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	<title>Comments on: Gays and lesbians &#039;more likely to vote Tory&#039;</title>
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	<description>PinkNews.co.uk Gay News (UK and world) from Pink News - all the gay news for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community in the UK and beyond- thegaynews from Pink News</description>
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48825</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:17:30 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Oh, please James so Labour have just followed the Tory lead on that.  Well if that&#039;s the case and all they can do is follow the Tory lead without the the confidence to carve out a new path, then I&#039;d really question their ability to lead this country - well in fact that&#039;s exacly what I am doing, questionnaing their ability to lead.

The last conservative government got itself mired in sleaze because they couldn&#039;t keep it in their trousers, this government will be remembered for its unashamed dishonesty.  Scarely a day goes by without another robbing littel shit being uncovered.

They have well and truly shot, killed, plucked and cooked the goose that laid the golden egg - unfortunately we&#039;ve had to pay for the gun, the bullet, the oven and even the gas to enable them to do so.

Vote Labour if you want to, its a free country - mercifully you&#039;ll be in a small minority.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh, please James so Labour have just followed the Tory lead on that.  Well if that's the case and all they can do is follow the Tory lead without the the confidence to carve out a new path, then I'd really question their ability to lead this country &#8211; well in fact that's exacly what I am doing, questionnaing their ability to lead.</p>
<p>The last conservative government got itself mired in sleaze because they couldn't keep it in their trousers, this government will be remembered for its unashamed dishonesty.  Scarely a day goes by without another robbing littel shit being uncovered.</p>
<p>They have well and truly shot, killed, plucked and cooked the goose that laid the golden egg &#8211; unfortunately we've had to pay for the gun, the bullet, the oven and even the gas to enable them to do so.</p>
<p>Vote Labour if you want to, its a free country &#8211; mercifully you'll be in a small minority.
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		<title>By: James - Birmingham</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48725</link>
		<dc:creator>James - Birmingham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:57:48 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Gee thanks for the news digest - and your point is? Oh that&#039;s right Tory = good, Labour = bad. Silly me for not trawling news websites to cobble together &#039;evidence&#039; to illustrate spurious arguments like you have. Like I said, the Tories practically invented sleaze. If some New Labour politicians went on to perfect its hardly surprising . Oh and Sister Mary Clarence, despite your desperate finger pointing what happened to you&#039;re rabid ramblings about Labour and Gordon Brown being responsible for the credit crunch? Is it because there is no credible evidence to support this in your Deluded Nun&#039;s Scrapbook of Labour Sleaze? 
As for you &#039;Vulpus Rex&#039;, you really are a mangy rabid fox: &quot;A government with its snouts so firmly in the trough they are blinded by the filth in which they are mired&quot;! Surely such bilious rhetoric is a more accurate description of Tory governments since the Thatcher era, or is it a premonition of Cameron&#039;s Britain? It was Tory governments who undermined the standards of conduct in public life, personified greed and spawned a generation of self serving career politicians who are now all too familiar in every major political party. The very notion that the Tories could ever govern &#039;in the interests of the people’, is totally ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as calling yourself Vulpus Rex and expecting to be taken seriously!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gee thanks for the news digest &#8211; and your point is? Oh that's right Tory = good, Labour = bad. Silly me for not trawling news websites to cobble together 'evidence' to illustrate spurious arguments like you have. Like I said, the Tories practically invented sleaze. If some New Labour politicians went on to perfect its hardly surprising . Oh and Sister Mary Clarence, despite your desperate finger pointing what happened to you're rabid ramblings about Labour and Gordon Brown being responsible for the credit crunch? Is it because there is no credible evidence to support this in your Deluded Nun's Scrapbook of Labour Sleaze?<br />
As for you 'Vulpus Rex', you really are a mangy rabid fox: "A government with its snouts so firmly in the trough they are blinded by the filth in which they are mired"! Surely such bilious rhetoric is a more accurate description of Tory governments since the Thatcher era, or is it a premonition of Cameron's Britain? It was Tory governments who undermined the standards of conduct in public life, personified greed and spawned a generation of self serving career politicians who are now all too familiar in every major political party. The very notion that the Tories could ever govern 'in the interests of the people’, is totally ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as calling yourself Vulpus Rex and expecting to be taken seriously!
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		<title>By: vulpus_rex</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48641</link>
		<dc:creator>vulpus_rex</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:30:26 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>The list of Labour Sleaze is practically endless. There is not one area of life in the UK that they have not debauched with their penchant for dishonesty and money grabbing.

