Re: Mad Nad : Sun May 06, 2012 8:52 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Yes a government which took Britain into the Korean War and Hugh Gaitskell introduced an austerity budget to pay for it. It laid the precedent for Tony Blair that Labour were not afraid to make tough choices and sacrifice spending on health and pensions to stand shoulder to shoulder with the US allies.

Labour took Britain into the Korean war as part of a UN force, not as back-up solely to the Americans. And of course since the Americans were effectively bankrolling the UK what choice did they have?
There'd have been no NHS, or welfare state without the Attlee government. The Attlee government took over a country that really was bankrupt, after WWII and at the end of their term handed over a country in a position to return to the prosperity and progress that marked the fifties and enabled Macmillan to say "you've never had it so good!"

[DaveO]

Re: Mad Nad : Sun May 06, 2012 10:11 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Yes a government which took Britain into the Korean War and Hugh Gaitskell introduced an austerity budget to pay for it. It laid the precedent for Tony Blair that Labour were not afraid to make tough choices and sacrifice spending on health and pensions to stand shoulder to shoulder with the US allies.

What? How the heck did us going into the Korean War set a precedent given Wilson kept us out of the Vietnam War?

You write some sense moist of the time but that is complete rubbish.

Re: Mad Nad : Sun May 06, 2012 11:31 pm  

major hound wrote: Labour took Britain into the Korean war as part of a UN force, not as back-up solely to the Americans. And of course since the Americans were effectively bankrolling the UK what choice did they have? Perhaps they could have stood up for socialist values and financed social programmes through taxation of the wealthy and not frittered away money on nuclear weapons and arms. Anuerin Bevan's resignation speech is a good eye opener as to his concerns to the direction of the Attlee government I have always said both in the House of Commons and in speeches in the country—and I think my ex-colleagues in the Government will at least give me credit for this—that the defence programme must always be consistent with the maintenance of the standard of life of the British people and the maintenance of the social services, and that as soon as it became clear we had engaged upon an arms programme inconsistent with those considerations, I could no longer remain a Member of the Government. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/comm ... -statement Bevan's speech is a good read, a refreshing statement to the Commons outlining in simple language his point and without recourse to soundbites. Harold Wilson also resigned from Attlee's Cabinet over the same issue (he was President of the Board of Trade), user charges were being introduced into the NHS to pay for arms spending and to finance the war in Korea.

major hound wrote: Labour took Britain into the Korean war as part of a UN force, not as back-up solely to the Americans. And of course since the Americans were effectively bankrolling the UK what choice did they have? Perhaps they could have stood up for socialist values and financed social programmes through taxation of the wealthy and not frittered away money on nuclear weapons and arms. Anuerin Bevan's resignation speech is a good eye opener as to his concerns to the direction of the Attlee government I have always said both in the House of Commons and in speeches in the country—and I think my ex-colleagues in the Government will at least give me credit for this—that the defence programme must always be consistent with the maintenance of the standard of life of the British people and the maintenance of the social services, and that as soon as it became clear we had engaged upon an arms programme inconsistent with those considerations, I could no longer remain a Member of the Government. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/comm ... -statement Bevan's speech is a good read, a refreshing statement to the Commons outlining in simple language his point and without recourse to soundbites. Harold Wilson also resigned from Attlee's Cabinet over the same issue (he was President of the Board of Trade), user charges were being introduced into the NHS to pay for arms spending and to finance the war in Korea.

Re: Mad Nad : Mon May 07, 2012 10:43 am  

sally cinnamon wrote: Perhaps they could have stood up for socialist values and financed social programmes through taxation of the wealthy and not frittered away money on nuclear weapons and arms. Anuerin Bevan's resignation speech is a good eye opener as to his concerns to the direction of the Attlee government http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/comm ... -statement Bevan's speech is a good read, a refreshing statement to the Commons outlining in simple language his point and without recourse to soundbites. Harold Wilson also resigned from Attlee's Cabinet over the same issue (he was President of the Board of Trade), user charges were being introduced into the NHS to pay for arms spending and to finance the war in Korea. But the Attlee government changed this country (for the better) out of all recognition, despite virtulent opposition not just from the Tories but from more or less the entire media establishment. Attlee has been voted (by accademics admitedly) the greatest Prime Minister of the twentieth century. He was even praised by Margaret Thatcher. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5294024.stm

sally cinnamon wrote: Perhaps they could have stood up for socialist values and financed social programmes through taxation of the wealthy and not frittered away money on nuclear weapons and arms. Anuerin Bevan's resignation speech is a good eye opener as to his concerns to the direction of the Attlee government http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/comm ... -statement Bevan's speech is a good read, a refreshing statement to the Commons outlining in simple language his point and without recourse to soundbites. Harold Wilson also resigned from Attlee's Cabinet over the same issue (he was President of the Board of Trade), user charges were being introduced into the NHS to pay for arms spending and to finance the war in Korea. But the Attlee government changed this country (for the better) out of all recognition, despite virtulent opposition not just from the Tories but from more or less the entire media establishment. Attlee has been voted (by accademics admitedly) the greatest Prime Minister of the twentieth century. He was even praised by Margaret Thatcher. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5294024.stm