CrashedOutAndBurned Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 "We're going to have a system where the middle classes are discouraged from breeding because it's jolly expensive."But for those on benefits, there is every incentive. Well, that's not very sensible." In a statement issued by the party, Mr Flight said he would like to withdraw the remark, made to a newspaper. Everyone knows it, you just can´t say it... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11837538 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSROlfR7WTo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ah-so Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 While this is just the sort of thing that the Daily mail loves, it is not far wrong. If you are getting by in Britain on something like £45000, trying to get or maintain a mortgage, or have a family, it is pretty hard. The cut to child benefit will hardly help. Among those who do rely on the state for benefit, there is no real incentive not to have more children - bigger houses and more money. There is also the truth that having children and a family is fun. If you do not have much more going on in your life (or even if you do), a family brings great joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athom Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 I like the way the BBC followed up their latest faux public outrage story with a piece on Ed Milliband going to a supermarket somewhere and having "commoners" tell him exactly what Howard Flight had said, he avoided showing any agreement or disagreement with that by asking around the table if that was how everyone felt and got a resounding yes. Are they allowed to say that in 21st century Britain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsox Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 There was an odd bit about this on Channel 4 news tonight. First the presenters were slashing themselves with knives full of righteous indignation then they interviewed a couple of people who said the facts basically supported the Tory chap's view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 Yep, it's not just a popular viewpoint among almost everyone, it's bleeding obvious. If it gets more and more expensive for people who want to support themselves and pay their own way to have kids, they'll severely restrict the number they have - hence the boom in much older mums having just the one or couples having no kids at all due to high living costs and overtaxation. If you want to have a tidy whack off the taxpayer without working for it than it pays to have more kids as you get more benefits and a bigger house. Do even the breathless BBC newsreaders who responded to this guy's utterances as if he was Adolf Hitler really dispute this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Bear Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 Yep, it's not just a popular viewpoint among almost everyone, it's bleeding obvious. If it gets more and more expensive for people who want to support themselves and pay their own way to have kids, they'll severely restrict the number they have - hence the boom in much older mums having just the one or couples having no kids at all due to high living costs and overtaxation. If you want to have a tidy whack off the taxpayer without working for it than it pays to have more kids as you get more benefits and a bigger house. Do even the breathless BBC newsreaders who responded to this guy's utterances as if he was Adolf Hitler really dispute this? See athom's post. No accident IMO that the two items were one after the other. Also repeated on the BBC ten o'clock news - with a very non-posh person describing again how the people up her road who've never worked are the ones who keep on having more kids and can afford designer clothes and holidays. This topic will be like immigration. A few yrs ago nobody could even mention the 'I' word without being deemed racist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qetesuesi Posted November 25, 2010 Share Posted November 25, 2010 A pattern has emerged well before this. Lord Young last week said something basically true; this week it's Howard Flight's turn. Some time back it was Patrick Mercer, and of course just before the election we had Philip Lardner. Add to the list. In every case the truthteller gets sacked, or leaned on to step down. Conclusion: Cameron is a chronic spin addict, just as he claimed to be the Heir to Blair, and all the stuff about putting the national interest before party interest (for the Coalition's sake) has done nothing to cure him of it. If anyone should apologise and resign, it's him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 It's not easy to have an opinion, if you are a card carrying party member! And it doesn't matter which party it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Authoritarian Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Well it's pretty difficult to attack him for getting his facts wrong because he's correct, so the logical step is feign moral indignation. It's such a cowardly response, is it too much to ask to debate these issues in public from time to time? A ridiculous precedent is being set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoo Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Everyone knows it, you just can´t say it... http://www.bbc.co.uk...litics-11837538 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSROlfR7WTo Double plus good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athom Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 A pattern has emerged well before this. Lord Young last week said something basically true; this week it's Howard Flight's turn. Some time back it was Patrick Mercer, and of course just before the election we had Philip Lardner. Add to the list. In every case the truthteller gets sacked, or leaned on to step down. Conclusion: Cameron is a chronic spin addict, just as he claimed to be the Heir to Blair, and all the stuff about putting the national interest before party interest (for the Coalition's sake) has done nothing to cure him of it. If anyone should apologise and resign, it's him. No i can see why he has to do it when the media get their teeth in and don't let go until he does sack them. My problem with it is that the media have no mandate to represent the public point of view yet they are doing the sacking. As with Lord Young they are a mile of the mark and are just assuming everyone is a rampant mad leftist circa 1975 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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