To me the choice is clear - vote for some change and hopefully a government which governs in the interest of the people who pay their wages.

Or vote for more New Labour sleaze and a government with its snouts so firmly in the trough they are blinded by the filth in which they are mired.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The list of Labour Sleaze is practically endless. There is not one area of life in the UK that they have not debauched with their penchant for dishonesty and money grabbing.</p>
<p>To me the choice is clear &#8211; vote for some change and hopefully a government which governs in the interest of the people who pay their wages.</p>
<p>Or vote for more New Labour sleaze and a government with its snouts so firmly in the trough they are blinded by the filth in which they are mired.
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48610</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:26:32 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Or even this one ....

&quot;Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader, has come under growing pressure to reveal the precise circumstances of the &quot;illegal&quot; £5,000 donation she received from the property developer at the centre of the party&#039;s fundraising scandal.&quot;</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Or even this one &#8230;.</p>
<p>"Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader, has come under growing pressure to reveal the precise circumstances of the "illegal" £5,000 donation she received from the property developer at the centre of the party's fundraising scandal."
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48609</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:24:15 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Or this one ....

&quot;The CPS will spend the next few weeks studying the evidence before deciding whether there is evidence to bring charges against Mr Abrahams or key Labour officials.&quot;

&quot;Last year it emerged that Mr Abrahams had donated money to Labour using a series of conduits including his secretary and a builder. The property developer was one of the party&#039;s biggest backers and gave £670,000 but his identity had been secret.&quot;</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Or this one &#8230;.</p>
<p>"The CPS will spend the next few weeks studying the evidence before deciding whether there is evidence to bring charges against Mr Abrahams or key Labour officials."</p>
<p>"Last year it emerged that Mr Abrahams had donated money to Labour using a series of conduits including his secretary and a builder. The property developer was one of the party's biggest backers and gave £670,000 but his identity had been secret."
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48608</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:23:19 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Didn&#039;t overlook this one either ....

&quot;Devastating secret documents suggest Tony Blair did not tell the truth over Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone&#039;s �1million donation to Labour in 1997.&quot;

&quot;Government papers released yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act appear to show Downing Street deliberately tried to conceal the way that Mr Blair gave orders for Formula One to be exempt from a tobacco advertising ban just 24 hours after meeting Mr Ecclestone at No 10.&quot;

&quot;When the controversy erupted ten years ago, Mr Blair said his decision had nothing to do with the meeting with Mr Ecclestone and leaders of Formula One&#039;s FIA governing body on October 16, 1997, and was taken &#039;two or three weeks&#039; later.&quot;

But the documents show that he wrote to Health Minister Tessa Jowell the next day to press for a permanent exemption for Formula One from the proposed EU ban on tobacco adverts.

And Mr Blair&#039;s chief of staff Jonathan Powell was even quicker off the mark and phoned her straight after the Ecclestone meeting to tell her the Prime Minister had ruled she must give in to Mr Ecclestone&#039;s demand.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Didn't overlook this one either &#8230;.</p>
<p>"Devastating secret documents suggest Tony Blair did not tell the truth over Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone's �1million donation to Labour in 1997."</p>
<p>"Government papers released yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act appear to show Downing Street deliberately tried to conceal the way that Mr Blair gave orders for Formula One to be exempt from a tobacco advertising ban just 24 hours after meeting Mr Ecclestone at No 10."</p>
<p>"When the controversy erupted ten years ago, Mr Blair said his decision had nothing to do with the meeting with Mr Ecclestone and leaders of Formula One's FIA governing body on October 16, 1997, and was taken 'two or three weeks' later."</p>
<p>But the documents show that he wrote to Health Minister Tessa Jowell the next day to press for a permanent exemption for Formula One from the proposed EU ban on tobacco adverts.</p>
<p>And Mr Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell was even quicker off the mark and phoned her straight after the Ecclestone meeting to tell her the Prime Minister had ruled she must give in to Mr Ecclestone's demand.
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48607</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:18:03 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>You&#039;re right James, I did get in a muddle and overlook all that, however I didn&#039;t overlook all this ...

