Labour Achievements

36. Inner Cities

2006-11-11T13:41:00.000Z

We’ve seen a revival of our great cities, with Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, Newcastle, Cardiff and the rest enjoying booming local economies, and lively culture and nightlife. Under the Tories, our cities were synonymous with unemployment and decline.

It should be pointed out that inner city regeneration has been an issue since the mid 70s, many years before the Governments of the 70s and 80s. It also becomes apparant to anyone who studies these issues seriously that regeneration occured largely due to Conservative policies of free enterprise, co-operation with the private sector and the creation of a stakeholder society years before Tony started using the phrase. These are all policies that Labour opposed throughout the 80s and 90s, and have now chosen to follow. Under the Conservatives over a million families became homeowners. Conservative Governments were responsible for the Urban Development Corporations, City Challenge and the Single Regeneration Budget. These policies worked.

35. House of Lords Reform

2006-10-31T14:41:00.000Z

We’ve scrapped the majority of hereditary peers in the House of Lords, and we will continue to modernise the second chamber.

Replacing a system that worked with one that awards peerages to the right people has certainly been a step in the right direction:

34. Labour's congestion charge

2006-10-31T14:31:00.000Z

Labour's London Mayor introduced the congestion charge to reduce traffic in the capital. It works.

The merits and effectiveness of the congestion charge in London are debatable. However, it wasn't a Labour mayor who introduced it but an Independent. The Labour candidate was Frank Dobson. He was opposed to the congestion charge, and came in fourth.

33. Peace in Northern Ireland, war in Iraq

2006-10-25T08:49:00.000Z

The Good Friday Agreement has meant longer periods of peace and fewer deaths in Northern Ireland than for decades.

Such a statement disregards the groundwork laid by the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1985, the Downing Street Declaration of '93, the Frameworks Document of '95, and the support given by the opposition parties to the Good Friday agreement itself. It also ignores the work carried out by numerous British and Irish politicians as well as the people of Northern Ireland who tirelessly campaigned for peace. Nevertheless, 3,600 people died as a result of the troubles there, and thanks to the agreement, more deaths will have been prevented. Let’s now look to this Government’s record at preventing deaths in other areas of the world. Human Rights Watch put the number of deaths attributed to Saddam Hussein at 290,000. A study for Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health puts the number of deaths attributable to actions taken by coalition forces or the break down of law and order as a direct result of coalition action at an average of 601,027, leaving a deficit of 307,400 dead civillians.

27. Fewer cancer deaths

2006-10-06T12:36:00.000Z

(Gremlins ate original post)
Cancer death rates down by 14 per cent, saving 43,000 lives under Labour.

Cancer deaths have fallen continuously since the early 1980s and through the 90s. Labour can hardly take the credit for the medical advances which have made this achievement possible.

32. Free museums

2006-09-27T05:31:00.000Z

Free entry to museums has led to five million extra visits.

Unfortunately, if we are to measure this increase by the reason why free entry was introduced, the policy has been a failure. It was hoped that we would increase visitor numbers amongst those who have traditionally been reluctant to visit museums and galleries. According to a mori poll for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, whereas those in social classes D and E make up 28% of the population, they still only make up 14% of museum visitors. When free entry was introduced, there was merely a 2% rise in the proportion from those social classes visiting museums and galleries. The greater part of the increase in numbers comes from those who attended museums regardless, and were prepared to pay to do so. The MLA report even says:

Although the current Government drive is to encourage people from non-traditional museum-visiting groups through the doors, the 'low hanging fruit', in marketing terms, remain firmly embedded in the ABC1, university educated, well-paid groups.

Add to this the fact that the Natural History Museum have considered reintroducing charging and the British Museum have complained of a shortfall, and this turns out not to be the unqualified success it was made out to be.

31. Compensation for Miners

2006-09-21T21:52:00.000Z

Over 417,000 miners or their families have had compensation for industrial diseases.

This headline from the Times says it all really: Family of dead miner offered £7 as lawyers earn £41m.

30. Scroll on. No tokenism to see here

2006-09-19T18:39:00.000Z

Under Labour we’ve seen the first Black Cabinet Ministers, and the largest number of BME Labour MPs. The Tories have two.

