I have to admit that since I came back to Taiwan a year ago I have not been following the UK political news as closely as I used to - in part because it seems increasingly irrelevant to my life. I’m not sure that choosing between the two likely leaders come the next General Election will result in any serious difference for the country as a whole. I’m not surprised that apathy has gripped many formerly politically engaged and active people I know back in the old country. Am I wrong? Are they in fact poles apart and offering different visions of the future?
Who cares?
Cameron Brown…is this the guy with the Cooking Show?
Well, if you had a copy of HELLO magazine, young Taffeta, you would know that there are differences in similarities! Last week Messers Cameron and BLAIR were snapped on their hols. Similarity: both men were snapped wearing a pair of flowery board shorts. Difference: Cameron’s cost 15 quid from TKMaxx, Blairs were a French designer label that cost 90 quid.
Blairs shorts looked great but were way to expensive. Caermon’s looked slightly pikey, but were well within budget. The difference in the seemingly similar.
Get my allegory Gregory?
Aha! But what shorts is Mr Brown wearing? Actually, that’s a fairly disturbing thought… although not quite as bad as thinking about John Prescott in Speedos. 
I was kind of serious though - I will vote in the next election, but no-one on offer really inspires me in any way, shape or form. I don’t know that they’re offering anything substantially different. Are they?
Blair has been shown to be a lying toe rag, and Cameron hasn’t yet.
[quote=“Taffy”]Aha! But what shorts is Mr Brown wearing? Actually, that’s a fairly disturbing thought… although not quite as bad as thinking about John Prescott in Speedos.
I was kind of serious though - I will vote in the next election, but no-one on offer really inspires me in any way, shape or form. I don’t know that they’re offering anything substantially different. Are they?[/quote]
I was being serious, albeit in an obscure way. Economic policy is their main difference. Always has been. Views on taxation, inflation and unemployment are the biggies.
Agreed, but this isn’t about Blair. He’s not going to be there in the next election. I want to know about his open-mouthed, dull-as-ditchwater Chancellor and the policies he will adopt. What are the differences in the policies between the two parties? Both support the ‘war on terror’, both highlight the importance of our relationship with the US and are suspicious of Europe (one slightly more than the other), both talk tough on crime (bullshit, IMO). Has the spectrum of political discourse been narrowed so far as to present us with a choice of differing styles with no discernable difference in the underlying substance? I realise that Labour’s slow but unstoppable move rightwards has narrowed the original gap between the parties, but honestly, why should I choose Brown over Cameron or vice-versa?
But any putative Conservative government is not going to drastically alter Brown’s economic policies, is it? (serious question, no sarcasm intended)
EDIT: Sorry, I’m so accustomed to silly TomHill threads (in a good way) that at first I didn’t see the power of your metaphorical reasoning. 
TKMaxx, now that is pikey.
But any putative Conservative government is not going to drastically alter Brown’s economic policies, is it? (serious question, no sarcasm intended)[/quote]
Well, it’s not going to be happy unless inflation comes down, which means a reduction in growth. Which means a fight with the Bank of England. I’m pretty sure the conservatives will want to drive the economy with full employment. Plus Lending laws have become very relaxed under Labour and the conservatives will likely favour reigning all of that back. The UK could be faced with a crippling number of bankruptcies because of relaxed lending policy and that will need to be addressed. The tories won’t want to see spiralling debts again, or negative growth will loom.
Under the tories we will work our way out of debt.
Under labour we will net-work our way out of debt.