&quot;LABOUR peers are prepared to accept fees of up to £120,000 a year to amend laws in the House of Lords on behalf of business clients, a Sunday Times investigation has found.&quot;

&quot;Four peers — including two former ministers — offered to help undercover reporters posing as lobbyists obtain an amendment in return for cash.&quot;

Sunday Times - January 25, 2009

I can only assume you did.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You're right James, I did get in a muddle and overlook all that, however I didn't overlook all this &#8230;</p>
<p>"LABOUR peers are prepared to accept fees of up to £120,000 a year to amend laws in the House of Lords on behalf of business clients, a Sunday Times investigation has found."</p>
<p>"Four peers — including two former ministers — offered to help undercover reporters posing as lobbyists obtain an amendment in return for cash."</p>
<p>Sunday Times &#8211; January 25, 2009</p>
<p>I can only assume you did.
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		<title>By: James - Birmingham</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48590</link>
		<dc:creator>James - Birmingham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:48:37 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Sister Mary Clarence has totally lost touch with reality poor dear.
Just a few pointers: Housing &#039;bubbles&#039; are an inevitable consequence of the Thatcherite reforms that created a speculative housing market - its not just lack of supply that inflates values. Thatcher introduced wholesale destruction of social housing mainly by selling it all off - and successive Tory governments failed to invest in social housing, although admittedly Labour could have done much more to rectify this.
Your incoherent waffling on regulation/deregulation of the finance sector and free market reforms clearly demonstrate that you lack even &quot;a modicum of understanding&quot; of these issues. Its just another iteration of your clumsy ranting that &#039;the Tories were/are great, Labour messed up all their good work and are to blame for everything&#039;. I&#039;m glad to see that you haven&#039;t let the facts get in the way of your Tory=good, Labour=bad &#039;argument&#039;. I imagine you must foaming at the mouth under your true blue wimple.
On the subject of expenses the government have been shite, but then so have many opposition MPs including the Tories who practically invented sleaze. Maybe you were so off your tits ranting about Labour you didn&#039;t notice all those Tories with their snouts in trough.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sister Mary Clarence has totally lost touch with reality poor dear.<br />
Just a few pointers: Housing 'bubbles' are an inevitable consequence of the Thatcherite reforms that created a speculative housing market &#8211; its not just lack of supply that inflates values. Thatcher introduced wholesale destruction of social housing mainly by selling it all off &#8211; and successive Tory governments failed to invest in social housing, although admittedly Labour could have done much more to rectify this.<br />
Your incoherent waffling on regulation/deregulation of the finance sector and free market reforms clearly demonstrate that you lack even "a modicum of understanding" of these issues. Its just another iteration of your clumsy ranting that 'the Tories were/are great, Labour messed up all their good work and are to blame for everything'. I'm glad to see that you haven't let the facts get in the way of your Tory=good, Labour=bad 'argument'. I imagine you must foaming at the mouth under your true blue wimple.<br />
On the subject of expenses the government have been shite, but then so have many opposition MPs including the Tories who practically invented sleaze. Maybe you were so off your tits ranting about Labour you didn't notice all those Tories with their snouts in trough.
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		<title>By: James - Birmingham</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48586</link>
		<dc:creator>James - Birmingham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:25:18 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Sister Mary Clarence has totally lost touch with reality, poor dear. Thatcher&#039;s reforms enabled people to buy their own council houses, and Tory government&#039;s have consistently undermined social housing and failed to build enough new houses. The over valuation of the property market had very little to do with lack of supply - Thatcher&#039;s housing reforms turned it in to a speculative market so a housing &#039;bubbles&#039; became inevitable.
You&#039;re waffling about regulation/deregulation of the financial sector and using free market reforms &quot;in moderation&quot; suggests you lack even a &quot;modicum of understanding&quot; of these issues. Your contribution so far could be summarised as &#039;the Tories were clever and did things right, Labour are stupid, went too far and messed everything up&#039;. In fact that seems to be main thrust of all your utterances on this subject and I&#039;m glad you haven&#039;t let the facts get in the way of your &#039;argument&#039;.
As for Labour MPs abusing expenses - that&#039;s perfectly true, but it also applies to many other opposition MPs including the Tories who practically invented sleaze. Or were you too off your tits during the last Tory governments to notice.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sister Mary Clarence has totally lost touch with reality, poor dear. Thatcher's reforms enabled people to buy their own council houses, and Tory government's have consistently undermined social housing and failed to build enough new houses. The over valuation of the property market had very little to do with lack of supply &#8211; Thatcher's housing reforms turned it in to a speculative market so a housing 'bubbles' became inevitable.<br />
You're waffling about regulation/deregulation of the financial sector and using free market reforms "in moderation" suggests you lack even a "modicum of understanding" of these issues. Your contribution so far could be summarised as 'the Tories were clever and did things right, Labour are stupid, went too far and messed everything up'. In fact that seems to be main thrust of all your utterances on this subject and I'm glad you haven't let the facts get in the way of your 'argument'.<br />
As for Labour MPs abusing expenses &#8211; that's perfectly true, but it also applies to many other opposition MPs including the Tories who practically invented sleaze. Or were you too off your tits during the last Tory governments to notice.
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48575</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>&quot;British job for British people&quot;

