mistake was electing Margaret Thatcher, who set the political weather for the next 25 years

Well as I said earlier, they were faced with the choice of two neo liberal parties, which isn't much of a choice. But equally, Labour was trying to occupy the centre ground, and where that centre ground sits is set by public attitudes. Labour knew the press and the public would jump on any hint that it was "anti business", and adjusted its policies / leaders accordingly. So yes, we all have to share some responsibility for what happened.

I suppose what I mean is that it is frustrating to hear rightwingers use deregulation of the banks as a stick to beat Labour with, when not only would their party have done the same, but such an approach is central to their political instincts. Ultimately I would like Labour (or another party if necessary) to be electable as a centre left party, but for that to happen the public needs to realise that the problem wasn't Labour in itself, it was Labour in a period when it had abandoned its principles and been taken over by neo liberals.

The most frustrating thing about all of this is that Labour gets blamed for the financial crisis when the reality is that both of the main parties were lost in a neo-liberal bubble of deregulation. No one foresaw what was about to happen. And Labour only moved to the right because the public wouldn't elect them otherwise!

Repost for your benefit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6975536.stm "A Conservative government would match Labour's projected public spending totals for the next three years, shadow chancellor George Osborne has said. He pledged two years of 2% increases. The final year total would be reviewed." And Whitey G, the Tories started banking deregulation in 1986. Nigel Lawson has argued that the seeds of the financial crisis began with the "big bang" deregulation of the City in 1986: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_(financial_markets)#Consequences Yes New Labour continued it but if you think a Conservative government would not have done the same in order to stay "competitive" with similar reforms in the US, then you are living in dreamland.

Everyone was at it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6975536.stm "A Conservative government would match Labour's projected public spending totals for the next three years, shadow chancellor George Osborne has said.He pledged two years of 2% increases. The final year total would be reviewed."

I'm calling bull**** on that one. Long has natural pace and stamina that many pro footballers don't have. It's harder than it looks

Zlatan has done it in major leagues across Europe. Pelle's failure to score goals anywhere other than Holland meant there had to be question marks. Fair play to Pelle, he is doing the business in the premier league so far. Looks like he may just be a late developer and we have a real find

I agree he's done a good job so far. But let's not compare him to Lawrie Mac is all I'm saying. You surely can't deny that there was an ethos of hard work and a slick passing game already in place? Yes there was work to be done to rebuild the squad and he plus the board did a good job of it.

There has been some player changes and he has modified the tactics a little, but he still joined a healthy club with a passing ethos embedded at all levels

The depth in our squad now is very exciting however

Very early to judge Koeman. Remember Laudrup had a whole season where he looked good before it all fell apart. Fairly easy to build on someone else's success, a different job to maintain it for several years. Agree he looks promising but his managerial record is fairly mixed

Everyone saying he's a winger but a lot of his goals seem to come from classic striker positions. I wonder if he will convert at some stage

Please read the Spirit Level

My local butcher is great. One of the benefits of living in London is it still has small shops that haven't been closed out by the soulless chains