Dear Sir,
I challenge Kathy Beetham to name a working and self-sufficient family that benefited from the aftermath of the Blair/Brown, New Labour Government.
Under Tony Blair the left wing University lobby demanded more money. It was Blair who dreamt up the scheme that students should borrow money to finance Universities. He then increased the amount students had to borrow, twice. At the time I decried this policy and referred to it as a tax on learning. i.e. “Pay Before You Earn”.
After Blair was drummed out of office for wrecking the economy, the Left wing Universities demanded more money and the Coalition Government, which stood on, and was elected on, a manifesto of Austerity, had to raise student fees. The country was almost bankrupt, our credit rating was in jeopardy: they HAD to get Government spending and borrowing under control.
It is a bit rich that Phil Wilson is now standing on a Labour /Momentum manifesto which promises to undo Blair’s New Labour ‘Flag Ship’ policy.
As a family, I estimate that supporting our two sons through university has cost us in the region of £30,000 more than it would have done pre-Blair/Brown. This is over and above the student loans that my sons are still paying off. Thank God the Tory government have been able to create sufficient, good jobs such that students can pay off their loans. Kathy Beetham now expects my family, who have paid for their university education, to also pay for the next generation of university education. That does not seem fair to me! What have we done to her to make her hate us so? Yes, I voted Leave, but so did 60% of the local electorate!
Kathy Beetham seems to think that borrowing now secures the future. It does not. It only puts off the day of reckoning. Our Children and our children’s children (to the Nth generation) will be paying for a Corbyn Government. It will take their working lifetime for most students to pay-off their student debt. That is Tony Blair’s legacy! Live with it. Don’t blame the Tories.
Also, the Terrorist in the London Bridge attack was released from prison under a sentencing policy introduced by Tony Blair. Again, don’t blame the Tories.
Since we joined the E.U. most British Governments have run a deficit. This means that we have been (wrongly in my view) borrowing money to pay our £8 billion to £10 billion E.U. membership fees. Please vote to get Brexit done so that we can end this nonsense. Tory Paul Howell, is my favourite for Brexit and a good government thereafter.
Yours Sincerely
Alastair P.G. Welsh