National Front .... oh no, sorry - Gordon Brown!!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>"British job for British people"</p>
<p>National Front &#8230;. oh no, sorry &#8211; Gordon Brown!!
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		<title>By: Andy &#38; Steve</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48547</link>
		<dc:creator>Andy &#38; Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:06:38 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>An evidence based quote:

&quot;But perhaps the most serious evidence of a moderniser/traditionalist split within the
Conservative party occurred twelve days later on 19 March 2007, when Tory MPs divided 29/85 against the draft Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which brought into force the Equality Act 2006 provisions allowing adoption by gay
couples. A further 82 Conservatives did not vote. 

The problem was not the size of the split – numerically, the Conservatives had been more divided in the past – but that their leader David Cameron was one of the 29 Tory MPs voting in favour of gay adoption. 

Just 15% of Conservative MPs joined their leader in the aye lobby in favour of the measure.&quot;

Yep, that&#039;s a Party committed to sexuality equality - if you&#039;re so blind to reality that voting Tory seems like a good idea ;)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>An evidence based quote:</p>
<p>"But perhaps the most serious evidence of a moderniser/traditionalist split within the<br />
Conservative party occurred twelve days later on 19 March 2007, when Tory MPs divided 29/85 against the draft Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which brought into force the Equality Act 2006 provisions allowing adoption by gay<br />
couples. A further 82 Conservatives did not vote. </p>
<p>The problem was not the size of the split – numerically, the Conservatives had been more divided in the past – but that their leader David Cameron was one of the 29 Tory MPs voting in favour of gay adoption. </p>
<p>Just 15% of Conservative MPs joined their leader in the aye lobby in favour of the measure."</p>
<p>Yep, that's a Party committed to sexuality equality &#8211; if you're so blind to reality that voting Tory seems like a good idea <img src='http://www.pinknews.co.uk/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />
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		<title>By: Andy &#38; Steve</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48545</link>
		<dc:creator>Andy &#38; Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>One line from a CONSERVATIVE campaign in the late 1960&#039;s (NOT that long ago):

&quot;If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour&quot;

Of yes, the party of equal rights.... bullshit.  The Tories are and always will be the party of narrow white middle to upper class self interest.

Just look at the Daily Mail (the Tories mouthpiece) to see the true &quot;politics&quot; behind the Camoron glitzy spin.

As some have said &quot;it&#039;s a generational thing&quot; - indeed it is.  Younger shirt lifters won&#039;t have the experience of Tory blue rinse bigots in full flood - but there is no excuse for not knowing what the party you hail so loudly has done for gay equality i.e. Zilch.

IMHO being a Gay Tory is like being a Gay Catholic - they are incompatible in almost every single respect.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One line from a CONSERVATIVE campaign in the late 1960's (NOT that long ago):</p>
<p>"If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour"</p>
<p>Of yes, the party of equal rights&#8230;. bullshit.  The Tories are and always will be the party of narrow white middle to upper class self interest.</p>
<p>Just look at the Daily Mail (the Tories mouthpiece) to see the true "politics" behind the Camoron glitzy spin.</p>
<p>As some have said "it's a generational thing" &#8211; indeed it is.  Younger shirt lifters won't have the experience of Tory blue rinse bigots in full flood &#8211; but there is no excuse for not knowing what the party you hail so loudly has done for gay equality i.e. Zilch.</p>
<p>IMHO being a Gay Tory is like being a Gay Catholic &#8211; they are incompatible in almost every single respect.
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48492</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:44:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html#comment-48492</guid>
		<description>&quot; ... if I think the free market economic reforms, deregulated financial systems, ludicrous over valuation of the housing market, and the culture of selfish individualism propagated by Thatcher in the 80s could possibly be related to our current difficulties  ....&quot;

Actually boys what I think it that in moderation and used by people that understand them free market economic reforms have the potential to benefit the country, however what is key is that those people implementing them do need to have a modicum of understanding of them in order for it not to be a disaster. Cue New Labour.