I'm sure they will appreciate the tokenism of me mentioning them here, and not find this to be offensive in the least. While we're at it though, we missed out on a number of other firsts. First female PM (Conservative), first Jewish PM (Conservative), First MP from a visible ethnic minority (Liberal), first woman to sit in the Commons (Conservative), first female speaker of the Commons elected by a Conservative House.

29. Gay people love us

2006-09-19T18:31:00.000Z

We introduced Civil Partnerships, and hundreds of couples have tied the knot. We also scrapped Section 28.

And yet minister for equality Ruth Kelly still refuses to deny that she believes homosexuality to be a sin.

28. Saint Tony to the rescue

2006-08-30T21:37:00.000Z

We’re spending more than ever on international aid and development. It was falling under the Tories.

According to the Government's own Gershon report, £21.5bn pounds is being wasted annually. This is 5 times the overseas aid budget. And we want to waste more on crazy schemes like ID cards. Imagine how much how much more money could be spent on overseas aid if we didn't waste it. And I should remember to point out to Tony that when he says "We (the Government) will far and away more than match the generosity of the British people" (referring to tsunami aid), it's not the Government's money, but public money. Perhaps it's because we have that kind of attitude to public finances that we waste so much money?

26. New hospitals

2006-08-30T21:27:00.000Z

We’re investing £1 billion in new hospital buildings for St Barts and the Royal London Hospitals, as part of our hospital building programme which has seen 132 new hospitals built or on the way. Under the Tories, only one new hospital was built.

According to the Times, the 14 largest schemes were as of May £4 billion over budget. And as Reform point out, the government is hoping to shift health care away form hospitals and into the community as set out in a white paper earlier this year. The vast majority of these hospital building schemes are paid for through PFI, and this will inevitably lead to huge problems in the future as the NHS deficit continues to grow. Meanwhile many NHS trusts are not spending their capital budgets, money that traditionally goes on smaller schemes such as health clinics, baby units and replacing equipment. Last year the NHS in England under spent its capital budget by £1.2bn - double the figure of the previous year. The NHS doesn't need new hospitals, there needs to be a shift to the local level, and this simply isn't occurring.

25. More NHS Staff

2006-08-30T21:24:00.000Z

There are 85,000 more nurses and 32,000 more doctors in the NHS than in 1997.

For dates 1999-2005
% increase in doctors: 28.8%
% increase in nurses: 22.6%
% increase in NHS managers: 62.2%

24. NHS Waiting Lists

2006-08-30T21:14:00.000Z

The NHS is treating more people, with the lowest waiting lists, than ever before. And the overall NHS deficit is coming down.

From Reform:

One of the Government's main claims is that waiting times for hospital treatment are going down. It is true that the longest waiting times are being eliminated. But the average waiting time for hospital treatment is little changed and on one measure has actually increased. For the time between decision to admit and admission to hospital for all patients treated in the financial year, the median waiting time actually rose from 43 days in 1999-00 to 54 days in 2004-05.

Median waiting time in days for patients treated in financial year
All patients
1999-00 43
2000-01 44
2001-02 47
2002-03 49
2003-04 50
2004-05 54
(Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health)

As for the overall NHS deficit, it was £512 million, more than double the amount of the previous year. Even then the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission warned that £512 million may turn out to be a considerable under-estimate because it is based on unaudited data.

23. Investment in the NHS

2006-08-26T21:19:00.000Z

By 2008, investment in the National Health Service will have trebled since 1997.

Research by social policy think tank Civitas says that despite a doubling of funding in real terms from £44.9 billion in 2000 to £76.4 billion last year, the estra spending has been "largely wasted", and "service improvement has in too many areas resembled a country stroll". There has been an "abysmal performance" in tackling public health, in particular obesity, which has risen by 500 per cent since 1980. The report also warns of "serious shortcomings" in mental health and stroke care – the UK is the only developed country in the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) where mortality rates for strokes have not improved since 1999. Staff are being laid off, and deficits are at an all time high (£1.07bn for 2005-2006 ). If Labour investment in the NHS is so great, why did a leaked email from Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, order officials to impose an 'embargo' on new investment?

22. Greenhouse gas targets - missed!

2006-08-25T20:45:00.000Z

Under Labour, Britain will meet its Kyoto targets by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a quarter by 2010.

UK greenhouse gas emissions have risen by three percent since Labour came to power in 1997. Emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas are now 5.5 per cent higher than in 1997. Three successive Labour manifestos have promised a reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010. The Government's own Climate Change Programme Review now says that target is now unlikely to be met. Another Labour target missed.

