Quote Originally Posted by the other bob wilson View Post
For something like eighty per cent of my life, the idea of an event like that being held in an election year would have been too ridiculous for words. The Conservative Party was an election winning machine which had the discipline and common purpose that their main opponent didn't. It's all changed now though, maybe it's the influence of groups like the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Adam Smith Institute, who are so reluctant to reveal details of their funding, that is responsible or a generation of MPs who got so arrogant that they forgot that election victories don't come automatically, even to what was such a formidable force when it came to winning and retaining power.
You are old enough to remember surely - John Major's Govt where he couldnt make a decision, Kinnock think he had already won - then he lost, then Major continued and more in fighting etc, you are old enough to remember the BS from Blair / Brown / Mandelson - the illegal war in Iraq, a massive 6 billion NHS spend on an IT project that did not deliver, cash for passports, Geoff Hoon doing private side gigs when at the MOD etc, and hundreds of other things, then Clegg having to eat humble pie after promising to scrap tuition fees - then realising when he became dep PM - it couldnt be done etc.
Today is no different - we had 13 years of Labour and weve had 13 years ish of conservative. Compare that to Wales where we have had 26 years of Labour - which scenario would you rather ?