I also think that an overly regulated financial sector is not necessarily a good think and that there was a point when deregulation, again in moderation, was needed.  However once the needed deregulation had taken place, it needed to stop and to continue to deregulate to the point that there was in fact no regulation would be a disaster.  Cue New Labour.

As for over valuation of the housing market – that’s surely the sort of problem that arises from lack of supply – probably why it has spiralled out of control under Labour, who committed to bettering the lives of the poor, have neglected to build almost a single new council homes.

And as to that culture of selfishness – not read the papers for the last 11 years then?  It you want selfish, look no further than almost the entire government who have skimmed tens of millions off the British taxpayer to fuel their astronomical expenses claims.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>" &#8230; if I think the free market economic reforms, deregulated financial systems, ludicrous over valuation of the housing market, and the culture of selfish individualism propagated by Thatcher in the 80s could possibly be related to our current difficulties  &#8230;."</p>
<p>Actually boys what I think it that in moderation and used by people that understand them free market economic reforms have the potential to benefit the country, however what is key is that those people implementing them do need to have a modicum of understanding of them in order for it not to be a disaster. Cue New Labour.</p>
<p>I also think that an overly regulated financial sector is not necessarily a good think and that there was a point when deregulation, again in moderation, was needed.  However once the needed deregulation had taken place, it needed to stop and to continue to deregulate to the point that there was in fact no regulation would be a disaster.  Cue New Labour.</p>
<p>As for over valuation of the housing market – that’s surely the sort of problem that arises from lack of supply – probably why it has spiralled out of control under Labour, who committed to bettering the lives of the poor, have neglected to build almost a single new council homes.</p>
<p>And as to that culture of selfishness – not read the papers for the last 11 years then?  It you want selfish, look no further than almost the entire government who have skimmed tens of millions off the British taxpayer to fuel their astronomical expenses claims.
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		<title>By: Tim Roll-Pickering</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48443</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Roll-Pickering</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:16:34 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>lithotomist  &amp; James - Birmingham: You are confusing the Ulster Unionists with the Democratic Unionists. The latter are the party that (until recently) was led by Ian Paisley and have a record of campaigns such as &quot;Save Ulster from Sodomy&quot; and expelling an Assembly Member from the party for having gay sex in a hotel room.

There are many LGBTs who have supported the Ulster Unionists precisely because they have found the laws the UK have brought to Northern Ireland to be more progressive and sooner than the Republic of Ireland (which Labour still wants to force the province into). The recent homophobic remarks by the DUP&#039;s Iris Robinson did much to revitalise the UUP&#039;s opposition to them.

