brits1

I agree with your views …..

brits1

Anything that was state owned in the 70’s was mainly ruined by the unions, my Dad who worked for Manchester City Council as an area Managers (he worked he way up from a joiner) despaired at “getting the work done” he would come home from work and tell stories of his day and even though I was a teenager I was shocked at some of the stories and there was really nothing he could do, tell a guy off and the unions made a fuss, chase workers out of the pub after they had been in well over their 1 hour lunch break a union rep always had an answer asking someone to do a simple task and they wanted extra help when not required, my dad started at MCC at an apprentice he was into “health and safety” well before it became a proper job description. He was a good, fair, hardworking man and that job nearly broke him, the same for my dads cousin he worked as a manager for British Rail and it’s a mirror image of my dads story, my friend (who now lives in WA) husband worked for British Rail until he left just after virgin rail took over the said wow Branson did not have a clue about how poor the shape of the rail system was in and how hard they had to work when he took over and loads left as spins as they could. Unions can be a good thing when utilised properly but too much power and it’s a nightmare for everyone. I do not think it was a good idea to sell sections of British Rail to different companies and certainly not to overseas companies who have tax accounts in say the Cayman Islands and pay less tax to the British Government but hindsight would be wonderful but at that time it was the best option.

Beoz

We see eye to eye on that one. And thats where a government that gives the general population an opportunity rather than a handout. This is what the ALP have been so traditionally poor at doing, always looking after worker while making it tough for those providing for the worker. However to the ALP's credit they are moving away from this ideal. They have seen the light. But they have a long way to go.

DeadVim

Here is The Thing … The current political system is broken.

And they are ALL in the back pocket of corporate/big tech vested interests and what people are voting for is just a front for variations on the same old corrupt jazz.

I never thought I’d say this but Russell Brand’s current analysis is spot on.

Yeh, sure, you can “change your government” but all you are doing is affirming a different window dressing.

I hope a growing section of the population have woken up to this and are preparing accordingly, that’s where my energies have been concentrated for the last couple of years for sure.

the troubadour

Any form of power can, and most likely is in certain forms corruptive. You should not forget the lot of the British working mam pre unions. The standard of living obtained was a result of their actions, and not some sudden benevolent sense of justice by the employers. I worked on some of the privatisations at the time. There was ample warnings with regards to most likely outcomes at the time . We reap what we sew and all very evident with the outcomes today.
Profit was always going to rule over good management , meaning investment and share holders would gain over stake holders, being the general public. Public utilities, quite simply should have remained in public hands. I can't think of another European country that privitised water. The result today of sewage laden beaches and rivers due to lack of investment clearly obvious.
I'd suggest the ire should be at the CEO's being paid over a million in bonus's even after heading companies that have performed against the publics interest. It should be against twelve years of Tory mismanagement , lies and corruption. Britain is in a considerable mess . One wonders how things will go in winter ? I expect Truss, as it appears will be the next PM, will perform yet another U turn, offering help to the many millions impacted by insane energy costs and threatening stability.

the troubadour

But hand outs are fine for business and well off which is what tax cuts are for. The rest of us, have to put up with declining services, It is termed austerity. Of course the well off are not touched by it, but the majority will be increasing hard pushed to pay for health care, aged care, dental , legal services and so on.
Simply put it promotes ever greater inequality , which in turn escalates mental health issues (already rampant in Australia) not to mention addiction issues and crime and homelessness.
The solution is not to run down society to such a degree that what you term as 'hand outs' are not needed in the first place. A more equal society will ensure that.

the troubadour

It is broken and on life support. Quite simply put it doesn't meet the needs of society today and they are floundering as a result attempting to find solutions.
We need not economic managers, but politicians who are able to govern a nation. It's all lies, manipulation , greed and self serving interest for the most part.
We deserve better , but we must demand better and not be coerced by false prophets along the way.

Beoz

Yes I don't particularly like it a pay way more tax than you. I haven't got much of a grievance with the way the tax structure works. I just don't like paying for people who want a bigger handout than they already get. That's greed and it promotes laziness

Beoz

We actually need our politicians to be paid like they are running massive sectors of a massive corporation. Paying a politician a few hundred grand a year to be a treasurer of an economy is just nuts. No wonder talent at this level end up in the private sector.

the troubadour

You should earn more then and go into the tax free bracket by semi legal means. Or too little to worry about paying any. Your choice. Only the poor pay tax so I feel your pain. If you don't like people getting bigger hand outs then quit big party politics. The greed among the self entitled not to say corruption is mind boggling.

the troubadour

Well no we don't. Politicians go on to make the lucre once away from politics. Politics is where the connections are made and influence flouted. Too few if any, statesmen in the game these days, wanting to do something for the benefit of the nation instead of self interest. Exactly what talent are you referring to?
But to answer the question of the Op, don't look towards Australia for any hope of finding answers in solving the UK political crisis. Australia has had a degree of fortune due to high commodity prices and China's rise. Our only solution it appears is to crank up immigration to ridiculous and unneeded levels and decline living standards at an even greater level of knots.
UK after all remains the fifth richest country in the world. The people there must demand better. Living standards are below comparable EU countries in a host of measurements. But as a nation has so much going for it .

Retirednow

Like what exactly?

the troubadour

Like what has UK got going for it? It remains the fifth richest country in the world. But like Australia, it requires accountability by those in power. Unlike Australia, it is more skeptical in questioning things , but at times just as innocent and falling for snake oil charmers . Brexit as an example. The working class in the North, voting Tory en masse , as if that party has the interests of the down trodden at heart.
I think there is increasingly little differing Australia and UK these days in living standards, with cost of living in Australia very high and not the clear advantage in economic terms most migrants experienced, back in last century.
What it needs is better governance with out the favouritism of the few. There remains so much going for it in geographic location, landscape, culture, people, diversity, to name but some.

Beoz

Quite some assumptions there. The working class are down trodden? The majority who voted for Brexit were sold by a snake charmer? Wow. Quite offensive to many

Amazulu

Eh? Where do you get that from? The UK has the 6th (not 5th) biggest economy in the world, but India's is bigger. So is India wealthier that the UK? lol!! It's nonsense and voodoo economics to believe your kind of shit

A nation's wealth can be measured by per capita GDP (although there are better metrics like HDI). Therefore Australia, for instance, is wealthier than the UK - and Germany for that matter. Australia's peers in Europe are Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland and The Netherlands

Hope this helps