21. Tough on Crime

2006-08-24T19:39:00.000Z

There are more police on our streets than ever before, up 14,000 since 1997, and crime is falling overall, down 35 per cent. That means four million fewer victims of crime than under the Tories.

Why not take a figure where a direct comparison can be made of our record? The homicide rate is one of the most accurate long-term measures of crime, because the offence is almost always reported to police and its definition - the taking of someone else's life - has not changed. Since 1997, the number of homicide victims, including solved and unsolved cases, has averaged 737 per year. In the period from 1990 to 1996, the average was 601. A rise under Labour of 23%, but that's not all. Deaths by stabbing have averaged 228 a year since 1997, up nine per cent from their former level. Fatal shootings average 69 a year, up 18 per cent. The number of victims poisoned, drugged, punched or kicked to death has also risen, but the number strangled or beaten with a blunt instrument has declined. Labour; tough on stranglings and bludgeonings.

20. State pensions for women

2006-08-23T20:51:00.000Z

By 2010, 70 per cent of women will be entitled to a full basic state pension, compared to 30 per cent now

Although the measure will not help the 3.8 million existing pensioners or 1.1 million women retiring between now and 1 April 2010. The Government have created a “cliff-edge” condemning millions of women to a lifetime on a partial pension. As already discussed, there is no point in these women relying on a private pension - tose were raided by Gordon Brown.

19. Free eye tests for the over 60s

2006-08-21T21:57:00.000Z

Everyone over 60 can have a free eye test. The Tories scrapped free eye tests.

It's just a shame that these lovely ladies couldn't benefit:

18. Tax Cuts Under Labour

2006-07-28T19:52:00.000Z

Labour reduced VAT on fuel to 5 per cent. The Tories wanted it to be 17.5 per cent.

Although we have reduced VAT on fuel, we have also increased taxes across the board everywhere else. According to a report from the Centre of Policy Studies (CPS) published in June, each and every household pays £6,182 extra tax every year, not as a result of inflation, but in in real terms. By the time of the next election - 2009/2010, that is expected to rise to £8,153 a year, up 4.2% as a proportion of GDP compared with 1996/97. There is however, a double whammy in all of this. That extra tax burden will reduce the UK's economic growth by between 0.3% and 0.5% every year. Over 10 years that loss of growth could be as much as 6% of GDP. 6% of today's GDP is £77 billion, the equivalent of £3,143 per household. Amongst all of this, one tax cut is hardly something to boast about.

17. Free TV licences for pensioners are not a bribe at all.

2006-07-18T03:10:00.000Z

Pensioners aged over 75 get a free TV licence. Three and a half million pensioner households benefit. The Tories opposed it.

Cost of a TV License to watch the biased BBC - £131.50, adding up to £408 million spent on free licences for pensioners over 75 in 2003-2004.

Cost of providing "inaccurate, incomplete, unclear, and inconsistent*" advice to 85,000 people who have lost all or part of their pensions through failed company pension schemes - A lot.

Cost of Gordon Brown's tax grab on pensions - £5 Billion.

Rise in pension deficits of FTSE 350 companies in the previous 12 months from £75bn to £93bn - a difference of £18 billion**.

Cost of the loss of the dividend tax credit to pension funds - £40 Billion.***

Cost of the black hole in pensions for the UK's 100 leading companies - £150 Billion.****

Cost of public sector pension liabilities, now more than 80 per cent higher than the Government's latest official estimate - amounting to £40,000 per household in the UK, amounting to 80% of GDP - £1 trillion.

Cost of refusing to reveal the Government's own figures on the pensions deficit under a Freedom of Information act request: A rap on the knuckles from the information commisioner.

Cost of putting this man in charge of the pensions deficit?
Priceless!

* according to ombudsman Ann Abraham.
** according to consultants at Mercer
***according to Ron Amy, chief executive of the actuary Aon Consulting and a former chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds
****actuarial profession's pensions board

16. Increased spending on pupils

2006-07-14T04:59:00.000Z

Average spending per pupil up by £1,420 in real terms

Again, according to Reform:

Rather than a lack of resources, the reason for poor performance lies in the structure of the education system. In the absence of parental choice, British schools have been subjected to increasingly strong direction from central government. While the aim was to achieve a minimum level of achievement for all children, the result has been persistently low standards, inequity and burdensome regulation.

