Are the Tories finished before they start?

[Gavin Scott]

Mind you, I wish I had learned a skill like plastering. The pay is great and there's always a shortage of skilled craftsmen. Nice little string to one's bow.

oh i can't see you fitting into that sort of vocation gavin. you'd have to have a radio blasting out radio 5 or talk sport, display a builders bum and can you imagine what that plaster must do to their hands.

Well its true I have the hands of a 9 year old girl. And she's not getting them back neither.

But I don't know - there's something to be said about working with tradesmen. I like a bit of rough.

[Chie]

So, by your own experience, what exactly qualifies you to say what you've said? Whether they are wasting their time at university or not, they are still getting an education (of some sort).

I can't find any statistics on what kind of commission colleges and sixth forms receive for every student they refer on to university, how many jobs have been created in the public sector (the brainstorming and button-pushing part of it, not the teaching and nursing part) purely to provide employment for graduates who have no hope in the private sector with their media and sociology degrees. Or even whether the government actively uses universities as a recruiting ground for the public sector (as well as using them to manipulate social opinion). But I suspect all of this may be true. The education system nurtures them and then Labour adopts them. Why else would the government want more than 50% of young people to go to university, thereby devaluing degrees and rendering them virtually worthless from the point of view of the private sector? There has to be an ulterior motive.

Aside from my personal conspiracy theory, the other problem with so many people going to university is that one day, A levels and degrees will probably become as expected by private sector employers as GCSEs are now. So it'll be GCSEs that become worthless. This means young people who aren't clever enough for university, or at least to get a few A levels, will have close to no chance of getting a non-manual job - and it's not as if there are many manual jobs left. So that will really sort of the wheat from the chaff. Not exactly the kind of 'progressive' approach you'd expect from Labour, is it.

Also we have an increasing population of OAPs, with a comparative decrease in the amount of young people. 'An education of some sort' is all well and good, but the country would be better off if more young people started working at 18 as opposed to spending four or six years in university and then finally starting work at the age of 24.

I'm about to go to an acting school to do three years' intensive training to come out in uncertain job prospects. Would you say that I'm wasting my time?

I hope you do very well, James.

[barcode]

well it seems the .The Sun has now changed side to the Tories

[Chie]

The latest ComRes poll suggests that 48% of Midlanders will be voting Tory, while just 15% will be voting Labour.

[rts]

Liking Iain Dale's quote of the day - http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/09/qu ... y-sun.html

[barcode]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8282021.stm

Well what do people make of this then!

The editor of the Scottish Sun has said he is "yet to be convinced" that the Tories are the best party for Scotland.

The editor of the Scottish Sun said much of Mr Brown's speech "had no bearing on Scotland".

However, he added that he was not convinced the Conservatives, who have just one MP north of the border, were the right party for Scotland.

Mr Dinsmore said: "The big question is, 'what is David Cameron going to do for Scotland?

[Dr Lobster*]

you've got to love the labour government though, haven't you: i was amazed by the pledge today to scrap car parking charges at hospitals for inpatients... wtf, most of these obscene hospital parking charges came in under a labour government. feckwits. even if the tories are the worst of both worlds, nobody can deny that labour are now completely bankrupt of ideas.

[barcode]

the money should have been spent on improve links to the hospital by bus and train, or even bike!

Cambridge hospital have been doing this.

[DVB Cornwall]

The reaction to The Sun's change of allegiance today has been hilarious, or it would be if it wasn't the party in power in this Country. Children in the playground fighting over gang membership came to mind as for the Woodley and Harman histrionics, pathetic.

[Alexia]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8282021.stm

Well what do people make of this then!

The editor of the Scottish Sun has said he is "yet to be convinced" that the Tories are the best party for Scotland.

It's got very little to do with what the editor wants. Murdoch will never back a losing team. Rather than have principals, he's prepared to make whoever's in power suck up to him in order so that the Sun's 3 million readers vote for them, and if 41% of people are preparing to vote Tory, then 41% of people will be more likely to buy The Sun.

[Nick Harvey]

you've got to love the labour government though, haven't you: i was amazed by the pledge today to scrap car parking charges at hospitals for inpatients.

But inpatients are now kept in for the absolute minimum of time possible, so their bed can be handed on to another patient soonest.

No help with charges for the never ending outpatient appointments which always precede and follow the inpatient stay. Still no help (in England) with a minimum charge of £2.50 every morning when you have to go back for five minutes of radiotherapy every day for 35 days.

Free at the point of delivery my arsehole!

There's a swiping aside at this subject in Comment at midnight tonight. It was written last weekend, before the announcement, and hasn't been edited since.