I am still puzzled by this thread. Folk who would not normally condone violence seem very happy to encourage physical and sexual (if fisting is taken in that respect 😉 ) abuse on a democratically elected member of Parliament. So what EXACTLY is the justification for such extreme measures? Is it
He is an MP?
He is a Tory?
He was a largely unsuccessful leader of the Tories?
He has taken on the poison chalice of welfare reform (no surprise then that FField also seems to attract abuse and exclusion)?
He believes in the importance of work in helping people better than benefits?
He has (like those before and most likely after him) screwed up the execution of his strategy – although funny to read who is most to blame: IDS (New Statesman) or the civil service (Torygraph)?
His name is Ian?
It would be better if his initials spelt Sid?
He went to a Faith School?
Like GO, he didn’t go to Eton?
And then there is the Tory policy stuff? Ok, let’s leave aside the (valid) question of whether current economic policy is in any way exclusive to the Tories and lets assume that since they are implementing them, they have to be held utlimately responsible for the results. So what do we have? Well despite the fact that we remain at all levels a debt-ridden society, that the policy mix of a negative (from a growth perspective) tight fiscal policy counterbalanced by a very loose monetary policy seems odd when the main transmission mechanism (banks) is still broken, that our main trading partners remain in political and economic distress, that international bodies who are creating economic havoc elsewhere a calling for changes in policy…
…the UK economy continues to surprise on the upside even to the extent of making the new governor of the BoE look a little silly in his first few months. So even construction and manufacturing is doing better than expected, ditto capital investment, employment, car sales, house sales…to the extent that the OECD is predicting 3% growth for the UK!! Can this be true?
Blimey perhaps these folk are not that stupid after all? Should we be giving them responsibility and credit for this in the same way some/we criticised them when statistical noise suggested that things were not going so well?
Or may be this latest upturn is largely another mirage of consumption exceeding income?!? Still the Tory joker in the pack (the uk economy) looks increasing like a trump card re the next elections albeit still a 6/7 rather than ace, king queen.