With the increases in spending, productivity has fallen:

In October 2005, the ONS published a new estimate of school-level education productivity. The ONS sought to improve the previous measure of productivity – the change in government expenditure divided by the change in the number of pupils – which had found that productivity had fallen on average by 2 per cent per year since 1998. The ONS suggested that this basic measure should be updated as follows:

It should take account of the quality of children’s education. The best means to do this is to measure the progress of pupils at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16 (i.e. at each of the “Key Stages” of the National Curriculum). The main alternative, to measure performance at GCSE, would only measure the performance of one year-group of pupils.

It should take account of the increase in real earnings so that “weight is given to the fact that educational attainment becomes increasingly valuable in a growing and increasingly productive economy”.
When both of these changes are made, it is still the case that the productivity of state education has fallen. It rose between 1998 and 2000 and then fell sharply. Since 1998, on average, it has fallen by about 0.5 per cent per year.

15. Education, Education, Education

2006-07-13T03:29:00.000Z

British children have had the best ever GCSE and A level results; we’ve got over 36,000 more teachers and over 150,000 more teaching assistants in our schools.

Without wanting to in any way diminish the achievements of students who are sitting or have recently sat A Levels and GCSEs, the whole system is confused and fast losing all credibility. Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington college, in Berkshire, has written in the Times Educational Supplement (TES) that confidence in the system is "draining quicker than credibility in George W Bush’s stance on Iraq".

Research by Durham University has established that A level grades have been subject to severe inflation during the past 30 years. Similar changes were noted in GCSE or equivalent grades.

The results of 200,000 students since 1988 were compared. Since that time Durham has given entrants its own unchanging tests of mathematical and verbal reasoning. It was found, for instance, that candidates awarded a Grade F in Maths A level in 1988 would have gained a C grade in 2005. Students of average ability got E grades in geography and Biology and Ds in English Literature, History and French. In 2005, students of the same ability were awarded C grades in all these subjects. GCSEs are being introduced that are to be assessed entirely by multiple choice questions.

The following statistics are taken from the Reform website:

In 2003, a survey of teachers found that simpler exam questions, the greater use of coursework and the division of courses into modules (which can be retaken in order to achieve higher grades) have all contributed to rising GCSE and A-level pass rates.

In 2001, Jeffrey Robinson, senior examiner for the examination board OCR, revealed that the pass mark for the harder paper of GCSE Maths had fallen from 48 per cent in 1989 to 18 per cent in 2001.

In 2000, the Engineering Council has reported that diagnostics tests set by university departments had found "strong evidence of a steady decline over the past decade of fluency in basic mathematical skills and of the level of mathematical preparation of students accepted onto degree courses".

Less than two-fifths of 16 year olds achieve good GCSEs in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science. About a fifth of school leavers are functionally innumerate and illiterate, a situation described by the Confederation of British Industry as a “disgrace”.

While the number of teachers has increased, so have the amounts of red tape, central control, and intervention. Again, from Reform:

In 2003, the General Teaching Council for England commissioned MORI to conduct the largest ever survey of teachers. Of the 40,000 surveyed, one-third said that they planned to leave the profession within five years. 56 per cent said that their morale was lower than when they started teaching. The key reasons for the demoralisation were "excessive workload (including unnecessary paperwork)", "initiative overload", the "target-driven culture" and "poor pupil behaviour and discipline".

14. The Success that is Sure Start

2006-07-06T17:42:00.000Z

Over 400,000 children are being helped in over 500 Sure Start centres.

I don't know how we got away with that one! The first academic report on the £3 billion Sure Start network published in November 2005 said that it had created adverse effects on deprived youngsters, and "done more harm than good". A second report published in the British Medical Journal repeated the claim that the scheme does more harm than good, adding that the project is making crime and truancy worse, not better. £50,000 was wasted on the "dad pack" alone (Sample tips: Don't know how to play with your children? take them to a playground!). Sound advice, David Blunkett must have written it.

13. Ending child poverty

2006-07-05T20:13:00.000Z

One million children have been lifted out of poverty since 1997.

