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I posted a years ago about how austerity was an outcome of the misuse of Excel for problems of scale that it wasn't designed for. Once some researchers figured

I posted a years ago about how austerity was an outcome of the misuse of Excel for problems of scale that it wasn't designed for. Once some researchers figured out the problem with the spreadsheet that these governments were using, almost all stopped with austerity policies, but the UK didn't. I posted that there would likely be one of two outcomes - a lost decade, we'd be in a worse position and no one should ever again think that the Conservatives are economic masters compared to Labour again, or that George Osborne was a bona fide economic genius and the UK would come out of this extended austerity in a fitter and leaner state ready for the challenges ahead (ala early Thatcherism). The answer is the the first one - we had the lost decade, are looking at potential second lost decade and we're now equivalent to a central European country not France. The Conservatives deserve to die at the next general election for this and should be replaced by a completely new right of centre political party as the opposition.

dijit 4y ago
Unrelated to the main article, but I do find it quite upsetting that the Liberal Democrats have been absolutely crucified by both the Conservative party and the Media. I can't go very far in a discussion about the liberal democrats without hearing that they didn't follow through on a manifesto pledge. Which is wild because in a minority government, where you're given the option of electoral reform or sticking to another manifesto pledge; you have to pick one. You're a minority government! You can't do terribly much. Then the most recent leader of the lib dems being crucified publicly for being religious in some manner, (tbf: he said "I think Homosexuality is a sin but I support equal rights; and everyone should live free and with dignity") Yet, the Conservatives do much worse and face no indigence in votes. It's baffling. FD: I'm not terribly supportive of any particular political party, but Liberal Democrats is one of the "more supported" ones of mine, along with SNP and Greens. My main quarrel was hypocrisy.
- rjsw 4y ago
  I don't care about the Liberal Democrats' manifesto pledges. I do care that they enabled the Conservatives to impose austerity.
- rcarr 4y ago
  I assume by ‘breaking a manifesto promise’ you are referring to backtracking on the student loan issue. For context, the Lib Dems ran a campaign, the most talked about point being that they would get rid of student loan fees which had recently risen to £3000, the highest they had ever been. Not only did they not do that, within about two years of office they signed off on doubling that amount by 200% to £9000 tuition fees. For the average student, University tuition now costs even more than America (I can provide a source if you don’t believe this), and I would argue that the quality is nowhere near as good. I voted for them on the basis of that pledge and I have never felt more betrayed by a political party in my life. It sickens me to my stomach. In this country you can only get four years of loans for university. I ended up dropping out of university because I was a mess in my late teens/early twenties. It means I now only have two years of funding left - not enough to get a degree unless I do a two year fast track course which are only available in certain subjects and of questionable quality. To go back, I would have to find a spare £9000 out of nowhere plus living costs which are most likely at least another £9000. This is particularly difficult when you can’t access high paying jobs because you don’t have a degree. I’ve long since sorted myself out but I am now effectively priced out of bettering myself in my own country, directly as a response of the decision of this Lib Dem government. I taught myself to code to finally escape the minimum wage job trap. I have also been teaching myself Spanish over the last few years and I am seriously considering moving to Argentina or another Latin American country in order to access the affordable education. I am also going to start teaching myself German to open up the option of staying in Europe as the university costs there are minimal or free. Once I leave, I am planning on never coming back if I can help it. I feel that betrayed by my own country and have zero faith in it as a democratic representation of its citizens. The Lib Dems could absolutely have not voted for that issue. They could have walked away and dissolved the coalition government. They chose not to. Well, decisions have consequences as I found out the hard way. And as a result, I will never vote Lib Dem again so long as I live.
  - dijit 4y ago
    And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS privitisations with "PFIs". And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. "Give me your backing on this and I'll give you the other thing" is a pretty common compromise. I'm sorry about your student loans, but were I in the same position, I would have made the same gambit. Who do you vote for in that situation?
gadders 4y ago
Austerity wasn't even that austere. Government spending didn't even reduce. https://www.statista.com/statistics/298465/government-spending-uk/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/298465/government-spendi...
- gmac 4y ago
  Really? Try these charts for size: https://twitter.com/henrywismayer/status/1612531409339711488 https://twitter.com/henrywismayer/status/1612531409339711488
  - gadders 4y ago
    Meh. That's all relative to GDP. That's not a reduction.
fnord123 4y ago
> The Conservatives deserve to die at the next general election for this and should be replaced by a completely new right of centre political party as the opposition. The Lib Dems?

