Serious question

[wendigo100]

Our government seem to be laughably incompetent. The question is this:

A. Has it always been like this, regardless of the party in power? Or...

B. Are we just picking on Labour now because their time in office has coincided with the rise of internet communication, and we hear about and discuss problems far more than before? Or...

C. Are this government actually more incompetent than the historical norm?

[AtW]

People tend to notice more of the bad after a long time in office.

NL were just lucky to ride the cheap credit wave for that long.

[Bagpuss]

Our government seem to be laughably incompetent. The question is this:

A. Has it always been like this, regardless of the party in power? Or...

B. Are we just picking on Labour now because their time in office has coincided with the rise of internet communication, and we hear about and discuss problems far more than before? Or...

C. Are this government actually more incompetent than the historical norm?

A/

We hear more about what goes wrong these days, more quickly and in more detail. The problem we have is a blasé government who believe their own spin, you see the sanctimonious labour politicians on question time every week, talking over the majority of the audience in the most condescending and obnoxious manner. Same thing happened with the Tories, power corrupts and all that, additionally, sustained power, not listening to the electorate and believing your own press makes matters infinitely worse

[sasguru]

Our government seem to be laughably incompetent. The question is this:

A. Has it always been like this, regardless of the party in power? Or...

B. Are we just picking on Labour now because their time in office has coincided with the rise of internet communication, and we hear about and discuss problems far more than before? Or...

C. Are this government actually more incompetent than the historical norm?

It seems similar to what people were saying about the Tories towards the end of their term. But I think this Labour govt. have been particularly inept and have covered over the blunders with spin. I can't think of anything they've really achieved.

[shaunbhoy]

I can't think of anything they've really achieved.

Multicultural diversity??

[Rantor]

It seems similar to what people were saying about the Tories towards the end of their term. But I think this Labour govt. have been particularly inept and have covered over the blunders with spin. I can't think of anything they've really achieved.

Made GPs rich

Certainly the internet allows people to gravitate together to reinforce each others viewpoints and provides the fuel for the fire.

This gov have got away with a helluva lot as they have reinforced the state to a greater extent than any other administrations in recent decades. If they hadn't introduced IR35 I doubt very much whether the bulk of people on here would give a toss one way or the other.

It does seem though, that they now can't keep all the plates spinning at the same time and public opinion might be turning. I must admit I have never understood why the Iraq war did not damage them more than it did.

In terms of basic administrative competence I don't think they are any better/worse than the Major or Thatcher governments.

[OwlHoot]

Our government seem to be laughably incompetent. The question is this:

A. Has it always been like this, regardless of the party in power? Or...

No, the public services these days are largely a job creation scheme for underachievers and no-hopers of one sort or another, and it's well nigh impossible to sack anyone.

P.S. 100 years ago, when a quarter of the Earth was coloured pink etc, the Foreign office employed 700 people. These days, when there's practically nothing significant for them to do, they employ more like 70,000.

[xoggoth]

Anyone who wants to control or direct any aspect of the lives of others, even if they only want to organise a tombola at the Cub Scout fete, is a dangerous megalomaniac who deserved to be shot. The only proper social order is anarchy.

[Ardesco]

They are generally quite tulipe but Nu Liemore has taken the tulipness to epic proportions IMHO. It's all spin and bulltulip since they came into power, listen to Golden Brownstuff today going on about how much more money they are putting into the armed forces when in actual fact as a percentage of GDP the amount of money put into the forces has halved and we are now fighting 2 wars!!!

Tories had their faults but at least when they were in power we had a half decent economy that wasn't built on debt

[DiscoStu]

I think it's all about the front man. Governments have always been rubbish, anyone who's ever worked on a public sector project knows that, but Blair put a far better face on it than Gordy does...