Not quite true. We've actually missed our target by 300,000, and most of the children we have helped were living on or just below the poverty line. Save the Children blamed the Government's lack of a clear strategy for our failure to meet the child poverty target set by the Prime Minister in 1999. The charity commented: "The Government needs to sort out the absurd mess of 11 different departments working on child poverty without a joined-up strategy." In fact, under Labour the chances for children to improve their social standing has decreased. Most people remain in the same quarter of income distribution as their parents, and the chance of being better off than their parents has reduced for people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, compared with people who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s. In any case, it would be hard to say that reducing child poverty is just a Labour target, since the Conservatives are supporting it.

12. Money for kids

2006-07-04T03:07:00.000Z

Over 1.6 million child trust fund accounts have been started by parents and friends of children who will benefit when they are 18.

Only 67% of parents who have been issued with Child Trust Fund (CTF) vouchers have used them to open a savings account. Fewer CTFs were opened in May than ever before, according to statistics from the Building Societies Association (BSA). A year-on-year drop of 64 per cent was recorded by the BSA, with only 14,000 accounts opened compared to 39,000 openings this time last year. That may be because we were using Government money to advertise the funds as free money in the run up to the General Election. (No connection, merely a coincedence). In any case, £500 is a drop in the ocean of debt any child is going to face should they wish to attend university.

11. Rights for part time workers

2006-06-29T02:55:00.000Z

Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time workers thanks to Labour.

And here's the proof:

10. We Support Unions

2006-06-27T21:24:00.000Z

We’ve introduced statutory rights for union recognition.

And indeed, Unions are a good thing, as they provide much of our funding. We have made it perfectly clear that any caps on private funding of political parties will not apply to unions. After all, it would be very stupid for a business or an individual to give money to a political party and not expect something in return, but unions do so purely out of a sense of altruism, with no question of any attempt to buy influence. They are also an excellent way of disciplining rogue elements within the Labour Party. Jack Dromey self indulgently opened a can of worms by talking about £14m worth of secret loans to fund our election campaign. Without the support of the TGWU we wouldn't have been able to put the screws on him and discourage others from following his example.

NB, The TGWU would like to make it clear that far from disciplining Jack Dromey, they merely held an investigation into how internal communications procedures could be improved. Downing Street had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

9. Freebie Holidays

2006-06-22T10:06:00.000Z

Everyone now has the legal right to four week’s paid holiday.

And if they've been working particularly hard, as in the case of the Prime Minister, they'll get free holidays. That Italians have dubbed Tony Blair 'Lo Scroccone' ('The Scrounger') is unfair. The Prime Minister and his wife are incredibly hard working and deserves the time off from ~~ruining~~ running the country. Silvio Berlusconi was an important ally, and Girolamo Strozzi and disgaraced ex-minister Geoffery Robinson are very important (rich) friends of the Blairs'. Cliff Richard acts as a spiritual advisor to Tony, and the second time they stayed there, the Blairs made an appropriate donation to charity at Cliff's behest. That the sum paid for an 18 day stay in Barbados was around the cost of a dinner for two in a London restaurant is not relevant.

It is also important to remember that commercial flights are a security risk. You can forget fundamentalist terrorists, everyone's out to get Tony and Cherie. As a result of criticism however, the Prime Minister will no longer be using the Queen's jet as he has done in the past, at a cost of £1.2 million to the taxpayer. He has ordered himself not one, but two planes. (in case one breaks down or something - always handy to have a spare). So that's alright then.

Bonus points to anyone who can furnish me with the photos of The Dear Leader in his swimming trunks on holiday in Barbados. We Blair's babes need our pin-ups you know!

8. We support fatherhood

2006-06-21T09:07:00.000Z

Dads get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time.

And they can even keep their jobs while they pursue court cases should paternity of the child be disputed. Abuse your position to speed up a residence visa for a Filipina nanny however, and you'll have to resign. (Don't worry, you'll be reinstated 9 months later).

7. We support motherhood

2006-06-21T08:43:00.000Z

We’ve extended maternity leave to 26 weeks.

Indeed, Labour ministers do support motherhood, but they refuse to say whether they believe homosexuality to be a sin:

We support motherhood so much, that under Labour, Britain has recently seen its youngest ever mother, a girl aged 12 years and 8 months.

6. We've increased the minimum wage

2006-06-16T12:28:00.000Z

The national minimum wage rises to £5.35 in October 2006. The Tories said it would cost one million jobs. It didn’t.

At this point it is impossible to know how many jobs will be lost as a result of the October increases, and more importantly, given the current unemployment situation, the number of jobs that will not be created as a result. In any case, it isn't just the Conservatives who have opposed this rise, the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have as well.