dijit 4y ago

Unrelated to the main article, but I do find it quite upsetting that the Liberal Democrats have been absolutely crucified by both the Conservative party and the Media. I can't go very far in a discussion about the liberal democrats without hearing that they didn't follow through on a manifesto pledge. Which is wild because in a minority government, where you're given the option of electoral reform or sticking to another manifesto pledge; you have to pick one. You're a minority government! You can't do terribly much. Then the most recent leader of the lib dems being crucified publicly for being religious in some manner, (tbf: he said "I think Homosexuality is a sin but I support equal rights; and everyone should live free and with dignity") Yet, the Conservatives do much worse and face no indigence in votes. It's baffling. FD: I'm not terribly supportive of any particular political party, but Liberal Democrats is one of the "more supported" ones of mine, along with SNP and Greens. My main quarrel was hypocrisy.

rjsw 4y ago
I don't care about the Liberal Democrats' manifesto pledges. I do care that they enabled the Conservatives to impose austerity.
rcarr 4y ago
I assume by ‘breaking a manifesto promise’ you are referring to backtracking on the student loan issue. For context, the Lib Dems ran a campaign, the most talked about point being that they would get rid of student loan fees which had recently risen to £3000, the highest they had ever been. Not only did they not do that, within about two years of office they signed off on doubling that amount by 200% to £9000 tuition fees. For the average student, University tuition now costs even more than America (I can provide a source if you don’t believe this), and I would argue that the quality is nowhere near as good. I voted for them on the basis of that pledge and I have never felt more betrayed by a political party in my life. It sickens me to my stomach. In this country you can only get four years of loans for university. I ended up dropping out of university because I was a mess in my late teens/early twenties. It means I now only have two years of funding left - not enough to get a degree unless I do a two year fast track course which are only available in certain subjects and of questionable quality. To go back, I would have to find a spare £9000 out of nowhere plus living costs which are most likely at least another £9000. This is particularly difficult when you can’t access high paying jobs because you don’t have a degree. I’ve long since sorted myself out but I am now effectively priced out of bettering myself in my own country, directly as a response of the decision of this Lib Dem government. I taught myself to code to finally escape the minimum wage job trap. I have also been teaching myself Spanish over the last few years and I am seriously considering moving to Argentina or another Latin American country in order to access the affordable education. I am also going to start teaching myself German to open up the option of staying in Europe as the university costs there are minimal or free. Once I leave, I am planning on never coming back if I can help it. I feel that betrayed by my own country and have zero faith in it as a democratic representation of its citizens. The Lib Dems could absolutely have not voted for that issue. They could have walked away and dissolved the coalition government. They chose not to. Well, decisions have consequences as I found out the hard way. And as a result, I will never vote Lib Dem again so long as I live.
- dijit 4y ago
  And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS privitisations with "PFIs". And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. "Give me your backing on this and I'll give you the other thing" is a pretty common compromise. I'm sorry about your student loans, but were I in the same position, I would have made the same gambit. Who do you vote for in that situation?

gadders 4y ago

Austerity wasn't even that austere. Government spending didn't even reduce. https://www.statista.com/statistics/298465/government-spending-uk/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/298465/government-spendi...

gmac 4y ago
Really? Try these charts for size: https://twitter.com/henrywismayer/status/1612531409339711488 https://twitter.com/henrywismayer/status/1612531409339711488
- gadders 4y ago
  Meh. That's all relative to GDP. That's not a reduction.

fnord123 4y ago

> The Conservatives deserve to die at the next general election for this and should be replaced by a completely new right of centre political party as the opposition. The Lib Dems?