Tuesday 12 September 2017
Tories favour the police - again!
When Margaret Thatcher's government came to power in 1979 one of the first things it did was approve a 45% pay rise for the police. As a consequence, as the police marched in to quell the miners' strike, the Wapping printers' dispute and the poll-tax riots, many felt that the propose of this Tory generosity was to ensure that the police were on their side to oppose what Thatcher regarded as " the enemy within." The left dubbed the police "Mrs Thatcher's boot boys."
The release of the police and prison offices from the public elector pay cap with an extra 1% is small beer by comparison. but it does show us where the Tories' priorities still lie: teachers, nurses, care workers (if there are any left in the public sector) all remain behind in the queue.
Maybe government is gearing up for public reaction in the streets as a result of the continued failure of their policies.
My thoughts exactly.
ReplyDeleteToday the government (and the media) are now stressing that any public service pay rises must be paid for by the "ordinary taxpayer", and this could cause strains for them. Last time I checked, people working in the public service also pay tax.
Anyway, this time, how about some extra funding from the "ordinary" hedge fund manager and the "ordinary" multi-national company?
Couldn't agree more. Just another case of divide and rule - public sector v private sector, but with early favouritism to get the police on the government's side (and enough private sector prison officers to lock up any casualties.)
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