Responding to the Government's announcement of the increases, David Frost, Director General of the BCC, said: "Businesses cannot cope with more costs which are damaging their ability to compete. We cannot continue increasing the minimum wage at the pace at which it has increased in recent years. He added the large rise "will have an adverse effect on employment, at a time when unemployment is already on the increase. Indeed, commentators have already predicted UK unemployment to further increase over the next year. This rise could particularly hit disadvantaged communities of the UK."

The BCC have calculated the implications of increasing the minimum wage from £5.05 to £5.35, and found that employment in the ‘distribution, hotels and restaurants’ sectors fell by 39,000 in the first three quarters of 2005.

It is however, unfair to claim that £5.35 is in any way a high sum, or that employees are undeserving, when compared to the £10,000 per hour charged by some individuals for private speeches. When one realises that it wouldn't even cover one's daily hair maintenance fees of £275, the increased figure of £5.35 seems a very paltry sum indeed.

5. Low interest rates

2006-06-15T15:58:00.000Z

We have the lowest interest rates since the 1970s.

Interest rates are now set by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, not the Government, and the MPC use a wide array of economic indicators and forecasts to make their decisions. In a world where investors and markets have more power than governments, it would be very difficult for any Government to take credit for this. Indeed, interest rates have fallen globally since the 1970s, and look set to rise in the near future.

Low interest rates are usually not a bad thing. In the UK however, they have led to a consumer debt bubble and a property bubble, spelling trouble for the future. It also leaves millions of first time buyers unable to get onto the property ladder.

According to a recent Financial Services Authority (FSA) analysis, there are half a million households in the UK who are having serious difficulties in paying their bills and managing their debts. Furthermore, there are two million households in the UK that are on the verge of financial meltdown and are vulnerable to any future slide in the British economy. 70% of people in the UK have no savings to cover their debts should they suffer a sudden drop in income.

Still, with cheap mortgages, at least nobody will have to get a loan off a friend anymore:

And those of us who can afford flats in Bristol or five storey houses in Bayswater can certainly make a profit:

Perhaps not.

4. We've avoided recession

2006-06-14T13:44:00.000Z

We have the only European economy to avoid a recession in the last ten years.

Given that economies are driven by global factors, we may be pushing things too far by claiming credit for this. Especially given the fact that were it up to us we would have joined the Euro long ago, and the only reason we haven't is because we know we would lose a referendum on the issue. But in any case, yes, by staying out of the Euro, Britain has avoided recession. However, due to increased taxation and regulation, GDP growth has decelerated from 3.2% in 2004 to 1.8% in 2005, the lowest since 1992. Increases in productivity have fallen dramatically under Labour, and our trade balance has moved heavily into deficit.

3. People are in work

2006-06-13T20:25:00.000Z

The economy is providing more jobs than ever before. We have conquered youth unemployment. There are 2.5 more people in work.

Unemployment is at its highest level for four years, and looks set to increase. As of April, unemployment has risen for 13 of the last 14 months, the longest period of increases, and with the largest number of benefit claimants since the UK emerged from recession in 1992. Meanwhile, the number of manufacturing jobs in the UK have reached their lowest level since records began in 1978. The number of graduates joining the dole queue is at an all time high. However, this is unfair. There are many instances where Tony Blair has personally intervened in order to prevent unemployment:

2. Our supporters like seeing us in office

2006-06-13T18:17:00.000Z

This generation of Labour supporters has seen our party in office for longer than any previous generation.

This generation of Labour supporters under Blair has fallen from a high of 407,000 in 1997, and the party's annual report due to be published soon is expected to show fewer than 200,000 paid up members. The lowest figure since the era of Ramsey Macdonald’s premiership 70 years ago.

1. We are a popular party

2006-06-13T17:51:00.000Z

Labour won the General Election in May 2005 with one of the biggest majorities in our history, and one of the biggest government majorities since the war.

In fact we were so popular in 2005 that we were elected with the support of a full 22% of the electorate. Under us, voter apathy has reached an all time high. We don't even mind the fact that we technically lost the election in England, as we can use our Scottish MPs to impose their views on England when it comes to purely English issues. We have only made gains from the election on, allowing the Conservatives to build up a 10 point lead against us, and this looks set to increase should Gordon Brown ever become PM.