Comments on: Harriet Harman in Thanet, the Cabinet reshuffle and Labour’s prospects

By: David Semple

David Semple — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:24:21 +0000

I don’t disagree. The point about the Conservative council is important though. It is the Tory councils of Thanet and Canterbury which are seeking to put homeless back on the streets instead of continuing to fund a programme which gets many of them long-term accommodation, jobs and achieves what government has failed to do: reintegration.

You tell me how that’s likely to affect Thanet?

I agree, in terms of child poverty, more needs to be done – and I’m a member of the left-wing group within Labour that would do it – but in relative terms no government has done more than Labour. The Sure Start programme is of course the corner stone of those efforts.

By: Matt (Thanet Star)

Matt (Thanet Star) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:49:33 +0000

In Thanet unemployment is up in three figure numbers while the Joseph Rowntree Foundation lists 12 wards where the percentage of children from families on benefits is at least twice the national average and we (Thanet) are on that list twice. The current government may be doing “things” to reduce child poverty and much of it has been good (The Sure Start program especially on the Millmead Estate (Dane Valley) springs to mind as a particularly successful example) a lot more must be done for a sustained period to make more than a slight dent in things here.

Perhaps it does not help that the council is Conservative (you tell me) but Thanet is hurting and in desperate need of much, much more help.

By: David Semple

David Semple — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:14:37 +0000

In a day or two I might dig out some material to counter with – such as the increasing disparity between wealthy and poor. And don’t get me wrong, relatively speaking I sing this government’s praises on child poverty eradication.

On the subject of reducing global poverty, we should also point out that by privatising our overseas investment arm we’ve been contributing to the rising food prices and such. So let’s not call out the stone masons just yet.

As to your last sentence, if that is genuinely true – and colour me intrigued – is that not an even more damning assertion of our Party than what I said? We’re alright helping people along EXCEPT when the going gets tough because of the opposition. We have the right ideas but we’re cowards.

By: donpaskini

donpaskini — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:06:57 +0000

“we’ve not been terribly bothered about helping the poor until the Conservatives kicked off.”

Not sure that’s entirely fair. Poverty in Britain fell between 1999 and 2005 – the first time ever since records began that it fell for six years in a row.

And abroad, the government has made some pretty significant efforts to reduce global poverty, both by increasing spending and trying to secure international co-operation.

More could, and should, have been done, of course, but that’s a rather different matter. And since 2005, which was when the Conservatives got interested in this issue, the government’s record has been much worse.