[Angus]

I have never ever voted Labour and never ever will, simply because I don't share their definition of "fairness and equality" which involves lowering levels of motivation and aspiration instead of raising them. You see it now in schools, where teaching is pitched towards the lowest common denominator, and bright kids are left bored and frustrated; you see it in the huge rise of women who happily have several children by different fathers, safe in the knowledge that their offspring will be supported by the taxpayer; you see it now in the gradual erosion of family life, as the State interferes in all aspects of home life. That is why we will always have an underclass happy to live from the cradle to the grave being supported by the State. But the Orwellian State promoted under Labour has a hidden agenda in that the more you are supported by it, the more intrusive and controlling it becomes. Anyone who denies that our civil liberties and personal freedoms have been seriously encroached upon over the course of every Labour government must be living in cloud cuckoo land. The Blair/Brown Government is the most corrupt, hypocritical, deceitful, incompetent government I have ever lived under, and I bet I've lived under several more than most on here.

Thatcher encouraged self sufficiency and self responsibility, but that does not mean help was not available for those that TRULY needed it. Instead we now have a welfare system where people claim benefits because they have a sense of entitlement to have a bit of whatever's being offered. Benefits are there as a last resort, safety net, and were never intended to be a lifestyle choice for the workshy and feckless. Labour have deliberately fostered a dependency culture which strips the very people they are supposed to represent of their self respect, self determination, motivation and aspirations. The reasons why are blindingly obvious to me. Dependence = compliance and obedience. I'm not ready to roll over yet.