Iron Bru › Forums › Non Football › The shady world of the Tories › Reply To: The shady world of the Tories
The Tories don’t stand for ‘self interest’, Deerey. What they do stand for is individuals having the right to make decisions and take responsibility for themselves, with as little interference from the state as possible. As for free markets, presumably you’re saying Labour doesn’t stand for this? I think you’ll find otherwise, at least under Starmer. Regarding social order, that can mean a lot of different things though I strongly suspect your meaning is really ‘social hierarchy’? If so, you’re even more stuck in the past than I thought.
The really interesting point here is that the vast majority of Tories would absolutely agree with workers rights and ‘for the greater good’, though I doubt you’ll ever agree that to be the case. The problem is that the people who really need the help are the ones least likely to get it and this is where things become rather more complex. I have a lot of sympathy for low-paid rail-workers but if the unions insist on running the 21st railway system with 19th century working practices then I have a problem; and, no, I don’t think the rail companies are great either.
Similarly with the NHS. Of course nurses need more money but I have two friends who are now retired GPs on joint pensions of £96,000 — and they stopped working at 60. I have a friend who is a consultant anaesthetist, enjoying life playing golf by working part-time on a crazy NHS salary and with a gold-plated pension to look forward to. Consultants are stopping work because they have to pay more tax to top up their £1million+ pension funds; and so it goes on.