As for the rest, I think others have said it best.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>lithotomist  &amp; James &#8211; Birmingham: You are confusing the Ulster Unionists with the Democratic Unionists. The latter are the party that (until recently) was led by Ian Paisley and have a record of campaigns such as "Save Ulster from Sodomy" and expelling an Assembly Member from the party for having gay sex in a hotel room.</p>
<p>There are many LGBTs who have supported the Ulster Unionists precisely because they have found the laws the UK have brought to Northern Ireland to be more progressive and sooner than the Republic of Ireland (which Labour still wants to force the province into). The recent homophobic remarks by the DUP's Iris Robinson did much to revitalise the UUP's opposition to them.</p>
<p>As for the rest, I think others have said it best.
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		<title>By: Brian Burton</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48421</link>
		<dc:creator>Brian Burton</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:20:38 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>What a sintilating answer to the dear Sister&#039;s imaginings James of Birmingham.  Politics is fed by the imagination by which we become wiser when we know better.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>What a sintilating answer to the dear Sister's imaginings James of Birmingham.  Politics is fed by the imagination by which we become wiser when we know better.
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		<title>By: James - Birmingham</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48391</link>
		<dc:creator>James - Birmingham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:49:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html#comment-48391</guid>
		<description>Wow Sister Mary Clarence your analysis is so incisive - I must be &#039;on drugs&#039; if I think the free market economic reforms, deregulated financial systems, ludicrous over valuation of the housing market,  and the culture of selfish individualism propagated by Thatcher in the 80s could possibly be related to our current difficulties - how crazy of me! I mean how could this lead to corporate abuse of power, market distorting share options and board room pay hikes, exploding property values crashing into massive toxic debts and a global failure in banking systems. These world wide problems could only have originated in the UK because of that nasty Gordon Brown and those naughty New Labour numpties. They let the economy go to ruin while they pursued their silly PC social reforms - equalising the age of consent, scrapping clause 28, introducing civil partnerships, employment equality, adoption rights, anti-hate crime legislation and other nonsense. Lets go back the to good old days of Tory rule when the gays knew their place instead of flaunting their sexuality, when businesses weren&#039;t tied down by stupid equality regulations and could sack poofs for mincing too much, when they didn&#039;t have to pay anyone a minimum wage - when Britain was great for business! (Oh yeah and there was massive unemployment, and the Tory government practically ignored the AIDS crisis for years because it only affected queers...) 
PS Sister M, What&#039;s your drug of choice? - I&#039;m guessing it&#039;s a potent mix of reality distorting &#039;Daily Mail&#039; and selective amnesia inducing Rohypnol.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wow Sister Mary Clarence your analysis is so incisive &#8211; I must be 'on drugs' if I think the free market economic reforms, deregulated financial systems, ludicrous over valuation of the housing market,  and the culture of selfish individualism propagated by Thatcher in the 80s could possibly be related to our current difficulties &#8211; how crazy of me! I mean how could this lead to corporate abuse of power, market distorting share options and board room pay hikes, exploding property values crashing into massive toxic debts and a global failure in banking systems. These world wide problems could only have originated in the UK because of that nasty Gordon Brown and those naughty New Labour numpties. They let the economy go to ruin while they pursued their silly PC social reforms &#8211; equalising the age of consent, scrapping clause 28, introducing civil partnerships, employment equality, adoption rights, anti-hate crime legislation and other nonsense. Lets go back the to good old days of Tory rule when the gays knew their place instead of flaunting their sexuality, when businesses weren't tied down by stupid equality regulations and could sack poofs for mincing too much, when they didn't have to pay anyone a minimum wage &#8211; when Britain was great for business! (Oh yeah and there was massive unemployment, and the Tory government practically ignored the AIDS crisis for years because it only affected queers&#8230;)<br />
PS Sister M, What's your drug of choice? &#8211; I'm guessing it's a potent mix of reality distorting 'Daily Mail' and selective amnesia inducing Rohypnol.
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		<title>By: lithotomist</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48389</link>
		<dc:creator>lithotomist</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:45:11 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>One of the sad Tories above claimed &quot;Gordon Brown has not voted for a single piece of equalities legislation that would benefit the LGBT communities&quot; - but the truth is, he voted for the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations — 19 Mar 2007 - and I believe the Tories officially opposed that legislation and 83 of their MPs turned up to try to stop it. David Cameron, Tory leader, tried to keep Section 28, has opposed Labour laws on adoption by gay couples, and frankly has a dodgy voting record on gay rights. Meanwhile, the Tories are trying to do a deal with the homophobic Ulster Unionists - do you really delude yourself into imagining they will defend the rights of LGBT people when the chips are down ?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of the sad Tories above claimed "Gordon Brown has not voted for a single piece of equalities legislation that would benefit the LGBT communities" &#8211; but the truth is, he voted for the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations — 19 Mar 2007 &#8211; and I believe the Tories officially opposed that legislation and 83 of their MPs turned up to try to stop it. David Cameron, Tory leader, tried to keep Section 28, has opposed Labour laws on adoption by gay couples, and frankly has a dodgy voting record on gay rights. Meanwhile, the Tories are trying to do a deal with the homophobic Ulster Unionists &#8211; do you really delude yourself into imagining they will defend the rights of LGBT people when the chips are down ?
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		<title>By: Allan</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48363</link>
		<dc:creator>Allan</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:41:56 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Don&#039;t fall for the same nonsense many in the U.S.A. did. After Reagan and Bush and Clinton and Bush, we all had enough concrete evidence of the failure of the Republicans&#039; financial theories, including &quot;trickle-down&quot;, which were nothing more than tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and cut services for the ultra-poor. Now, their theories of deregulation and non-enforcement, combined with their unprecedented tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and for corporate raiders during wartime (!), have produced catalysts for world financial ruin. Please don&#039;t fall for the nonsense. Please don&#039;t suddenly get amnesia, like we Americans do regularly. The Tories are NOT friends of gays, Labour is. Fix Labour to fulfill its promises to us, don&#039;t ally with our declared and demonstrated long-term enemies, the Tories. Pick off our demonstrated enemies, no matter their affiliation, one at a time instead of wiping out our investment in the entire Labour party. Do not listen to those who are self-interested for mainly financial reasons in recruiting for the Tories. You can imagine how I feel about American gays who join our &quot;Tory&quot; party, the Republicans. We also have a &quot;new Democrat&quot; group within the Democrats. Because of its policy similarities to the Republicans, it has been taking severe hits since it claimed the 2006 victory as its own.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Don't fall for the same nonsense many in the U.S.A. did. After Reagan and Bush and Clinton and Bush, we all had enough concrete evidence of the failure of the Republicans' financial theories, including "trickle-down", which were nothing more than tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and cut services for the ultra-poor. Now, their theories of deregulation and non-enforcement, combined with their unprecedented tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and for corporate raiders during wartime (!), have produced catalysts for world financial ruin. Please don't fall for the nonsense. Please don't suddenly get amnesia, like we Americans do regularly. The Tories are NOT friends of gays, Labour is. Fix Labour to fulfill its promises to us, don't ally with our declared and demonstrated long-term enemies, the Tories. Pick off our demonstrated enemies, no matter their affiliation, one at a time instead of wiping out our investment in the entire Labour party. Do not listen to those who are self-interested for mainly financial reasons in recruiting for the Tories. You can imagine how I feel about American gays who join our "Tory" party, the Republicans. We also have a "new Democrat" group within the Democrats. Because of its policy similarities to the Republicans, it has been taking severe hits since it claimed the 2006 victory as its own.
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		<title>By: Sister Mary Clarence</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48360</link>
		<dc:creator>Sister Mary Clarence</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:26:11 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>“As for their supposed competence with the economy - the seeds of our current economic meltdown were sown by Thatcherism &amp; Reaganism ….”

Pray tell James what drugs you’re one?

Chancellor Brown promised us an end to boom and bust.  Of course we thought it was the ‘bust’ he had done away with, but dear God no – it was the ‘boom’

Labour have had over a decade to put behind them the Thatcher years, and yet as soon as things go tits up its all the Tories fault.  Pathetic.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>“As for their supposed competence with the economy &#8211; the seeds of our current economic meltdown were sown by Thatcherism &amp; Reaganism ….”</p>
<p>Pray tell James what drugs you’re one?</p>
<p>Chancellor Brown promised us an end to boom and bust.  Of course we thought it was the ‘bust’ he had done away with, but dear God no – it was the ‘boom’</p>
<p>Labour have had over a decade to put behind them the Thatcher years, and yet as soon as things go tits up its all the Tories fault.  Pathetic.
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		<title>By: James - Birmingham</title>
		<link>http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html/comment-page-2/#comment-48293</link>
		<dc:creator>James - Birmingham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>I&#039;m no fan of New Labour, but Gay Tories are either deluded or wilfully ignorant. The Tory party may court our votes but has never truly allied itself with gay rights or the rights of minorities. Imbeciles with very short memories may point to small signs of gay friendly developments in their ranks, but any credible analysis of their voting record makes it clear they&#039;re as homophobic as ever (second only to the Ulster unionists). As for their supposed competence with the economy - the seeds of our current economic meltdown were sown by Thatcherism &amp; Reaganism - they deregulated the financial markets, paved the way of corporate excess and boardroom greed etc. I&#039;ll never trust the Tories. I reserve particular disdain for gay Tories – they&#039;re like turkeys voting for Christmas or is it Chrismoyles!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I'm no fan of New Labour, but Gay Tories are either deluded or wilfully ignorant. The Tory party may court our votes but has never truly allied itself with gay rights or the rights of minorities. Imbeciles with very short memories may point to small signs of gay friendly developments in their ranks, but any credible analysis of their voting record makes it clear they're as homophobic as ever (second only to the Ulster unionists). As for their supposed competence with the economy &#8211; the seeds of our current economic meltdown were sown by Thatcherism &amp; Reaganism &#8211; they deregulated the financial markets, paved the way of corporate excess and boardroom greed etc. I'll never trust the Tories. I reserve particular disdain for gay Tories – they're like turkeys voting for Christmas or is it Chrismoyles!
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